Back in town after a day of riding in Jasper鈥檚 backcountry March 22, the sunburned and disheveled participants of the Ascend Splitboarding Festival gathered in the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives to debrief, and get the skinny on avalanche safety, mountain guiding and where to find some of Jasper鈥檚 best lines.
The Ascend festival took place from March 21-23, and saw about 30 splitboarders come to town for the first festival of its kind in Jasper. Over two days several different groups explored some of Jasper鈥檚 best backcountry snowboarding destinations.
Lukas Matejovsky was one of the festival鈥檚 organizers. The Edmontonian said that he and fellow organizers wanted to do something to get the region鈥檚 backcountry snowboarding community together to celebrate the sport.
He said that not a lot of city dwellers are aware of the backcountry potential that lies in Jasper, and the festival is a good way to showcase some great riding destinations to them.
Splitboarding is still a relatively new and unknown sport. It first popped up in the 90s, but has been growing in popularity over the last decade.
Like its name implies, a splitboard is essentially a snowboard that can be split in half and used as skis. The idea is to allow snowboarders to trek into the backcountry on the skis, but still ride back down the mountains on a board.
Like any backcountry sport, splitboarding comes with its fair share of dangers, so Saturday evening the riders gathered to hear Parks Canada鈥檚 Max Darrah give his spiel on avalanche safety in the backcountry.
鈥淭he mountains are indifferent, and their beauty lies in their indifference,鈥� he told the crowd, urging them to diligently monitor Parks鈥� avalanche bulletins and always stay educated and remain humble in the backcountry.
Matt Reynolds also enlightened the splitboarders with a talk about what it takes to be a certified mountain guide with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, and Bob Covey called on some friends to let everyone in on where to find the best skiing and boarding in the region.
Along with the presentations, attendees had a chance to enter a raffle for some serious prizes. Up for grabs was thousands of dollars worth of winter wear, vacation lodging and splitboarding gear, and since the event was a not-for-profit affair, all the money raised through ticket sales was donated to the Canadian Avalanche Centre.
Trevor Nichols
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