Issue 01 - Train to Gain for Skiing and Riding
Issue 02 - New Olympic Fever: See World Cup Races
Issue 03 - 10 Age-Old Secrets For Skiing Forever
Issue 04 - Sweetest Ride: Try Custom Boards
Issue 05 - Rockies Family Fun: Make a Great Escape
Issue 06 - Skiing the Rockies: Experts' Top Tips
Issue 07 - Best Snow in 19 Years: Ski Banff National Park



 
Issue. 04
 
Sweetest Ride: Try Custom Boards

 

Snowboarding has strongly influenced skiing and mountain resorts in the past decade with the advent of twin tips and terrain parks.

Jason Broz is the sole custom snowboard maker in Alberta, and his Clyde Snowboards is growing as local, U.S. and eastern Canadian customers discover the joys of a made-in-the-Rockies ride tailored to their specifications.

Check out Canadian Rockies ski and snowboard holidays. Read on for a Q & A with Calgary-based Broz as he gives tips on buying boards, explains what works best in terrain parks and powder, and suggests some great Canadian Rockies snowboard runs.

Discover how a custom ride by Canadian Rockies board artists can sweeten your experience. Expect to spend in the $400-$600 (Cdn) range.

 

How to Buy a Custom Board

 

The first thing is, you don’t need to be an expert rider. Sometimes the people that best benefit from a custom board are people who don’t have a preconceived notion of what they want or need.

Advanced riders often have specific requests that unfortunately might not be the best for that rider. For a novice rider I can ask if they know what they want, that’s the first thing. If they do know, you get details such as flex, length, width of the board, how big are their feet, what graphic do they like. And we can do a custom graphic.

It’s really good if a customer can tell me what they are used to, so if someone tells me they need a 157 and their last board was a 150, I want to know why they want to make that switch, to help peel back the layers and discover what they are looking for -- maybe they want to do more half pipe than powder.

 

What’s the difference between a powder board and a terrain parks board?

 

I’ve got a deep powder board in the testing stage that’s good for those days when it has snowed a lot and you want to do steep runs or go in the trees rather than the half pipe. So it’s longer with more of a nose kick to it and it’s tapered at the tail. For deep powder you want a longer board that floats better. You want as much surface area under your feet to float.

For free style, the twin tip boards are more fun to ride in terrain parks. For the terrain park I like a shorter board. I’m 6 ft. tall and I ride a 157 twin for maneuverability. I have done that for a few years because it’s easy to use at slow speeds.

Get something with a deep side cut, which gives a tighter turning radius, compared to riding fast.

 

How do you test the boards?

 

The people who test my boards do so in the Canadian Rockies in Alberta, so everything from the flex of the board to the width comes into play. The boards are all tested on Alberta hills, from the park at Canada Olympic Park to the terrain park at Sunshine Village near Banff.

There’s nothing more fun than doing park laps at Sunshine Village with your friends, especially when it’s sunny out.

 

What inspired you to make custom boards?

 

I had been breaking boards fresh out of high school in the mid-90s and I thought the quality was pretty low, so I wanted to try and start making my own boards.

At the beginning it was an expensive hobby. At that time there was no textbook on how to do it, so I taught myself, and I wanted to make something Canadian.
How can making and choosing a snowboard be a family affair?

My dad works in the plywood industry so he helped me with pressing materials. We worked together and he had fun learning with me. If you’re going to buy a custom board, everyone wants something different, so you can discuss it and that can be fun.

 

Do you give the board a Canadian Rockies slant?

 

The best part is the wood core in the board, and that’s always Canadian aspen. There are several great things about this component: it is really light but really strong and it has an excellent flex memory because it wants to return to its original shape. So that gives you a lively board beneath your feet.

I work with local Calgary artists. Mark Kowalchuk did The Birds Have Feelings Too, which was our best selling board of the year -- it has Rasta colors on the base of the board and the top is black and white, and of course it has birds on it. Christina Huber did The Kingdom, it has lots of animals with an amazing pattern that is more for women.

 

What are your fave snowboard runs?

 

At Sunshine Village, I like Standish and the Divide, though I’m all over the place. If it’s really deep there is nothing more fun than going up Goat’s Eye. That’s where I would take a bigger board.

 

Try Runs at Alberta Resorts

 

All of the resorts have terrain parks. Here are a few choice runs not chosen by Broz.

 

Marmot Basin: Head to advanced Paradise, a great intermediate run off the Paradise Chair. Experts can try Show Off.

Lake Louise Ski Area: Experts head to challenging Whitehorn, which you can access from the Summit Platter. Wiwaxy is slower and a good family choice.

Mt. Norquay: Try Lone Pine when there’s powder, it heads straight downhill.

Nakiska: Take the Gold Chair and pretty much anything from there is good.

Castle Mountain: Try South Run from the Triple Chair, good for warming up.