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Earth Is Now Our Only Shareholder

If we have any hope of a thriving planet鈥攎uch less a business鈥攊t is going to take all of us doing what we can with the resources we have. This is what we can do.

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The Cascadian Rhythm: Splitboarding Oregon with Josh Dirksen

Colin Wiseman  /  Jan 26, 2017  /  5 Min Read  /  Snow

When your backyard includes under-the-radar gems like Mount McLoughlin, staying in Oregon all winter doesn鈥檛 seem like such a sacrifice. Photo: Tyler Roemer

鈥淚 just want to stay home and ride wind lips,鈥� Josh Dirksen says. A simple statement. A simple goal.

It was April 2014. 欧博会员入口鈥檇 been camped out on Central Oregon鈥檚 South Sister for a couple of days. Getting to our midmountain camping spot had taken some time, but not a lot of nerve. It was a casual splitboard approach, with the novelty of fat bikes instead of snow machines for the groomed 10-mile approach from Highway 372. 欧博会员入口鈥檇 then carved out a home base in the deep spring snowpack on the south side.

Amid deep-water runnels formed by heavy rains, we spent three nights exploring the surrounding area, with Dirksen noting changes in the snow formations from what he鈥檇 seen earlier in the season. 欧博会员入口 barely scratched the surface, but found a few nice gullies to ride.

It was a new beginning for Dirksen, who lives in Bend, Oregon, and was raised in the nearby town of Creswell. A snowboarder since his teens, he鈥檇 become familiar with predictable global migrations each winter. Traveling for him meant adventure, progression and productivity. Home was just a place to unwind. Now pushing 40 years old with a wife and young child, he wanted to slow the pace.

鈥淚 started traveling an incredible amount the moment I committed to snowboarding as a career,鈥� Dirksen says. 鈥淚 was always running away from where I grew up, from Oregon. When I鈥檇 come home, I鈥檇 ride wind lips, and it felt unique. It felt like my best riding.鈥�

The Cascadian Rhythm: Splitboarding Oregon with Josh Dirksen

Blowing it up. The volcanic contours of Mount Bailey, Oregon, played host to Dirksen鈥檚 wind lip mission. Photo: Tyler Roemer

Over the past 20 years, Dirksen has spent more than six months of each year on the road. During the winter of 2015-16, he decided to stay exclusively in Oregon. It was a bold decision, but one aided by a strong snow year in the Pacific Northwest and Dirksen鈥檚 peculiar fixation: wind lips. Wind lips are wavelike snow formations created when the wind blows from a single direction. They are usually found along the edges of gullies and bowls. Central Oregon is the kind of place where volcanic landscape and high-plateau winds create an abundance of these features. Dirksen is a product of this environment.

鈥淢y snowboarding has always been influenced by Oregon,鈥� Dirksen says. 鈥淭he cement skate parks, the cold ocean waves and the natural terrain at Mount Bachelor have all affected my style. I learned the benefits of generating speed from the skate parks, the rhythm and flow from surfing the waves, and the possibility of bringing all three sports together while snowboarding at Mount Bachelor. Wind lips are really similar to a skate park in that you鈥檙e searching for speed. You鈥檙e not just dropping in and letting gravity take over. I wanted to find that flow state.鈥�

Dirksen dedicated the winter to seeking new wind lips via splitboard鈥攁 task easier said than done. Like ocean waves, wind lips are constantly changing due to local weather patterns.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 last forever,鈥� Dirksen says. 鈥淵ou could show up on one day and there鈥檚 nothing there, and then you can show up on another day and there鈥檚 huge wind lips that are perfect and beautiful and dreamy, and so fun to ride. During a snowstorm with strong winds, they鈥檒l build up, and then when the sun comes out, they fade back down. Their glory moment is right after a storm.鈥�

The method is simple but requires grit and patience. Get out in the mountains while the storm is still in progress, set up camp, and then, hopefully, wake up to sunshine and a changed landscape.

Photo: Tyler Roemer

Josh Dirksen takes his turn from a different point of view than most. Photo: Tyler Roemer

鈥淚 see those wind lip lines, and they鈥檙e so beautiful to look at and so fun to ride,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his year, we just began to scratch the surface of what鈥檚 out there. Now, exploring the mountains close to home is a lifelong goal. It鈥檚 only going to get better.鈥�

So often we鈥檙e led to believe that the only way to expand our horizons is to travel the globe. But by staying home, Dirksen was able to experience his home range in a new way.

鈥淚 realized that the idea that you need to travel in order to find quality snowboarding is like Coca-Cola convincing everyone they need to buy bottled water to stay healthy,鈥� Dirksen says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to forget that you already have that water in your tap, when the media is constantly telling you otherwise. This year, I didn鈥檛 travel more than two hours from my house.鈥�

It鈥檚 a decidedly different kind of adventure from that which is usually found in modern snowboard media. There鈥檚 little need for an ice axe, crampons, ropes, 3 a.m. 鈥渁lpine鈥� starts or anything resembling an expedition. It鈥檚 the kind of exploration that doesn鈥檛 require a lot of resources and is accessible to anyone with backcountry knowledge and a will to explore. It allows for a kind of snowboarding that, as long as you have done your diligence with terrain choices relative to weather and avalanche conditions, lets one move past the prospective perils of backcountry travel and focus on a different kind of puzzle: deciphering rolling volcanic terrain in a way that provides exciting and fun snowboarding and an easy sense of adventure.

鈥淭he world of snowboarding has become so extreme, your femur鈥檚 gonna break in half if you don鈥檛 land the jump, or you鈥檙e dropping into a line with a decent chance of an avalanche,鈥� Dirksen says. 鈥淚鈥檝e had a lot on my mind with my family these last couple years, and I鈥檓 not searching for more worries.鈥�

Photo: Tyler Roemer

Sometimes, all that鈥檚 needed to shake things up is a good directional change. Mount Bailey, Oregon. Photo: Tyler Roemer

At season鈥檚 end, Dirksen and friends explored 10 different Oregon mountains, from the lava cone of Mount McLoughlin down south to the iconic Mount Hood to the north. While riding was the goal, the reward was made so much greater by pursuing a vision that is unique to the person and place. They found a volcanic landscape largely devoid of other humans鈥攁nd often populated with wind lips as far as the eye can see. They found a fresh Cascadian rhythm in Dirksen鈥檚 own backyard.

This story first appeared in the .

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