The Middle/Path Project Episode Three – “Knowledge is Powder”
Check out the third installment of The Middle/Path Project "Knowledge is Powder" as Ian Wood and his crew head north to British Columbia, Canada to find some fresh snow and learn a thing or two about sustainable energy along the way. [video_responsive] The Middle/Path Project Episode Three - "Knowledge is Powder" from Sean Fithian on Vimeo. [/video_responsive] "Beyond Boarding is a crew of snowboarders out of BC that truly inspire. From shredding full winters with no fossil fuel consumption, to helping the less fortunate in third world countries, these guys are working to make the world a better place. We
Mont Blanc: The Land of Toys
He's one of the very few snowboarders in the world to be riding big lines both regular and switch. We're honored to have Julien 'Pica' Herry riding our bindings out in Chamonix. Check out the trailer for award winning movie Mont Blanc: The Land of Toys filmed by Luca Rolli: [video_responsive] Monte Bianco: Il paese dei balocchi - TRAILER from Luca Rolli on Vimeo. [/video_responsive] Official website: lucarolli.com Ski guided tours: snowhow.it Actors and Athletes: Davide Capozzi, Francesco Civra Dano, Andreas Fransson, Julien Herry, Giulia Monego Music: Score Squad - Off Limit ENG: This movie is a delicate documents intended
The Middle/Path Project Episode Two – “Tools of the Trade”
Check out Karakoram Regional Ambassador and Steven's Pass, WA local Ian Wood in the second episode of The Middle/Path Project. Ian and friends get away from a dismal Pacific NorthWest winter and head to Montana in search of snow. [video_responsive] The Middle/Path Project Episode Two - "Tools of the Trade" from Sean Fithian on Vimeo.[/video_responsive] Mid way through winter, our season was gone in the PNW. With a strong determination to stay off Jet planes, we searched for the nearest location with good snow. The forecast in Montana was looking good and we set our sights on big sky country,
When The Mountains Were Wild
Karakoram Global Ambassador Mitch Tölderer and his crew with Whiteroom Productions just released their newest film WHEN THE MOUNTAINS WERE WILD - A freeride journey to the Albanian Alps. Show your support and check out their incredible full-length freeride movie online. Available for purchase on Vimeo OnDemand at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/wild . [video_responsive] WHEN THE MOUNTAINS WERE WILD - A freeride journey to the Albanian Alps from Whiteroom Productions on Vimeo. [/video_responsive] On the search for mountain wilderness in Europe Mitch Tölderer and his crew jump in a van and drive down the Balkan peninsula. The journey leads them through wild landscapes passing some theatres of the Yugoslavian wars before
A Thank You to our Binding Builders/Friends
The past 6 months our entire crew (from the part timers to the full timers to even the owners here at Karakoram) has been working hard to get our product assembled, built to spec and shipped out the door. This year's build season has been fantastic and we're all getting excited for the start of the winter season. We're beginning to reach the end of our build season and some of our guys are preparing for their winters. Before we say goodbye for now to all of our part timers as they prepare to hibernate for the season, we want
The MIDDLE/PATH Project Trailer
We're starting to see movie trailers left and right and this one looks awesome. This comes from a few of our local boys here in the Pacific Northwest who were still able to make a movie happen despite a historically warm and low snow winter in much of the western half of North America. Instead of sticking around the dudes hit the road and got their pow fix and along the way learned a little bit more about the impact we have on our climate and our atmosphere. Check out Karakoram ambassador Ian Wood, Forrest Burki and friends this fall
Find Snowboarding: French Alps
Bjorn Leines and Thomas Delfino went on a splitboard journey in the French Alps this past May. Check out their full video here: [video_responsive] Find Snowboarding: FRENCH ALPS from Rome Snowboards on Vimeo. [/video_responsive] A topographic map is a beautiful thing, full of would-be lines, potential chutes and zones to explore. Potential is the key in this equation, since looking at something on paper is vastly different when you strap in at the top. Thomas Delfino has lived in the middle of these maps figuratively and physically. He has adventured into the FRENCH ALPS that surround his home in Grenoble
“Snowsurf” The Movie Trailer from Gentemstick
Fair warning: this one might be hard to watch after seeing the winter they just had in Japan. But you should watch it anyway. This movie teaser is from our friends at Gentemstick. The 4K Ultra-High Definition film features snow/surf legends Taro Tamai and Gerry Lopez along with Karakoram Ambassadors Alex Yoder and Forrest Shearer. Be on the lookout for tour dates and the release of "Snowsurf" The Movie this fall! [video_responsive] Snowsurf Trailer from My House Pictures on Vimeo. [/video_responsive]
Teaser for “Seasoned” a new movie from Will Film For Food
We are so stoked to see this teaser for "Seasoned" a new full length film by Aaron Hooper and our friends at Will Film For Food! Check it out for yourself and get stoked to see the whole video this fall. [video_responsive] "Seasoned" Teaser from Aaron Hooper on Vimeo. [/video_responsive] "'Seasoned' is about exploring all that winter has to offer from the very beginning all the way to that warm spring end. We partnered up with Saas Fee to spend the majority of the winter there and truly get "Seasoned". Starring Forrest Bürki, Wyatt Stasinos, Sammy Luebke, with Frederik Kalbermatten
Northwest Avalanche Center Benefit Warehouse Sale!
Calling all splitboarders of Washington state and the rest of the Northwest! Come on out to our shop in North Bend, WA to get the best deals you'll find anywhere on Karakoram bindings, accessories, and apparel all while supporting the Northwest Avalanche Center! Who?: You! You can contribute to our local avalanche center, NWAC! What?: We'll be selling both Prime bindings and Split 30 bindings along with accessories and apparel. When?: Sale only during 1pm-7pm, Monday-Friday, the week of August 17th-21st, 2015. Where?: 1546 Boalch Ave. NW, North Bend, WA How?: Buy a pair of Karakoram bindings, accessories, or apparel and a
Forever Ride Support Program
If your splitboard bindings are a few seasons old and looking a little beat up, don’t worry, Karakoram has your back! We have a comprehensive Forever Ride Support program that can restore your bindings to brand new function. When you send your bindings in to be refurbished, we do an in-depth inspection of all components, interfaces and hardware. For the original owner, worn or broken components are rebuilt or replaced under our “Forever Ride” policy for a nominal cost that covers the expense of materials and manufacturing time. Bindings come out functioning like new, and will continue to perform
Splitboarding BC and Alberta by Van
Words: Kyle Hansen Photos: Kyle Hansen and Brandon Huttenlocher I’m guessing you’ve heard this before: this past winter was terrible. Most winters, I expect to be able to go snowboarding or splitboarding at Snoqualmie Pass every single day. It’s pretty much what I’ve scheduled my life around since high school. This winter, warm weather left us skunked: we were looking at grass on cat tracks in January. So when March rolled around, long after all the Northwest ski hills shut down, I took a five-week sabbatical to spend some time in a van with a couple good friends (Jay Hergert and
Norway Trip Report from Kyle Miller
Our good friend Kyle Miller went on another adventure this past spring to the mountains of Norway! Take notes and get a good look at what Kyle's been up to. Also, if you'd like to keep with Kyle and all his adventures, follow him on Instagram: @kylemiller411 Words and photos: Kyle Miller It all started with a roundtrip plane ticket to Munich, Germany and an generalized plan to ski and stay with friends it two of the ski touring meccas of Europe Innsbruck, Austria and Tromso, Norway. I left the Cascades admist a bleak seasonal snowpack and days after attending and MCing the Mount Baker
Yuta Watanabe Alaska Trip Report
Japanese shredder Yuta Watanabe made it out to Alaska this spring shooting with Heart Films. Check out his trip report and be on the lookout for their new movie “Go Wild.”
New Men’s and Women’s T-Shirts!
Thanks to the creativity of our friend Tyler Toews, we're stoked to offer a new T-Shirt for both Men and now Women! Yes, we now have a women's specific t-shirt, sorry ladies if we we're a little late to the party on that but better late than never! Tyler Toews is a snowboarder, a mountain guide, and a fantastic mural artist out of Canada. His large scale work can be seen all across Canada and has even been building his own company Canadian Murals. Check out his work and learn more at www.CanadianMurals.com The shirt will be available in the Black
Getting Rowdy on Mt. Adams with Karakoram
Words, Photos and Video by Paul Stanley With the incredible stretch of warm, dry weather we've been having here in the Pacific Northwest, the volcano shredding has been firing in recent weeks. In our last blogpost we highlighted three volcanoes we went splitboarding on lately. One of them being Mt. Adams (12,280'/3,743 m). The trip we had on Mt. Adams was one worth talking a little more about. Mike, Russman and myself (Paul) made the climb up Mt. Adams with our friends Theresa, Adam and Saign. Our goal was not exactly to just climb the volcano, but also to go get
1 Week, Splitboarding 3 Major Volcanoes!
Okay, so maybe it was more like 7.5 days, but who's counting! Either way, we're stoked to splitboard and climb 3 major volcanoes within the Cascade Range here in such a short amount of time. Russell 'Russman' Cunningham and myself (Paul Stanley) were able to successfully and safely climb and ride all 3 peaks during the week; Mt. Baker, Mt. Shasta, and Mt. Adams. Each trip we we're joined by various friends and we couldn't have been more stoked to have them come along! First up was Mt. Baker. Sitting at 10,781 ft (3,286 m), Mt. Baker is one of the snowiest
Enter the Mind of Alex Yoder
"It's a special feeling when you remember to stop thinking in the mountains and just let gravity tell you what to do.” -Alex Yoder Yoder shifted his career over the past few seasons, and more recently became the only American to join the Gentem Stick team. He now spends much of the winter in Japan, digging deep into the perspective of the snow surf scene. Simultaneously, his style and approach to riding, and even living, have developed significantly. From exploring different ways of eating and cooking, to looking towards alternative medicine to stay healthy while chasing winter, Yoder has developed
Karakoram Prime Maintenance Video
[video_responsive] Karakoram Prime Bindings: Maintenance from Karakoram on Vimeo. [/video_responsive]
Saving Lives Through Avalanche Education with AIARE
Above photo: Zach Clanton (@zclanton on Instagram) For many of us here in U.S. the winter season has already come and gone, however it's never a bad time to get educated on avalanche safety. Check out this gut wrenching and informative short video from the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education. [video_responsive] AIARE - Saving Lives Through Avalanche Eduction from AIARE Avalanche Education on Vimeo. [/video_responsive]
Trip Report: Hanging Glacier Headwall/NW Couloir, Mt. Shuksan
(Words and Photos from Russell Cunningham): Before I start this writeup, I need to say that this Trip Report is entirely dedicated to my dear friend Liz Daley. She and I had talked for years about tagging the first ever snowboard descent on Mount Shuksan's Hanging Glacier Headwall, and without her infectious stoke even in her afterlife, I doubt that this trip would have happened. She was better and more proficient at this game of snowboard alpinism than all of us combined. Love you forever, Liz!! This past week I took a couple days off work at Karakoram to go
Liz Daley Tribute Video: Chamonixoxo
Get a look at this wonderful tribute video to Liz Daley put together by photographer Kt Miller and ski mountaineer Caroline Gleich. The three went on a trip together in Chamonix, France in February of 2014 to climb and ride some highly technical lines. Liz was caught in an avalanche in Patagonia this past September and her presence has been and will always be missed. [video_responsive] Chamonixoxo from Kt Miller on Vimeo. [/video_responsive]
The 2015 Mt. Baker Splitfest: It happened!
Yes! Despite the lack of snow this winter we we're still able to make the Mt. Baker Splitboard Festival happen. The lack of snow more so exists at the lower elevations of our mountains but up higher the snowpack is hanging in there. One of the concepts of a splitboard anyway is to get up higher, so there was no reason not to hold the event! Bryce making his way down a fun little ramp. Photo: Paul Stanley On day 1, we had enough time beforehand to go for a quick ride in some interesting and somewhat dangerous
Exploring the Land of the Rising Sun with Kyle Miller
Words and photos provided by Kyle Miller "Over the month of Febuary I had the good fortune to make a pilgrimage to Japan and see for myself what everyone was talking about with the waist deep snow to be found, epic sushi on the cheap and a culture filled with kindness and respect." "Simply put the rumors are true. I quickly got into a routine of waking up at 5a.m. to the alarm of avalanches falling off our roof, eating a bacon and egg breakfast and putting my board in the chair line at 7:00. We would ride bell to
Making the Most of a Dismal Winter
There is no question the entire Western half of the U.S. is having a rough Winter. Here in Washington State, splitboarding and ski touring at lower elevations has been a struggle and our ski areas are barely open if they aren't already closed. The Summit at Snoqualmie and now Mt. Baker, two major ski areas in our region are both closed until there is more snow, IF there is more snow. Weather forecasts don't look too promising unfortunately. Our mountains haven't seen any serious snowfall at lower elevations (below 6-7000 feet) since the end of December. Not only that, but heavy rains
Cat Boardin’ in Colorado With Weston Snowboards
We recently took a trip down to Colorado, not only for the SIA Tradeshow, but to get some snowboarding in as well. Since our winter has been so rough here in Washington State, it sure was nice to extend our stay and see how conditions were in the Rockies. Sure enough, the Rockies did not disappoint! First, we had to take care of some business in Denver for a few days. Here's Kyle "Handsome" looking like his usual handsome self in our booth at the 2015 SIA tradeshow. Before heading back home we linked up with our friends