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This was the third annual Burton Trifecta held in the beautiful state of Oregon. And if you have ever been to the Northwest, you know that weather is one hell of factor when it comes to planning anything in advance.

The past two years we had what most people would call perfect weather. Sun, mild temperatures, and no set backs. This year felt more like a movie than reality. The night started off with all 25 of us gathering at our epic camp spot at the base of Mt. Hood, Oregon for a beautiful evening. The beers were flowing, Austen Granger from Traeger Grills was cooking a five-star meal, Aaron Blatt was ripping the guitar. Things were smooth sailing.

“I made it clear to everyone that we were running this ship full throttle into the sea.”

The one thing that was rumored around the campsite was the next day’s weather, which was rain, wind, more rain, and 11-foot waves with 50 mile-per-hour winds.

To everyone reading this: I live in the moment. I try my hardest not to let ideas of what could or couldn’t happen deter me from what I want to accomplish. That being said, I made it clear to everyone that we were running this ship full throttle into the sea.

Photography by Aaron Blatt

To skate, surf and snowboard in one day, Trifectans need their protein. Austen from Traeger Grills served it up.

The morning of the Trifecta Austen cooked us up an amazing breakfast and we headed to Timberline, only to find out that they weren’t going to run the lifts because of fog and rain. A reality that meant we would be forced to go old school and hike some dope shit, which we did! I like this type of snowboarding because everyone sticks together and you end up pushing people to hit something or try something they were initially intimated by.

We built a fun little hip followed by a mini jump that ended up being a blast, everyone was ripping!

Alex Andrews, in the midst of a pure froth session.

There is a new am program at Burton called Kilroy, and Luke Winkleman is among the chosen few. Keep an eye on this kid.

Wind and fog couldn’t keep Jeremy Matherly of evo grounded.

After snowboarding we moved on to skate, but not before dropping off some demo gear at the Burton house in Government camp. This is where planning your day can be interrupted by locking the keys in your car, which I did. Luckily, Alex from Hanger 94 got shifty with the shimmy and we were able to pop the lock with only a mellow hour-long detour.

Our next stop of the Trifecta was at the Windells compound for a radical skate session. It was still pouring rain, so having the indoor Windells park was a savior! Graig from Tactics was thrashing, Ty from Hillcrest Sports was getting it, and JG from Burton was showing everyone why he is the God-Frother.

Few people have more passion for boardriding than John “JG” Gerndt, who is one of the most influential minds in snowboard development at Craig’s, the R&D facility at Burton.

Austen whipped out the Traeger and rain gear to make us a snack before we hit the road to the coast to get wet and wild. At this point in time, everyone was starting to question if we were really going to drive to the coast for 11-foot waves and 50 mile-per-hour winds; but sometimes the captain has to make the call, and the call was to push forward.

The drive from Hood to the coast is a solid two hours, and I’ll admit that it was a little daunting to get in cold water in a downpour. However, as we rolled up to our last stop, we looked out to find perfect head-high waves with little wind and a slight drizzle. I couldn’t don my wetsuit fast enough.

We all headed out into the ocean to finish off the day with an epic surf session; I’d claim the best one out of the three Trifectas we’ve done!

The Godfrother earned his named once again.

There are few meals more satisfying than hot chow on a cold day.

One again, Granger fired up the Traeger for a final feast, and the day came to an end as we literally surfed until dark. My biggest take away from this last Trifecta was that no matter the road block, someone in the group can ollie that shit to keep the energy alive. I really want to thank the Burton Northwest Crew for helping plan and execute this awesome day.

Thanks to our sponsors Burton Snowboards, Traeger Grills, Chef Granger, North Drinkware, Windells, HCSC, US Outdoor and Timberline, Ites/Swifty. Thanks to JG, Zach Nigro, Chris Dimarco for making the trek from Vermont! Thank you Aaron Blatt for snapping pics and risking your camera equipment in savage weather. Last but not least, thanks to all the shops who made it out. Evo, U.S Outdoor, Hillcrest sports, Tactics, Stuartvents, and Hanger 94.

This was by far my favorite Trifecta we’ve done, and I can’t wait for next year!

All great days must come to an end.

The 2017 Trifecta Awards

Best Overall: Andrew Kimiecik won a hand shaped Burton throwback by JG and artwork from Jah Swifty Ites.

Best Snow: Ty Toler

Best Skate: Graig Anderson

Best Surf: Alex Robertson

Froth Award: Jeremy Matherly

Read the story of the first Trifecta