Yodel

Go Fat Conditioning Program Death Spiral Edition

Go Fat Conditioning Program Death Spiral Edition
“Austin Smith had this great idea to head down to Antarctica with the Ice Axe Expedition crew last fall with Curtis Ciszek, Jake Price and me, with Jessa Gilbert as our guide. The goal was to create a little video, Endurance II, documenting our experience on the White Continent. As you can see, health and wellness were key. Scenic hikes, cold plunging, and a healthy diet of on-deck dogs. Toss in a couple inflatable penguin costumes to blend in with the locals and we had a trip of a lifetime.” Photos: Alex Pashley
Words John Erben

“This is so easy—the board is strapped to your feet!”

–Nick Perata

It could be the best one-line description of a first day snowboarding ever. In 1983, California skaters Pat Solomon, Fred Stern and Nick Perata made their own snowboards on a two-by-four press. “We used seven plies of maple, just like we would do with skateboards,” said Perata. “The Burton Backhills were out there, but we couldn’t afford them.”

They cut seat belts out of a beater car for bindings. After a rare 2-foot snowstorm hit the San Gabriel Mountains above Los Angeles, they drove up from Pasadena to Mt. Waterman. The ski area wouldn’t let them on the lifts, so they hiked up next to the area. Everything worked out fine.

Four decades later snowboarding is still easy. In some ways, even easier. Gear has evolved. Lifts are faster. They don’t hate us. Snowmaking works now. Splitboards let you climb with lighter packs. Nobody grills you about leashes. If you already skateboard, surf, BMX, swim, ski, wakeboard, parasail, climb, hunt, walk dogs, run crab gear, plant crops or hang drywall, you can probably snowboard now without “getting in shape.”

Back to Issue 22.2