Red Bull has once again taken things to another level with the much hyped and anticipated Red Bull Snowscrapers that’s set to go off tomorrow in New York City. It’s something you don’t want to miss so here are several ways to catch it– If you’re in NY, go see it live. Otherwise, Fuel TV is webcasting it live in HD, you can watch it on the Red Bull webcast, or if you have DirectTV you might find it on MSG TV. It will also be rebroadcast on NBC February 15th.

On Thursday, February 5th, 16 of the world’s best snowboarders will compete for their piece of the massive $100,000 prize purse at Red Bull Snowscrapers. Athletes will compete against the majestic backdrop of the New York City skyline in the East River Park from 6-9 pm. The local thrash heavy metal band Anthrax is set to perform.

Travis Rice and Shaun White will both be throwing down for the hundred-gees as well as many other rippers, including: Pat Moore, Terje Haakonsen, Kevin Pearce, Danny Davis, Jake Blauvelt, JJ Thomas, to name a few.

The jump is a step up hip, set against the backdrop of Manhattan. It’s a jam session, which is defo the way to format a comp like this one. Instead of being judged on the best of a couple runs, the riders will be able to throw down as many runs as they can squeeze in. The rider who impresses the most, wins.

Photo: Quiksilver

We’re big fans of these creative and progressive events that Red Bull consistently puts on. They do an awesome job at pushing the limits, blowing minds, and bringing huge exposure to our sports. This is the first time snowboarding at a level like will be seen in NYC so huge props to Red Bull for making it happen.

The Winter X-Games are here and as always there’s a lot of anticipation in the air. Practice runs started over the last few days and today marks the first day of actual competition and TV coverage. Riders have been going nuts in both practice and eliminations… except on the slopestyle course.

Boarders and skiers alike have already taken their fair share of hard bails on the course. Travis Rice cased the gap during practice and there are rumors of other injuries in the women’s field. Some of the top pro skiers have been quoted as saying this is the sketchiest slopestyle they’ve ever seen. Last year’s gold medal skier, Andreas Hatveit, was so thrown off by the jumps that when asked to comment on them, he simply smiled, shook his head, and said, “no, its just no.”

Practice runs has been filled with more straight airs and small spins than I’m sure have ever been seen at a competition of this level. Yet there are others like Sammy Carlson who are taking a liking to the course and throwing tricks off every feature. Although the first impression seems negative, come comp day, I’m sure all the pros will have things dialed in and will be throwing down as usual.

Keep an eye out for the Sammy Carlson, Jossi Wells and the other young guns to slay it, even on this less than average course.

Former halfpipe dominator and all-around ripper, Todd Richards, is a pretty entertaining guy. He’s also obviously really into porn, as it’s a subject he brings up at least five times in his new video show, Todcast Tuesdays, that’s being hosted on Quiksilver’s blog, The Moutain and Wave.

The show’s plot is basically that Todd’s bringing his camera everywhere, filming everything and everyone, and turning it into a weekly video show. And talking a lot about porn.

Kudos to Quiksilver for stepping up their social media game. Any brand that isn’t using video to connect with their audience this year will be left out of the cold. I found the show pretty entertaining and it’s at least worth a look.

Nike Snowboarding has released the Danny Kass special edition, double toungue, DK-YS ZF-1 snowboarding boot, along with a lightweight shell and graphic tees. Featuring the original, seventies inspired, art of Arbito.

“This was my greatest achievement to date in boot technology. The double tongue feature is the best way to keep those pants off the ground. It was great working together with the Nike team putting together such an amazing piece. The pattern is of a seventies flash back inspired by the music of that generation. With the old and new we bring you a very limited piece to make you feel good!” – Danny Kass

Surely there’s more to the boots than just keeping your pants off the ground- otherwise you could just pull them off the bottom of your ass and problem solved.

Check out the videos too.

[Via: Snowboarder Mag]

Mammoth Mountain has new a tagline, ‘Play Big’, and with this new tagline comes new marketing opportunities. The latest ad campaign, which has been spotted in the wild (aka: the 405), is this crafty little billboard with a snowboarder going big.

‘Play Big’ certainly speaks to the size of the mountain,” creative director Ben Purcell says. “But it also serves as an invitation to all those looking to push their boundaries, whatever level that may be.”

Despite popular assumption, the snowboarder is actually not real. Which is too bad, with the economy and all, that wouldn’t make for such a bad job- hanging above the 405, 24/7 in the hot SoCal sun, dressed to the nines in board gear. Sign me up!

Although the ad is pretty cool (obviously, or I wouldn’t be posting it). If they really want to go big, let us know when you do something innovative with social media. Then we’ll be impressed.

A couple days ago, Gatorade was in the limelight for announcing their move into action sports with big sponsorships of Chaz Ortiz, Nigel Sylvester, and Ellery Hollingsworth. What was conveniently missing from the announcement though was that THE snowboarding legend, none other than Terje Haakonsen, is also riding for the beverage company.

I’m unable to find official confirmation that Terje’s been added to the team, but there’s no doubt this is him making an appearance in the following Gatorade commercial.

My guess is that Gatorade is looking for double the exposure and will officially announce the news some time before the Super Bowl. Good on Terje, he deserves big things.

As far as flicks went for the action sports industry in 2008, you would be hard-pressed to find one that brought the full package of goods the way That’s It, That’s All brought ‘em. The film is an instant epic. Taking it a step further, I would say Travice Rice and Curt Morgan set a new standard for judging not only snowboarding films, but films from all of the sports that make up the action sports industry…. It’s really that good.

To be clear, I can count the number of times that I’ve been snowboarding in my life on two hands. Surfing and Skiing are the loves of my life but their connection to snowboarding has always kept me with an eye on the sport. Whether you surf, skate, snowboard, ski, do all of the above or even none of the above, That’s It, That’s All sucks you in and blows your mind from start to finish.

One of the biggest challenges most action sports films face is finding the right balance of each aspect of their sport. In That’s It, That’s All, the crew at Brain Farm blended an absolutely perfect combination of everything from dropping peaks in Alaska, New Zealand, and Jackson Hole, with groundbreaking footage of Rice and the crew putting out their half-piping, backcountry launching, crazy Japan contest jumping skills on display for all to witness.

To go along with some of the most incredible riding I’ve ever viewed in any sport, the editing, filming, and overall production of That’s It, That’s All is nothing short of world class. The unique and fresh style of each segment and the smooth transitioning from shot to shot is some of the best work these eyes have ever come across.

And to top it off, the soundtrack for That’s It, That’s All is simply all-time. The sections serenaded by the sounds of MGMT, Soulsavers, and M83 were among those that stick out in my mind. However naming just a few doesn’t do the rest of the soundtrack justice. Each song selection flows smoothly with each segment.

In short, watching That’s It, That’s All will change your life and make you a better person. It really is that good, and it’s 5ones selection for Best Action Sports Movie of 2008 Ever! That’s it, That’s All, the new standard for films in the action sports world.

Avalanches are no joke and I speak from experience. I’m lucky to be here writing this post as about 10 years ago I was caught in what was being called (at the time) ‘the largest uncontrolled avalanche ever at Park City Resort.’ The slide was 1000ft long, 300ft wide, with a 6ft crown. Lucky for me, after sliding the whole way, I ended up only half buried. This post isn’t about me though. It seems we’re seeing an abnormal amount of slides this year especially considering the season just started.

Reports are just coming out of another two people who were killed in a slide in Utah today.

“Authorities say two people are dead following an avalanche in Cache County. Sheriff’s Lt. Matt Bilodeau said the slide happened at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday on the backside of Logan Peak. Bilodeau said the two were snowmobiling. He had no information on their identities.”

Folks, if you’re venturing out into the backcountry this season, I can’t stress enough for you to use extreme caution. First of all, if you have no avalanche training and aren’t with others who have, don’t go out there in the first place. Second, always make sure everyone in your party has transceivers/beacons. Third, always check with your local avalanche forecast center for the latest conditions. Safety first!

Our thoughts are with the families & friends of the victims of this, and all other, avalanches.

I have a sneaking suspicion this wasn’t exactly what Whistler-Blackcomb had in mind for the opening week of their new, state of the art Peak-2-Peak gondola. Realizing one of the greatest fears of any human being who has ever hopped onto a ski lift or gondola of any kind, a tower of the Excalibur Gondola (not the new peak-2-peak), near the base of Blackcomb Mountain, snapped in half Tuesday afternoon in the middle of operation hours.

For reasons that have yet to be determined, a tower near the bottom of the Excalibur, which carries skiers and snowboarders to the top of Blackcomb Mountain from Whistler Village, simply snapped in half and left 50 passengers in need of rescue. Ten people have been injured, though according to Whistler RCMP Sgt. Steve Wright, none of the injuries were life threatening.

These types of things rarely happen. But when they do, they kind of make you scratch your head a bit and realize that shit like this can actually take place. The new Peak-2-Peak gondola that was just opened hang as high as 1427 ft. in the air at some points. That doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for error. I should as hell wouldn’t want to fall 1427 ft. in a gondola.

So while it’s a very positive thing that no one was seriously injured in this mishap, hopefully this will go down as just an isolated, unfortunate accident. With Winter Olympics heading for Whistler in 2010, this isn’t exactly the type of story they want in the headlines.

A Chill is in the air, snow is on the ground, and the anticipation for the winter contests dates heats up. Last week ESPN announced the first group of athletes that are invited to participate in the upcoming Winter X Games. The dates for Winter X Games 13 are scheduled January 22-25, 2009 at Buttermilk Mountain, Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado. The annual Winter X Games event features athletes from across the globe competing for medals and prize money in the following sports: Skiing, Snowboard and Snowmobile. The13th annual winter action sports competition will feature more than 160 men and women from across the globe competing for medals and prize money in the following sports: Skiing, Snowboard and Snowmobile. The event includes day and evening competitions and is free to the public. You can also check out all the competition footage on ABC and ESPN, look into your local listings for details.

Below is the invited field, so far, in the Men’s Snowboard classes of Big Air, Slopestyle, Snowboard X, and Superpipe. For the complete, updated list of Winter X Games 13 athletes, log on to www.expn.com.

SNOWBOARD BIG AIR
Athlete Name, Country

Travis Rice, United States
Andreas Wiig, Norway
Torstein Horgmo, Norway
Kevin Pearce, United States

MEN’S SNOWBOARD SLOPESTYLE
Athlete Name, Country

Eero Ettala, Finland
Heikki Sorsa, Finland
Chas Guldemond, United States
Torstein Horgmo, Norway
Scotty Lago, United States
Jussi Oksanen, Finland
Travis Rice, United States
Tim Humphreys, United States
Shaun White, United States
Andreas Wiig, Norway
Mason Aguirre, United States
Peetu Piiroinen, Finalnd
Danny Davis, United States
Kevin Pearce, United States

All athletes receiving invitations to compete at Winter X Games 13 are chosen by a sport-specific selection committee. Criteria and timing of invitations varies by sport and discipline as it is based on the state and event schedules of that particular sport. The invited athlete list is constantly being updated and is subject to change at any time.