Local snowboarder Patrick Kitto gave us a few minutes of his time on a powder day to chat about why he loves his Kindred snowboard. He is a local Islander who embodies the passion of boardsports crossover culture. He lives and breathes snow-skate-surf. Pat treats the mountain like a playground, finding reasons to huck himself off every windlip, cliff, roller and chunder nugget. That said, Pat’s true love of snowboarding isn’t just on display when he rides. Besides his street-cred as a local shredder, we think one of the coolest things about Pat is his contribution to the sport through Jump Camp. This is where he pays forward the joy of riding to the next generation. He founded Jump Camp, the infamous grassroots all-ages and abilities freestyle snowboard camp, over twenty years ago! Many local snowboarders have started their progression into freestyle riding under the guidance of Pat and the crew of Jump Camp coaches and mentors. Also, for the past few years he has organized a snowboard drive to provide equipment to local youth and take some financial pressure off snow-loving families. If you want to support the snowboard drive it begins next week on Dec 1st – that is only 6 days away! Check out the Jump Camp links below for details about how to donate gear and put a smile on a kid’s face. Website - http://www.jumpcamp.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_jumpcamp_/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JumpCamp-Vancouver-Islands-Premier-Snowboard-Camp-104380736280352 Thanks again to Ivan and Grayden from Visual Inclination for creating these awesome videos. Visual Inclination on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/visualinclination Visual Inclination on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/visinc/

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We caught up with ACMG guide Jan Neuspiel between trips to Bella Coola, and asked him about his custom powder skis. They feature west coast raven design created by our favourite local K’omoks and Kwakwaka’wakw artist, Karver Everson. So you might be wondering, who is Jan? Jan has been guiding and teaching for more than 35 years all over the world with a particular focus on the Himalayan region for about half that time. He spent six years living in Nepal (he speaks Nepali!) and eleven years running a helicopter skiing operation in northern India. Since 2006 Jan has also been the Head Guide for Bella Coola Helisports' heliskiing operations in the Mount Waddington area of the BC Coast Range. Closer to home, Jan founded two of Vancouver Island's most familiar alpine institutions: 1) Island Alpine Guides, which is Vancouver Island's premiere mountain school and guide service. 2) The Vancouver Island Avalanche Centre, where he acted as lead forecaster until recently. It's a homegrown and grassroots effort supported entirely by local businesses and users. They provide avalanche safety information for Vancouver Islanders who recreate in the backcountry in winter, predominantly via the Vancouver Island Avalanche Bulletin. His breadth of experience, his thoughtful kindness and his spirit of adventure make Jan a natural leader. He is a true inspiration and we are so thankful for his influence on the alpine culture here in our community, and for his positive contributions to mountain culture at large. Relevant Links: Island Alpine Guides https://www.islandalpineguides.com/ https://www.instagram.com/islandalpineguides/ Vancouver Island Avalanche Centre https://www.islandavalanchebulletin.com/ https://www.instagram.com/viavalanche/ Karver Everson http://karvereverson.com/ https://www.instagram.com/karvereverson_nwc/ Kindred https://kindredsnowstore.com/ Thanks again to Ivan and Grayden from Visual Inclination for creating these awesome videos. Visual Inclination on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/visualinclination Visual Inclination on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/visinc/

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Ty is a skier. He grew up park skiing in Ontario. He chased the snow out West, determined to bag 900’s, cork 7’s and 60ft cliffs. He has been working in the ski industry since high school. Now he works as a waste water technician at our local resort. Have you locals noticed how delicious the drinking water is up there? Guys like him stay out of sight, and ski a lot. For Ty it’s about creating moments in the mountains that weave together into a life’s story. We are so glad that many of our stories intertwine with his. Long live the ski bum! May we know them, may we love them, may we be them. Thanks again to Ivan from Visual Inclination for creating these awesome videos. Visual Inclination on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/visualinclination Visual Inclination on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/visinc/

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