Fist day at the Buff

Finally made it out to the old Raging Buffalo yesterday. Took a couple pictures of the set up. As usual it was more fun than I anticipated when I arrived.

Bone Zone the Movie

Good memories here! Torrey got really good shots, and Lucey with the backy! I've still only ridden one day, the midwest sucks a big one (sorry midwest pride people).

Bone Zone 2012 Full Movie from Snowboarder Magazine on Vimeo.

Foreground Props

Mustico with some foreground props in Airblaster's Single Cork...

Pages Keep Turnin'.

I've been swimming in fields of upstate New York for nearly a year now. Working on an apprenticeship with Sacred Seed Farm. It looks looks like this:

Winter winds blew out the heat wave that graced my second to last day in the fields. Ole man winter stopped by the following day. As the seas are rolling thick these days, so will I. Bound for Mt. Baker, and as their snow report reads this morning, "With 80 inches of snowfall in the past 7 days and over 160 inches of snow so far this winter, things are STACKING UP AT BAKER. Our snowbase of 99 inches is the DEEPEST FOR DECEMBER 6 since our World Record Year of 98-99. That means we currently have the deepest early December snowfall in 14 years" Sounds like it could be a nice winter.

FDOH Midwest: Alpine Valley

It was 70 degrees and sunny today in Chicago, and the city seemed to smell like feet everywhere I went. Maybe it really is the end of the world in a few weeks. In any case, I made it out to Alpine Valley this past weekend before the warm weather hit (even though it was 55 on hill). Here is a picture and a few screengrabs of girlfriend filmed videos.

Looking like tip-top conditions.

First attempt at some sort of maneuver, not successful.

Rebate?

They had like zero snow so the only thing in the park were super wobbly rails like 4 feet off the snow. I stuck to the greens that had all kinds of fun snow chunks and side hits.

Animal Farm on eBay

Was just surfing ebay and saw this board for sale. Good taste in stickers.

Pow Day at the Rail Gardens

Last week was an awesome way to kick off the season in Utah.  The mountains received 4', while the valley received up to 12" in many places!  We decided to get out and play in it.

Torrey

We'll See from WhatCoast on Vimeo.

Snow Craft, Episode 1

The video isn't even embeddable but I'm just going to put up a link because it's so fucking good. Part 1 of a three part documentary series on people who shape and build their own snowboards:

SNOW CRAFT EPISODE 1: LOCAL INNOVATION

Dolphin People

For some reason I thought this was hilarious.

So That's What Alta is About...

Had this video forwarded to me and thought it was worth a watch.

Farmers All Grown Up

Mark's Superpark video won the Battle of the Brands on Snowboardermag.com. Now he is going to CABO BRO! There is a sweet interview with him up here:

http://www.snowboardermag.com/exclusives/lens-crafters-capitas-mark-dangler/

Here's the video:



Battle Of The Brands: Capita from Snowboarder Magazine on Vimeo.

And... I got an interview about some non-snow related stuff published online this week too:

http://inthein-between.tumblr.com/post/29784023573/the-modern-histories-of-josh-poehlein

What will you do when it all melts…

With July 2012 being the hottest month in US recorded history, talk is swirling about what global warming will mean for our future.  This talk ranges from the environmental changes to the casual.  For the sake of fun, we’ll keep it somewhat casual here at Animal Farm.  We are beckoned with a question though.  What will snowboarders do when their local hills close down, due to low snow years, and early season melt-offs.  At some point the means of blowing snow for an ever shorter season will start putting our favorite shred hills into bankruptcy.  Some areas, especially at lower elevations, will even start to see no snow at all.  Winter will become a rainy, cold season.  What will we boarders do to get our snowboard thrills? 

Couldn’t we all just pick up skating or surfing and be happy?  I’ve thought about this a lot lately.  While I’ve never had much access to surfing, I have had access to skating.  Skating is a special, great experience in its own right, but it’s not snowboarding.  What is snowboarding anyway? 

On a recent visit to my parents’ house in western, NY I found a few old journals I was required to write for 8^th and 11^th grade English class.  Reading them put my mind back in the late 90s/early 2000s.  I also noticed that the pages were covered in my love for snowboarding.  There is something special about the sport that has connected millions to it.  I’ve decided that snowboarding is distinct in 3 main disciplines for me.  These would be: backcountry (pow days, cliffs, chutes etc), resort (groomers, trails, glades), and park.  These are all unique in that there is no other sport that really replicates them, save skiing somewhat, but that will melt away too.  With these heavy though, an idea popped into my head.  What really could replace these unique disciplines?  Challenge accepted.

 

Backcountry

Pow slashes, vertical drop, runs that take long periods of time, and hikes may sum up part of the backountry snowboarding experience.  Thinking about what could replace this, it seems nothing could.  I would say the closest might be mountain biking or downhill biking.  This would cover long runs and vertical.  

After watching that it is apparent the thrills are there, but the relaxed old man pow turns are not.  So it’s kind of a ½ deal.  I’m going to venture and say the pow turns are going to be offset with some surfing, but then you don’t have the vertical or length of run. 

Resort

Smooth surfaces and easy riding.  For replacement, it seems the answer wouldn’t differ much from backcountry.  A few changes could be that road biking replaces mountain biking.  In addition longboarding and pool/bowl skating should be added.  I put these under resort because they take place on smooth surfaces and do not necessarily need to involve any tricks.  For the longest “groomer” speed run, maybe this is the replacement:

 

Park

Jumps, rails and man-made features, all hit on a permanently connected board.  Skating seems like the obvious way to offset this desire, but is it really?  In some aspects yes, but in technical prowess it’s like comparing chess (skating) to checkers (snowboarding).  For other sports, wakeboarding gets the 2 feet connected part down, but features are often limited and the expense to participate is high.  This was until recently, with the advent of more and more cable boarding.  It’s still not snowboarding, as you have to deal with a handle and the features will never be as big, but it is getting closer and closer (more availability, flexible boards etc).  Combining skating and cable boarding, you might be able to overcome some of that park fever.

 

In the Meanwhile, be Aware

In truth, I am sure we’d all rather just keep snowboarding.  Do what you can to help reduce carbon emissions.  The best way to do this is to be knowledgeable and spread good knowledge.  While personal automobiles are often put to blame, be aware of other carbon emitters such as cow farts, industry, airplanes, transportation of goods and other sources.

I recently went on a little camping/skating/motorcycle excursion with a few pals. Friend of the farm, John Blume, made this edit of our two day jaunt from Salt Lake City to Heber, through Provo Canyon and back North again.

Camp 'N Skate from John Blume on Vimeo.

Neato, Weird Bozung Video

For some reason Bozung is in this super bizarre rap video at 2:06

HCSC Session 4

The weirdest edit yet!  And holy crap it's good.

Car Danchi 6

 I post everything Japan related, and I can't tell if this is amazing or really really bad. In any case, worth a watch.

Beko 2010 Nose Cover - No More Rudolph Nose

This is a product review.

If you are like me, there are many days where sporting a pair of shades on hill makes perfect sense.  It's sunny out, goggles feel claustrophobic, sunglasses are just cool are just a few of the great reasons to rock shades.  Just as with the embraced and yet shunned goggle tan, sunglasses carry their own burden of what I like to call "Rudolph Nose."  This cherry red treat is common with shades, as your nose sticks out further than the rest of your face, thus soaking up the most rays.  Even with copious application of sunblock, this always seems to be the first place to get burned.  At least for me.
This all led to a recent google search.  Someone out there must have some kind of a solution for this.  I did think of Glacier glasses, but I was looking for more of an accessory to wear shades I already loved.  Then bam, meet the Beko.  This thing is basically a soft, leatherish flap that velcros onto your shades giving you ample sun coverage from above.  While it does protect from below, it should do the job is ridding yourself of a Rudolph.

Comfort level: 8.2
Looks: Geeky in a clever way
Price: Under $10

I haven't tried this in the wind yet, but it seems like it should hold well.  This would be a wise pickup for any sun warrior who fancies their nose burn free.

Here is their site, if you want one for yourself.  They even have camo.

http://bekogear.com/category/beko-2010/

HCSC Session 2

And from what for many of us is a past employer:


HCSC 2012: Session 2 Recap from High Cascade Snowboard Camp on Vimeo.

It's summer!

It's summer and I've been making new friends.  As a goal, I've decided to try and be more social.  I've also had a crazy wakeboard itch.  This threw me online posting on forums to see if anyone needed an extra person in their boat.  Luck had me and I've met a some cool people.  It's incredible how generous complete strangers can be. 

Being able to get out on the water, I've been thinking in season and this clip caught my attention.  A cool, different style version of wakeboarding. 

-Rich

High Cascade Session 1 Recap

Luce dog and gang holding it down in hood.


HCSC 2012: Session 1 Recap from High Cascade Snowboard Camp on Vimeo.

Star Wars Invades Brighton

I know this music might not be of some people's taste, but I like the silliness of this.

If Mt Hood Blew Up...

Torrey, Rich, and another Japan Edit

Raw Shorts and Shades

SHORTS AND SHADES 5!!!!! from Tre Squad on Vimeo.

This had me smiling the whole time.  Awesome.

Thrift Store Finds, and Photos from Tyrol

My girlfriend Jayne went to LA recently and found these in a thrift store for a buck a piece, just finished watching Destroyer..

Maybe if I watch this one next I can get back into rails this winter... probably not though, haha.

Also, took a trip to Tyrol this winter and I snapped these photos on a disposable camera. 

This Z tube thing was the best feature there. I probably tried it 50 times but kept falling off like 2 feet before the end. You can't really tell from the picture each section is like 20 feet long.

Mid Winter Montage from James!

I have yet to ride in Oregon in the Winter, this needs to change.

32 At Copper...

This is going to get posted everywhere because it is AMAZING, but I'm posting it because of what Ben Bilocq does at 2:14. What the hell is that?! Front hand backside handplant? Does it have a name?

BOOM!

Jed on Protective League...



I am pretty sure this was just Lucey's helmet but still, Jed on protective league.

Dangler Name Drop

Possibly a shot of Mark towing a sled out of the Whistler BC. They grow up so fast...sniff.

Surprise April Powder

After a year of very little snow, compared to normal, it seemed the season was pretty much wrapped up last week. It hit 80F. It was nice out. Then bam, weather system. The temp drops to the 40s in the valley. It's raining. Fast forward 2 mornings and I'm at Brighton with my brother Austin, who is in town. We're off Wren Hollow in the secret trees and it's over a foot deep, and bottomless. No scraping, all fluff. It was an awesome day. Thank you weather, for a couple more turns!

Josh Visits Slc

Josh came to town to live up some SLC fun, boarding, and other good times. Glad to have him around for a little bit!

Kicking off the week at O'Falafel

Sunny most of the days



Protective League Approved

Torrey and Rich at Rail Gardens

Well, we finally got some snow, here in Utah. Spent a day last week at Rail Gardens. Pretty fun time. Decided to make a quick edit of iphone footage. Not up to par with some of our edits, but it was a fun day!

We even got to hang with Bozung!

Still Very Dangerous Out There

Avalanche, A Life Saved from Trent Meisenheimer on Vimeo.

Personally, I don't think it will be good till it all melts and we start over next year. That sugar snow will be there till the end.

Brandon Hammid on RG 16

Brandon Hammid 16 on the Rail Gardens 16 from Sean Lucey on Vimeo.

Ridiculous Crash

I know this is a skier, and I know it has nothing to do with Animal Farm, but good lord this is terrifying and hilarious at the same time...

New diecuts

Anyone need any sticker love? Leave a post in the comments.

A Harsher, Violent Animal Farm

Yobeat posted this article recently -

http://www.yobeat.com/2012/02/17/the-digital-snowboard-civil-war/

It was an interesting take on all the divisions of snowboarding and how it relates to snow hate. In my personal opinion and I believe that of this blog, just go out there, get whacky and have fun. We all look pretty funny, no matter what you wear, if we were walking through a city. At the minimum, we are all wearing moon boots.

Theme Park Snowboarding

I have felt that this trend has been a long time coming, and I am sure it will continue. Resorts are always looking for new, innovative ways, to enhance a unique on-hill experience. While the wild aspect of the outdoors caters to more advanced riders and skiers, themed features/zones provide a great experience for all levels. I am sure we will see more of this in the future.

-Rich



More info:

http://www.burton.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Burton_US-Site/default/Team-NewsDetail?id=team-7985

Surprise Powder at Brighton

After riding for 5 hours straight with Torrey, Debbie, Carrie G, and myself we had sprayed pow, dropped drops, and embraced an amazing day on hill.

Debbie looks out after a nice ride down to Lake Mary



Mandatory hike, but it was packed.



Torrey goes poof



Torrey loves Miller

Sit Ski Backflip

Not only is this amazing, but the dude goes freaking huge and lands perfectly.

Travis Rice Super Natural

Do It Right... Riche Cameo

Sweet Movie from Upstate with some rail garden shots of the man himelf...

Be Safe Out There Incident

Powder time

The line before open


Debbie and Ben psyched


It was fun


I did f*** my board though. Surgery in process.Love that pow

Niche Wins Environmental Hardware Award at Ispo

While this isn't Animal Farm specific, I wanted to point this out. We are glad to see Torrey (a environmental science major) riding for arguably the most environmentally friendly snowboard company in the industry. Hats off to Niche for not giving into the economic pressures of cheap materials / designs that most other companies use.

More information here:

http://ispo.com/award/en/All-Sports/RESULTS/ECO-RESPONSIBILITY/HARDWARE?clb=55.112.147.1.77661

Manifest

This is great. This guy ARob seems like he was a class act, sad to see him go. Watch the whole thing, you'll thank me when you see Morg's shots in the credits.

Be Safe Out There

It's a well know fact that here at Animal Farm, we care about the safety and well being of all boarders. With the Protective League, we try to promote safety, fun and defying the dangers inherent in our sport. One of those dangers, however, can barely be mitigated by just wearing a helmet. I am referring to avalanches.

Rich and I found ourselves just outside ski area boundaries yesterday, and ended up setting off a very sizable avalanche. It was terrifying. Rich noticed some signs of danger, and recomended that I pull out of a gully into a safe zone after dropping a cliff. I did as he suggested, and just as I reached the ridge, the entire gully slid, and fractured over 100' all the way clear over to another ridge. The slide gained momentum, traveled through and number of trees and off some cliffs, and continued all the way down to the bottom of the zone.

We were both well aware that the avy conditions were poor, but with the limited coverage we did not imagine we would find ourselves in any avalanche prone terrain. Because of this, neither of us were carrying our beacons. Now for the take home message. Always be mindful of your surroundings, have the proper safety equipment, have a buddy, and listen to the signs. We were lucky that no one was taken for a ride, but were certainly shaken by the ordeal. We both left with a greater respect for the mountains, whether it be miles in the backcountry, or just out of bounds. Stay safe, stay alive.

Torrey hits the big time with Niche

We are proud of you!

Welcome To The Team: Torrey Lyons from Niche Snowboards on Vimeo.

http://snowboarding.transworld.net/1000168327/videos/niche-snowboards-welcomes-torrey-lyons/

It's snowing in Utah

Midwestern Boardin'

Josh and I spent a sunny Saturday riding the rope at Raging Buffalo (Thank you Connor and Kent for the help).

With both a slalom and a slopestyle contest going on, the left rope was the only one open.
With temperatures in the mid 40's and the good ole midwestern rays the features softened up right nice.

We snapped a few photos to document the experience.


A great place, and a most wonderful day turning, airing, grinding, and just plain wholesome snowboarding.
Though I wish we had stayed for the slalom race...

Love Hurts

Snowboarding is an amazing thing. The passion we feel for the sport is unparalleled. The combination of adrenaline, speed, air, and personal accomplishment can be nothing short of intoxicating. Sometimes, that feeling can bring us to places where we think we can do anything. Unfortunately, that feeling will disappear in an instant when reality comes crashing back into your sphere of consciousness. Here is a little reminder that we are human, and most of us, even more mundane.