Burton Demo Stop: Killington

The calm before the storm

Last week Morgan presented me with the opportunity to work at the final Burton Super Demo in Killington, Vt over the weekend. I have been on the phone all season speaking with shops and reps, as well as customers. I had not had the opportunity to interact with with Burton customers on the snow this season, so this was a great chance to get out and see what people really wanted as well as to gauge their reactions to the products.

Morgan was pushing more Nugs than the creepy old guy with the "fresh baked" t-shirt

I left work on Friday and headed down to Killington with Billy J, who was headed down to work the Stash event on Saturday. I wasn't sure what the accommodations would be like, but when I arrived I was pleasantly surprised. Three of us split a nice sized condo with a great view of the mountain.

Sunny with a 100% chance of Joey

I missed the first day of the demo due to work, so when I arrived early Saturday morning everything was already setup and ready to go. It didn't take a college grad to figure out what to do: greet customers, figure out what type of riding they do, and help them choose a board to demo.

Das Boots

Both Saturday and Sunday were sunny, clear, and warm. We had a high volume of demo enthusiasts, keeping us busy for most of the day. Thanks to Morgan's persistence and logic, we were all able to sneak out for a run towards the end of the day. I took out a 50 Nug with some Cobrasharks. We took a super fun run through the Stash and then through the woods and into some other park with a fun jump line.

The happy crowd

Sunday was busy as well. Morgan and I had the opportunity to get out for a run. I tried the Nug 52 from 2012, and I was not as impressed. I preferred the twin shape of the 50 to the directional 52. The 52 will probably be better for me in the trees, but after a lap through the Stash, I preferred the shorter twin.

Trying to get cell Service

Sunday concluded with the coveted break-down, which involves deconstructing and removing 6 large inflatable tents, as well as all of the gear within them. The process went smoothly, and we were on our way home by 5:30. Well, not exactly on our way- we stopped for charred prehistoric wing-like food, lurked around the Darkside for a bit, and then headed out. The ride was pretty amusing. Good weekend.

Keeping it real in the back seat

-Austin

Bruhns Update

Waterbury Backcountry and Burga's Booter



Matt, solo, the morning of our biggest dump so far this year

Matt Bruhns has been snapping shots all season long. He was there shooting for most of the stories I have written about here. These are some shots from our suburban snowboard trip in Waterbury, as well as from a jump we built an an undisclosed location. Enjoy.

Jeff Burga looking the other way

Jeff

Me at a Power line trail in Waterbury

Check out more of Matt's photos on his website.

-Austin

Bruhns Update

Stone Hut

Matt Bruhns has been snapping shots all season long. He was there shooting for most of the stories I have written about. Here are some shots from our Stone Hut trip. Check out the story here. Enjoy.

Stone Hut refrigerator

Hoffman and I steaming
Hoffman right before he almost fell into the Rock Garden

Check out more of Matt's photos on his website.

- Austin

Pritchard Simmons

My bunny is bejewled.

- Austin

Waterburried

Every time I drive by Waterbury there are two different lines that I always think about. Both are power line trails. One is on the Stowe side of the highway, the other is across the Winooski. Both are visible from 89, right before the exit. With the two feet of snow Northern Vermont saw at the beginning of the week, Matt and I decided to spend the morning doing some suburban splitboarding.

At the bottom of the dam
Hot rocks melting an area of snow

The sun was out, so we decided to start at the Waterbury dam, which has good light in the morning. We arrived and found a significant layer of surface crust. Despite our disappointment, we decided to hike to the top of the dam and check out the other side. The snow on the other side of the dam was much softer and lacked a crust, but it was not nearly deep enough. We headed down and moved on to check out the power line trail off of Duxbury Road. JP met up with us for the hike.

Looking up at the first trail

After 20 or 30 minutes we reached the top. The snow was definitely there, but the grade was not. The ride down was fun, but rather uneventful. JP did drop a small cliff, which was a bit sketchy, given the manky underbrush and tree stumps hiding under the snow.

Matt

JP

Billy Ocean. What more do you need?

After we were done, JP took off, and Matt and I headed to the second power line trial. We parked in a neighborhood at the top of the trail and quickly took off though a few backyards. We arrived at the top of the trail to find more crust. We decided to drop down anyway. We both had to point it, as turns were almost impossible with the crust. Matt stuck an Austin Flip and cut his lip a bit on the upper layer of ice. Other than that, it was uneventful. We skinned back up in a shaded area, which would have made for a much more fun down than the open power line trail.

Getting ready for the second power line trail

We then went back to the dam to hike a few runs on a short, steep open hill right off of the road before the dam. After a few laps we decided to call it a day. I felt surprisingly worked for such a simple day.

The last hill

Setting up shots

-Austin

White Knucklin'

In Vermont, a lot of time is spent looking for good snow. Sometimes it can be a while before any is found. After a few rainy days, snow showed up. A lot of it. I woke at 4:30 to head out and split up Stowe with the intention of being at work by 10. I walked out of my house, stepped of the porch, and found myself thigh deep in snow. I continued walking and found my truck under a large white mushroom. The door plowed snow when I opened it to start the engine. After 10 minutes of scraping and clearing, I was pushing out of the driveway and into the pre-apocalypse.

As it was still pretty early, the roads were fairly clear- especially with most of the traffic flow discarded in snow banks and ditches. It was a peaceful feeling to know that I was escaping Burlington right before it woke up. As I merged onto 89 from 189, wind was aggressively disrupting plow drivers efforts, leaving huge wind lips and snow drifts haphazardly across the highway, ending my peaceful feeling. With the needle at 45 and fear in my eyes, I focused on making it to the parking lot at 6:00 to meet up with Matt.

I rolled in at 6:20. Matt was gone. The quad typically starts spinning at 7:30. I doubted that I would make it to the top of Liftline in an hour and ten minutes, so I headed over to the Gondola, which opens a bit later. I broke trail untill the top of the first pitch, when a groomer passed by, rolling out my magic carpet to the top. I was at the waterfall before 7:30.

The snow was light on top, but fairly heavy underneath. After one of the better rides of the season, I found myself stuck by the Midway lodge, wading through thigh deep snow trying to get back to my truck. I checked my cell phone to find good news- no work until 1:00. I headed over to the Triple, which was the only thing running, and met up with Hoffman. We took a few runs and managed to find fresh snow each time. We then headed over to the Gondola, which had only just started running. We got first tracks on Perry Merril, and then headed out to Angel Food, where I had some of the best turns I have had all season. A few more runs and I was ready to go to work- late.

I spent all day on the Freebird. Such a good board.










-Austin

Burga's Booter

PBR. Always well represented

Jeff Burga erected a jump somewhere in Vermont a week or so ago. The weather for Saturday was looking pretty glum. The forecast called for rain and sleet, which was supposed to turn to snow on Sunday. Not wanting to ride Stowe, and lacking the imagination to do anything other than snowboard, I joined Matt, Ryan, and Jeff for an afternoon of hiking, shoveling and fun.

Ryan takes a breather

Jeff and Matt had arrived at the jump at least an hour before Ryan and I made it out. Ryan was shopping for dresses and watching MMA videos on the Inter-web all morning, which hampered our arrival time.

Jeff thinks; Ryan drinks

We had a few hours before the building rain shower and tired legs finally drove us home. The jump was great. It was poppy with a good run-out. Once it was chopped up a bit, the snow was actually pretty decent.

Matt about to push that back leg out

Matt waiting for the shot

I should have some much better shots from his blog posted here soon. Now its time to hope this snow will come our way.












-Austin