Why Go Splitboarding?
Miikka Hast has put together a splitboard video series with Epic TV. Check out the first episode, Why Go Splitboarding:
Splitboarding Mt. Clemenceau
This past spring Karakoram Guide Ambassador Naoyuki Kato made his second attempt at climbing and riding the north face of Mt. Clemenceau. Read about his adventure below: Words by Naoyuki Kato 1. Introduction Deepest in the Rockies, Mt Clemenceau is far more remote than any mountains in the range. We headed to Red Rock Harbor, 150K east from Revelstoke, BC to launch our expedition. From there we kayaked windy sometimes wavy Kinbasket Lake to Wood Arm for 25K. The following day we started hiking old logging road in 60s with possibly 50kg backpacks on and skinned to tree line. Through
Nipple Deep Webseries: Splitboarding Alaska
Looks like our friends from True Color films had a good time camping out in Alaska. In this Nipple Deep RedBull webisode check out Stephan Maurer, Lisa Filzmoser, David Bertschinger Karg, Nicholas Wolken and Alvaro Vogel splitboarding and shredding. http://www.redbull.com/en/snow/stories/1331689222716/nipple-deep-chapter-1-ak-camp-out
Innovation Forever. Developing the PRIME Splitboard System
Mechanical design is funny process sometimes. You have an idea. You get stuck. You put the idea away for awhile until inspiration strikes again. You eventually come up with a solution. I've noticed another trend that has happened with our first release of the Split30 Splitboard System and now the PRIME Splitboard System, both designs stem from earlier designs we came up with. There was just an element we could not quite figure out with the initial designs so we went down a slightly different path. The end solution has always circled back to the initial design, sometimes it just
Karakoram Dreamlines 2nd Place Video
Second Place in the Karakoram Dreamlines Video contest goes to Simon Feigl. He has a slightly different take on what a Dreamline is. Simon broke his back and leg in a snowboarding accident and has chronicled his difficult path back to snowboarding and splitboarding. Despite a 26% permanent disability, Simon is still getting after it. Way to persevere! Keep on dreaming. [br] [video_responsive][/video_responsive]
Lucas Debari Ripping Pillows on his Splitboard
It's safe to say that Lucas Debari rips on his splitboard and Karakoram bindings. [video_responsive][/video_responsive]
Splitboarding is Fun
One of our favorite splitboard tours is a little couloir in Common Wealth Basin on Snoqualmie Pass. We can do the whole tour in about 4 hours door to door from our shop in North Bend, WA. It's a nice little morning split tour and we can get back to the shop and still get some work done. Here is a little video of the tour: [br] [video_responsive][/video_responsive] [br][br] Russell ripping the East Couloir. Russell was like, "Oh snap, that was fun!" [br] Thanks to Paul Bagels for putting the video together. Paul is pretty talented, so if
Mt. Baker Splitboard fest This Weekend
The Mt. Baker Splitfest is this weekend March 28-30. This will be the first public on snow demo for our Prime Splitboard System. Come on out and check out the new gear for 14-15. We will have seven sets of Primes Bindings available for demo and 16 sets of SL bindings available. Bindings will be set up Friday evening and Saturday evening. If you'd like to reserve a set of bindings contact chad@karakorambc.com with your boot size and day you would like bindings. Chad will confirm your reservation. Demos are free, though we suggest a donation of $20 with 100%
Miikka Hast: Splitboarding from Here to There
Miikka Hast has been having a great winter. Currently Miikka is in AK, but here is some video footage from his earlier trip to Switzerland. The Southern Alps were hit with some of the deepest powder in years. Miikka and his buddy Jonas were there to rip it up. [video_responsive] Miikka & Jonas - Back to Back 4/4 from Protest Boardwear on Vimeo.[/video_responsive] [br][br] [video_responsive] Miikka & Jonas - Back to Back 3/4 from Protest Boardwear on Vimeo.[/video_responsive]
Liz Daley: Powder Asphyxiation & Col des Cristaux; Chamonix
Words by Karakoram Ambassador Liz Daley: I've spent the last month basically in a little place called Trenchtown, Italy. It's a magical spot 15 minutes from Chamonix filled with fine Italian espresso, spines, awesome tree skiing, steep faces right off the tram tower, the deepest of powder snow and melt in your mouth pizza. If it's not snowing it's bluebird and everyone's always smiling, even the locals. We bought an unlimited Mont Blanc tunnel pass so we were free to go over there at our leisure, maybe even just for dinner if we decided to take a rest day from
Spliting UP Volume 1: Splitboarding with Kevin Sansalone
Kevin Sansalone has decided that this is the year to get into splitboarding. We're going to be following Kevin's exploits as he grows from a backcountry booter legend to a backcountry splitboarder. Here's a little video showing Kevin making his first splitboard.
Splitboard Season Just Around the Corner
With Splitboard season just around the corner, most of us mountain people are getting ready. Summer is changing to Fall, the anticipation builds. We are taking inventory of our gear, waxing boards or skis, and sharpening edges. Some of us are looking to upgrade our backcountry kits with a new set of bindings, a new board or a new back pack. We’re improving our fitness so we can take that third or forth lap. One thing that is sometimes forgotten is to ask the questions, “How am I going to stay safe this year? How am I going to improve
Summer Splitboarding
Not all of us have the means to migrate to the Southern Hemisphere to follow Winter. Whether it is lack of funds, a full-time job, or family commitments there are still a few of us that yearn to slide on snow after our Spring snowpack dwindles into Summer suncups. Here in the Pacific Northwest we are lucky enough to have a deep snow pack that lasts late into the Summer.
Story of a Splitboard Binding Made in the USA
I was just born in North Bend, Washington, but where did I really come from? These guys designed me, but many more people helped bring me to life. I’m proud of my Washington roots, 95 percent of my parts are made by suppliers around the Puget Sound and the Greater Northwest. Here is my story:
Karakoram Splitboard Binding Maintenance Video
Maintaining your Karakoram bindings is very simple and will keep your gear performing at its best. Check out this new video Russell put together showing the basics of maintaining your bindings.
Where Do Splitboard Bindings Come From?
A couple days ago we decided that we wanted to share more with Karakoram users about how Karakoram the company (Bryce, Tyler, Russell and Robert) works. So we are going to start doing more blog posts about the inner workings of our small forward thinking company. This first post should hopefully give you some insight into how we innovate and create.
Alaskan Dreams: My Wilderness Experience
What is this all about? To find one’s self here, complete with a beating heart and inflatable lungs? To find that we have legs, arms, and a mind that thinks… WHY, are we here?
Karakoram Splitboard Binding Set Up Video
In the coming weeks we will be releasing new set up, use and maintenance videos for Karakoram products. This first video is a set up video that applies to Karakoram 2012-13 bindings.
SIA, ISPO and Austrian Splitboarding (Trade Show Detox)
Before starting a business in the snowboard industry I used to think that I’d snowboard a lot more if I worked with snowboards every day. Little did I know that trade show season falls right in prime snow season. Trade show prep, OR, SIA and ISPO basically take up all of January and February. This was our third year at the trade shows so we were a bit more prepared, but it is always exhausting being on your feet all day and talking for eight hours straight. To make matters worse the brilliant planners of SIA and ISPO decided to
Mt. Baker Splitboard Festival
The Mt. Baker Splitfest is March 22-24. Demos on Saturday and Sunday. The Raffle supporting the NWAC is Saturday night, Grand prize is a Jones Solution with Karakoram Carbon SL bindings. We will also be raffling off a set of Split30 bindings and 20 sets of board clips. Come on up for the festivities!
Mitch and Bibi Splitboarding Praxmarerkarspitze
Mitch Toelderer sent me this picture a couple weeks ago pointing to his next splitboard mission.
SL and Carbon SL Splitboard Bindings
[button bgcolor="#BC2D30" textsize="24px" link="https://www.splitboardbindings.com/store/#!/~/product/category=925319&id=18150492"]Buy This[/button] We've received many requests from customers to put our Air Flow Highback with Ride-Stride on the SL chassis. We now have a few of these built up and stocked in our store. The Carbon SL comes with our carbon fiber highack and the SL (Dupont Zytel Highback) comes with the Air Flow Highback with Ride-Stride. Retail price on the SL (Dupont Zytel Highback) is $749.99.
October Splitboarding in Tahoe
Story by Allison Lightcap, Photos By Seth Lightcap Have you ever had the feeling that Old Man Winter was going to come early? I started to get this feeling in Tahoe a few weeks ago when I saw the squirrels rushing around collecting food. They knew what was up. Then I got this subconscious urge to clean out the garage and find all my winter stuff. I never like to clean the garage. Something was seriously screwy. But then all of a sudden it made perfect sense. Tahoe got dumped on last week of October!
Halloween Fun
We brought in the robots, dragons, ewoks, devils, frogs, cookie monsters, and mad scientists to help build for the day.
New Colors for Split30 Splitboard Bindings
[br] For 2012-2013 we've decided to add two new colors to the Split30 Splitboard Bindings, white and red. We're big fans of the black, but we wanted to give customers a couple more options to choose from. I really like the way the red splitboard bindings pop on my board, but I'd have to say the white splitboard bindings are my favorite because they remind me of a Storm Trooper. Split30 splitboard bindings will be available in September.
Karakoram Splitboard Heel Lock Down Update
I just put together a new video for the heel lock down showing more details. Check it out. In our endless journey to make splitboard equipment the best it can be, Karakoram will be releasing a new heel lock down system for 2012-13. The heel lock down will be compatible with all Karakoram Splitboard Bindings (Split30, SL and Prime) starting from 2010. The purpose of the heel lock down is to allow splitboarders to skate more efficiently on flat terrain, and traverse and side step without skins on in tour mode. The Karakoram Heel Lock Down will be available for
Spring Time in the North Cascades
The North Cascades have to be one of my favorite places to tour. We are pretty spoiled with the variety of mountainous terrain we have within a three hour drive Seattle. The North Cascades are a little different than the rest of the mountains in Washington. They seem a bit more grand, maybe it’s the higher elevation, maybe it’s the larch groves, maybe it’s just that I always end up going to the North Cascades when have a bit more time to tour on my splitboard. What ever it is I always have a great time splitboarding up north. This
Mt Shasta and the Great Pleiadian Eclipse Alignment
“On May 20th, 2012, for the first time in 26,000 years the sun, the moon and the constellation responsible for our evolution and ascension, the mysitc Pleiades, [aligned] in a spectacular total solar eclipse directly over one of the most powerful, mysterious, spiritual vortexes in the world: the mighty Mount Shasta” (http://www.divinetravels.com/Shasta.html). Chris, Tyler and I drove down from Seattle to meet up with the Jones, TGR, twsnow and Further crew, for this was a once in 26,000 year event we couldn’t miss. Anticipation was high and everyone was on the look out for Lemurians, UFOs and Crystal Cities ascending.
Spring Time Splitboarding
[br]Once a year, whether you live in the northern or southern hemisphere, the earth’s spinning axis tilts towards the sun. This has a profound impact: days get longer and temperatures rise. Just about every eco-system on the planet responds to this. Just as life has evolved to use water, so has it evolved to use sunrays. It’s Spring Time! And every year this seems to elicit a population-wide increase in happiness levels.
Mt. Baker Splitboard Fest Recap
The third Mt. Baker Splitboard festival was great time. The last two we worked up until the last minute to finish off prototypes and demo bindings. This year we were a little bit more prepared, but we still rolled in a little late for the Demo set up on Friday evening. We’ll be on time next year… I always look forward to the Mt. Baker Splitboard fest because it is the time of year that I actually get to ride my snowboard a bit more.
Neil Provo Splitboarding in Silverton
[br]There are some lucky people that get to follow the snow for a living. I think everyone who loves to ride has done it or wishes they could pull away from their 8-5 job and live the dream of riding powder everyday. Neil Provo is one of those lucky people. Neil has teamed up with fellow Outdoor Research Ambassadors Zack Giffin and Molly Baker to chase storms in their "Tiny House." They've followed the snow to Silverton Colorado. I wish I was there as it's raining here in the PNW... Click here for more info on the OR Sidecountry sessions.
Winchester Lookout Trip: A Magical Return to Winter
Just got this trip report from our friend Kael Martin. I’m incredibly jealous of the snow he got to shred last weekend. Heading deep into the Northern Cascade mountains provided an incredibly satisfying and refreshing start to the 2011/2012 snowboard season. Many uncertainties nearly hampered our trip plans, but in the end it all came together and we were thoroughly rewarded for our persistence. We all gathered in Bellingham on Friday night and set out to the Winchester Lookout via the Twin Lakes Trail very early Saturday morning. Almost 4 miles out on the skin track were alarmed as we
Vote Karakoram for the ISPO Brandnew Award (One click to vote!)
Hello Karakoram Family, We have an easier way to vote for us for the ISPO Brandnew Award. Click the "like" button below to vote for us. Thank you all for your support! -Bryce and Tyler [br] [br] [br] [br]
Vote Karakoram for the ISPO BRANDNEW Award
Hello Karakoram Supporters, Please vote for us for the ISPO Brandnew Award. The ISPO Brandnew award is the largest start-up company competition in the sporting goods industry. With your help we can win this. The process for voting is 1.Click the link below 2. Select "vote for your favorite" 3. Select Karakoram from the menu 4. Scroll to the bottom of the "video" window and select "Like" button Thank you everyone for your support!!! Bryce and Tyler http://www.facebook.com/ispo.brandnew.awards?sk=app_299646646729963
Karakoram Split30 Splitboard System Video
We just finished up a new product video showcasing our Split30 Splitboard System.
Jones Solution Video
Check out the new Jones Solution Video. Jeremy is riding the Snowboard Mag Editor's Choice splitboard set up and Backpacker's Ultimate Splitty Setup: the Jones Solution and Karakoram Split30 Splitboard System.
Backpacker’s “Best in Snow”: Split30 Splitboard System
Snoqualmie, WA October 19, 2011 – Karakoram has been honored as a recipient of a 2011 Backpacker magazine Editors’ Choice Snow Award, the most prestigious award in the outdoor industry, given annually to products in recognition of their outstanding innovation in design, materials and/or performance. Backpacker Editor-In-ChiefJonathan Dorn and his staff of editors and testers presented the Karakoram Split30 Splitboard System with the award at the annual Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Salt Lake City, Utah on Thursday, August 4, 2011. In total, nine manufacturers were honored as recipients of the first-ever Editors’ Choice Snow Award. Using the same rigorous