Shred 1sts – 14’er Surf, Olympic Freestyle and Hawaiian Green

High Country, Colo. (Shred White and Blue)-Jarrett Luttrell recently made history – he became the first snowboarder to climb and ride all 54 of Colorado’s 14ers from their summits.

Luttrell finished the feat with his descent of Keplinger’s on Longs Peak. A split boarder, the fine folks at Shred White and Blue fave Venture Snowboards were stoked to share the news as Luttrell was riding a Venture-built board.

Congrats to Jarrett, who sent over the photo, and to whom we are sending one of the Shred White and Blue Classic Design shirts from our inaugural business year. FOMO, check out this cool interview with Justin on TransWorld Snowboarding right here:

http://snowboarding.transworld.net/1000126359/featuresobf/the-first-14er-jarrett-luttrell/

Slopestyle Could Go for the Gold!

Antalya, Turkey (Shred White and Blue)- A U.S. and French proposal to submit ski halfpipe to the International Olympic Committee for consideration as early as 2014 was approved without dissent as the International Ski Federation concluded its biennial FIS Congress Friday in Antalya, Turkey. The Congress also unanimously passed proposals from the USA and other nations to accept both snowboarding slopestyle and team snowboardcross into the FIS World Snowboard Championships.

A decision on new events for 2014 could be made by the IOC as early as 2011.

“As a member association, we’re proud of the reputation that FIS has developed as a progressive and dynamic international sports federation, particularly in terms of the events and sports it provides to the Olympic Games,” said U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association Vice President, Luke Bodensteiner. “By aggressively developing new and dynamic action sports into its program, FIS is leading from a position that is relevant to youth and the worldwide public.”

Hawaii Protects Historic Surf Reserves

Maui (Shred White and Blue)-Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle issued an executive order to establish surfing reserves at two of Hawai`i’s most important and well-known surfing areas.  The executive order “acknowledges the cultural, sports and historic significance of important surf sites in Hawai`i,” and “raises public awareness about the importance of protecting, nourishing and developing Hawai`i’s world famous surf sites.”

The Governor’s order establishes the Duke Kahanamoku Surfing Reserve, which includes surf breaks bounded by the Ala Wai and the Waikīkī War Memorial Natatorium, as well as the North Shore Surfing Reserve, which includes surf breaks from Ali`i Beach in Hale`iwa to Sunset Beach.  Both surf reserves are located in the waters off O`ahu.

Senator Hemmings is a surfing legend in his own right, having become the world’s first surfing champion from Hawai`i after winning the World Surfing Championship in Puerto Rico in 1968. Pictured here are (left to right) Paul Strauch, Jr., Joey Cabell, Duke Kahanamoku, Fred Hemmings and Butch Van Artsdalen.

FOMO: http://hawaii.gov/gov/news/files/2010/june/governor-establishes-hawai-i-surfing-reserves

3 Cheers for Powder (& More American-Made Decks that Scorch the Soft Stuff)

Shred America (Shred White and Blue)—Yeah, winter is finally here and we’re back on board with another round of decks made by fellow shreds in the U.S.A. There’s been a lot of Colorado coverage, I know, but home is where the heart is… and where lots of killer snowboards are made.

Never Summer SL-R Snowboard

$499.99
Sizes [cm]: 151, 155, 158, 161, 164
neversummer.com
Made in Denver, Colo.

Never Summer’s Colorado-crafted SL-R features rocker & camber (R.C. Technology) and Vario Power Grip sidecut. It’s an extremely agile, all mountain freestyle deck that offers quick edge-to-edge response and maintains a forgiving tip and tail for smooth takeoffs and landings. NS retained the bomber construction but buttered things up with the right amount of rocker and a medium flex. This board excels from the park and pipe to the steep and deep.

Testers’ Take
• “Classic Never Summer battle-ready construction, great flex for freestyle.”
• “Floats in pow surprisingly well for a freestyle board.”
• “Freestyle? I call it fun-style.”

Venture Storm

$985
Sizes [cm]: 148-182.5
(available as a solid version or a split)
venturesnowboards.com
Made in Silverton, Colo.

Emblazoned on the Storm, as well as the rest of Venture’s boards is a photograph of an actual snow crystal taken by Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley. That is the only delicate component of their bomber-built boards, handcrafted in Silverton, Colo. Buttressed by p-Tex sidewalls and a poplar / ash bookmatched core (Venture slices vertically laminated blocks of wood in half and reassembles them to make full cores with consistent edge to edge density and stiffness) the Storm is available in a split and solid version, and waist widths from 24-27cm.

Testers’ Take
• “Very fun to ride—be the star in your own slasher film—REE! REE! REE!”
• “This board moves like a disc jockey’s hands at a rave; super quick.”
• “Don’t be too pushy or you’ll end up on your ass.”

Voilé Mojo

$895
Sizes [cm]: 154, 161, 166, 171
voile-usa.com
Made in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains

Sized for men and women, the Mojo cast a spell on testers this year, dominating in powder and earning high marks for ease of turn initiation with the same directional shape, dimensions and traditional camber as last year. Testers of both sexes succumbed to the Mojo’s magic.

Testers’ Take
• “Springy, sprightly; picks its way down steep slopes and is most responsive to short radius turns.”
• “Gets the Mojo flowin’ in wide-open pow.”
• “The Mojo is light underfoot and has a smooth torsional flex; it’s tough to beat for technical terrain where quick, reliable turns are a necessity.”

Hit the Deck! Domestic Decks 2010 – USA-Made Boards, Round 2

Here it is Shred Nation, part two of the All-American star spangled snowboard test. This week, three more great reasons to put your money where your mountains are, and get some certified USA-made carve beneath your feet.

Unity Dominion

$480
Sizes [cm]: 159, 164, 168, 180 / 160wide, 165wide, 170wide
unitysnowboards.com
Made in Silverthorne, Colorado

Unity’s Dominion surprised testers with its ability to be nimble quick, but with a bulldog’s tenacity after tearing up everything from untracked steeps to blown-out crud. It’s stiffer in the tail than nose for better float, and features a carbon fiber wrapped core, creating carbon “X’s” under each foot that are aimed at increasing responsiveness. The Dominion had testers feeling downright subservient to its mountain muscle after a couple runs. They couldn’t believe how well it slashed powder up high, and then handled the crud down low.

TESTERS’ TAKE:

• “This board did almost everything better than expected.”

• “Very lively for a p-Tex sidewalled board, quick turning, even in the trees. Not the lightest because of its construction, but you’ll forget that after one turn.”
•“The board gets Ginsu in the crud, and is awesome in powder,” said another.

Gnu B Pro C2BTX [Women’s]

$499
Sizes [CM]: 146, 149, 152, 155
gnu.com
Made in Sequim, Washington

The B-Pro C2BTX (C2BTX=a new version of rocker, where there’s camber at the tip-and-tail but not between the bindings, paired with Magne Traction [serrated-like edges]) is an all-terrain machine. It’s also on the planet kinder side (which should make you smile), featuring a Bio-Plastic topsheet made from castor beans, and Mervin’s “Eco” aspen core. Barrett Christy donates of portion of the proceeds from her pro model’s sales to “Boarding for Breast Cancer.”

TESTERS’ TAKE:

• “I’ve never ridden a board with such an easy flex that holds up in the steeps.”
• “Holds a very solid edge, and keeps magnet-like contact with the snow.”
• “This board was like a mountain lion in the crud and variable conditions—great stability!”

Venture Euphoria Splitboard

$985
Sizes [cm]: 146-170.5
venturesnowboards.com
Made in Silverton, Colorado

Fully rockered for the first time, Venture’s Euphoria splitboard scored off the charts for soft-snow performance, due to a soft flex between the bindings and a fat nose and tail. Venture’s boards are tested in the sacred steeps hunting ground known as Silverton—even the local bar is named POW (Pride of the West). The results are meticulously manufactured decks built to endure.

TESTERS’ TAKE:

• “Strap in, put the iPod on Lionel Ritchie’s ‘Easy Like Sunday Morning’ and slash every piece of powder you can find.”
• “One thing is for certain, this baby needs some room to roam. For wide-open terrain and powder bowls it can’t be beat.”