Venture Featured in Hemispheres!

United Airlines' in-flight magazine is running a full page write up on our Zephyr splitboard - just in time for all those holiday travelers!  Check it out here!

6th Annual Season Kickoff Party!

Venture Snowboards and Ska Brewing are once again teaming up to welcome winter with our Sixth Annual Season Kickoff Party scheduled for Saturday, December 4th - opening day at Silverton Mountain!

For the sixth year running, the two homegrown Colorado companies are producing a small run of custom graphics boards and a special winter brew, both of which will be unveiled at the bash. This year's Season Kickoff features live music from Salem and Farmington Hill, Ska drink specials, and tons of giveaways from Ice Pirates Snowmobile Tours, Purgatory, Purl Wax, Silverton Mountain, Silverton Powder Cats, Smith Optics, Skullcandy, Spark R&D, TREW Gear, and Wolf Creek Ski Area.

The highlight of the evening will be the raffle for a coveted limited edition Ska/Venture custom snowboard. This year's deck features the Euphoria Pale Ale graphic and the distinctive Venture snowflake, and is destined to become a collector’s item for beer and snow lovers alike.

The Season Kickoff Party gets rockin' at 8 pm at Silverton's Pride of the West (1323 Greene Street). Cover charge is $6 and this is a 21+ event. Proceeds will benefit the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies in Silverton. For more information call 970.387.5269.

YOU COULD WIN THIS BOARD!!

Win a limited edition Ska Modus Hoperandi Board!

We are teaming up with Ska Brewing to help raise funds for our public lands!  Donate $17 to the Conservation Lands Foundation and you can be entered to win a limited edition, custom Ska snowboard emblazoned with their Modus Hoperandi graphic!  Just CLICK HERE to enter before November 5th!

Born In The USA

How many snowboard companies actually produce their decks in the good old USA?  According to Transworld, only seven!  Venture is proud to be one of them.

Order Your Limited Edition POW Board Today!

To increase awareness of environmental issues and the global warming crisis, last winter Venture partnered with the nonprofit group Protect Our Winters (POW) for a snowboard design contest. The winning design, created by Canadian artist Julie Boake, artfully captured the contest's themes of winter, the environment, and activism.  This limited edition POW graphic is now available by special order on any of Venture's solid boards. 

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to POW to support their work to reverse the global warming crisis by uniting and mobilizing the winter sports community to have a direct and positive impact on climate change.  Order your limited edition POW board today and help us support this worthy environmental cause!  

Order Details:

• Orders for limited edition POW boards must be received by August 15, 2010.  

• You may choose any length/width combination of our solid Zephyr, Storm or Helix models.  

• A 50% deposit is required at the time the order is placed.

• POW boards will ship on a rolling basis from September - December 2010 as they come off the production line.  

 DOWNLOAD THE ORDER FORM HERE.

For more information about POW visit their website:

www.protectourwinters.org.

THINK SNOW!

Zephyr Splitboard Wins Editor's Choice

Venture's Zephyr Splitboard has received the prestigious Editors' Choice Award from Backcountry Magazine!

As the premier backcountry skiing and snowboarding publication in North America, Backcountry Magazine's  endorsement is highly coveted within the snow sports industry. This year's annual product test was held at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, where a selection of boards from top manufacturers were put through their paces both on piste and off.  When the powder cloud settled, Venture’s Zephyr Splitboard emerged as a top choice.

According to Backcountry, "Outstanding tester response, exceptionally high scores, and category-leading overall performance contributed to our selection of the Zephyr as a 2011 Gear Guide Editors’ Choice.”  Additionally, they commented that the Zephyr splitboard is “the elusive quiver of one: an all-season, all-conditions animal that devours all-things powder.”

The solid version of the Zephyr has been Venture’s flagship board since the company’s founding in 1999.  Designed as a versatile, all-mountain powerhouse, it performs well in a range of conditions.  It has also received many accolades over the years, including Future Snowboarding Magazine’s Most Valuable Product award in 2007 and 2008.   

The split version, introduced last winter, was well received by backcountry riders seeking a precise and controlled ride in challenging and variable terrain.  Building on this successful design, the changes for winter 2010/2011 have boosted the board’s performance.  A switch from camber to rocker has had the biggest impact, giving the Zephyr splitboard greater maneuverability and float without sacrificing edge hold or performance in less than ideal conditions.

The Zephyr’s victory follows close on the heels of the Storm Splitboard’s success in 2010.  The Storm is Venture’s best-selling splitboard model, and also won an Editors’ Choice award from Backcountry last season.  

Needless to say, we are stoked to have our splitboards receive such a prestigious honor two years in a row!  Look out for the Zephyr's write up in this year's Backcountry Gear Guide, which will hit the newsstands in September.

 

Jarrett Luttrell Rides All CO's 14ers!

Jarrett Luttrell recently made history - he became the first snowboarder to climb and ride all 54 of Colorado's 14ers from their summits.  It's an amazing accomplishment - congrats Jarrett!  And we're stoked to say he bagged some of those peaks on his trusty Venture splitboard!

For more info, check out the following stories about Jarrett:

Transworld Snowboarding

Wild Snow

Scootpalooza! A Benefit for Scott DW Smith

Our buddy and kick ass action sports photographer Scott DW Smith - known and loved far and wide as "Scoot" - broke his femur early this spring while riding and shooting at Telluride, providing us with a great excuse to come together and drink some beer.  

Join us next Friday for Scootpalooza - an evening of great music, great beer and great silent auction items to raise money for his medical bills! 

Groovy tunes provided by Fuzzy Killing Machine and other musical guests. Amazing auction goodies from the likes of Osprey, Ska Brewing, Mountain Boy Sled Works, Montanya Distillers, Venture Snowboards and many others! Tongue-tingling brews from the mighty Ska Brewery!  Details on the benefit below:

Friday, April 30th

6 - 9 pm

Ska Brewing World Headquarters

225 Girard Street

Durango, CO

We'll see you there!

Splitboarding on RSN

Great short segment on splitboarding that aired on RSN earlier this winter.  Includes a demonstration with a Venture Storm-R splitboard!

POW Contest Winner Announced!

The winner of the Venture/Protect Our Winters board graphic contest is "Unknown Future" by Julie Boake.  Congratulations Julie!

Our panel of judges liked the clean look of Julie's design, as well as its illustration of the role that mountains play in the water cycle.

Julie will take home the grand prize - a brand new Venture deck emblazoned with her very own artwork.  These limited edition POW boards will be available for sale this fall and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Protect Our Winters.  Stay tuned for details!

The runner up, Aggie Drelich Smith's "Modern Threat" wins a 09/10 Venture board and the top ten contestants will receive Venture swag as prizes.

Many thanks to all the participants who put their time, energy and creativity into their designs!

Spring Fling on April 3rd!

Opening weekend of the unguided season at Silverton Mountain starts the first weekend in April, so come on up to shred the gnar and then join the Venture crew for an evening of movies, music and madness at our Spring Fling party on Saturday April 3rd!

We'll be screening Signatures from Sweetgrass Productions as well as TGR's short film Generations, raffling off a custom graphic Protect Our Winters snowboard and other great prizes, and stomping our feet to the musical stylings of Durango favorite Waiting On Trial.

The Spring Fling gets rockin' at 8 pm at Silverton's Pride of the West (1323 Greene Street). There is no cover, but proceeds from the raffle will benefit Protect Our Winters and the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies. For more information call 970.387.5269.

Hope to see you there!

Johan Olofsson Joins Venture!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are super stoked to announce that big mountain legend Johan Olofsson has joined Venture Snowboards as a product tester, and will be contributing to product design and development.

Initially an accomplished freestyle rider, Swedish-born Olofsson is renowned for being one of the first snowboarders to take freestyle tricks out of the terrain park and into big mountain environments.  According to an interview in White Lines, “What followed was nothing short of mindblowing…he tackled lines which veterans of the Alaskan heli scene had only contemplated in their dreams, with a speed and fluidity that would change the concept of freeriding forever.” 

In 1996, Olofsson shook the very foundations of snowboarding with his descent of the Cauliflower Chutes in the Standard Films movie TB5.  The ride took him down an Alaskan slope of over 40 degrees and 3,000 vertical feet in just 35 seconds, averaging close to 50 miles per hour.  This feat landed him in the 1996 Guinness Book of World Records and solidified his status as a living legend of big mountain snowboarding. 

Olofsson’s involvement with Venture began last spring when we sent him a splitboard while filming in Glacier Bay National Park for the Teton Gravity Research movie Deeper.  After riding Venture’s Storm splitboard in some of Alaska’s most remote and inaccessible terrain, Olofsson was impressed.  “I like the solid feel of Venture boards and the first try at riding the Storm was a blast.  The rockered shape and snappy turns make it a fun freeride board.  You can slash and throw the tail around in all kinds of places.  I like to have fun on my board and this one helps.”

The primary role Olofsson will play with Venture will be to influence product design and development.  “I’m super stoked to have Johan riding our boards and am looking forward to working with him on continuing to improve our designs,” says Klemens Branner, Venture’s founder and co-owner.  “It’s going to be amazing to have one of the world’s most accomplished freeriders collaborating with us.”   

Olofsson is also excited about the opportunity, especially in regard to developing splitboards.  “I’m always looking into projects that will progress the sport, in this case freeride boards which are getting to be a rare breed in the industry.  The split theory speaks for itself.  Working on this level with Venture makes it possible to create and shape boards quickly, and I hope to get some good shapes out there for you all.”

Welcome on board Johan!

 

 

Make Your Voice Heard in the Senate!

The House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act a few months ago and legislation is currently in the hands of the Senate. While the details of the Senate bill haven’t been ironed out yet, the fight may come down to a few undecided votes - and our collective voice could help tip the scales.

A strong US climate policy will help protect small businesses, jobs and the vitality of our unique mountain communities that draw millions of tourists each year.

The Protect Our Winters “Sixty Days” website offers an overview of the issues at stake, shows the current voting position of each Senator, and gives you an easy way to send an e-letter telling Senators why passing strong climate legislation is crucial to the economic and cultural well being of mountain communities.

If this issue matters to you, please take the time to send a note to your Senator letting them know you want them to support strong climate legislation this Spring. Make your voice heard!

Cast Your Vote!

What a great response we received for the first ever Venture/Protect Our Winters snowboard art contest!

More than 50 entries poured in from creative folks across the continent, each putting their own spin on the contest themes of winter, the environment and activism.

Our panel of judges convened last Friday to review the submissions and select the top ten finalists. They are:



Julie Boake
Pete Connolly
Aggie Drelich Smith
Glen Graves
Steven Harris
Glenn Holbrook
Emily Kuang
Skye McNeill
Eric Sakotas
Joe Weber

All of these participants will receive t-shirts and other Venture swag for their participation in the contest.

From these ten, our judges whittled it down to their five favorites - posted below. Now comes your chance to cast a vote for your favorite entry!

To vote, use the poll in the top left hand column of this blog. You may also vote in person at the Venture factory showroom here in Silverton.

Polls close at midnight on Monday, March 15, 2010 and the winner will be announced shortly afterwards. The top artwork will be used in a limited edition run of Protect Our Winters snowboards for winter 2010/2011, and the winning artist will receive a board emblazoned with their artwork as grand prize!

Many thanks to all of the participants who put in the time, energy and creativity to make this contest a success. We couldn't have done it without you!

[click on the images below to see a larger version]

_____________________________________________________________________________

Skye McNeill - Seattle, WA
"Dwindle"

_____________________________________________________________________________

Julie Boake - Alberta Canada
"Unknown Future"

____________________________________________________________________________

Glenn Holbrook - Venice, CA

"Regrowth"

_____________________________________________________________________________

Glen Graves - Mancos, CO
"Blue Kristl"

_____________________________________________________________________________

Aggie Drelich Smith - Boulder, CO
"Modern Threat"

__________________________________________________________________________

Happy voting!

Susan Mol In First Place of Freeride World Tour!

Venture rider and Crested Butte, CO local Susan Mol is currently in first place for women's snowboarding in the Freeride World Tour. Here she is on the podium in Chamonix. Congrats Susan and good luck with the rest of the tour! Tear it up girl!!

Follow the action here:
http://www.freerideworldtour.com/en/