Snowboarding
Join American pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones as he explains in his own words why splitboarding is the way forward when it comes to carving out fresh new lines.
First up, a brief history of splitboarding
The splitboarding revolution began back in the 1990s, when Utah-based firm Voile released its DIY Split Kit, which allowed snowboarders to convert their boards – by sawing them in half. Since then, brands including Burton and Jones Snowboards have broken new ground, joined by emerging names such as Swiss maker Korua. In 2020, Burton reported that splitboards were selling faster than regular boards as lockdown restrictions prompted increased interest in the backcountry.
Splitboards have a reputation for being heavier, stiffer and harder to ride on hard-packed in-resort snow, but new refinements are bringing all-mountain versions. Jeremy Jones, an American snowboarder whose home mountains are in California's Sierra Nevada range, has spent years testing and refining ‘The Solution’ splitboard. “The board is evolving, but the goal remains the same,” he says. “It rides like a normal snowboard that’s lightweight, but it’s still stable and durable.”
Splitboarding took over my life
Now, Jeremy Jones describes his splitboarding journey
We live in a crowded world, but with the power of your own two feet – and a bit of knowledge and creativity – it’s still possible to walk upon untouched mountains, without seeing any other person, and ride the best snowboard lines of your life.
I knew by the age of 12 that I would end up living in the mountains. Growing up in New England, USA, I’d started snowboarding at nine; by 16, in 1991, I’d gone pro. After racing for a few years,
I switched to big mountain freeriding, doing first descents of the steeps in Alaska and beyond. Since then, I’ve been in 50-plus movies on snowboarding.
A key part of splitboarding is transitioning between walk mode and ride mode
Today, my home mountain range is the Sierra Nevada on the US West Coast, which I’ve explored for more than a decade. The Sierra is in excess of 640km long and 100km wide, running north to south, with more than a dozen major drainages that you can easily follow into the thick parts of the range. And with a coastal snowpack that’s less complex and usually safer than in Colorado, Utah or Wyoming, it’s a splitboarders’ paradise.
Splitboarding allows you to ‘split’ your snowboard in half and use it like skis for climbing. This is faster and more efficient than walking in snowshoes. Add in a tent, a sleeping bag, and food for a few days, and I can get deeper into the mountain range, where there’s a vast ocean of peaks that see little-to-no people in winter. For me, it’s about getting past the guidebook, and I’ve burned millions of calories in the backcountry here.
What happens when I walk deep into the mountains and set up a winter camp is that I’m presented with what I call ‘the wonderful problem’. I hit an objective I’ve been dreaming of for years, only to stand on top of the peak and see five more dream lines. This is what the wonderful problem means – the more you do here, the bigger your hit list gets.
Splitboarding took over my life for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, I realised that we can only take snowmobiles and helicopters to about five percent of the mountains. These areas, as well as the areas you could hike to from the resort’s lifts, have become more crowded. If I wanted to get away and ride new lines, I needed to discover how to walk for long periods and live deep in the mountains. This realisation coincided with my awareness of the effects of climate change on the mountains, and how much CO2 I was burning when I went snowboarding.
It’s the reason I started Jones Snowboards. The better the product, the further I can go. So when I improve
a design, it’s a huge quality-of-life increase, because I spend so much of my life with a splitboard attached to my feet. This has unlocked so much new terrain in my backyard. And when I’m walking in the mountains, my mind is awake – it’s pretty much where all my ideas come from, which is why I always carry a notebook in my pocket.
A key part of splitboarding is transitioning between walk mode and ride mode. When walking, we use skins stuck to the bottom of the splitboard. It’s important to align these when you fit them, but also to keep them dry and warm between uses, stashed in a pocket, because if they get wet or frozen they lose their adhesiveness. Glide by sliding your feet forwards, rather than lifting them up, and keep a constant rhythm. It’s also surprising how warm you get, so the mantra ‘Go bold, start cold’ applies. Add a layer when you stop to transition, but remove one when you start moving again.
Riding serious lines is an intimate conversation with nature
Alaska – the location of my latest film, Mountain Revelations – has so many peaks that look perfect for snowboarding, but finding one that’s safe to ride and walk up is tricky. When hiking, I’m on the mountain for hours – as opposed to minutes if you’re dropped by helicopter – so I need to ensure there’s not a big cornice or a serac that can fall on me. Then I figure out if the snow is stable. Having a clean outrun is also critical. This means if you fall or get swept away in an avalanche, you won’t be pushed over a cliff or into a crevasse.
Riding serious lines is an intimate conversation with nature. Being present, not having an ego and accepting what the mountains are saying is critical. I read their subtle signs and understand their moods, because splitboarding is a zero-mistake game. The mountains can change fast, and I need to be hyper-present to see those changes. Still, I’ve experienced rolling down an unrideable, rock-strewn face where I shouldn’t have, which almost cost me my life. My mistake that day was overconfidence – I was in
a rush and not present. Since then, I’ve developed a backcountry mental checklist.
First, “mountains speak, and wise men listen” is a [19th century US naturalist] John Muir quote I live by. Am I present enough to read the signs? Next [on the checklist] is patience. Your agenda needs to be thrown out the window – the mountains don’t care that your only day off is Saturday. I don’t say, “I’m going to ride X,” rather that, “I’m going to look at X”. I don’t become mentally attached to a line until I’m dropping into it.
Look for reasons to back down, and anticipate that the turnaround point may be at the top of a line you just spent hours hiking to. Late Norwegian snowboard legend Tommen Bjerknæs summed it up best: “Tomorrow is good, too. Ride for tomorrow.”
Our factory has gone 100 percent solar
The Jones Solution Splitboard
“The Solution is like my third kid,” says Jones. “I put real energy into freeride shapes that no other company wanted to at the time.”
Jones recently reduced the carbon footprint of his company’s boards by almost a third: “We’re constantly testing new materials that have fewer impacts on the environment. Our factory has gone 100 percent solar.”
Steel edges carve the snow better and give harder bite when side-stepping uphill, says Jones: “And when the board is connected, traction tech gives added structure.”
Solid snowboards use 3D contouring to ‘spoon’ the nose for better performance, but no splitboard has had that until now. “It took five years,” says Jones, “and at times I questioned if it was possible.”The split is closed with a bridge that eliminates the need to drill bolts through it. “This makes for a way
tighter connection,” he explains.
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