It's Poker Run day at the Grenade Games and the sun is out shining. A bunch of the SBC crew are in town this week so I met up with Snowboard Canada editor Scott Birke, Associated Editor Gerhard Gross, Photo Editor John Scarth and Advertising Rep Jamie Reekie.

Sweet laminates. Levitt photo

That's me, #147. Levitt photo

I picked up the rules for the Poker Run out side of the Longhorn Saloon at the base of Whistler. We had to ride to 4 different spots to pick up cards; 2 stops on Whistler, 2 stops on Blackcomb and the final stop back at the Longhorn at the end of the day. We decided to head up Whistler first for some cruisers. The rest of the crew had some great stories from the previous night. Monster had booked out Sushi Village for an all you can eat, all you can drink extravaganza and things got a little crazy. Needless to say they were all feeling a pretty haggard and looking a little green.

Gerhard's looking a little rough. Levitt photo

Team SBC on the Whistler Village gondola. Levitt photo

First stop was at the bottom of Red Chair and my first card is the ace of clubs; can’t really do much better than that. Next stop is over at Harmony Chair, which yields a ten, but it’s club as well: Ace/Ten suited, so far I’m looking pretty good.

First card is an ace. Scarth photo

The next two stops are over on Blackcomb so we decided to ride the new Peak 2 Peak Gondola . If you’ve never heard about it, the P2P stretches between Whistler and Blackcomb and cost a mere $50 million to construct. It’s also the longest free span gondola in the world and the highest as well sitting 1500 feet off the valley floor. It turns out that both Birke and Jamie are scared of heights; combine that with a good hangover and it made for one hell of a ride. Birke actually conquered his fear while Jamie had his head between his knees most of the trip.

The view from the P2P gondola. Levitt photo

Birke (in green) conquers his fear. Jamie (in blue), not so much. Levitt photo

The first stop on Blackcomb was at the race centre, where we had ride in a head to head GS race. For some reason I had to ride against Gerhard who is a semi-retired pro shred. On any other day he could freeride me off the mountain, but thanks to a great wax job I managed to beat him. At the bottom of the course was the third table where I managed to pick up another ten; my hand is looking better at every stop! The final check-in point was at the bottom of the Blackcomb park which yielded another ten; trip tens with an ace, damn son!

As we got to the Longhorn and I was feeling pretty good about my hand, until we started talking to a few other riders who were claiming to have royal flushes and even 5 of a kind. The only way I stand a chance is to hit another ten at the final table. Turns out fate was on my side because it hit; quad tens with an ace kicker.

The hand that got me to the final table. Scarth photo

The final table consisted of Danny Kass, the Dingo, Mark Sollors, Todd Malus, Ryan Tiene, Dustin Craven, Eero Niemela, Dennis Bannock, Helen Schettini and myself. Everyone had been hitting the après pretty hard so I figured people were going to be playing pretty reckless. I decided to play conservative for the first half hour or so, trying to get a read on everybody. It was a good strategy for a while as a bunch of guys, including Kass, got knocked out. Unfortunately the blinds started going up and my cards went cold. I had a pretty small stack of chips when I got an ace/queen suited. I pushed in a pretty big bet pre-flop and Helen, sitting next to me, went all in. She had a pair of 9’s and I hit a queen on the turn to double up and knock her out.

The final table — that's me on the lower left. Levitt photo

I'm trying to look like a pro with the glasses on. Dalby photo

The biggest hand of the night was when I was dealt pocket tens. I was the big blind and the whole table ante’d in. I should have pushed in a big bet but I chickened out and then thought I lost the hand when 2/Ace/9 came on the flop. The entire table checked to the turn where the Dingo put in a small bet. At this point I was pretty sure nobody had a hand so I went all in which nobody called and doubled up again to win a pot of around $7000. I think at that point I was in 2nd place behind Eero, who proceeded to knock out the rest of the table.

The final heads up between Eero and myself was a bit of a mismatch; he had 4 to 5 times as many chips. I had around $6000 in chips and the blinds were at $2400/$1200 meaning I wasn’t going to last very long if I didn’t win big off the start. The first hand I got a 7/2, the worst starting hand in poker, but I was the big blind and Eero just decided to call. The flop was 2/3/5 giving me a pair so I thought I’d push my luck. Turns out Eero had a King/5. He hit another 5 on the river giving him the win. My goal was to finish top 5 and I ended up in second a won a really dope Monster Energy poker chip set.

Eero and myself before the head's up battle. Levitt photo

7/2 vs. King/5; I'm in deep trouble at this point. Scarth photo

Who's #1? Not me. Scarth photo

These are my 2nd place prize. Scarth photo

Thanks to Oakley for hooking up all the players up with Frogskins and throwing in a $5000 watch for first place and Monster Energy for making the event happen. And thanks to Rube Goldberg for dealing the cards all night.

For more photos and video from the day, click here, here and here

Coming up next the Dual Slalom Moguls and the halfpipe jam.

By now I’m sure everyone out there has at least seen the new creation from the genius that is Pat Panakos and the owner of Sesitec Cable Systems, Christian Von Lerchenfeld. For those of you who have had your head buried in the sand for the past 8 months, the Sesitec System 2.0 could be the biggest breakthrough in our sport since the invention of the tower — yeah, that’s right, I’m claiming it. The System 2.0 is a portable straight-line cable system that operates in both directions allowing for a continuous ride as long as you can last.

The System 2.0 made in debut last year at Wakestock when it was featured in the Oakley Wakeskate Pool Jam. And of course it has gone on to star at the Red Bull Wake Lab, first in downtown Orlando and most recently in Tempe, Arizona. The rail set-up at the Wake Lab wouldn’t have been possible without this new cable system. Never before have people been able to witness non-stop action while watching any wakeboarding event; either the boat had to stop to switch out riders or the handle had to be taken back to a waiting rider in your typical winch jam contest.2010-04-07

Since Pat played such an active role in the creation of the system it’s only natural that he’s got a couple currently set-up at The Projects , the legendary wakeboard and wakeskate camp located on the east side of Orlando. I’ve been staying out here for the past week, but I’ve been really busy running all over the GOA (Greater Orlando Area) doing interviews and shooting photos so I haven’t had a chance for a test ride. Today I found myself with some time to kill and decided to get on the water and give it a go. I’d watched a few people ride it earlier in the week and was a little hesitant especially on the turnarounds; you have to cut out pretty hard and the carrier whips you back around in the other direction. Wake Park Project employee Kris “Salty” Salteski was the man behind the controls and gave me a few quick pointers and off I went. I’ve only ridden behind a fixed cable system a couple of times and it felt odd that there was not the roar of a motor as I left the dock. The turnaround was surprisingly easy as was loading the line for some little airs. I did mess up a few of the turnarounds only because I was having so much fun, I forgot it was time to edge out. Unfortunately, I’ve been suffering from a bum shoulder and cold all week so I only rode for about 5 minutes, but it was a blast; I’m definitely hooked. Pat told the next time out, he’d teach me how to do raley’s.

I seriously suggest everyone give this a go in the near future, I could only imagine how fun this would be if there were a few rails set-up. Apparently the plan for The Projects is to have 4 systems running in the rail park on all different levels of rails; I’m making sure I’m coming back here soon and my schedule is a little less hectic the next time around.

If you’re here looking for a blog related to wakeboarding, you may want to move along because there’s going to be none of that in here. No, this one is going to be 100% about snowboarding; it’s a sport that near and dear to my heart. And why not, it’s essentially the frozen equivalent of wakeboarding anyways Somebody asked me once if I’m a snowboarder trapped inside of a wakeboarder’s body. I think I’m a snowboarder trapped inside a middle-aged, slightly over weight, desk jockey’s body to be perfectly honest.

With all of that being said, it’s either ironic or some kind of cruel joke (not sure which) that I’m about to compete in my first ever pro snowboard contest. The contest in question is the Grenade Games and it’s coming to the World Ski and Snowboard Festival (TWSSF). The man behind the Grenade Games is none other than Mr. Danny Kass. You know, the guy from the X-Games, Burton US Open, the Olympics, the Danny and Dingo Show, etc… Whether it’s destiny or that I have friends in high places (thanks L.E and N.P), I somehow ended up registered for the contest.

If you’re thinking how does this guy stand a chance competing against some of the biggest names in the sport, you would be entirely missing the point of the Grenade Games. Danny and the fine folks at Monster Energy have come up with a contest that is all about having the most fun on a snowboard as humanly possible. While there is a pipe and big air contest, the first two days are a Poker Run and a Dual Slalom Moguls race; sounds awesome right?

Tuesday is the Poker Run; this is right up my ally because it contains two things I love, cruising around the mountain and poker. There will be 5 different stations set up on Whistler and Blackcomb and the object is to go around and collect playing cards. At one of the stations, I’ll have to post a time in a closed-off Giant Slalom course. I’m also feeling pretty good about this one. Moonlighting as a snowboard tech means that I WILL have the fastest board on the mountain (but I'm not laying any claims about being the fastest snnowboarder). I’m already brewing up a special race wax just for the day. After everybody collects their cards, the best 8 hands get to play at a final table with Danny and The Dingo.

The next event is the Dual Slalom Moguls; an event perfectly tailored to snowboarders. There’s only 32 riders competing in this one; with any luck I’ve qualified from the day before after a blazing run down the GS course. To be perfectly honest, I’m not even sure my knees would hold up in this event.

The only way this could ever be a photo of me is if somebody had some mad Photoshop skills 

Thursday is the half pipe jam event, which could be the highlight of the week. Back in the day I actually used to ride halfpipe a fair bit, but that’s when they were only 12-14 feet deep. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve been in a super pipe. Now I like to think I’m no slouch, I’ve got a few small tricks up my sleeve. Maybe Danny will bust out a Switch Cork 10 over my poked out Frontside Air; how sweet would that be? Like the previous two events, it’s open to everybody, but after an hour or so they start to kick out the has-been’s and never-was’s.

That's more like it — note the mad Photoshop skills.

The week ends off on Saturday night with the big-air in front of 10000-15000 screaming fans. This one is for the super pros only unless someone happens to notice my ultimate shred skills and I get a last minute invite.

If you’re interested in my competition, go here to find out the full list of riders. And be sure to check back everyday for my results.

“Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip…”

I’ve had the theme song from Gilligan’s Island playing in my head ever since I stepped off the plane in Orlando last night. I’m in Florida for my bi-annual trip to shoot photos and gather content for the next issue of the magazine. This year is a little different because I was traveling from the west coast instead of Toronto which makes for a 12 hour day or travel instead of 4 or 5.

The day started at 8 AM leaving on the bus from Whistler to the Vancouver airport. I’ve been up and down the Sea-to-Sky highway hundreds of times and I’m sure I could drive it almost blindfolded. The same could not be said for the bus driver. I’m not sure if it was the fact that I was stuck at the back of the crowded bus or his sheer lack of driving skills, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt more car-sick in my life. I’m sure my face was a lovely shade of green when I got off at the airport, so much so that I had to sit outside for a while taking in the fresh air.

After regaining a normal skin tone, I checked in at the Delta counter without incident and sailed past customs and security. I find it kind of odd that some days I get my camera bag thoroughly searched while other times they don’t even bat an eyelash.  I guess I went through when the boss was off getting a coffee. The Vancouver airport itself is amazing; never crowded, cool places to eat and great views of the Coast Mountains. Possibly the best feature is the free wireless found everywhere in the terminal. Since no one flies direct to Orlando, my one stop over was in Salt Lake City. The first leg of the journey was quick and painless. I even ended up with an empty seat beside me; stoked.

The Salt Lake City airport was the exact opposite of Vancouver; crowded, stuffy, terrible fast food restaurants and wireless you have to pay out the ass for. I should back up a little and mention that when I checked in back in Vancouver, the agents told me they could only get me a dreaded middle seat for my 4.5 hour flight from Salt Lake to Orlando. At the time, I wasn’t too stressed; I’ve been able to sweet-talk the gate agent’s dozens of time in the past to get at least an aisle seat. As I got to the gate, there was already a line of 20 people waiting to talk to the agent; not a good sign. I was as friendly with the gate agent as humanly possible, but still no love. They took my name and said they would call me if they found something.  As I sat down in the gate area, the situation wasn’t looking too good; most of the flight was going to be filled with kids under 10 and their overweight parents. Another visit to the gate agent yielded nothing, even after trying to bribe her.

My flight in no way resembled this photo.

As I boarded the plane and I squeezed my 6’3” frame into my seat designed for someone who stands 5'5" I could only hope for decent row buddies. I’ve had friends tell me stories of lucking out and getting hot girls/models/Playmates seated beside them. Honestly I’m not buying any of it, I’m calling BS. It turned out that an older, over weight gentleman was sitting to my left while and middle-aged lady took the seat on the right. Definitely no models in this bunch, but they seemed pretty harmless and non-offensive at first. I should also note nearly every seat in the surrounding area was filled with kids.

 I wish

This is when things started to go south in what I can only describe as a beyond-belief-comedically-horrendous experience. Turns out the harmless looking lady to my left brought her own food. In what world is a cup of hot Cream of Broccoli/Cauliflower soup deemed as acceptable food to bring on a plane? The sheer odor had me reeling and brought back the pale-green skin tone I’d experienced earlier in the day. Not stopping at the soup, her dinner of champions also included a bag of Cheetos and peanut M&M’s. To finish off the meal, she pulled out a pastrami sandwich. Turns out she must have been on the Atkins diet because she proceeded to pull the chuck of meat out the sandwich, discard the bread and eat it with her hands; I seriously couldn’t make this up even if I tried.

Why on earth would anybody bring this on a plane?

As I was trying to recover from the offensive soup and chunk of meat odor, another equally offensive stench began to filter through the cabin. After a quick glance around, I realized with horror that Cowboy Joe sitting behind me had just cracked into his bag of smoky beef jerky. This really can’t be happening, can it? Now, I never drink on planes, but it was clear it was going to be the only way out of this one. I coughed up $14 for a couple of vodka-sodas, but in reality I probably would have forked over $100 just to numb myself from this unbearable situation.

Once the offensive food odors began to subside, it was time for the screaming kids to break into full chorus. Now, usually I’m not one to complain about kids on planes; I’m not a parent so who am I to judge? But when the screaming goes unchecked for the entire flight by parents who are apparently to clueless to realize that they’re in public and severely cramped quarters, I really have no patience at all. My iPod cranked to full volume was the only cure for this ailment. At the end of the flight when the stewardess came around to ask if I would remove my headphones for landing, I refused, explaining that I shouldn’t have to endure this kind of aural torture. I think she understood because she just nodded and left me alone.

Imagine this for 4 hours at a range of 5 feet away.

I’d also like to give a shout out the lady sitting in front of me. Your seat wouldn’t recline because my knees were jammed into your seat back, but really, thanks for continuously trying to recline every couple of minutes. And if I could give you one little tidbit of parenting advice I’d probably suggest that you shouldn’t watch Hugh Hefner’s new reality TV series, The Girls Next Door, with your 4 and 6-year-old sons. I’m sure they will be asking you about the topless, foxy boxing scene for a few years. News flash: your kids are probably screwed for life.

Completely acceptable viewing for a 4-year old.

So I survived my hell flight and now I’m staying with my good buddy, Pat Panakos, out at The Projects. I’ve got a busy week planned so stay tuned for more updates coming soon.

Ok, so the headline is little misleading, but it’s really all about catching your attention to read the rest of the story. I’ve just finished up 5 days on Grand Cayman with Kyle Rattray, Ryan Doyle and Ricky Gonzales. Nothing like a quick trip to the Caribbean in the middle of winter to put a smile on your face.  While it’s not your typical shred destination, it’s didn’t fail to disappoint at all. It’s truly a tropical paradise; I don’t think I’ve ever seen the ocean so blue or the water so clear. Our host for the week was Justin Schmidt of Turtle Sports Ltd. Justin has been on the island for a few years and is the only guy with a legit wakeboard set-up.  

Since the trip is going to be featured in the next issue of SBC Wakeboard Magazine I don’t want to give too much away, but here are a few highlights:

Because it’s a former British colony (or maybe a current one, I’m not sure?) everybody drives on the left. I managed to get our rental van back in one piece with no bumps or bruises to either vehicle or passenger. I think the guy at the rental car place was sure that he wasn’t going to see his van come back in one piece. It felt like learning how to drive all over again, but backwards or maybe left-handed.

Ricky's pointing at the oncoming traffic that I'm about to narrowly avoid. Levitt photo

Our first day was a write off because of bad weather, so we set out on a random course to explore the island. Completely by accident and because a road detour we went to Hell – I know, that’s one hell of a detour (pun fully intended). Grand Cayman’s version of Hell consisted of a couple of gift shops, a post office, a guy selling fresh coconut juice and a weird looking limestone rock swamp. Of course the rest of the day was filled with “hell, yeah”, “hell, no” and “what the hell are you looking at” jokes.

It was ironic that Doyle's wearing an AC DC shirt when we went to Hell. Levitt photo

Paying tribute to our forefathers, we spent some time at the Black Pearl skate park, the largest poured skate park in the world. We quickly learned that concrete is a much less forgiving medium than water. Next to the skate park was a Flow Rider; the one that's shaped like a real wave. This thing is completely crazy; we basically got served the entire time we rode there. Ricky, Rattray and Doyle got the hang of it by the end while I used the excuse that I had to shoot more photos instead of receiving more beat-downs. I think I still have whiplash from the thing. Props to JR for letting us ride and showing us the ropes.

Flow Rider operator JR showing us how it's done. Levitt photo

Despite the windy conditions, we got out behind the boat several times. The crystal clear, bright blue water made for some great photos. Justin has a Mastercraft CSX, which when loaded down with enough people threw a good wake with lot’s of pop. The guys put on a demo in front a bar located right on the beach on the last day. I even managed to squeeze in a quick wakesurf set as the sun was going down.

Looks like somebody needs to lose some weight for bathing suit season. Doyle photo

Check Rattray's blog for another perspective and look for the full story in the Summer Issue of SBC Wakeboard Magazine.