Believe it or not, this isn’t a Twilight blog. That being said, I’m super stoked about all the Team Jacob fans that are out there who checked out the pics yesterday. I can’t believe how cool the Twilight community is online! I’m a big Twilight fan, and hopefully we’ll get the chance to snap some more behind-the-scenes pics of the set… but for now, back to our regular programming!

I had some time last night to edit up a video from my day on my new Malolo board on Saturday at Whistler Blackcomb and also the last good powder day we had at Cypress. There’s a little more footage of me riding this time, and also I had to feature the rad shirt I got from Zac at Hybrid Sessions… so make sure you watch till the end of the vid. It’s pretty funny. Check out the video below:

It’s nearing the end of the snowboard season, and almost time to switch it up to surfing. I’m going to get one more weekend in at the end of April with the famous Miss Shay from Shayboarder at the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler Blackcomb. Should be awesome.

Thanks Zac for the awesome shirt! Somehow you could predict the future that it would match my new board.

I’ve been working hard at work this week to make sure I get my time in and all my work done before the Easter long weekend. Gotta leave for the ferry early on Thursday, and it’s off to my favourite spot in the whole world… Tofino! Surfing for 4 glorious blissful days. Too bad the forecast is rain all weekend, but that’s not going to stop me from getting excited about finally getting back in the water and making some turns.

Today’s a photo post. Tomorrow — I shall post the video.

I have been eagerly wanting to ride my new Malolo around, so Saturday we went up to Whistler Blackcomb in an attempt to find some powder. We knew it was going to be hard — there was lots of new snow from the week, but all of it had been poached, and it was 2 days since the last snowfall.

We headed up to Whistler Blackcomb and had a really great, sunny day. We did a few groomer runs to start out… I really liked the feel of my Malolo on the groomers. I would say surprisingly it’s almost better on the groomers than my Feelgood. Must be the taper.

It wasn’t too busy where we were… we took the Glacier Express up… lots of little pockets here and there and really not many people to be seen. And warm enough to get a sunburn! Yeah!

We soon got bored of the groomers and I was itching to get my board on some powder, but there was none to be seen, so we spotted a spot we wanted to hike to and board down. This spot looked like it was still full of the good stuff.

So we started rode up the Jersey Cream chair and rode through some gladed runs (nice stashes to be found in there), and took 7th Heaven up. We hiked about 15 minutes before we saw this little hut. It was a great view throughout the entire hike.

30 minutes later and we still had our work cut out for us. We hiked all the way to the top of that peak and more.

Here I am, 60 minutes later and definitely getting tired. We stopped lots to take photos and videos but I was definitely huffing and puffing.

A look back from where we came. Yup.. all the way from that distant chairlift. We really didn’t do anything special compared to Tawcan and his friends but it was far for me!

Finally we got to the spot where we could drop in. The ride was short for the amount of hiking, only about 10-15 seconds… but it was glorious. My Malolo just glided over the snow… I barely had to lean back… so easy to make those powder turns. Ahhhhhh.

So I wanted to make sure my board was right for me, and I’m glad we went out of our way to try that little experiment. I’m completely in love with my Malolo for just about every mountain experience. My Burton Malolo review was successful. I was riding clouds all day… it’s perfect for me.

Video to come soon!

Ah yes, the board I’ve been lusting over for the past year. The 2009/2010 Burton Malolo snowboard. Back in October I featured the 2008/2009 Burton snowboard lineup, and I was pretty sure I wanted the Malolo. But I didn’t like the board graphic.

The Malolo has everything I want in a board: built for powder, but still good on groomers. A stiff board, but soft in the nose and with the S-Rocker. It’s tapered of course, wider than an average board, set back in the stance, Burton’s ICS system, has been reviewed to have amazing float, and is turned up in the nose… ahhhh *sigh*.

I’ve been eagerly following Hoon’s blog, hoping he’d give me some more information about next year’s Malolo. So what a surprise when early this afternoon I received a lovely package in my inbox with some photos of next year’s 2009/2010 Malolo (pictured above). And the board graphics were the coolest I’ve seen yet. Colourful bases for photos, and a clean top graphic with lots of space for custom diecuts. It comes in sizes 149cm, 154cm, 158cm, 162cm, and 166cm. It’s pretty much a guy’s board but women can ride the smaller sizes.

Later today I receive a call from Allan saying his coworkers told him there was a Burton sample sale on our side of town and he was there… and there were amazing deals on everything. Of course I wanted to go. So after work we headed over there to check it out.

Let me say this in my defense: I DID NOT intend to buy anything. I just wanted to take pictures.

So imagine my surprise when the first thing I set eyes on when I walked in the door was the Malolo.

If there is any snowboard in this world that was made for me… it is the Malolo. “A soul surfer with a heart for freestyle.” Malolo means “flying fish” in Hawaiian, and features a surfy design, with surfer dudes on it, peace signs, and even a surf van on one of the boards. My board features a surfer dude in the middle of a gladed trees up to his waist in powder. YES.

But wait — it gets better. I needed a 149cm board, and the sample sale only had ONE of each board size. The sale– $400 for a retail $800 board. Brand new. Seriously. SERIOUSLY. And the guy went into the back and lo and behold… found me the only 149cm Malolo in the city. NEXT season’s board not even being sold yet.

It was fate.

I couldn’t pass it up. It was handcrafted in Canada. The perfect colour, size, and style for me.

So I brought my beautiful new board home. So much for my budgeting. But hey — I would’ve bought the board anyway in 8 months so why not save 50%?

And even my Quaatchi Twins like them! (Yes, that is our favourite hockey playing Olympic mascot on my slippers… )

Here’s my new quiver. One beat up falling apart board for groomers. And one gorgeous sleek panther of a board for powder.

I’m hoping to catch some pow on the weekend! TGIF!

For anyone who would like to go to the Burton Sample Sale, it’s still on tomorrow, and it’s the last day. The address is 236 West 7th, Suite #207. The sale is on till 8 PM and features only one of each new board for next season, and a number of softgoods too!

When it snowed 6 cm at Whistler recently, I tell you — my heart was in my chest. I CANNOT wait for this year’s snowboard season.

I’d like to do a mini preview of some of the cool snowboards that I’m super excited about this year.

Let’s start with Burton. Anyone who knows me knows that I love Burton. Sure, they’re the big corporation but I really do like the quality of their gear. Not to mention I’m super excited about going to Burton JAPAN in a month! (My work trip got pushed back unfortunately, until the middle-end of November).

This year Burton is introducing a new system called “EST” (Extra Sensory Technology). From Burton’s website, “EST™ stands for Extra Sensory Technology. Its  focus on the ability to feel and read the snow is essential no matter where or what you ride. EST breaks free from traditional thinking, offering seamless flex and the purest connection between you and your terrain. This creates super natural feel, control, and response unlike anything you have ever ridden before.” Part of this is the mounting system on boards called “The Channel”. Apparently they’ve tried something like this before in the past, but it wasn’t super great. This year, The Channel is said to provide more flexibility in terms of your mounting angle and centering options. Not just that, but with the different footbed options available, it’s designed to help you “feel” the snow better. Who knows if it is actually any good or not. I guess we’ll find out once the snow flies! To find out more about EST and The Channel, go here on Burton’s site.

Burton’s Custom X Board is looking as good as ever in 2009. This popular board is well suited for All Mountain riding. It’s pretty much the “Do It All” board. Keep in mind that this board is stiff and geared for high performance. It also comes in a wider version which is pretty sweet for you boys.

The Malolo is a great board for both men and women, and it’s something I’m seriously considering getting. It’s got a powder tapered shape (toned down from the Fish), and it’s meant for powder but still should be able to handle the whole mountain. Terje likes to ride this board, and hey, can Terje really ever be wrong?

The Fish! Ah the Fish… a board I seriously want to get but everyone is telling me it’s not really worth it and it’s leagues above my skill level. They’re probably right. If I lived in Alaska, I would buy this board. But for icy groomer days at Cypress… no, definitely not. I would seriously consider this as a second or third board in my quiver once I get some more powder experience. We’re going catboarding in February and I have to admit that I’m tempted by this board for that sole reason… *sigh*. But as my friends say, why buy a board for just one day? An improvement to the Fish this year? The S-Rocker. Keeps your nose up a bit more in powder and increases your float. And the retro design is awesome.

The Burton Hero is something I would definitely consider if I was a guy. It’s a reverse-camber board (V-Rocker technology between your feet), basically ripped off from the popular Skate Banana last year, except with Burton’s solid base and core technology. I’ve been reading a lot of reviews on this board from early testers and it’s all good. If you’re looking for a board that’s sick in the park and on powder, I hear this is the best compromise for both worlds. Excellent for pressing and pop, not to mention the pressure distribution edges which is meant to help you carve, kinda like Libtech’s Magnetraction. I love the design on the Women’s Lipstick (the female version of the Hero), but I think I’d have to be more into the park to make it worthwhile. This is a late release board, so you probably won’t see it in stores until the end of the year-ish.

The ConDOM is another late release board, but is even more park-oriented than the Hero. When you stand on it, none of the edges of your board touch the ground. It’s got Zero Camber (basically convex all around) so you can make ridiculous landings on your tricks, and jib, butter etc etc… I have a feeling my friend Jay would like this board….

By the way, I just gotta put a picture of the Burton Love‘s in here, because DAMN! That’s a hot looking board. I don’t know if I’d look like a cool guy riding that board, but it would definitely be interesting if a GIRL was to!… hah. Apparently they’re all retro Playboy photos. Awesome!

Let’s talk a bit about Libtech. Aside from always being innovative, Libtech has got AWESOME designs this year in my opinion. Actually, I find the Burton designs (especially on the Malolo) to be WAY too toned down for my tastes. I don’t understand releasing bright funky clothing and then putting dull designs on boards… but ANYWAY. So Libtech’s got some great boards this year.

The Skate Banana… the board that started it all. This board just blew up last year; I started seeing it everywhere, and it was selling out in stores. Basically the pioneer of the reverse camber, Libtech’s Skate Banana made it possible to go from park to pow effortlessly. It’s designed mainly for park and tricks, but I’ve heard amazing things about it in powder. This board has won a whole whack of awards, and is definitely worth checking out.

Some other boards that are interesting from Libtech … the TRice board and the TRS BTX (Banana boards that have Magnetraction for sticking landings and carving), and the Cygnus X1 board (a premium board with pop and vibration reduction).

And you gotta love Rome Snowboards, from the guys who left Burton to start their own company. Rome’s also got new Reverse Camber boards this year (can you tell they are all the rage?).

The Rome Mod is a high-end twin, that’s well rounded with lots of pop (but still soft) and decent in powder. Friends tell me that it’s very stable and holds an edge well, but it’s a little bit of a pricey board. The Rome Artifact also looks good with the reverse camber, and has similar features to the Skate Banana or the Hero. Good for the park and the rest of the mountain, and designed for ollies and pop.

A small shoutout to Prior Snowboards, who make excellent boards at home here in BC, in Whistler. They also do custom boards! Definitely check them out. The Spearhead looks particularly interesting to me, especially since I’m looking for a powder board… I’m seriously considering them but I don’t really know anyone who rides them. Are they good quality boards? Will it hold up? How’s the construction?

Phew, that’s it for now. More on other 2008/2009 snowboard gear coming up soon!

(P.S. As I write this post, the Canucks whooped the Flames 6-1. Luongo was huge and holy crap, Hansen is quickly becoming a favourite of mine. Only team in the NHL with a perfect record w00t w00t!)