The FREEMO Series

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an episodic short documentary series about freeride mountaineering, where a new guest will join Rafael Pease for a 2 week expedition out of his home, either in the mountains of Alaska or Chile. Season 1 features, Nathaniel Murphy, Krister Kopala & a massive storm!
Parinacota is a striking strato-volcano on the border of Chile and Bolivia that towers over the Andean Altiplano (high plains). It caught the eye of Antonia Galmez in a photograph and she began hatching a plan to summit and ride the remote and majestic mountain. She assembled a team and rode the volcano in the spring of 2023 (South American Fall). The film Payachatas documents everything that went into this incredible undertaking.

S.T.A.Y. Denali

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Last spring, Marissa Krawczak, Amanda Hankinson, and Kaytlyn Gerbin spent eighteen days on Denali in Alaska learning, splitboarding, and raising awareness for STAY: Somebody's Thinking About You. STAY is a non-profit founded two years ago by women in the snowboard community who were dissatisfied with the mental health resources and treatment options available to action sports athletes. In honor of National Suicide Prevention Month and in support of the STAY Denali project, Spark R&D will match donations to STAY up to $2,000. Please consider a donation to this worthy organization.
Laura Hadar is a Spark Shred Fam Ambassador, business owner, and pretty prolific splitboarder. She was nice enough to chat with us for a moment to talk about her Colorado 14er project and how she prepares for the splitboard season.
Ethan and Courtney
We have two Spark Employees who have impressive streaks of consecutive months of snowboarding. Courtney McNiff is our Human Resources Administrator and Ethan Marcoux is a Machinist and Design Engineer. They were nice enough to answer a few questions regarding their inspiring feats!
Despite the challenges, it was a relief to start ascending the mountain road late that night into Gulmarg. The mountains were hidden by thick clouds, and the forecasted storm had arrived. The Gondola that runs up to 13,800 feet, just below the summit of Apharwat Peak at 14,403 feet, was to be closed during the storm. This pushed us down below the town of Gulmarg into the mature and perfectly spaced pine trees of Babarishi.

Spark R&D Team Trip: 2023

splitboarding in Austria
In January 2023, Will, Luke, and Dan from Spark R&D met up with some of Spark's Team Riders and Shred Fam ambassadors in Badgastein, Austria for three days of splitboarding, high-fives, good meals, and good times.
We’ve created a photo + caption contest where you can win $1,000 for your local avy center and some fresh Spark R&D splitboard bindings simply by telling us about the job your local center is doing.
Episode 3 of season 3 features interviews with Austrian splitboard guide Markus Moser, Shaper Summit's founder Rob Kingwill, and Planet Money's Greg Rosalsky.
In episode 2 of season 3, Will and Mark discuss local snow conditions and chat a little about the challenges of manufacturing during the pandemic. The episode also features interviews with Spark R&D Guide Crew members Chris Coulter and Jason Champion.