Almost every snowboard video that comes out these days has a backcountry segment filled with steep lines, deep powder, gnarly chutes, and huge cliff drops. While these films prominently feature riders using helicopters and snowmobiles for access, these same riders often hike like the rest of us. What we don’t see in these video segments is everything else that goes into it. Backcountry snowboarding legend Jeremy Jones is one of the few who is trying to show the full reality of the sport: the planning, the hiking, the danger, the camaraderie, the love of the wilderness—it’s all part of it whether you’re a professional snowboarder or a weekend warrior in the backcountry.

The more time you spend hiking to earn turns the more you begin to understand the mantra, “It’s about the journey, not the destination”. The reasons we go — time spent on the summit, the ride down from the top — these are fleeting moments. Sure, the turns are usually epic, but the anticipation of getting there and the climb itself are what make the trip truly special. Anyone can ride a chair lift, but when you take the time summit a remote mountain by sheer willpower and motivation there is something special about it all because you earned your turns.





All this time in the wilderness provides a great opportunity to do some serious soul searching. Rather than hopping on the first chair of a powder day and ripping lap after lap while you forget about your problems, you’re more likely to process them. What else is there to think about when you’re on the trail for hours on end? For others it makes it easier to live in the moment and appreciate the little things in life rather than being caught up in the hustle and bustle of day to day life.

And when the climbing gets hard, when you have to dig down to the very depths of your being to keep going, that’s when you find out what you’re made of. The climbs that take the most out of you are the ones that prove the most rewarding, and most meaningful. Because of the effort you put into the climb, you are rewarded with a greater level of satisfaction because you had the perseverance to not give up. When you finally get to the top you’re bloody glad it’s over but even more so you think about how you stuck with it and worked to get to where you wanted to be. Even on days where you don’t wind up exactly where you intended, it will still usually turn out to be an epic day, and sometimes even better than planned.

Community



One of the coolest things about snowsports is how it brings people together from many different lifestyles, and the backcountry is one of the best examples of this. When you’re out in the wilderness, no one cares if you’re on skis instead of a snowboard, whether or not you’re a local, how much money you make, or any of the bullshit that’s used to categorize people. All that matters is that you’re making smart decisions to stay safe, respecting the backcountry by keeping it clean, and having a good time.

The annual Summer Solstice party on Mt. Hood is a perfect example of this camaraderie. Roughly a hundred people, skiers and snowboarders alike, hike or skin up to Illumination Rock to hang out on the longest day of the year, hitting jumps, having a drink, and celebrating life. When the sun sets below the clouds, nearly everyone mobs down 3,000′ of vertical chasing sunset back to the parking lot. Not only is it a great time, but the only signs that we were ever there are the jumps we built, the footprints we left, and the pictures we share.





Even on days when you start the hike alone on popular mountains here in Colorado, there is a unique type of camaraderie that tends to develop on the trail. I’ve dropped lines with people who hiked up after me, and done beacon checks in the parking lot with strangers as I was starting my walk to the trail. I’ve linked up with groups half way up and finished the climb with them. As long as you respect the safety of yourself and those around you (along with not being a jerk), you’ll make skin track friends that will provide lasting memories far better than chairlift companions.

Moonlit Night Riding



Then when you live somewhere that you can uphill inbounds, you have a whole new way to explore your mountain as a backcountry rider. Not only does it keep you in shape for the wilderness, but you can get uphill on a powder day before the chairs start spinning, and it gives access to safer full moon riding due to the diminished risk of avalanche due to grooming and low angle routes in bounds.

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If you haven’t been organic night riding at your home mountain, you’re missing out. When the full moon night sky is clear and the snow coverage is good, you don’t need a headlamp for the ride down because the moonlight is bright enough to let you see. If you time it right you’ll even have fresh corduroy for the ride down, and possibly have it all to yourself. Never will you hear your mountain so silent and be able to just enjoy the ride without the worry of other people around you.

If you prefer something more social, riding down with a crew under a full moon is just as epic as chasing sunset–and it’s something you can experience on any mountain. Even your friends who don’t have touring setups can come with you for these inbound hikes. Sure they’ll take longer since they have to boot pack, but snowboarding is a social sport so hang out and enjoy the company.

While the untouched powder lines draw most to backcountry snowboarding, you’ll quickly realize that there is far more to the sport than steep lines and pow. It’s waking up before the sun, spending time with friends and making new ones on the skin track. It’s the sun peeking through the trees, wildflowers in the spring, and more.

You don’t need the newest equipment or climb the biggest mountains to know why people go out and snowboard in the wilderness. Whether you’re boot packing the sand dunes of Lake Michigan, hiking the hill at your local city park, or climbing tall mountains, it’s all in the same spirit. Earn your turns: hike up, enjoy the ride and, love the journey. When you make the camaraderie, the views, and hike up more important than the ride down, the rest of it doesn’t matter. If you are in the big mountains, it becomes a lot easier to make smart decisions and turn to your fall back plan or walk away when conditions aren’t safe. Have fun, stay safe, and protect the wilderness. We only get one life and one planet to live it on.

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