Rome Snowboard Design Syndicate

Our French-tern, Antoine and I drove over to New hampshire this past weekend for some riding, snowmobiling, a bit of shooting and a good hang with some old friends.  Ali’s brother Payde has been building a sick cabin at the top of one of the mountains that surround their valley.  The cabin was strategically placed at the top of some pretty sick lines that he has been trimming.  He shuttled us around seemingly endless terrain for two days straight. thanks Payde!

Thought I would share some shots that I just received from my boys Jan and Urs Bradley deep in the backcountry of Steamboat Co.

Yeah Urs!

notice the slab Jan set off...

I did a Locals Only with Jan a while back, check it out: http://www.romesnowboards.com/news/entry/242/

Keep the shots coming boys!

thanks Ignored P

Hey everybody, Just took a few days to take a Level 1 AIARE course. I have to recommend it to everybody. You might have taken driver’s ed before getting your car, why wouldn’t you take a course before grabbing a beacon and heading into the backcountry.

The course started with classroom session.  We then moved outside to practice companion rescue with a beacon; first on flatground and then into the alpine.

Teaching how to take field observations

Steve, our instructor, had this cool Brooks Range rescue sled

Steve giving us some pointers on evaluating snow pack using a snow pit

Here's the snow pit I helped to build and my team mate Bob cutting an extended column

We ended the day with a demonstration of the traditional Rutschblock test. Here's one of my classmates stomping away

I toured on my new Whiteroom splitboard (shhh… secret). It was super fun; I had not ridden Rome’s Powder S camber before (Did a little more riding Sunday vs. today). I personally prefer touring in Libertines as they are a little softer. I used my customized Spark R&D binders; my main customization is the addition of the plush 390 ankle strap.

Side Note: The Spark folks are great. I was fortunate enough to meet them at ISPO a week ago and I would for sure push what they are doing for Splitboarding.  Besides the obvious weight benefit, the baseplate offers a super solid platform and rides and tours real well.

I found out about the course through the AIARE website.  Steve Charest from Petra Cliffs offers courses here in VT.  A bunch of people questioned taking the course in VT, but obviously from the pics you can tell we had enough snow.  Additionally, Steve has guided in places as far away as Alaska & South America, and as close as Mount Washington, so he brings a wealth of experience to the table.  Frankly, my attitude all along was that it was better to be prepared than not and I figured it was best to take the course at my disposal.

There’s a cliche about “eyes being bigger than the stomach.”  As all of us take the step up to bigger and better terrain, it’s imperative that we all take a little responsibility for our friends’ and our own safety.  Get prepared: take some driver’s education for the big stuff and your beacon.

While traveling we stopped by a friends studio and they had a stack of old Ray Gun mags.

A few months ago and about 2 weeks after I got hired at Rome, George (one of our product managers) asked me play drums for his “famous metal band”. When I showed up expecting a full mic’d up drum kit, monitors and pro-sound (as any famous band would have for their practice space), I was confused as to how they were so “famous” with a $125 dollar drumset and a 60 watt guitar amp…

It turns out George and our guitarist Tom had meet on Craigslist, replying to the ad that simply read “Bassist lookin’ for a band to jam with, what I lack in talent I make up for in attitude and thirst for cheap beer”. Sounded like a match made in heaven. While these two had been sharing beers and chords, they managed to write a few tasty licks that were starting to resemble songs. The same night I showed up, George had also invited VT’s local bar star and “vocalist” Mike Toohey (check his Locals Only section on the Rome site) who is the manager of one of the best shops on the east coast, Darkside Snowboards. My first impression of this rag-tag group of musicians was underwhelming to say the least – but as soon as they started playing the Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop, I knew it was going to work out. Toohey (who had also never played with these guys before) instantly jumped up on the coffee table, grabbed his junk and went for it. George and Tom both dropped into a power stance and played those 3 notes like an encore at 69′ Woodstock. Spit Jack was forged in the fires of hell, learned at the school of rock, and polished in a small living room in Sugarbush, Vermont.

Since we began about 6 months ago, we’ve played about 10-12 gigs, cut a weekend demo, got kicked out of bars, asked to stop playing because it was too loud, and played 3 states. Decent resume for a computer programmer, 2 Rome employees and skate-shop manager. It would be cheesy to say, but the truth is, with 2 guys from the immediately family and 2 close relatives of Rome SDS, ain’t no shame in saying we’ve become the house band of the SDS. With that being said, take a look at these pictures by ANOTHER one of our talented employees, Doc Fung, to see the madness that has become Rome SDS’s Spit Jack.

This was one of our first shows, and after playing "Bullet" by the Misfits, LNP became our biggest fan instantly. Also, our sales manager Sully rips on the harp, who said Rome SDS wasn't the most rock n' roll brand in snowboarding?

We get banned from bars all the time for shit like this...and it's AWESOME.

Here's a shot from earlier in December, that's 3 SDS employee's and a mess of our reps spitting beer and getting tossed in the pit.

Back to Denver, after we had a good crowd, we decided to smash our gear - because it's awesome. Here is one of the owners of Rome getting his Joe Strummer on. He played guitar with us on "My Generation" before taking this axe to wood.

Crowd surfing at the bar. This was after our crowd lit fireworks off inside the bar. Keep your martini's and peacoats at home, Spit Jack will toss your ass out.

Probably my favorite photo of the night. Stoke factor was off the charts.

That’s enough for now, hope you enjoyed these photos. If you’re lookin’ for more, head on over to Facebook.com/SpitJack and add us as a friend – come to our next show, a hangover and a bruise are waiting for you!