Dark Starts Backcountry Splitboard Podcast

EPISODE 101

Rain Felkl is an Alaska Native born and raised in Juneau. After making the move to the Wasatch Mountains, she was quickly captivated by the freedom and adventure of human-powered splitboarding. She has had the opportunity to explore many corners of her home range as well as longer adventures in mountain ranges in Alaska and the lower 48s. When she isn’t riding powder, Rain is a rock climber and cyclist, which has naturally led her eye towards more exploratory splitboard objectives.

EPISODE 99

Ruedi Beglinger, a man of the mountains. To be more specific, the Selkirks in British Columbia, Canada where, for the last few decades, he and his family have lived, in fact, his kids grew up on the Durrand Glacier. Ruedi’s story begins in the Swiss Alps where he was born and raised. He first traveled to North America in 1978 and eventually planted roots in the Revelstoke area and began leading hut trips in the Selkirks. 37 years later he is still leading those tours and he now has 3 huts on the Durrand. His first splitboard was one that he decided to fabricate in 1995.

EPISODE 98

Alex Andrews of WNDR Alpine is a rad dude with experiences ranging from skating bowls and jibbing the streets of Ogden, UT. He eventually started riding and working for Burton as a young ripper. Alex’s “powder panic” and love for the mountains have him aligned with Wonder Alpine as their snowboard marketing and product manager. His passion made this a great chat and we hope you love this one.

EPISODE 97

McKinley grew up on the icy hills of New York, learning to ride in the Catskill Mountains. He made his way west in 2013 and began exploring the snow-filled mountains around Utah, Montana, and Colorado. His love of backcountry riding brought him to the Snow Science program at Montana State University, where he studied the applications of geographic information systems in identifying avalanche exposure. Since leaving Montana, McKinley now works for the Utah Avalanche Center as the Know Before You Go Avalanche Awareness Coordinator in addition to being a ski/splitboard/snowmobile guide at Monument Snowcat Skiing in Eden, UT. When he’s not on his splitboard, you can find Mack on his mountain bike, casting his fly rod, or exploring new areas for when the snow finally falls.

EPISODE 96

2022 Freeride World Tour Junior World Champion, Lila Yeoman.

• Started snowboarding at the young age of 3, began competing at 11, and splitboarding at 14
• Athlete for Jones Snowboards, ambassador for POC Sports, and snowboard instructor at Snowbird
• Currently working on riding all 90 lines in The Chuting Gallery

Some would view Lila as a teen prodigy, she’s accomplished a notable list by the young age of 17. With the guidance of her Dad Jeff, she’s been on a steady path of snowboard progression since the age of 3 years old. Utilizing the Wasatch mountains as her training ground, she seeks out steep couloirs and rides daily at Snowbird and the surrounding backcountry. The future is bright for Lila. We’re excited to see what’s next on her path.

Episode links:

Alex Gavic is a photographer, adventurer and splitboard mountaineer.

• Discovered his love for photography over 15 years ago while skateboarding around with his friends
• Skating evolved into snowboarding, and as an athlete, he started finding himself in front of the lens as much as behind it
• His content drew a huge social media following, bringing many people to remote and beautiful places they could not reach on their own

For the past 10 years, Alex has been venturing into the powder filled peaks of the Western United States and sharing videos of his wild adventures. And people loved it! He developed a huge social media following of over 300k followers, between Instagram and Tiktok. His own story has unfolded into a life of chasing summits, the beauty of nature, and life. His search for the soul has fed ours. We hope you enjoy.

Episode links

EPISODE 93

Pro rider Marissa leads by example, is passionate about getting the dawn light, and spends as much time in the mountains as possible.

• Born and raised in the northern woods of Michigan
• Moved to Oregon to become a wildland firefighter for the Mt. Hood National Forest
• She has been splitboarding all over North America, Eastern British Columbia, and Slovakia

Marissa wasn't sold on splitboarding right away. For someone who loves the outdoors as much as her, it was in fact inevitable to resist. Now she loves getting up and out to the mountain “dark start” style. In this episode, we learn more about how Marissa got started, what's in her pack, skintrack nutrition, and what the future holds for her on her path of progression. 

MARISSA’S COMMUNITY

Episode 91

Guide and Athlete Will Kovacic talks foot powered filming and backcountry safety with Chad & Darrin.

Episode 90

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Split Decisions, with Mike Lewis of Zeal Optics.

Episode 89 

Sponsored Athlete Shawna Paoli talks about health, life and lines with Chad & Darrin. 

Episode 88 

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Split Decisions, with John Keffler of Phantom Snow Industries. 

Episode 85

Surfer, splitboarder & board shaper Chris Christenson chats shapes with Chad & Darrin.

Episode 86

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Split Decisions, with Jack Beighle of Backcountry Access.

Episode 85

Splitboard Guide Isaac Laredo from Truckee California educates Chad & Darrin.

Episode 84

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents ski guide & POW Ambassador Blake Keogh.

Episode 83

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Split Decisions, with Corey Caffrey of Sans Meal Bar

Episode 82 - 

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents snowboard legend, Temple Cummins.

Episode 81

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Split Decisions, with Jon Takao of Thirty Two Boots

Episode 80 - 

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents legendary rider Joel Loverin of Whistler, BC.

Episode 79

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Split Decisions, with Jackson Keogh of Big Sky mountain products.

Episode 78

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Freeride World Tour athlete Manuela Mandl.

Episode 77

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Split Decisions, with Joey Vosburgh of Wolverine Snow Products.

Episode 76

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Todd Heath of Bomb Snow magazine.

Episode 75

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents a Split Decisions episode, with Jonathan Besquin of Somewear Labs HotSpot Device.

Episode 74

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Hampus Cederholm, owner and co-founder of Furberg snowboards.

Episode 73 

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Split Decisions, with Will Ritter of Spark R&D.

Episode 72

 Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents pro snowboarder, Ryan Hudson.

Episode 71 Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding Podcast Presents Freeride snowboarder, splitboarder & photographer Alenka Mali.

Episode 70 Swiss splitboarder and big aspect rider, Simone Le Grand. 

Episode 68 

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents splitboard athlete Zak Mills.

Episode 66

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Jordan Keeth from Mammoth California.

Episode 65 Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Mr. Relentless himself, Nick LaToof. 

Episode 64

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Scott Seward, Burton’s one and only board engineer for the family tree line.

Episode 63

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Megan Pischke of Boarding for Breast Cancer.

Episode 62

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Judson Wright, founder and owner of Kootenay Backcountry Guides.

Episode 61

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents a snowboarding Legend Mark Fawcett.

Episode 60

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Krister Kopala from Tromsø in Northern Norway.

Episode 59

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Nick Russell backcountry backcountry shredder and lover of the mountains out of Truckee California.

Episode 58

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Antti Autti, Professional Snowboarder from Finland and the creator of Artic Lines Video series.

Episode 57

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Jake Sullivan, owner of Hand Out Gloves.

Episode 56

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Briony May Johnson rider for the YES snowboards on the Tasman Team.

Episode 55

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Adam Zok ACMG splitboard guide out of Revelstoke BC.

Episode 54 

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Mikey Franco, shaper and owner of Franco Snowshapes. 

Episode 53

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Pro Snowboard mountaineer and filmmaker Rafael Pease.

Episode 52

Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Kate Ediger, founder of Pit and Peak Avalanche Skills Training.

Episode 51 Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Ty Mills, founder and owner of All Aspects Alpine.