BOW VALLEY – Canmore’s Benoit Nadeau and Marcus Abrahamsson incite curiositiy whenever they ride local ski hills on their funny-looking boards.
“Is that a duo snowboard, surf board?”
“Can you ride in front of us so we can watch you?”
“What kind of board design is it?”
“Are you sure this is safe for you to be doing?”
They’ve heard every question and reaction – positive and negative – when it comes to the niche world of bindingless alpine sports, and the local riders are using it as an opportunity to try to grow bindingless riding in the Bow Valley and beyond.
“It’s the perfect blend of skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing,” Abrahamsson said. “I’ve done all them. I’ve done a lot of all of them, and as a board enthusiast, you can really feel that in the board.”
The bindingless boards, which are gripped and look like a top deck mounted to a ski, have different types such as all-terrain surf, powderskate, powdersurf and snowskate that the two use on local hills and in B.C. It's used like a surfboard or skateboard for snow.
“On the hill and in the powder, it’s like surfing. When you ride the park, it definitely feels more like skateboarding,” Nadeau said. “When we go riding, we’re doing stuff that’s never been done before usually.”
Going bindingless offers brand new challenges on the ski hills, physically and mentally, which adds to the allure the two locals say. Plus riders can unstrap and use their own comfortable boots when riding.
“You’re fully in tune with your board,” Abrahamsson said. “It’s physical, but comfortable, like I said, with my feet and being able to adjust my stance in varying terrain. Moving around a little bit makes a huge difference in how you feel [with] turns and everything and that’s what’s so special in that product in particular.”
Abrahamsson added that when he goes bindingless, he can match speed with snowboarders on green or blue runs.
The two are happy to answer questions and concerns at the hill, and even bring extra boards in case someone wants to try it out. Nadeau even started a YouTube channel called TheBen418 to showcase the sport with videos of first-person riding.
However, bindingless riding is mostly underground due to challenges surrounding it, such as cost – some retail boards can go for over $1,400, acceptance from ski resorts, lack of knowledge and exposure of the sport, and safety concerns.
Nadeau says some ski resorts turn away bindingless riders, which hinders the sports potential growth. The two underlined that support from ski resorts is important.
“It’s going to take that mainstream video to give it a kick, but it’s not there yet. It will happen eventually,” Nadeau said. “We’re like the outsiders. For me, I’ve been doing it for 11 years, and people were looking at me like I was dangerous.”
The bindingless riders would love to setup a demo program at a local ski hill to gain more exposure from skiers or snowboarders, get them on bindingless boards, and answer any questions about riding bindingless.
“And it’s not a conversion thing, I do it so much because I have so much fun doing it,” Abrahamsson said. “It’s timeless fun, man. It’s like tobogganing, you never get sick of that. It’s just something fun.”
In his workshop, Nadeau creates bindingless prototypes to make lighter and faster boards, and he also creates models specifically for children and women.
“We definitely want to develop a community,” Nadeau said. “I would love to have a couple younger kids [try] who are 12-14 [and] are really good skateboarders and bring them to the hill … they could be the next Shaun White of the sport.”
Should a bindingless community start to grow in the next few years, Nadeau would like to put on gatherings and put on local contests for bindingless riders.
For those interested in the underground sport, check out the CANADA SNOWSKATE CASSK8-ACSSK8 Facebook page.
