Post by: Sara Tollestrup

Arctic Blast 2008 hit Vancouver in mid-December and didn't let up until well into the New Year. If you were flying to or from any Canadian destination at that time, then you have probably vowed never to do it again, but traveling into winter storms is what pro snowboarders do. On New Years Day Gabi Viteri and Natazsa Zurek rolled into town to see what they could make of Mount Seymour and the surrounding snow covered city.

Nat and Gabi along with Burton filmer, Aaron Leyland and photographer, Chris Owen spent the first 4 days of the year riding Mount Seymour's 659 centimeters of snow, hiking to some top secret local's spots and jibbing the nights away. Originally the crew had planned to hit park style jumps on Seymour, but with all of the snow that had fallen there were plenty of cliffs to drop and powder turns to capitalize on. After a day of fun on Seymour's Dark Run, Nat and Gabi were stoked to check out a new spot on Seymour that local Snake Bullet shred, Rupert took them to. There was probably more hiking than snowboarding that went on that day, but both Nat and Gabi were stoked on the beautiful scenery, and in all honesty who doesn't need a good hike after December's festivities? 

Nat hiking at Mount Seymour. Owen photo

When the crew wasn't riding Seymour they were either checking out potential jib spots, or hitting them up -always with coffee in hand. With more snow than the city has seen in over two decades there were plenty of  crews out and about. Gabi shared a popular North Vancouver rail with the Sandbox crew, and shortly after who else showed up, but JP Walker, Simon Chamberlain and the Stepchild guys. Needless to say the rail Gabi was going after was no walk in the park, even the guys were having trouble getting their tricks on it, but she did what my mama always told me to do -practice, practice, practice.

Gabi chilling at the rail. Owen photo

The second jib session was a true mission. The crew headed out to hit a wallride some time after dinner, and didn't get home until 1:30 in the morning. The snow turned to rain which intermittently turned to heavier rain. In the middle of the session a loud bang that sounded like a snowboard being dropped flat-based onto pavement rang out. In the pouring rain Owen's flash had exploded. When he unzipped his back pack a cloud of black smoke filled the air. Despite bad weather, low temperatures and explosions the crew pushed on until they got some shots.

Building the jump. Owen photo

The next day the crew packed their bags and headed out, undoubtedly in search of another storm.