ARCHIVES: Mark Watson double frontflip

You might have seen some doubles from the comp at Bearsden over the weekend. Just over a year ago (2nd June 2010) Watson stuck the double front at Garthdee. Was he the first ever? Can't find any examples from before then, so he might well be! What's more, he's still got 'em....

DRY HUMOUR - #1

Due to the 'permanent misplacement' of the waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof (but sadly not idiot-proof) camera, there's not been much orginal content from the drymat recently. Time to dig into the archives, then, and launch the new feature 'Dry Humour'. In this first entry, Chris Gatenby reminds us why it's good to get the ol' nose up when going for the flatbar:



More coming soon. Feel free to submit your own clips of carnage from the mat to damagedheads@googlemail.com

Chris passes ISIA in Hintertux

Congrats to B-line rider Chris Mahony for achieving ISIA status! After passing the last of his many courses, Chris went out and celebrated in the usual manner. As a result he appears in Natalie's latest vid a little worse for wear....

BASI biz with Ben

BK sat down with Nicol and Kris Bell to talk BASI when he was up for a course last month. After talking shop the guys headed out to the hill for a quick burn in the sun. Back 1, front 3 and cab underflip from Kris, clean as anything! Stick around til the end for a nice Rutger cameo.

John Barnes rides Hemel

Erstwhile Garthdee regular John Barnes has been shredding the Hemel Hempstead Snow Centre while he's been studying in London, and sent us this edit of a random rail session. Nice skills John, and even nicer tighty whiteys! Great edit from Onboard filmer Will Nangle as well:

BP + BK + QP =

So Barry 'frontflip führer' Parker went for something that we're pretty sure has never been landed at Garthdee. Ben joined in but sadly neither of them became the first to stick it. You don't get much closer than this though! Great effort from the guys, we'll see it stomped soon.

Natalie in Hintertux

Nat's out in Hintertux just now doing a couple of BASI courses, and has sent us these vids of the pow they've been getting out there. Not really what you want when you're doing a freestyle course but what can you do... Chris Mahony's out there too, so hopefully there'll be a team edit on the way soon.

Just one trick: Andy Laird

Lairdy's so good that he can time his landing with the music coming out of the hut. Can't teach that....

Saturday rails with Andy, Euan and Jon

Best rail session in a while last night, these three boys were on fire. Just one problem....

Matt's b-day edit

With Matty G gaining a year last Wednesday, it was a good excuse to fire up the BBQ, have a shred and get a few scoops. BP put together this edit from the night, which included a flat-down box session on the table. Rutger gave the flatbar some much-needed love as well, with a 5050 to back 1 out. Banger!

Up-box session 3

All good trilogies come in threes. This will be the last up-box vid - hopefully the setup's different next week.



Just Matt in this one, and hats off to him for the effort. Got to love the lack of enthusiasm from the crowd when he gets it - they'd clearly rather see another slam....

ARCHIVES: The Art Of Seduction with Nicol P

So you've got to Tignes after an epic journey from Aberdeen. Only problem is, your luggage didn't make it. The airport assures you the bags will arrive in a few hours. What's a guy to do? Why, set up in the nearest pub and drink the blues away of course. Then get on the bus, cut a rug, throw stuff at Ben, and then get to the main event: chatting up an unsuspecting French lass! Looks like Nicol even had a secret signal to the bus driver to dim the lights at the opportune moment. Fellas: that's how it's done!

Up-box session 2

Another Wednesday, another up-box session. This time Matt Gibson and Fin Bremner get all Scott Stevens-y, with cameos from Nicol and Sophie Addison.

Up-box session

A return to drymat footage after a long hiatus with this clip from Wednesday night's box session. Euan gets pressy, Andy gets steezy and Lara has speed issues....

TURNING JAPANESE: Boarderline team edit

As promised, here's a bit more footage from the Japan crew. Boarderline riders Barry P and Natalie shred Niseko in a wee team edit:



Natalie gets the Torstein treatment with a top-to-bottom followcam run through the park, there's a cameo from super-steezy Craig Rumbles, then BP closes the show with a lazy frontflip and back 3 off the booter. Hud 'at!

Ben tears up Tignes X-Games park

BK has sent us this video of his day sessioning the X-Games park in Tignes:



Banger of a kicker run: switch back 5 stale, back 7 melon, massive back 1 tail! This was apparently his last day in Tignes before shooting off, and looks like he went out on a high.

Fraz shreds the Cas

Fraz fires down the Coire Cas on a mad sunny Sunday up Cairngorm, capping off a rad weekend's shred. As this was the last run of the day most folk had heavy legs and/or heatstroke, but Fraz was still charging aboot, shralping the slush and gapping the moguls.



Always a stoker to ride with Fraz; he's forgotten more about shredding than most of us will ever know. Easily the cheeriest guy on the hill as well!

A'deen in AK

Last month Robin Parkinson and Chris Leigh, AKA The Powder Chickens, embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the holy land of freeriding: Alaska....

The Powder Chickens Alaska 2011 trip report

Background

It’s been tough to know where to start this. The cost, the 50 hour/4 flight trip it takes to get to Valdez, the constant weather model inspection required to figure out if you might fly on a day and if not what other plans can be put in place rapidly, or simply talking about the desire to do the pilgrimage to Alaska. I decided it was best to just give a bit of a feel for our AK experience rather than thousands of words and let the video do some of the talking too.

Euan's Road Trip - the rundown

Euan Linn took a break from killing it at Garthdee to take in an epic road trip to some of North America's finest resorts. Here's his report:

So, recently, my girlfriend and I embarked on a 2-and-a-half week road trip round the US and Canada.  We drove 2000 miles, through 5 States, 1 Province and rode 10 different resorts. And it never stopped snowing.

First stop was the ever friendly US Customs at SLCity International Airport who detained us for several hours while they searched our bags (which miraculously made it through Charles De Gaulle unharmed) and interrogated us. Luckily the KGB training kicked in and we were admitted to the Land of the Free.

Two big bad Barry frontflips at Glenshee

More BP action: after the Stepchild Rail Jam was done and dusted, the big man went about flipping off anything he could find, including the sketchy diagonal-over-downrail line! Madness.



It was a grand day, with heaps of A'deen folk in attendance. Sam's got some photos on the Whitelines site, check them out here.

BP's Scottish edits

Barry may have missed out on some Japan shred, but he's been doing his best to make up for it. Within a week of being back in the country he'd clocked up trips to the Lecht, Glenshee (twice!) and the 'gorms. With GoPro in hand he got enough footage for a couple of edits, take a look:

TURNING JAPANESE: The End.

It's been a while, and the big news since the last post is that the Japan crew are back in town. Due to the earthquake it made sense for them to just write off the rest of the season and get home safe. It's a shame; was always a treat to see a new vid from Barry in the inbox. Apparently he's got one last one on the way, but for now Natalie shares her thoughts: 

Due to all that is happening in Japan just now we have had to cut our trip short by a month. We are all very sad by this and our hearts go out to all the Japanese affected by this terrible disaster; such kind, nice people, they really don't deserve this but does anyone anywhere? Sadly these things are becoming common occurrence worldwide. Therefore, I think this is a good time to re-cap on what has been an amazing first season for all of us, and in Japan no less. From our crazy, random first few days in Tokyo ending in one banger of a night out, to the insanely amazing Japan POW (it's all that people say it is and more), ending in some more crazy night time shenanigans.

Sam's new website

Injuries have kept team rider Sam Longmire off his board this year, but he's been keeping busy. As well as designing the B-B header logo, he's launched a new website for his photography.

Ben Kinnear, backside 5 at the Lecht from November 2008, as seen in Whitelines

Sam's been far and wide with his camera, from Indo to NZ, Ireland and the States. Subjects include Jon Addison and Andy Laird sessioning Aberdeen handrails, Nick Law surfing in Nusa Tengara, and 2006's G8 marches in Edinburgh. His shots have featured in many high-profile magazines, most recently in a piece on Aberdeen urban shred in Whitelines issue 95.

Head over to samuellongmire.co.uk to see his portfolio.

LSR Project blog now online

The new LSR Project blog is now online, and you can check it out here.

Ben is out in Tignes as we speak, with three of our favourite drymat rats: Kris Bell, Fin Bremner and Lara Wood.

Unlike most camps that summarise the week's events once it's all over, LSR are releasing videos and photos every day, with maximum input from the groms themselves. Here's the first riding footage, edited by Fin:




Speaking of the wee man, he'll be riding in the final of the Quiksilver Radar comp this Friday, and we wish him all the best. Check back at the weekend  to see how he got on.

Matt joins the crew in Japan

After hearing about all the good times Nippon-side, it was only a matter of time before someone went to join the party. Sure enough, Matt Gibson got over there for a two-week trip, here's his report:

From the 19^th February to the 6^th March me and my girlfriend took a wee…very long hop across Eurasia to check in with Barry, Natalie, Lil’ Andy, Chris, Craig and Steve in Japan. So first things first, it was a full unbridled success of a trip!

Nicol's BASI 2

A few weeks ago Nicol headed over to Aviemore in search of his BASI 2 teaching qulification. Obviously he stormed it, and has dropped us a line about what it was like getting techy for two weeks on the Scottish hills....

So first pic's the whole nine BASI 2 crew, ten if you include Mark Petty the trainer. We had all sorts in there: one mellow guy who has served 22 years in the army, to one funny immature Cockney called Chesney named after Chesney Hawkes who kept on singing 'I am the one and only.....'

It was a very mixed bag as far as the weather was concerned for the two weeks; we had cloud, mist, sheet ice, 60mph winds and we even managed to fit in a bluebird day with no winds and freshly pisted, squeaky 'get your toe side carve on' snow.

The days consisted of more-or-less first to last lifts followed by 2 hour lectures at Glenmore Lodge, at least that was the first week anyway. Due to high winds we had to travel to the good old Lecht on the second week. As you will see by the pictures, some of us were defeated by the snow on the roads at the Bridge of Brown, and had to take the long route around.

There was so much we all learned on the course that it would take a good while to write it all down. Everything from finding a solid stance to short turns down steeps (my least favorite part) to carving. Everyone who did the course really enjoyed it and also improved a great deal. We had a great trainer in Mark Petty, who has a wealth of experience and knowledge and also reckoned he had never ridden  ice quite like what we had on the second Tuesday in his whole career. If any of you are thinking of trying out a BASI course I would highly recommend it, not only for teaching but for improving your board skills.

Find out about BASI courses here. Alternatively it's worth looking into Aberdeen Snowsports Centre's rookie instructor training courses, call 01224 810 215 for all the info.

Valdez beckons

B-B is getting all over the place these days. Later this month Robin Parkinson will be reporting back from a once-in-a-lifetime trip to AK, probably the world's most number one freeride destination. Here's a wee preview from the man himself:

So with all the wild weather we had been having we decided it was only right to head somewhere even more wild than Scotland - is that possible? So we booked ourselves in to 6 days of heli-boarding / Cat madness in Valdez with Valdez Heli Camps, Alaska to see what all the fuss is about as its only a bit of snow after all isn't it? We fly Aberdeen - Heathrow - Seattle - Anchorage - Valdez which will take 2 days to complete. Just gotta hope for good flying weather when we get there!

Some Valdez facts:

• Valdez is located at 61°7′51″N 146°20′54″W.

• Valdez is near the head of a deep fjord in Prince William Sound in Alaska. It is surrounded by the Chugach Mountains, which are heavily glaciated. Valdez is the northernmost port in North America that is ice-free year-round.

• According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 277.1 square miles (717.6 km), of which, 222.0 square miles (574.9 km) of it is land and 55.1 square miles (142.7 km) of it (19.88%) is water.

• According to the Weather Channel, Valdez is the snowiest place in the United States, with an average of 297.7 inches per year. In winters past, they have had years when more than 100 inches of snow fell in 5 separate months (although not in the same year).

Leaving on the 19th of March, so we'll keep you posted...

Havit!

Cheers Robin, safe travels. Don't forget to check back for stories of helis, pow, and Hud At Ye Bam stickers in wierd places....

WILL IT SHRED? - Beeracuda

The warm weather's been creeping back in recently, so we're looking at a product that should be kept in mind once barbeque season hits. The Burton Beeracuda is an insulated sleeve that comfortably takes 4 tins of Tennent's, with a pocket on the shoulder strap for another. Burton's man in Aberdeen, Emmet Strachan, was charged with giving it a spin.

After conducting a thorough test, Emmet had this to say:

"what ye fkin lookin at ye fkin bawbag  *hic*  ye ken who ah am min? ah'm fkin  *hic*  Emmet fkin Strachan ye bam. which ane o yous took me crock o gold  *hic*  ah ken it wuz ane o yous. aahh dont feel so gud min"

Buy the Beeracuda here.

Ben gets some pow in Tignes

 Europe's not had a great season by all accounts, but Ben managed to get some fresh last week and sent us the footage. Says the man himself:

"Neil McNair and myself made the most of a bit of snow up near the glacier in Tignes. Bastard hike in, some rad snow"

It was well worth the trail-breaking: freshies all the way down, doesn't get much better. The shredding's top drawer as well: some nice butters from Ben, while Neil gets the best white room we've seen in a while. Awesome filming from both parties as well; the last shot's a winner!

TURNING JAPANESE: with added Gibson

Yet more ridiculous pow for the Niseko boys. Barry, Rumbles and Lairdy are joined by Matt Gibson, who was out for a two-week stint (he's the one in the red breeks, going big at 0.24). Trees, drops, spills, one unfortunate skier, and a classic end shot:



Awesome stuff, especially for just one day's riding. With so much snow they've been getting a lot of flat light days, so it's also good to see some sun for once.

Give Up Your Stance

 It's pancake day, which means Lent starts tomorrow. Regulars at the drymat will know that means it's time to give up your stance for 40 days.

Things have been getting stale down at Garthdee. Most people just stick to what they know, and there's not many new tricks being learned. Here's a way to get your stoke back and mix it up a bit. For the 40 days of Lent, spin your bindings round and embrace switch riding, including any skating on the flat, and the button tow. No need to give up the fags, booze, crack pipe, auto-erotic asphyxiation etc, just give up your stance!!

We'll be filming the whole thing, with an edit coming once it's all over. ONLY switch tricks are getting in the edit.

Give it a shot: Matt Gibson's already on the case and his cab 7s are ridiculous now.

New Whitelines in the shop: Garthdee cover shot!

Whitelines stuck its first ever dryslope on the cover for the new spring issue, and it's a banger.

Taken by Steve McKenna during September's Westbeach comp, it depicts a big bad Marc McClement backside air at (a pretty mucky looking) Garthdee.

There's been a strong Aberdeen presence in every issue of WL this year, with shots of Andy Laird, Barry Parker, and last month's ace urban shred article by Sam Longmire.

The mag's available at Boarderline now.

Vote for Fin in Quiksilver Radar

Fin Bremner's video for Quiksilver Radar is now online, and he needs your votes in order to qualify for the final in Tignes next month.

Fin was obviously on fire that day, stomping clean back 5s as well as switch-ups and a massive fronty. Head to the Quiksilver Radar site to place your vote for Fin.

TURNING JAPANESE: Kappa Steve

For those who haven't yet had the pleasure, Steve Gunn is the young lad who has ventured east with Barry, Natalie and co on their pow mission. Along the way he'll no doubt learn a few life lessons, the main one so far being 'don't indulge your natural impulse to undergo a makeover that leaves you looking like a mythical Japanese river imp'. Ah, to be young:



A quick look at Wikipedia tells us this: 'Kappa are usually seen as mischievous troublemakers'. This sounds about right: here's what BP said of him in an email earlier this season:

"steve gunn is a liability! haha, only word for him. 2nd night in tokyo we lost him between the hotel and gas station, literally 2 corners away. then 1st drinking sesh in niseko he is spewing in bed and spewing the WHOLE next day. was amusing to say the least".

Back to Wikipedia: 'Kappas are also known as ravishers of women.....Their offspring were said to be repulsive to behold, and were generally buried'. 

How bout it Steve? Rest of crew, if you see any wierd-looking kids around, you'll know who's to blame.

Back Back Back

Really should have pointed out that BB was out of action for the last week, apologies. The good news is that, with a fair few of the crew away on trips this month, there'll be some good stuff from some far-flung locations. First up, Duthie reports from Italy....

"Don't you just fuckin' hate snowboarders sometimes?"

This was said to me recently. And it didn't come from an old-school skier, nor a snow-hating curmudgeon like Patty.... It was a friend of mine who not only rides but is one of the most committed around, having devoted the best part of his life to coaching the sport. After spending last season in Meribel with the Jack Wills brigade, I was inclined to agree. A look at a random sample of people who snowboard (or say they do) could probably be summed up by that Chewin' The Fat sketch: "wank, wank, wank, good guy, wank".

I'm generalising of course, but if you agree and are ever looking for somewhere to escape all the bullshit that becomes ever more associated with our sport, then look no further than Bormio. In this corner of Italy, the sight of someone on a board is a rare thing, and those you do see aren't prone to any posturing.

Spot the boarder

So why so few of us? It's probably got something to do with the atrocious beginner's area, which has probably prevented any locals from ever getting past the falling leaf. From the vantage point of the chairlift that passes directly overhead, you find yourself watching the lessons from behind your fingers, horror-movie style. There's a massive crash every 2 minutes, without fail. As bad as the layout is, though, it's genuinely the only place where someone could even attempt to pick up the basics: the rest of the hill is pretty steep, with almost all the runs either classified as red or black. The only bits that aren't are the occasional narrow, tree-lined cat-tracks,which link the steeps together.

So the learners are pretty screwed, but for the rest of us it's all wide motorway piste which, depite the steep gradients, NEVER get moguls. Burning around a place like this with barely another soul around, every day in the sun, is not something that gets old.

Kyla hoons it down. Look closely for the ONE other guy on the piste with us

It's not just the runs that are quality: despite almost zero interest in freestyle from the locals (no tall-teed skiers either), someone had gone to all the bother of building a pretty good terrain park: on the left, a two-kicker line with two sizes of jump; on the right, beginner jumps and boxes and a (still unfinished) halfipe. Then it's down to a choice of battleship rail or two different barrel taps, then rainbow box and a wallride to finish.

Top jumps....

...bottom jumps...

...and the rest.

It's like a private park. In the whole time we were there, no-one else even went near the bigger line, with only a couple of the flamboyantly-uniformed instructors even braving the smallest of the four booters. After five days of lapping with no queues, it was an almighty pisser to see everything closed off due to high winds on the last day, focing us to scrap our filming plans:
 

 

So here's the only park footage from the week: 

That's enough for now, but there's so much more to love about Bormio. Driving past houses where horses live on the bottom floor, à la Borat; paying €1.50 for a coffee in the highest mountain restaurant; marvelling at the occasional Italian 'Berlusconi tan' and plastic surgery disaster, and much, much more. Sadly we missed the incident that would have been the icing on the cake: early one morning, a bull came stoming through the main ski area in a mad rage. While the skiers could push away with their poles, one boarder apparently had to unstrap and use his stick as a shield until the local farmers arrived with pitchforks and chased it away. Maybe that's why the locals don't snowboard.... Don't let that put any of you riders off a trip though: even if you end up being gored by a rampaging beast, a week in Bormio's well worth it.

TURNING JAPANESE: hungover flatlight shred

This month the Niseko collective played host to Craig's brother Grant and his mate Duncan Watt. On their last day the GoPro came out, the result being this genius 2-minute edit of the morning after the night before....

Depite the damaged heeds and the sketchy conditions, the crew got some creat stuff in the can. As well as the first shred footage of Natalie Riley, there's an uber-tidy switch back 3 from Andy, while Rumbles gets all Jussi with a buttered take-off. All lovingly put together with some amusing captions by BP. Best one so far, no question. More please guys!

TUNING JAPANESE: Shred Garden

A while back we put up shots of Barry and Lairdy sessioning the conveniently-placed stall feature outside their apartment in Niseko. Now here's the video, and it's a winner. Pretty much every stall variation you can think of, a few choice bails and one mincing dismount from Mr. Laird. Great to see the first footage of him over there, and from the looks of things he's in his element. Epic.

Fin's on the Radar

This weekend Fin Bremner's off to Tamworth for the second round of Quiksilver's Radar talent search.

Method in the madness, Garthdee. photo: Frazer Rennie

Wee Fin is one of only ten UK groms to make the cut, and will now be pitted against his fellow mini-shredders in a video contest. Once his effort is online he'll need public votes to progress to the March's final, so check back here for more info about how to support this local ripper.

Break a leg Finbar!

ARCHIVES: Boarderline in Tignes, 2010

Been a quiet week for shredding, so here's a classic from last season. Emmet, Barry and Ben tear up Tignes, 2nd January 2010.

COMPETITION: Feb Followcam

 

Glenshee's terrain park is fully up and running, with the new Bawbreaker rails added last week. To celebrate we're offering one snowboarder the chance to win some swag by showing us their best top-to-bottom park run.

Entering is simple: All you need is followcam footage of one single run through the new Glenshee rail park. Grab a camera, grab a buddy and get shredding. Everything from HD to camera-phone footage is fine. The winner will get the choice of a pair of 2011 Anon Helix goggles or a 2011 R.E.D. Trace II helmet courtesy of Boarderline.

RULES 

- Entries must include one (and only one) uncut run through the park, filmed in February 2011. Any other footage, intros, effects, slo-mos, music and titles can also be included, as long as you include that one-take followcam footage.

- Entries should not exceed 1 minute 30 seconds in length.

- Entries will be primarily be judged on the run through the park, but there will be consideration for quality of filming, editing, and making us laugh.

- There is no limit to the number of eligible videos any one person can submit.

- All entries will be released online at the start of March, with a winner crowned shortly after.

HOW TO ENTER

1): put it on CD and post it to Boarderline, 15 McCombie's Court, Aberdeen AB10 1AW

2): drop it into the shop as a CD or USB

3): put it online and send the link to damagedheads@googlemail.com (make it a private vid if possible, or others will see your run and trump it!). All entries must be received by 1st March 2011.

Need inspiration? Take a look at this video, 1:55 onwards.

WILL IT SHRED?: Annex pant

Natalie takes a break from non-stop pow riding to drop us a line about her breeks:

Special Blend say about the Annex pant.... '1. Wake up in them. 2. Ride in them. 3. Party in them. Repeat.' and you sure can do all that!! 1. Baggy, comfortable, all round nice fit making you have effortless steeze as you roll out of bed to catch first lifts after a late one the night before!! 2. Keep you warm and dry in gnarly conditions as tested out in the deep pow of Japow, keep you cool and breezy on those warm spring shred days with it's 4 air vents, yes 4!! 3. With a pop and lock hem adjuster it's quick and easy to roll up those hems so you don't trip up on the dance floor. Oh yeah and you'll hear the clatter of beer bottles that you've stuffed into the many pockets as you bring out the break dancing moves. These pants make you step yo game up dudes....

*Disclaimer* too much partying and the McGnarly pants come out to play making the wearer turn a bit gnarly and do crazy things like dive from a 2nd floor window into snow!! The Pilsner yellow of this catches everyones attention as you make your next gnarly move whether on the hill or in the bar.

Pick up a pair here.

TURNING JAPANESE: Photaes



Müller? Nope, Parker.



Feast your eyes on Craig's recent shots of his and Barry's adventures in the backcountry. We're still not over the sight of all that neige. Apparently it's been the snowiest January for five years. Jammy, jammy bastards....



 Also, here's a first look at Niseko's newest resident, Andy Laird. Here Lairdy and Barry hit up a sweet little stall feature, located just outside their apartment on the 2nd floor. Looks like frontside and backside disasters were the order of the day. Nice work dudes. Stay tuned for more from Andy and the rest of the crew.

Barry



Andy



TURNING JAPANESE: We drop bombs

The last of the crew's edits from December (or as Barry calls it, the time "before the real snow arrived". Good God).

Some insane stuff from Barry and Craig in particular. Then things get a bit wierd....

In Your Face is for little fairy boys

Many of you will be aware of In Your Face, a game where two pros have a trick-off and the loser is sprayed with snow. Boo hoo. As Barry showed in his last vid from Japan, snow in the face is mostly a good thing. If you want a real game, head down to Garthdee and get involved in a round of BURN. The rules are pretty much the same, with an S&M-style twist.....

Wierdly enough it was the groms who were the only ones hard enough to give it a go at first, but after their epic battle the older riders are promising a bigger, badder, burnier version this Wednesday....

TURNING JAPANESE: JaPow! Right in the kisser.

Barry enjoys the fruits of a single overnight spew. This isn't even backcountry, this is the piste!! Hope you all remember what he looks like because, going on this, I wouldn't be surprised if he never came back. Would you?

The Reason issue 3 now in store

In more magazine news, The Reason shows no signs of slowing down, and the third issue has arrived at the shop.

It's definitely worth picking up. Gone is the filler that plagued the first issue ('official rules of shotgun' anyone?), and in its place are some great full-length travel pieces, as well as a few other interesting bits and pieces. There's a visit to Barry & co's new home of Niseko, as well as reports from the Ziller Valley and Argentina. Shorter articles include tales of getting mugged by the Russian police, and a look at Gigi Rüf's new Nike pro model boot (and the football tournament he held to promote it). There's also a interview with Banchory's most famous son, Ben Kilner. And it's still free!

For more info, and to see a video from the Japan trip, head to thereasonmag.com. Pick up the latest issue in Boarderline today.

Jon Addison in Whitelines

The Whitelines website has released a page from the next issue, featuring Jon Addison 5-0ing a monsterous handrail. The shot is one of many from Sam Longmire's write-up of his time spent snapping the nocturnal exploits of Jon, Andy Laird and a few others in snowy Aberdeen. Don't miss this one, it's some long overdue exposure and appreciation for the handful of 'deen riders who step up to some crazy stuff.

click to enlarge



The new issue will be available in Boarderline soon.

WILL IT SHRED? - Malavitas

Will It Shred takes a trip into the surreal world of Nicol Paton, enjoy:

I was itching to go fishing the other day. With the rivers out of season and the lochs frozen over, I decided to take my rod into Boarderline to go and see fellow angler Andy Duthie. We got our rods out and started casting, within minutes i hooked something. I reeled it in and was stoked when I realized it was a pair of Burton Malavitas! I love so many things about them, never mind the funky colour and stylish shape, but the comfort, response and weight just do it for me. I'm going to note this catch in my fishing diary. Had to throw them back as already got a set of Cartels, so they're ready for the next lucky punter.

Get a pair here.

Hoots mon

Get down to Garthdee this Wednesday the 26th for the traditional Burns Supper shred.

Some good Scots choons all night, the haggis will be piped in just after 7, and there'll be a dram or two for the auld folk.

Free scran, free booze, good shred, you'd be mad to miss it.

TURNING JAPANESE: Bashi-slashi

It looks like Barry got a little carried away trying to film the ultimate slash. Just as well GoPros (and Rumbles, as it happens) are pretty indestructible.....

Glenshee park taking shape

Thanks to a sizeable Lottery grant, Glenshee now has the best collection of park features in Scotland. Mal Judd has been working hard to get the park up and running despite the recent thaw, digging in a monster 21-metre double-kinked box yesterday afternoon.

And there's more. Says the man himself via SMS: "We have a park. 21m up, down, up. 9m butter box, And 6m C box. 9m flat. 6m box. donkey dick bar and straight bar going in the morn."

Nice one Mal. Anyone who gets any phots or vids of the new setup, e-mail them to damagedheads@googlemail.com.

The Nug is here!

Burton's late-season stock has arrived in store. Alongside the Aftermath and the limited edition Love, we also got the Nug....

Designed to be ridden 8-10cm shorter than your normal stick, this 146 would suit anyone who usually goes for something in the mid-50s. Much like Ashton Kutcher, or the one who was Ally McBeal.

Never mind that Burton made one of the gayest adverts of all time to promote it: Nicol and Duthie had a shot at the Burton demo night down at Garthdee and loved it. So light and easy to spin, but doesn't feel twitchy at speed. Time will tell if this genuinely catches on or becomes the next Snowblade, but for the time being file under 'don't knock it til you've tried it'.

Buy it here.

Kicker session, 12/1/11

A quick edit from last Wednesday's freestyle shred at Garthdee, including some big spins from little Fin and a Halldor-esque shifty back 1 from Matt Gibson.

TURNING JAPANESE: Steve's slam

Watching someone get hurt over and over is always good for a laugh. Barry P and 'Sideshow' Steve Gunn carry on the tradition:

Lowriders Grom Camps 2011

LowRiders are at it again: after a massively successful inaugral camp in Morzine last year, the crew are off to Tignes in 2011. Timed to coincide with the resort's hosting of Winter X-Games Europe, the program offers bairns on- and off-snow performance coaching with two of the best in the business. Pipe, park, all-mountain freeride, it's all covered in one unique, affordable week of high-end coaching.


LSR's Ben and Nicol, Morzine 2010.

Find out more at lowsnowriders.com




TURNING JAPANESE: we build igloo

The crew recently made good use of the abundant neige and built a monster igloo. We love the Pingu theme music, as well as the titillating shred footage right at the end. Not long to go til we see some shredding edits!

Lairdy in Whitelines

Take a look in this month's editorial in Whitelines and you'll see a sick pic of Andy Laird nosepressing a rail in Northfield. Taken by Sam Longmire at one of their many December urban sessions, it's an absolute banger. Expect to see more shots from these sessions in the future.

Whitelines is on sale in Boarderline now.