"The Mountain Life" Photo Contest Announced

One lucky shutter bug will win a brand new deck. Will it be you?

Venture Snowboards is sponsoring a season-long series of photo competitions this winter with the theme "The Mountain Life." Anything goes - lifestyle, action, scenic, humor... as long as it reflects life in the mountains. So get creative and capture the essence of the mountain life. Extra credit given for shots that include a Venture snowboard!

First tier competitions will take place monthly from September 2008 through March 2009, with t-shirts and other Venture swag as prizes. Monthly winners will be entered into a second tier competition, to be judged in early April. The grand prize for the second tier contest is a brand spanking new Venture snowboard.

The nitty gritty on the competition:

• Submissions are limited to one photo per person per month.

• Monthly submission deadlines are as follows: 9/30/08, 10/31/08, 11/30/08, 12/31/08, 1/31/09, 2/28/09, 3/31/09. Submissions received after these dates will roll over into the next month's competition.

• Results of monthly competitions will be posted on the Venture Snowboards blog early the following month.

• Winning photos will be displayed on the Venture Snowboards website and blog.

• First tier winners will receive Venture t-shirts and other swag as prizes.

• Second tier winner will be announced in early April.

• Second tier winner will receive a new Venture snowboard (splitboards excluded).

• Only original photography will be accepted.

• Employees of Venture Snowboards are ineligible.

• No purchase is necessary.

• This contest is void where prohibited.
  

• By entering the contest, entrant grants Venture Snowboards perpetual, nonexclusive rights to the photo.
  

• Entries will be judged by a panel selected by Venture Snowboards and all decisions are final.

Here's how to enter:

• Email your submission to info@venturesnowboards.com, with the words "Photo Contest" in the subject line.

• Include the following information in the body of your email: Full name, daytime and evening phone numbers, mailing address, description of photo, name(s) of subject(s), and location.

• Photos must be jpg or tif files, no larger than 2 MB. Please name your file using the following convention: yourfirstname_yourlastname_submissionmonth.jpg.

• Incomplete entries will not be judged.

Now grab that camera and get snapping!

Oh How Time Flies...

I used to make this kid clean the toilet at Inferno, now he works at Transworld Snowboarding.

Waiting...

... and patiently at that.

ImageSmith Shares the New Zealand Stoke!!

Headed to New Zealand on Monday... can't stand still and super charged for the trip!!! Set up the board bag last night loaded with my freshly tuned on Storm 165 Venture locked and loaded!!! We'll be sending tons of pix as we can .... the stoke is on!!! near record snow in NZ!
peace
Scott Smith
The ImageSmith

Venture Debuts "The Bomber"

Aaron Brill, founder of the rogue ski area Silverton Mountain, has long dreamed of designing his own snowboard. Now his ideas are becoming reality through a partnership with Venture Snowboards.

Venture has become the ski area’s official snowboard sponsor and maintains a fleet of demo boards at the mountain. In addition, Venture’s founder and design engineer, Klemens Branner, has been collaborating with his counterpart at Silverton Mountain to develop a big mountain deck, influenced by the terrain that is fast making Silverton a legend. “I’m really excited to be working with Aaron and to tap his expertise. Our initial prototypes have performed well, and I think some revolutionary designs will come out of this partnership,” said Branner.

In 06.07, input from Brill was used to develop Venture’s big mountain board, the Storm. For 08.09, they’ve tweaked the Storm’s design by adding a modified swallowtail. “The tail is forked as with any other swallowtail, but it curves upward like a standard board rather than being flat,” says Branner. “This means you can ride switch, which is damn near impossible on a traditional swallowtail, and still have all the powder-specific benefits.” After putting the board through its paces on Silverton Mountain, Brill seems happy with the design: "This board rips all big mountain conditions with no loss of torsional rigidity typically found in other swallowtails, and when it gets extra deep the unique tail kicks in for optimum powder riding and no leg burn."

The limited edition Silverton Mountain Swallowtail features custom Silverton Mountain graphics, and is available exclusively at Silverton Mountain. For more information call Silverton Mountain at 970.387.5706 or visit the mountain's website.

3rd Annual Season Kickoff Party - 12/8/07

Welcome winter in style! Join the Venture crew and the characters from Ska Brewing on Saturday, December 8th for our third annual Season Kickoff Party.

This year's bash features live music from The Freeman Social and In A Day, the release of Ska's winter brew, Euphoria Pale Ale - named after our powder board, of course - and a raffle for a coveted Ska/Venture custom snowboard. We'll have drink specials and tons of giveaways from Bubba's Boards, El Diablo Snowcats, Inferno Snowboard Shop, Kokopelli Bike & Board, Pedal & Powder, Purgatory, Purl Wax, Silverton Mountain, Spark R&D, and Wolf Creek Ski Area, to name a few. All party-goers receive discounted lift tickets at Silverton Mountain on Sunday!

The party gets rockin' at 9 pm at Silverton's Pride of the West Saloon (1323 Greene Street). Cover charge is $5 and this is a 21+ event.

Factory & Showroom Now Open

We're now officially open for business in our new hometown of Silverton, Colorado. Where better to locate a grassroots snowboard company?

Situated at 9,318 feet above sea level, Silverton is surrounded by the rugged peaks of the San Juan Mountains - Colorado’s largest mountain group. Outside of Alaska, no other mountain range in the U.S. has a higher average elevation. The town of Silverton is also home to the extreme ski area, Silverton Mountain, and its expert only terrain. Combined with the nearly limitless backcountry opportunities, it will serve as an ideal proving ground for our boards.

If you find yourself in our neck of the woods, come on by for a visit. We're located at 951 Greene Street, right next to the laundromat.

Zephyr Named "Most Valuable Product"

We're stoked to announce that our flagship board, the all-mountain Zephyr, has once again been named a Most Valuable Product by Future Snowboarding Magazine.

Future’s 2008 product review included more than 130 boards from 40 manufacturers. The focus of the test was on all-mountain boards – boards that excel regardless of terrain, conditions, or riding style. After being waxed, detuned and covered with a special decal to ensure anonymity, the boards underwent two weeks of rigorous testing at Northstar-at-Tahoe. Only 40 boards emerged with top honors and the prestigious FSMVP rating.

After being put through its paces, Venture’s Zephyr 151 Narrow has again landed in the top ten of the Women's Premium category, taking sixth place for boards in the $400 - $550 price range. Check out the News page on our website to read the review.

Ska Rides Again

Venture Snowboards and the characters at Ska Brewing are once again teaming up to produce a limited edition beer and a small run of custom graphics boards. This year's decks feature Ska's zany comic book characters, along with the distinctive Venture snowflake.

The partnership between Venture and Ska started when the two homegrown businesses came together to talk about how they could collaborate. "We jokingly refer to ourselves as the microbrew of snowboards because we build high quality boards from scratch," explains Venture's Lisa Branner. "Ska takes the same approach in crafting their beer, so teaming up seemed like a natural."

Several limited edition boards will be given away this winter at events across the state. Stay tuned for details - and look out for Euphoria Pale Ale on tap and in bottles throughout the southwest.

Movin' On Up

We're taking our environmental commitment to higher ground with a sustainable snowboard factory in Silverton, Colorado (elevation 9,318 feet). Design plans for our new 4,000 square foot building include passive and active solar features, as well as the use of sustainable, recycled, and reclaimed materials throughout. The building will house Venture's production facility, as well as administrative offices and a small showroom. Groundbreaking is planned for the spring of 2009. In the meantime, you can find us at 951 Greene Street, on Silverton's main drag.