Deja Vu promises to be one of the heaviest movies of next season, but shooting such a flick ain’t all rainbows and unicorns. Don’t believe us? Check out their slam edit, amusingly titled ‘Whoops!’, for a festival of beatdowns that the crew endured through the winter…

You can’t win them all as evidence from Deja Vu Movie’s Frank April, LNP, Louif Paradis and Alex Cantin! Putting together a solid part for any snowboard movie requires throwing yourself off ledges, down rails and into uncertain success. These guys are true professionals and take the good with the bad continually getting back up and giving it another shot. If these slams are any indication of how hard the guys were pushing it out there we can’t wait to see the tricks they land! Bangers!

Check out more with the Deja Vu crew: dejavumovie.com

Check out the highlights of Hana Beaman, Leanne Pelosi, Robin Van Gyn and their freinds’ season in this highlights reel of their pretty darned rad P.S. web series. Yes girls.

Christophe Bouvier, Global Chairman and Mountainwear Product Manager.

Which one of us shred lovers never dreamt of becoming a pro rider, and then when comes the end of your short but intense snowboarding career, turn into an industry boss? Well, that’s pretty much what happened to Christophe Bouvier, and this certainly didn’t happen by chance. For this Tech Heads, the boss of the winter product at Rip Curl goes deep into his job, his inspirations, and the line coming up soon. Another passionate guy who makes the snowboard world spin in the good direction.

I’m pretty sure a lot of readers out there are wondering how can they land such a cool job. So how does that happened for you?

Cool you said? Ahah! If you love XLS sheets, hard negociations, and try and make the whole world happy about your stuff in such a difficult market, then I guess it’s a cool job!
I’m actually a former rider and a coach. I did that for about ten years and a lot of trips around the world, before starting at Rip Curl at the bottom of the scale. I was in the warehouse in Australia for 2 years, then 2 other years as a marketing assistant, and another 2 years as a tech rep in Victoria state, Australia. 2 other years as mountain wear product manager for the South hemisphere, then I came back to France doing this job for the Europe zone. And now I’ve been the Global chairman and mountain wear product manager for only two weeks. I guess I love new challenges! But the main thing for me as always been moved by one goal: the ride. It’s the ultimate goal for all of us right? Live the search!

Well I guess everyone has an idea of what a Global Chairman does – or maybe not? But let’s concentrate on your other title: mountain wear product manager: what are the different aspects of this role?

Unlike most companies out there in our business, this role is anyway linked to the brand manager role, as far as the mountain wear division goes. The product manager is in fact the last person to check if everything is ok, and also the first person in charge of the results of his division, so it’s the guy who’s getting his ass kicked by the General Manager and the owners in case of a problem.
My job consist in coordinating, direct and check the good processing of all our mountain product line. So I’m involved at all the stages of the garment production: market research, collection’s structure, design brief, prototype validation, price negociation, sourcing, buys, shipment, inventory, stock… It’s also very important to coordonate well with the marketing departement as well so the communication stays tight and understandable, and also in the spirit of the brand. In short, it’s a bit like being the conductor of an orchestra, as you are taking care of the product from before its birth to its adult age – when sold to the final consumer. And even after sometimes, when a default product is coming back!

With the complexity of your job, what would you say take the most of your time among these different tasks?

Definitely the product development. It’s the stage when the quality of the product is in process. The sales and the feedback from the field is also very important to ameliorate and get rid of all the little problems we might have before we validate the final product. That’s where the feedback is really important. It pretty all together takes from April till November every season.

Rip Curl outerwear girls line 13/14.

Where does your inspiration come from regarding product design?

Observation, talks, being on the ground and feel what’s going on. You can’t be disconnected from the filed, I mean you need to be out there and shred. I have the final word on this but I work with a very good team of people that I really trust. We listen a lot to our riders, especially for the technical aspect of the outerwear. They also have their word on the design. And we also listen to the sales guys, it’s important too.

Rip Curl is a massive company in our industry. Is it not a problem to get reactive on the trends, fashion?

Rip Curl is a big company in surfing, not so much in snowboarding. In fact our team is pretty small and it can react pretty fast for whatever we need – a small limited collection or reacting on trends etc. It’s not all prefect for sure, but it’s good to be part of the Rip Curl DNA, for its roots aspects and its authentic identity. And that’s exactly this mix who makes working at Rip Curl such an unique experience. As of today, Rip Curl is still a private company, even a family company I would say. It’s still managed by its founders, Brian Singer and Claw Warbrick. They built the company during the hippie years of surfing, being core surfers themselves, and with quality wetsuits in mind. The product has always been the main thing in the company, and not the processes. Because of the simple and pragmatic approach, I don’t think we can picture Rip Curl as a massive brand, or heavy in term of processing the product, but it just gives us the chance to imagine maybe more possibilities than others.

Speaking about it, how would you describe the identity of the brand?

Fun, Technology, leadership, irreverence, belief, tradition, Search!

Having such a renowned name in surfing when it comes to technical gear, how was it to transfer this into snowboarding?

I think it’s just a question of respecting your values, which I have depicted in your previous question. If you keep the same line, the same way of seeing things or dealing with issues, then there is a great change the company’s DNA goes into everything you do. The main idea is to create quality and technical product, for the young, fun audience. For example, the Cocona technology (increasing the breathability of the outerwear), mixed with 4 way stretch material and applied on a multi-layer system – the Ultimate Gum Series, this is how we stick to our values of leadership and innovation in technology. This way, we offer one of the best multi-layer system out there in term of waterproofness, breathability and flexibility, that really makes your riding experience more comfortable, with a super competitive price.

What would you say at this stage are the main point of development for Rip Curl in snowboarding?

To focus more and more on quality, innovation, and technology. Even if that means reducing production numbers. We want to keep reaching to the core mountain lover who’s passionate about big mountain and backcountry.

Do you think we will see one day Rip Curl boards or Rip Curl boots in stores?

No, because it’s useless to start diverting into products where you don’t have the necessary expertise. I think it’s a much better idea to put our energy on what we do best, in order to make those strong points even stronger.

Victor Delerue Pro Serie jacket for next winter.

What product make you the most proud in this coming and yet to discover (in our Product Guide out this summer) 13/14 range?

In term of look, the Victor Delerue Pro Serie jacket. And in term of technicity, the Ultimate Gum Serie jacket.

What are you working on right now?

Winter 14-15 design.

Can you give us a little insight on the design trends for that line already?

A lot of punchy colors, and also some heritage looks. But I can’t tell you more right now… It’s secret you know!

Check Rip Curl’s website.

The second season of Ettala, Sorsa and Heiskari’s internet bromance wraps up with some end-of-season bangers in Finland. Check it…

For the last CWG of this season, Eero, Heikki and Lauri hit some kickers and jibs in Ukkohalla before dropping in on the mother of all snowboard ‘contests’ – Wappulounas.

Make sure you check the previous episodes here.

April’s edit from the 12 Months project focusses on Ozzy Henning as he takes some late-season laps in his home state of Utah. Cue some spring pow and park shredding from Park City, a spot of skating, and wrapping up with a session at Brighton.

www.romesnowboards.com

[Words: Tuukka Tams]

As usual, Wappulounas was absolute madness. Three days of snowboarding on weird obstacles and partying all night long like the past 15 years, that’s what it’s all about. The best Finnish riders such as Roope Tonteri, Eero Ettala, Heikki Sorsa and Antti Autti gathered at Ruka to end the season, and this is what happened.

Chef’s Team Special – The Best a Man Can Get

Wappulounas 2013 presented by DC was set to go in the conditions that could not have been better. The halfpipe at Ruka itself is a piece of art, but to Wappulounas it was reshaped. There were two bowls, hips in ’n’ out and other obstacles were just here and there as the team challenge was about to start.

The teams did what they were expected – they killed it. Teams consisted of three riders were showing off with not just by their riding but also with their outfits. B-maajoukkue (Joel Lahti, Saku Tiilikainen and Hans Kestilä) were dressed like those jackass patriots, Lapinpolthajat (Antti Autti, Tuukka Tams and Jari Salo) hit the jumps like true Lappish people, Cooking With Gas (Eero Ettala, Heikki Sorsa and Lauri Heiskari) were cooking the whole playground and there were a bunch of others too who got the crowd smiling. Special cheers go to Joel Ahola who was riding like maniac with his 20+ years old Burton Air and to Meri Peltonen and her comeback. Congrats to everyone!

But there were two teams that were above others. In men American Horse Show (Tero Poikajärvi, Tuomas Alapieti and Jeppe Rontti) were going faster and further than everyone else. Their tricks were insane! In women the best was Battery Sisters (Kristiina Nisula, Merika Enne and Vilina Koivisto). They were flipping and spinning like true masters. Yet there were other masters at the hill, too. Riku-Matti Jurmu and Jyri Keskiaho (caamos.fi) did an amazing skidoo show by jumping over the whole halfpipe. You should’ve seen the faces from the crowd…

With a huge amount of lines straight from Napoli Wappulounas got a man from The Dudesons, HP, to be one of the judges. This is what he had to say about the first day and how to head to the overall victory and Asenne surf trip–that’s what the winner gets: – “Although riding at Wappulounas is important, if you want to be the champion, it’s necessary to represent at every stage – wheter it was afterski, nightlife or the morning after. Especially having fun is most important, because you can’t come to Wappulounas to win–you come to enjoy. If it ends up with winning a trip to Indonesia that is just bonus.” Wise words, my friend.

Chef’s Recommendation Powered by Battery – There’s Something In It

And Wappulounas continued, and with good vibes as usual. Chef’s Recommendation went through in a great weather, and bands such as J. Kiesi Grandes and Jam-A-Holics weren’t a weight in rider’s legs. The playground from last day was on fire. Two different stages served two sessions. The day consisted great riding combined with impressive usage of the playground. Riders were pushing it to the limits, but yet the joy was truly touchable.

In men the best rider was Jeppe Rontti, who was in the winning team the other day. He found lines no one else did, and his tricks were beyond. In women the best was Merika Enne, from the winning team also. She was pushing it with rock ’n’ roll attitude throughout day and bigger than anyone else. Yet other riders were also awarded. Antti Autti was Mr Old School with his great lines and deep tweaks, but young guns were killing it, too. This time Ville Mustonen was awarded as Best Rookie, but there were also bunch of others. Ville wasn’t shy at all riding with the big boys–he was going huge!

Of Chef’s Recommendation HP had this to say: “Wappulounas day two was personal overshoot from the beginning–actually from the night before. But what was really warming my heart was seeing old masters like Antti Autti and Risto Mattila showing to younger dudes how to pull it–fast as shit day and night!”

Oskari Heikkinen & Arktinen Voodoo pulled an awesome show at the terrace and at the nightclub Piste with Jätkäjätkät, where people eventually ended after numerous before-parties. About the best of them one must be mentioned. DJ Chili hosted an incredible party at one hotel room with quite thirsty crowd: over 800 cans of refreshments were enjoyed at their party. There must’ve been couple of people partying there!

DC Knockout Jam – And the Winner Goes to Bali

Countless days of partying wasn’t showing at the riding as D Knockout Jam forced riders to do their best. Tight course made them truly thinking about their runs–and that’s what they really did. As knockouts went face-to-face it was off the hook. For example Lasse Ihalainen, Antti Komulainen and Antti Autti were riding better than well. Few scary moments were also seen as the course ended up riders upside down and never back.

Eventually it was Joel Lahti and only 13-year-old Rene Rinnekangas who made to the final, and it was Joel aka DJ Chili who ended up being number one. But yet Rene didn’t let Joel win easily. He’ll be one you’re about to hear a lot! In women Kristiina Nisula and Sanna Niilola were against each other in the final with Kristiina taking the victory.

Only one thing was left to do at Wappulounas 2013 Presented by DC: to announce the overall winners. In rookies it was Rene who made to the top, and it was a victory well deserved. Can you even imagine any other event where young gun like Rene and nearly two decades older Miikka Hast would be against each other like they were on knockout – and Rene taking a tight win. That’s what it’s all about! In women Merika Enne was riding bigger and better than the others all event, so it was no wonder she was the overall champion.

In men the overall victory and Asenne surf trip was won by Jeppe Rontti. He represented the whole event with a great spirit, helped out younger riders and of course rode like maniac! Way to go Jeppe, congratulations!

“The level of riding was amazing and creative. It was positive to see that the same spirit Wappulounas has lives on,” said head judge Timo Lahti. And that’s just damn right: Wappulounas has a spirit you can’t find anywhere else. It’s the soul of snowboarding that’s beating.

To the very end Wappulounas Houseband called The Rautavas (with musicians from J. Kiesi Grandes, Relentless and Highway Burns) pulled an amazing gig at the afterski. With a set list constisted hits like Gangnam Style and reading SMS’s you can’t go wrong. And of course, there was a night party, too, with Karri Koira & Ruudolf making people to part-ee. It was a great way to end Wappulounas that is the best a man–and a woman–can get.

RESULTS

Chef’s Team Special, men:
American Horse Show (Tero Poikajärvi, Tuomas Alapieti and Jeppe Rontti)
Chef’s Team Special, women:
Battery Sisters (Kristiina Nisula, Merika Enne and Vilina Koivisto)
Playground Line Master: Jeppe Rontti
Playground Line Mistress: Merika Enne
Beauty & Style: Merika Enne
Mr. Old School: Antti Autti
Comeback Kid: Juho Manninen
Best Rookie: Ville Mustonen
DC Knock-out Jam, men: 1. Joel Lahti
2. Rene Rinnekangas
DC Knock-out Jam, women: 1. Kristiina Nisula
2. Sanna Niilola
Overall winner, men: Jeppe Rontti
Overall winner, women: Merika Enne
Overall winner, rookies: Rene Rinnekangas

Davun Walsh, Cab 3 by Colin Adair.

This is the second entry in our column for this American photographer after this epic shot of Anto Chamberland. And this time, it’s no other that Devun Walsh himself who’s not only showing that he’s still ripping, but also puts Colin’s talent in the spotlight. Here’s the story behind the banger.

 Shooting up on Mt. Seymour in Vancouver, BC, where Devun Walsh grew up riding is always fun.

Camera: Canon EOS 1d Mark IV
Lens: Canon EF85mm 1.8
Speed: 1/1000
Aperture: f/5.6

THE TECH

Nothing too crazy here. Just natural light on an overcast day and my camera set to manual. I like to use the 85mm lens as much as I can because it’s so sharp and you get really good contrast, color and depth of field. I pushed the ISO to 200 in order to get my aperture up to 5.6 because even though I wanted some shallowness to the depth of field I still wanted it sharp as can be. The foreground trees are a bit of out of focus but not so much that it detracts from the photo. Even though Devun is wearing bright colors in the white environment I still tried to frame him in a bit of window between the trees so he pops out even more.

THE CONTEXT

Shooting up on Mt. Seymour in Vancouver, BC, where Devun Walsh grew up riding is always fun. A short hike up past the lifts and you’ve got some fun and varied terrain. There are a lot of trees so when it snows up there you can find great stuff to do and the light is good even on cloudy and foggy days. We definitely spend a few days up there shooting every year and it’s usually just like this because on the best sunny days we are up in Whistler in the backcountry. This photo ran on the back cover of Snowboarder Magazine in North America this winter. I was really happy to have it chosen even though I think it should have been on the front cover, haha!

Check Colin’s work on his website and follow him on his blog.

Also check all the previous photo tips on this Tag.

The CWG crew struggle with the weather but still manage to have some epic shred days in France and Finland. Plus there’s some next-level minishredding from Eero…

In this 5th episode of Cooking with Gas, the Finnish triumvirate of awesome get stalked by the greybird in France and at a junkyard jib session back home, before finally scoring bluebird in Talma. Good old Talma.

Make sure you watch all the previous episodes of Cooking with Gas from this season for some more tight shredding from these boys.

In only a few seasons, Mathieu Schaer has climbed up the shred ladder to become one of the main riders in the Absinthe crew. In fact, you only have to watch this overtalented Swiss ripper to realise how good he is, and how naturally he evolves in the backcountry. This, plus the fact that he also goes to university at the same time leaves us speechless. Like with Jari Sorasalmi, we met Mat in Meribel during the DC Shred Days and asked him about this mystery…

This season is now nearly over for most, how did it go for you?

This season wasn’t as good as the last one for me. I’ve been injured quite a bit and this knee injury bugged me for longer than expected this winter. I guess I got back too soon, and in the end it wasn’t a great idea. It’s kind of hard in the head when you know it’s going to hurt if you don’t land correctly… I also had less time to ride because of university. It was hard to get back into it as well since I had stopped my studies last year to concentrate fully on snowboarding. But next winter I will be more free again and will have more time to shred.

We always wonder how you manage to combine snowboarding and studies. How do you find the time to succeed in both?

Good question, ahah! I don’t really know. I do work a lot, I’m very motivated and I always try to organise my stuff in advance. It’s not always easy, for sure, like trying to study after a day out riding. But the good thing is, I love to switch from one to the other. Studying offers me more perspective than just snowboarding, and shredding help me stay focussed on what I want to achieve. Plus I get to meet all kinds of different people, and I sometimes have the impression to live 2 different lives! So I take it as a privilege, even though it’s demanding sometimes.

What was your best snowboard trip this winter?

We went twice in the Dolomites in Italy, it was cool. We had a crazy amount of snow there, and the mountains are beautiful and fun to ride. The good pizzas at cheap price don’t hurt either! They also put signs everywhere to stop people riding off piste, so most people stay on the piste and the backcountry stays spotless for days! That’s the best thing about it when you compare with how it is at home!

With Standard not making a video this winter, Absinthe got a few more riders on its rooster. Who are the ones that really impressed you?

Yes, we were stoked to get to ride with those guys. For example Mathieu Crepel, Nils Arvidsson and Victor Delerue are really sick riders and I was stoked to rider with them. They are not new in the game, but just shredding the backcountry with them is so amazing!

How was it to end your season in Meribel for the Shred Days? Generally park isn’t your thing?

The Shred Days were cool, it’s nice to be there and see all this people and feel the brilliant atmosphere. For sure park isn’t really what I’m used to, so I don’t go crazy. But it was really fun to ride there with the whole team, and watch the rail machines destroy the park. But it seems the season isn’t over for me yet! At this moment, it’s snowing in Saas Fee, so I’m off there now! After a good season like this, I wonuldn’t be surprised if there’s stuff to do until like end of May, for those who don’t mind walking a bit!

I know Alaska is one of your favorite place to ride. What’s your best story from this place?

Alaska is amazing, it’s like time stops when you’re there. This one time this fisherman brought us a King Crab, alive and enormous, saying that this was the best ever and that it’s really rare to find one, especially that big. Then he explained us how to prepare it. First you go by the ocean, put your hands in the animal’s mouth and pull his head back and crack it open. The you empty it, alive… You throw all the organs into the ocean and just keep the eatable part. Then you simply boil it into sea water. The best taste ever, but it was very disgusting to do all this to this poor animal. Especially the ‘head breaking technique’ didn’t go as well as expected… It was a bit of a carnage. But the taste was amazing, best thing I ever tasted!

Read all about Mathieu in the Profile we published a while back. Also check this short edit of Mat in his hood.

To read about the previous Miniviews, click this tag.

A little over a week ago Alex Tank, with help from his homies at Head Snowboards, Arnette Eyewear and the resort of Oberjoch, laid down the fourth edition of the Head Jib Factory. 20 grade-A jibbers hit up the biggest setup the session’s ever had and the result was some steller stunt sledging. Check the edit and gallery by Flo Jäger…

Could there be a better ending for the winter season than hanging out with all your friends having a sick session, BBQ and a DJ for the perfect sound? That’s exactly what happened on April 16th and 17th at Oberjoch in Germany, where the fourth Head Jib Factory by Alex Tank & Arnette went down. 20 invited riders from all over the world came to the Allgäu to ride the brand new setup which was the biggest one the Jib Factory has seen so far.

As always, the goal was to get creative and to have as much fun as possible. To make that even easier, a new accommodation was chosen, all riders stayed in a typical Bavarian hut right next to the setup. So everybody could start and finish his session whenever he wanted and ride home on his snowboard. Some heavy tricks have been thrown down; naming them all would take way too much time, so you better check out the official Jib Factory edit.

On both days the riders played the “Game of Out” on the Arnette granite ledge. As we knew from previous years, this takes some time because almost every rider was able to do every trick – hence it was decided to turn it into a team competition. Every team had two riders and could decide by themselves who had to do the trick.

At the end only team Innsbruck (Raffael Kossmann and Tobi Hartmuth) and Team Mustachio (Eirik Nesse and Kas Lemmens) were left. After playing for more than two hours they decided for a tie and split the prize money of 500 €. Kas Lemmens was the most outstanding rider for sure, not only that he always was the first rider hitting the setup and the last one to leave, he also landed pretty much everything he tried. So it was no surprise that he was voted Best Rider Overall and cashed out 1000€ on top of the team event.

The decision for Best Trick was way harder because Eirik and Kas stomped some really hard tricks. At the end Kas Lemmens BS 270 Hardway to Fakie at the stair set got the most votes. Boom, another 500 € for Kas.

To finish things off, the Atagge Highest Ollie contest took place. Everybody could join this session, no matter if filmer, shaper, DJ… At the end the host Alex Tank himself took home the wander trophy with a winning height of 95 centimeters. We had two awesome days at Oberjoch, thanks to all people involved.

Hope to see you all again next year!