On top of the world in Austria

While many people in Canada dread the dropping temperatures and snow that eventually signals the start of winter - I can’t wait. In fact, this year I didn’t wait. I just got back from Europe where I got an early start to my winter. We were snowboarding on what seemed like the top of the world. The glaciers in Austria are able to stay open year round because of their elevation of 3,000 meters!

This year we followed the tips we heard through the grapevine about a snowboard park with a 5 jump line in October. That’s amazing for a time that is typically spend waiting for the snow to fly in North America. I got some great training in but struggled with some lower back pain which limited my riding.

After 2 weeks we packed up and drove halfway across Austria (not that far) to Dachstein for my first competition of the year. It was a 4 star TTR slopestyle course with 2 rails and 3 jumps. Despite very challenging conditions and dealing with my injury, I was happy with how I rode in the competition. It just wasn’t my day though. My last run came down to the last jump on an inverted 720. The trick didn’t come around properly and I fell.

The level of riding was very high because there aren’t any other competitions at that time of year. It was great to see what the international field was throwing down in their runs. Now its time for me to get out there and learn the tricks I need to consistently make the finals at events like that. I’m heading to Colorado for another training camp in a weeks time to do just that. I can’t wait!

New Zealand Video

After my go to resort Snow Park closed down this year I was skeptical about riding at Cardrona Alpine Resort. They stepped up their game and had one of the most on point park crews I have ever seen. Our coach Joe made the trip to NZ for the first time this year. He was really stoked to film some dynamic shots of us. "I think follow camming is my new favourite thing!" Check out the video below. You can definitely tell he was as stoked to get the film our tricks as we were to do them.
A big THANK YOU to Ryfan Electric Ltd for really making this trip possible for me and my Pursuit Team for allowing me to bring my coach out.

Pursu.it Fundraising Campaign

https://pursu.it/campaign/andrew-matthews/

I have a great opportunity to be featured on the new website Pursu.it. The website features Canadian athletes for 2 months to help them reach their fundraising goals. Check out my video, bio and givebacks on by clicking here. Every little bit helps. Thanks for your support.

Slideshow

Hey hey!

Here's a slideshow I put together from a wicked season in 2012/13. I saw this band, the Strumbellas in Whistler and they were awesome. They're going to be big! Enjoy!

Snowboard Slideshow 2012/13 from Andrew Matthews on Vimeo.

White Wash on Snowboarder Mag

Hey hey,

My buddy Aaron Santos (check him out http://aarondevours.wordpress.com/) put together a nice teaser for his upcoming video. So nice, in fact, that it got on Snowboarder Magazine's website (http://www.snowboardermag.com/videos/white-wash-teaser/) It's kind of a big deal to get some coverage on their website. It's my first time as well as Sam, Jesse, Kyle and Aaron's. We're (almost) famous! Thanks Aaron!
Here's the edit: I cannot wait for the full movie to drop.

Spring Riding

We had a great time riding this spring! The slushier snow enticed us to try some new tricks. When the conditions are right sometime you've got to go for it. One day Kyle and I were both trying double cork 1080s. Kyle came super close whereas mine needs some work. But anything can happen... Here's the latest video from my friend's Kyle, Sam, Aaron, Dylan and I this spring on Blackcomb.

Beyond Boarding Edit

Beyond Boarding (http://beyondboarding.org/) is an amazing nonprofit organization of snowboarders who are passionate about giving back to the community. I'm stoked to get involved with them. One of my good friends Tamo Campos started it a while back as a way to use his creative and athletic talents in snowboarding to make a difference in the world. My roomate Sam Weston has been helping out since the summer and he's recently got myself and Kyle involved. Check out the 3 of us riding Grouse Mountain in Beyond Boarding's latest edit below. Thank you Andrew Santos for filming us and slicing the edit together!

Beyond Boarding at Grouse Park from Andrew Santos on Vimeo.

Lastest and Greatest Video

Foggy Park Fun 3

Here in Whistler it gets foggy pretty often. Here's how my friends and I make the most of it.
Snowmen Foggy Day Fun On Blackcomb from tyler ravelle on Vimeo.

Westbeach Video

Top to Bottom Park Run

Filming a top to bottom park run is not easy! For the filmer or for me as the rider. One messed up trick and you're done for. Here's what we came up with yesterday.

Foggy Park Fun Edit

World Champs Recap

Overall the World Championships were a great experience. I landed some good  runs in practice despite very challenging conditions. The weather was -30 for both the training day and the competition. On the first day I was the first one to show up for practice and the second last to leave. I guess everyone else was scared of the cold, or maybe the jump, in fact probably both! A lot of people dropped out of the competition because the setup was sketchy: very icy and a lot of compression before the jump. I was happy that I was able to overcome the challenging conditions and still give it my best shot.

The crowd was huge for the event. My parents and brother there in the front row. It was awesome to have their support there. I knew that I need to step it up for this competition and when you're pushing your limits - doing tricks that you aren't very comfortable with - there's a bigger risk of not landing. That's what happened to me. I rolled the dice and it didn't go my way. Instead of looking at it as a letdown I'm taking away a lot of positives from the experience... I just competed in my first World Snowboard Championships! I'm really motivated and excited about the rest of the season. Now I've got some time to ride hard and learn some new tricks before my next big competition the Canadian Shield at Blue Mountain on February 23.

Catching some air in -30 weather

Autograph signing after my presentation to these students

Pretty nice looking jump here

Me and event TD Tim O'Brian

The big show in finals!