Doug making a rare backcountry snowboard turn.
In our quest for podcast show equality, we have been trying to bolster our splitboard representation. We’ve sprayed endless gear talk about the tiny nuances of a 40-year-old tech binding, but have continuously swept snowboard evolution under the rug. In this latest Totally Deep Podcast episode, that all changes.
When I turn my attention to splitboarding, it is tough to think of anyone more evangelical about the sport than Angus Morrison. He has been earning his turns in the Colorado backcountry for over 20 years and has watched the sport of splitboarding since its beginning. We also brought former snowboarder Randy Young back as host after his brief hiatus in Michigan.
Before the full gear nerding begins, we recant the story of a spicy day that Angus and I had in the backcountry last winter. Angus is not that guy cutting grams with the newest and coolest hard boot splitboard setup in order to shave precious seconds off his ascents. Instead, on that rare winter day when I ratcheted into my own snowboard bindings, I settled in for a walk in the woods with stories and avalanche observations, which he is absolutely fanatical about. As we started uphill, taking turns trail breaking, the skin track turned into a trench behind us. Their were signs of rapid warming as trees jettisoned their heavy loads from the night before, snow clumps falling like mortars around us. We took out the slope meter and confirmed that the ridge-line down the middle of the bowl we were about to ride went at about 28 degrees. I transitioned to downhill mode and made my first backcountry turns of the season.
Angus moving up through frozen aspen trees as the day warms around us.
I posted up in a safe zone to watch Angus fly down the ridge after me. As his board impacted the snow off a slight cliff drop, he remotely triggered a small slide in a terrain trap in a steeper adjacent gulley. We watched safely from our ridge as a powder cloud snaked its way down the valley. Even from our vantage point, watching snow on the move is always sobering. We continued uphill, did a quick pit analysis of the crown and continued back down the summer trail. Another lesson was learned that day to take a further step back from that fine line of risk.
Avalanche crown analysis
This event behind us, it was time to talk gear. In this episode, we cover two major players in the splitboard game. Both Jones and Weston don’t just have their token splitboards, but rather entire quivers of boards for every type of condition. On a daily basis, Angus rocks his Jones Mind Expander Split, a fully directional powder board, while I am moving to the Weston Backwoods Carbon board for this season. When you look at the last few years of the sport, bindings have come a long way. The Spark R&D bindings paved the way for easier transitions as well as less weight and moving parts. If you have a question, or want to see more splitboard coverage on Totally Deep or WildSnow leave a comment and we will aim to get it in there.
Story time in the shop.
This episode was a blast to record and I want to thank our Australian snowboard friends for listening and demanding more coverage.
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11 comments
a fantastic return to form! please elevate the levels of profanity.
Love the TD podcast. Thanks for a splitboard gear talk show. Doug, could you post something on how you tried modifying your Salomon Slab X Alp boots?
Thank you for covering splitboarding. It’s a niche within a niche but we’re a passionate bunch.
Great episode! More splitboard content is always appreciated. A few thoughts:
It was GREAT to have Randy back on the podcast. He adds to the fun vibe without taking anything away from the deep gear nerdery that I also enjoy.
Angus’s perspective was much appreciated, especially in the context of light not always being right. I like his ethos of being prepared. Carry spare parts, a first aid kit, and factor in pack weight and gear when choosing the right board. I agree that snowboarders often freak out about centimeters in board length as if they were feet. “Dude, that 164 is HUGE. I need a 161. How do you manage to turn it in tight trees?” Doug’s comment about drawing a 2 cm line with a ruler and understanding how short it really is is something I’ve said to friends many times!
For experienced riders, don’t be afraid to go big. I ride a Jones Hovercraft 164 solid, and it by no means too much board for me. I don’t really get the whole “short powder board revolution.” Sure, a 156 fish might float surprisingly well, but a 164 is going to float that much better, especially when you really need it to.
I’ve been a hardbooter for about 5 years now, and while I’m never going back to softboots (at least until someone makes a 1kg soft boot with tech fittings), I grimace whenever people talk about the lack of feel supposedly inherent to hardboot riding. Before taking the Dremel to a $800 pair of boots, try riding it not locked out in ski mode. Fischer Travers buckled up tight but with the heel latch in walk mode provide a lovely surfy feel that is every bit as supple as traditional setup, but with all the benefits of hardboots on the ups. The dark side is calling, and it’s good.
Lastly, thanks for mentioning the greatest tool every BC skier and rider should be carrying at all times: the humble Voile scraper. They cost $2 and have saved my day more times than I can count. I’ve started buying them in bunches and giving them to all my touring partners at the beginning of the season.
If the walk mod lever is open (unlocked) how do you do a heel side turn? The Atomic Backlands I have tried on have a huge back lean angle when open – can’t imagine being able to heel side turn unlocked (I did try on some Scarpa’s that barely went back at all in walk mode and would be a good candidate for riding unlocked).
More split boards!
please keep up the chucklef***-ery 😀
Great to see some plot coverage!
Split, not plot ^
Love the discussion of gear. I am in the process of getting all new gear for this season – old split board (my one and only to date) and really old boots. My two decisions are on the size of het Jones Solution – for me 158 or 161 – and whether to go to hard boots – I used to hard boot when I snowshoed to get lines. Really started considering it when I tried on the Atomic Backland Expert at my local shop. It is a fairly soft, Flex rating of 90, boot and is remarkably comfortable (the walk mode is way better than my old Burton soft boots). It would be interesting to hear more about the specifics of a hard boot for splitboarding – like overall Flex, Lean Angle, medial and lateral flex, and other considerations.
We’ve got you covered MTBOregon. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a full Backland splitboard boot review.