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NEIL PROVO

Hometown: New Hartford, CT, USA
Currently resides: Wasatch Mountains, UT, USA
Current sponsors: Outdoor Research, Cardiff Snowcraft, Hyperlite Mountain Gear, Black Diamond, Goal Zero, Spot Satellite Messengers, Smith Optics
Bindings: Arc ST Pro

Growing up in Connecticut, Neil found his passion for snowboarding on the icy slopes of Ski Sundown - a small hill with a vertical drop of 625ft! When his pop moved west to Utah in '99, Neil and his brothers followed soon after. A totally new world was revealed, filled with endless amounts of real snow and huge mountains to explore. A rare commodity back east! Neil discovered splitboarding out of necessity, to follow his older bro on skis and to access the untracked snow beyond resort boundaries. When that first snowboard was cut in half, his perspective of what was possible in the mountains was forever changed. For the past 15 years, Neil has been climbing up the skin track in search of that perfect pow turn.

Q & A

Talk about your most epic splitboard adventure:

One spring, my brother and I got dropped off by plane on an incredible glacier in Alaska. It snowed blower pow for 1 full day, then went cold and bluebird for 10 days straight. It was the most incredible Alaskan conditions I have ever experienced, and we've been chasing that for years since! You never know, until you go!

 

What has most influenced your backcountry riding?

So much inspiration has come from the riders who laid down the tracks for me to follow. Folks like Craig Kelly, Johan Olofsson, Noah Salasnek, Tom Burt, and Jeremy Jones to name a few. On the freestyle side of things, dudes like Bjorn Leines, Mikey Leblanc, MFM, Nico Müller, Gigi Rüf. These guys have all had a big impact on me growing up!

 

 

What are you most excited about for the 23/24 season?

I have my fingers crossed that we'll have a repeat record-breaking winter just like last season! Really looking forward to breaking into some new zones abroad on my splitboard this season. The exploration aspect of splitboarding is what keeps me stoked and coming back for more every year!

 

What inspires you?

Clean air, clean water, and open spaces untouched by mankind inspire me most!

 

Why ride Spark R&D gear?

I started riding a splitboard the same year Spark released the very first split-specific binding - the Ignition 1. It was a revolutionary step forward in the quality of ride. For the past 15 years, the gear has just gotten better and better. Best bindings in the biz.! It has been amazing to watch this little spark turn into a wildfire, spreading splitboard stoke across the globe!

 

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