Industry ho Adam Munroe. (NBD#6)

Questions by BenfeE, Photos by a lot of people.

Colonel Munroe made his way across the plains many hundred years ago during the time of muskets and “Natives” (What the hell is a “Native.” We’re all Russians). Colonel Munroe laid waste to many in his path until he faced the French from the Northeast. Whence upon he took into his room a fair maiden before his final day of judgment. This maiden would go onto bear quadruplets with the hair of Munroe. This hair would stay in the Northeast, and eventually find its way into a factory and under a beanie. The latest of the Munroe descendants resides in a state supported by New Hampshire. This Munroe is Adam. Not A Dam, but goddamn, Adam. May mercy be had on the native booters.

Adam, what’s it like being the descendant of a red-coat?
I have Scottish, Welch, and Danish blood in me… no Beetle blood.

Are you a communist, or imperialist?
Agatha’s uncle in Warsaw is a commie. He lives it up.
I’d get a second name so I could get double paid commie-style.

Should jumps be built or found?
You should definitely find jumps that are built. It’s way easier.
Or you could ollie like a snakeboarder with foot straps.

What’s so great about 2008?
-Global Oven effect hasn’t hit too bad yet.
-Size 32 jeans still sag on my aging skeleton.
-Advancement in male growth ointments.
-Riding 2009… I mean 2010 sports equipment. Yep.

Would you rather take hair, or break some air?
I eat hair big time. Grow big hair or go home is the saying.

If you had to pick one Austro-Hungarian composer to be the backdrop to your life, who would it be?
Tie between Franz Liszt and Frankfurter Lipshitz.

Sean Paul, Shaggy, or Scrambled Eggs with Bacon…Kevin that is…?
I’d eat raw eggs on Kevbo’s abs circa ‘Footloose’. He saved that town from so much pain. Jean Paul is king of the Caribbean.

What is your week like?
Wake up, think about showering, drive to Spurbury, work, eat a Banquet frozen entree, try to steal time to hit GrnMtnCoffee sledding hill, work, drive to Eesa, piggyback Agatha to the car, drive home together, mutual footrubs, chat about Canadian politics, eat Mexican, bathroom Mexican, watch, read the SPEED channel, spoon, read a mag, sleep, wake up, be nocturnal, spy on the neighbors in Agatha’s robe with some lip gloss on. Lil’ Mama spits mad yo. (X 5)

Snowboard, eat a lot, drive around a lot, snowboard, hang with Lucas and Jonny. (X 2)

Which of your coworkers has gotten laid fewer times than anybody you know?
Prob the one that’s been married the longest. Sully is prob stoked for his birthday and anniversary more than say… JP. I think JP has a harem at the factory. Foot rubs are code for FJs oversea and undersea.

How bad is the Canadian snowboard team going to suck in 2010?
Jesse Fulton, Kevin Young, James ‘Jimbo’ Foster, and Sean Genovese will take gold through brown in the Super GS. Ross Rebligati will be DQ-ed for taking too many Advil.

How sweet is the red white and blue? No, not France….
My truck is Japanese, my board is Austrian, and my fries are French, but my home is MERICA.

Okay, that should be that for now.
Thank you Bendini.

Dragging knuckles… and shoulders.

Jorge rides so low it’s hard to tell he’s so high… on shred!

5 Minutes with Shred Gypsy Gerald “Eagle Eyes” Thompson (NBD#5)

Eagle Eyes,

1. A lot of hard core shred heads have 9 to 5 cubical gigs, yet try to fit in snowboarding wherever they can – before work, after work, during lunch break, calling in sick to ride, etc. Having the freedom to ride when you want – as long as you have gas money or the will to thumb for a ride up the Timberline access road – is almost a weird luxury, even though money might be tight at times. If a cool place to work offered you a solid 9 to 5 Monday through Friday, say in downtown Portland, would you give up your freedom to shred for the almighty dollar?

i’d have to give that a big ol’ no, beginning of the season i worked downtown, barely rode and lived in north portland, lets just say I’m not in oregon anymore.

2. Back in ’04 you rode with a bunch of Govy locals that ruled the slopes – Gumby, Muff-dog, Space, and some other dudes with tall beanies and Holden kits. It was always super fun to ride with you dudes ’cause ripped and basically destroyed every cliff/ log/ jump you came across. Do you still ride with that posse or have you moved on? And what’s up with those drifters, if you even know?

ahh…. those were the days and damn i forgot all about gumby. muff has been sharpening his mother board skills and starting a messaging business. Space has got it made he’s the houseman at the thunderhead lodge free room and board right next to the bowl and a guinea pig! everyone still gets up there by anymeans whether it be riding the transit system and hitching or getting a ride with a pack of cackling half drunk broads. oh ya Muff Gumby and myself still get some SHTFCK going sometimes…..SHTFCKSCKS

3. Is there any way that spinning over a 540 can look cool? I can’t think of any, but it’s your question to answer.

I like the truckdrivers and muffs “1080” is something else

4. I’m going to end this interview with the following questions:

6 packs of Rainier or Olympia and why?

rainier for sure, I just got stuck in olympia after a tweakn’ like matty show had to sleep in the back of a strangers truck after thumbing all day. TLM killed but olympia killed me, plus rainier cans got little guys shredding on em’

Mt. Baker or Mt. Hood and why?

I’d have to say Mt. Baker just because i’ve spent alot of time at Hood and none at Baker, but Hood will always be home for way to many reasons to start with

Montage or Dots at 2am and why?

this ones tuff, because i dont go to either it would more likely to say plaid pantry for a beer run (no chase policy) before paying six bucks for mac and cheese wrapped in foil and shaped like a rat in the kitchen.

Jamie Lynn or Peter Line and why?

Mr. Lynn is the winner in this one. I dig his art, methods, music and down to earth attitude very nice, modest and creative guy.

Seattle or Portland and why?
well I heard that seattle has the highest suicide rate, so that doesn’t sound so good. Portland on the other hand has the highest homelessness rate and who doesn’t get a kick out of hobos, i laugh at myself all the time

Thanks for your time Gerald. Keep slayin’ the white heat and riding better than the pros. If you make it out to Snowboarder’s World Quarters in the backwoods of Vermont this March (you probably won’t) we’ll bust out some laybacks.

THE WORLD QUARTERPIPE CHAMPIONSHIPS—A NIGHTMARE OF TRANSITION AND VERT IS BORN AGAIN!

3.13.2008

The legendary stories from this event are infamous: The Gauntlet, the Led Zeppelin effect on hotels, Fulton stealing the snowmobile after announcing it to ski patrol, Fulton in the one-eyed-cock suit, Ben Fee in the one-eyed-cock suit, the Blue Lodge riot, Schiff getting 65 people kicked out of the hotel at 5 pm, the rock-star riders who have been tapped out early, local kids who have claimed top honors…

The World Quarterpipe Championships.

After a three-year hiatus, and the associated mourning among certain shreds in the snowboard community, the World Quarters are back. And the day for this event’s re-birth couldn’t be more fitting: Easter Sunday, the celebration of being born again, is the day the festivities get started. Praise the Lord, the World Quarters, and what they represent to the Snowboarding Religion, are born again.

As always, the World Quarters define what it means to be an “open” event. It’s simple, really: anyone and everyone who shows up can ride, period. Whether you are a top pro who just won a halfpipe contest the day before or you are a local shred from a shop down in Massachusetts, just drop in if you want to. No bibs, no qualifying, no team managers to get you on the list, no entry fee—none of that bullshit. Just get yourself there, brave the Gauntlet, and ride until you claim first place or get the shoulder tap.

The World Quarters are going down at Timber Ridge, the Waker family’s private resort on the backside of Magic Mountain in Londonderry, Vermont. According to Snowboarder Magazine’s Pat Bridges, Tim Waker is shaping what will be the best quarterpipe that the event has ever seen. And this year, in addition from the main-stage contest on the quarterpipe, there will be a couple “side stages” off to the sides to throw down your creative mini-shred.

The event will go down on Sunday and Monday, March 23rd and 24th. Instead of pretending to be Sir Lancelot at the Renaissance Fair down the road at Stratton on Sunday, March 23rd, riders can head over to Timber Ridge on the backside of Magic Mountain and shred and party in the warm-up sessions. Then on Monday, March 24th, the Finals will go down with mayhem on the Quarterpipe, fire jumping, Gauntlet, and after-party.

Where: Timber Ridge private resort on the backside of Magic Mountain
When: March 23rd and 24th (Sunday and Monday)

The World Quarterpipe Championships are made possible by Pat Bridges, Mark Sullivan, the Rome SDS, Red Bull, Timber Ridge’s Waker family, and all the riders who show up for the revelry in riding.

For more information on the 2008 World Quarters, contact:
Ron Faverty 802.244.1758
ron@romesnowboards.com

VTDeathGroomers

The groomers rode super fast this morning. So fast that the only other dudes riding it were Quebec snowboard racers in Obermeyer race suits. And scope the art fag shadow self-portrait of Rum Runnin’ Ronnie on the quad – I call it “the lone rider”.

Matty wakes the neighbors…from the roof.

I wasn’t there, so I’m probably going to screw up the story. But word is that as Matty was about to drop of the Car Wash Drop of Misery the owner of the joint came outside and was all upset that random strangers where snowboarding off his roof – go figure! Anyway, the drop is off 100 North – thousands of folks pass it everyday on their way to work but not a lot of people see it and are like, “that roof drop looks awesome and I’m going to drop it after work.” Except if you’re Matty the Nark.

Deathrider crosses the pond.

Former VT shredder, Mr. David B. shows of his new stomping grounds in Germany.

VTDR hands Matty Ryan the soap box for NBD#4!

Snowboarding has been slouching towards totalitarianism for a few years now. Gnar-dog Matty Ryan – a live-free or die type of dude — exercises his first Amendment right say what he wants about snowboarding, steakfaces that snowboard, and multitude of fashion styles – some good, a lot not so good. VTDR moved out of the way for former East Coast shred head, Mr. Matty Ryan, to drop in on another No Big Deal interview bonanza. Scope the lines, man.

1. Contests more and more are becoming a part of snowboarding, and a jock mentality is sort of taking over. Aside from Eastern Boarder’s “Last Call” or Baker’s Banked Slalom I can’t think of any good contests these days. Do you think contests should even exist in snowboarding, and if so, to what extent?

MR: i think contests are immportant and they can be cool to watch but i think to many kids are making nba dollars based on there stupid rollerblade tricks when the real raw snowboarding is going on underneath the darkmens noses.there are some really good kids out there that dont make dick in snowboarding but just dont like to be judged by some ex twat snowboarder.

2. I don’t want to start a rumor here – but I think I heard some dude say that back in the day you were asked by Peter Line if you wanted to be a part of the original Forum 8 after he saw you kill it… and you turned down the offer ’cause at the time you were getting a way better deal riding for Airwalk (the Roman Demarchi days). If I’m not completely making shit up would you have made different pro-shred career decision – in hindsight?

MR: peter did ask me to be apart of forum back in the day one summer when i was hangin wit him a lot at hood and at first i did say no but ended up riding for that shady company anyways.it was good whille it lasted but when i had to race to the bank to deposit my check so it would go through and after they fired bozung i quite took forum to court and got my money.no i wouldnt make another desicion it worked out for a bit and was fun riding wit all those guys.

3. There are some seriously wack snowboard styles out there – helmets mixed with danglers or tight pants (not worn deliberately) with huge sports jackets… you get the point. Does style matter (not in the physical sense of tricks), and if you believe it does, to what extent over function?

MR: yea i like my share of gear for sure but i just hate all the zany bullshit.like airblaster style shit.no wonder why we dont get any respect from skaters.that shit just looks stupid as fuck.

4. You’re a crazy good skateboarder too – how come so many snowboarders skateboard, but no skateboarders (primarily) snowboard? It’s not like in any Eric Ellington video parts there’s a clip or two of him doing a method out of a half pipe or dropping some pillow lines in BC!

MR: i think really its just there choice they can skate year round on consitant stuff.we can t and hood blows so we are forced to skate in the summer so i think its just as easy as that.

5. If you had to nail one trick on a perfect Utah backcountry jump what would it be?

MR: backside 180

6. Lastly,

A. 540s or 40s? 40oz,duh.
B. TB3 or Repo Man? TB2,terje.
C. Emerica or America? emerica makes good skate shoes
D. Lord of the Flys or On the Road? on the road. been a gypsy my whole life dont think i would want to deal with stabbing wild bores in my underwear.

Senior Govy Correspondant Drops In

Year-round Govy local, Senor Ben Covalt, climbs Mt. Hood with the ease of a Sherpa – pauses for a moment at the summit to snap this gnarly photo — then proceeds to drop into the steeps with the skill of Temple Cummins. Straightline!!!!!!