It’s no secret that  heavy early-season snowfall has lured thousands of skiers and snowboarders to New Zealand’s South Island. Queenstown’s Coronet Peak  boasted record breaking numbers on opening day, and was looking pretty great.

Coronet Peak Looking Pretty In White

Cardrona Alpine Park  is scheduled to open on the 22nd of June and with new snow arriving last week and Wanaka locals are excited.

It’s looking like this season is going to be a memorable one based on the updates Cardrona has been positing on their Facebook page– full of creative features (dancefloor/bonk/down box), and a promising freestyle team.

Cardrona Alpine Resort

And the award for best looking snowy peaks goes to Snow Basin Ski Area.  What we would do to be there right now.

Pillows at Snow Basin Ski Area

While all you all enjoy this incredible early season, we’ll crack another one and continue to enjoy summer on a boat.

Through the first weeks of April, I couldn’t help but feel like winter was still on its way- grasping to a smidgen of hope that there were powder days to come.

Unfortunately, it became increasingly clear that winter was over in Utah, and all too soon I was standing on the slushy mountain, snowboard in one hand and a mimosa in the other: closing day.

Lovely Spring Conditions under 3 Kings Chairlift

Happy because you’re riding & it’s a party, sad because it’s ending- the day began  under the Three Kings Lift, with minimal snow coverage.

Camped out at Cobra Dogs. When in doubt: eat a hotdog.

Some hustled, trying to finally stomp that trick and others (me) threw in the towel and focused on making the last day a memorable one.

Cobra Dogs wasn’t the only hot spot on the mountain, tons-o-friends also gathered at abandoned mine shafts and bid farewell there.  Naturally, there were some great costumes.

Team Rider Steph! Rockin a hoodie and Kittin Mittins

Cheers Hooligans

Eventually, the champagne ran out and the lifts stopped turning. Check out the last run in 3 Kings below:

What an eventful year- thank you, Park City Mountain Resort, keeping the chairs turning… can we maybe get some more snow the next time around? Good Talk.

If you’ve attended Friday Night Jib Fights at Park City Mountain Resort, then you’ve seen team rider Ozzy Henning podium. Last week Park City hosted the final rail jam, and at no surprise to anyone, Ozzy took home the cake with a first place. We were going to mention some of Ozzy’s most notable tricks, but are conflicted with the fact that he literally can do anything with style. Below are some photos from the jam, courtesy of our friend Chris Sheilds.

For more on Ozzy, check out his profile, our videos, or his site. Namaste.

What’s better than having a snowmobile? Having a friend with five (big ups Kiki).

Although the snow scene in Utah has been sparse, we try to make the best of what we’ve got – and we succeeded. A couple of team riders, friends, and myself ventured out into the Utah backcountry for some sled sessioning. In addition to having no snow, Utah also has terrible snow pack at the moment. The avy danger has been high and avalanches suck as bad as man-eating-fish. All negatives aside, Utah is good for gorgeous days filled with friends, guns, and brews.

We left the cabin nested in the Uintas at the crack of 10am. Anything steeper than your grandmother’s driveway was covered in avy slips so we stuck to the flats and got creative with some creeks.

After some cruising, we made a fire and put the pistols to use.

Even though the snowfall is below average, there is still plenty to go around, and get stuck in (as we found out the hard way).

With only one runaway sled and an accidental front-flip, it was a successful day. Thanks again to team rider Kiki!

Well friends, it’s happened- we’re official. For those of you who have been sporting Sponsor This? for years, thanks for the continued support. We wanted to make a central place to post our thoughts, photos, videos and creations — here it is. Let us know if you like it, and if you hate it, you’re probably a bad egg. To make sure we sufficiently embarrass ourselves in this inaugural post, below we’ve posted some original Sponsor This? photos and logos circa 2007.

Now that you’ve have yourself a laugh, take a look at our new awesomeness on the site, and if you’re keen, buy something. Mahalo.