From their website, I learned that GilsonSnow was started by middle school science teachers Nicholas Gilson and Austin Royer. Borrowing concepts from surfing and sailing (which is cool in itself), they led a class project exploring fluid dynamics in snow. The year-long effort twisted through countless failures, including a board Austin described as like “trying to ride a canoe down the mountain.” Each failure offered a new insight, ultimately leading to 3 significant innovations and the early Gilson design.

In 2013, Nick and Austin launched the company out of the classroom with their students.

Read full story here. Nick and Austin..... and their entire crew, are not just craftsman and women who make gear which steps outside the mold of "snowboards and skis like the rest", but are passionate people who cohesively put those passions into each and every board they make. It was obvious from the start that they care immensely about what riders and skiers end up with, and that they care about the process, the environment, and most of all.... try to keep their craft a job that brings happiness to their lives. IMO, it shows through each end product.

Plus, living on the coast has me surfing daily and to see some real innovations in the base of the boards and skis, as well as in the shape, deriving from the same curiosity I see from surfboard shapers is super cool! I like that these are not cookie cutter shapes and that the folks at Gilson are brave enough to try new things!

The group of people that I got to be a part of at Gilson came from all over the world.... both figuratively and literally. From an alpine ice skater to the creative director at GoPro....... surfers, skiers, riders, and life-lovers..... each could easily be categorized as a professional fun-haver.

It was soooo cool watching and participating in the process. Learning about the history of this unique company while also getting to meet the craftspeople behind the boards made the idea of riding the finished product super personal.

After the cores were cut and prepared, they used sublimation to transfer the graphics onto the bases and top sheets of the boards and skis. It's a cool process because the images are transferred, literally, into the material so if the base or top sheet is scratched, the images being all the way through will never scratch off. It's a cool process to see and even cooler to see how important it was to the guys doing it that the images were exactly right for each customer.

Next, bending edges and preparing the boards to get pressed in a "final assembly" of sorts.

While the goods were "cooking" in the shop, we had to take advantage of the beautiful location of the factory. We all had set up camp right on the river and it seemed fitting to jump in kayaks for a short float, do a little fishing and of course, make a cracking fire.

One of our gracious hosts, Gage, showed up some serious game and made epic meals over the fire each night that could have easily been served in the fanciest of restaurants. We were stoked, well fed and inspired for the unavailing the following day.

Abe and I weren't too bummed either;-) KAVU days ahead, indeed! As I type this, I'm seeing posts from friends in Montana that the snow is already falling in the high country. Won't be long now.

If you're at all interested in checking out a new ride for this year, I'd highly recommend giving Nick, Austin and Gage a call. Hope to see you in the mountains!!