It’s no Angry Birds, but the game is a surprisingly fun time waster. Two levels are available now, a bluebird day in the Alps and a night session under the Aurora (Northern Lights) in Alaska. Controls are simple and use the arrow keys, and there’s already some competitive scores being posted in the leaderboards.

More photos and the full press release after the break.

Alaska
Northern Boarder, Anchorage

Colorado
Christy Sports, Cherry Creek
Christy Sports, Orchard Christy Sports, Park Meadows

Montana
World Boards, Bozeman

New Hampshire
NOTB, Salem
Snowboard Jones, Manchester

New York
Sundown, Farmingdale
Sundown, Levittow

North Carolina
Verical Urge, Raleigh Ohio
Buckeye Sports, Peninsula
Aspen Ski and Board, Columbus

Oregon
US Outdoor, Portland
Tactics, Eugene

Southern California
K5, Encinitas
Surfside Sports, Costa Mesa
Val Surf, Valley Village
Powder and Sun, Victorville
Leroy’s, Big Bear Lake

Virginia
Alpine Ski Shop, Sterling
East Coast Board Co, Fairfax

New York
Sundown, Farmingdale
Sundown, Levittow, Wisconsin
Moda3, Milwaukee
Les Moise Milwaukee

CANADA
Montreal
Dlx, Quebec City
Free For All, Quebec City
La Vie Sportive, Quebec City

Ontario
Hustler, Oakville
Meltdown, Kitchener
Algonquin Outfitters, Huntsville

Alberta
Mission on 17th, Calgary

Vancouver
Coastal Riders, Surrey
Pacific Boarder, Vancouver

Unfortunately, the camera cable was busted during travel today, so photos will have to wait until I can find a replacement.

Day 1 started with my plane taking off from the Fairbanks International Airport in AK at 1:10 am on Tuesday 10/27. After a snow-less fall (see Snow, Damnit, Snow), I moved my ticket up to escape the barren north (and to make the trip to Maryland to visit Gore possible). Monday, the day before my flight, the skies finally opened up and dropped several inches of dry fluffy snow in the hills. Figures…

The flight from Fairbanks to Denver (via Seattle) was awesomely uneventful, dropping me in Colorado at 10:30 am. Within hours the skies darkened, turned to rain, and finally snow. I like to think of it as a welcome home present. After a quick stop for lunch at the always essential Illegal Pete’s in Boulder, I killed some time catching up on emails and then hit the pillow, dreaming of powder.

Next up, snow tries to keep me from getting to the Gore Experience More Summit, in Snow and Gore: Day 2 of “30 Days on the Road”

Seattle, Washington October 22, 2009: Spacecraft Clothing, a leading designer of the world’s best hand crafted artisan headwear, clothing, collectibles and accessories for the board sport and lifestyle niche, announced today the appointment of long time sales representative, John Crouch and his NW Roadreps team, as Spacecraft Clothing’s exclusive Pacific Northwest Sales Representative.

John Crouch started NW Roadreps in 2003 and is supported by Brice Niebuhr, Byron Bagwell and Mike Bosold. In this position, Mr. Crouch and his team will lead Spacecraft dealer relations and field sales in Washington, Oregon, N. Idaho and Alaska.

Mr. Crouch’s reputation and experience building company sales is prominent through the other brands he carries including Arbor, One Ball Jay, NHS, Imperial Motion, Siege Audio and Vestal Watches.

About Spacecraft Clothing:

Headquartered in Seattle, Washington with an outpost in Bali, Spacecraft clothing and accessories are each a piece of artwork of craftsmanship and love. Not only does the Bali connection allow for creativity it provides thousands of weavers real living wages.

Spacecraft makes amazing hats that keep your head warm on cold adventures, unique clothing and crafted accessories. We also like powder, surf and concrete as much as you.

Join the movement :: make it happen :: spacecraftclothing.com

Continued from: Go Deeper: The Jeremy Jones Interview Pt.1. If you haven’t read it already, you might want to go there first.

Jeremy Jones rappelling into a chute. Photo: tgrsnowboarding.com

SBG: Speaking of Deeper, your personal convictions about the environment prompted you to change your own lifestyle and riding habits, and this has led to what we keep hearing about as a different video. What can you tell us about Deeper?
Jeremy: Deeper is something that I’ve wanted to do for a while. Over the last couple of years I’ve realized that the biggest high I get in snowboarding is getting away from everyone, into these new worlds, and hiking what I ride. It’s always been a huge part of my snowboarding, it’s just that the snowboard world only sees 10% of that time; the Alaska time basically. A lot of the spots I was filming had gotten pretty crowded for us; we we’re battling with lots of other helicopters, and the exploration side of things was no longer there. There’s really this small little piece of terrain that everyone battles over, and I just wanted to get past that terrain and into the vast unknown; to get away from helicopters and get back to first descents.

SBG: How was the transition from helis and snowmos to accessing all of your terrain on foot?
Jeremy: The actual going out and hiking and riding has made up the majority of my winters in the past, but when it came time to film I would hop on a snowmobile or go take a helicopter, so it was a more a mental change. For instance, when that “Day of Days” would come into Tahoe, we couldn’t just jump on a snowmobile and have 5 shots in the can before 11. It was changing my mindset from that to going out the day before, camping, and putting so much energy into hopefully getting one or two shots that day. Same with Alaska, we couldn’t set up camp until it was sunny, because we’d take a plane and land out there to get set up. To get to where we were going we flew through the heli zone, and it was run after run after run of lines that I’ve been on in countless movies. It’s where I’ve done a lot of my work, and if I was in a helicopter, I’d be landing and be  snowboarding right away. Instead, I’m in a plane, and I’m going into the unknown and having to set up, and I’m at the minimum a day away from even thinking about dropping into a line of any seriousness. The change was mental.

Jeremy Jones' definition of Snowboard Camp. Photo: tgrsnowboarding.com

SBG: Was it hard to get filmers on board to hike with you and capture the footage?
Jeremy: The existing film crews had their reservations already, which is why it took me a little longer to make this change and it didn’t come instantly. I realized I really had to do my own thing and find my own film crew. There are a ton of filmers out there who love the idea of camping and getting out deeper. Some of them have worked on existing snowboard movies for years and some are a little new to the game. I wouldn’t try to talk someone, whether a rider or filmer, into a trip. Either they were jumping off the roof to do it, or I was going to find someone else.

Jeremy with some deep thoughts. Photo: tgrsnowboarding.com

SBG: Last year’s film “My Own Two Feet,” from Leeward, started down this path you’re following with Deeper. Did Leeward’s film inspire “Deeper”, or was the concept something you had already considered? How does Deeper continue the story?
Jeremy: Last year I did 5 movies, I think, one of them being Leeward’s, and it was really the one movie that I was most looking forward to at the beginning of the season, and the one I had the most fun working on. I had been wanting to go in that direction, but as a pro snowboarder my job is exposure. I can’t just draw a line and say “I’m done working with all film crews.” What Leeward showed me was that the project could be done. It was great working with Chris Edmands from Leeward. That helped give me the confidence to go in a direction that I had been longing to go in.

SBG: Next, the hot topic: Jones Snowboards. You were with Rossignol for a long time, is there more to the story in that split that you can’t talk about or aren’t talking about, or were you just ready to do your own thing?
Jeremy: I have had a growing desire to do my own thing, it had been building for the last year or two. Rossignol has had some tough times with ownership changes in the last couple of years, and the combination of issues really inspired my decision.

Jeremy Jones Tahoe Steeps. Photo: Seth Lightcap

SBG: Did you already know that you wanted to work with Nidecker, or did you go through a selection process?
Jeremy: I talked with a few others, but Nidecker gave me the confidence to start my own company. With all the situations I was considering it was clear to me that working with Nidecker would result in the best boards.

SBG: What will differentiate Jones Snowboards from everything else on the market? What’s your selling point?
Jeremy: Jones Snowboards is 100% focused on freeride boards. I feel like there’s a lot of room for new design coming out, and we’re very focused on the freeride market. The whole company is set up towards freeriding, instead of most of these other companies that have a single board in their line and it’s a little bit of an afterthought.

SBG: How will you be working your environmental principles into the company?
Jeremy: For starters, Nidecker is doing some pretty cool stuff with their factory; they’re pretty advanced compared to what some other companies are doing. It all starts with the production and goes to the product. In year one, all of our boards will be at the top-end of the environmentally friendly scale. I can’t say we’ll have the single most environmentally friendly board available, but as a whole, if you compared our board line to another company’s board line, our line will be one of the most environmentally friendly. And that’s just the baseline to start with. It was important to me with that Nidecker wasn’t done moving forward on this front, and they’re not; we hope to continue progressing in that area. They’re will also be a big connection to POW, with a percentage of sales going to support them. We’ll be working to follow through on all facets of the company.

SBG: Often, new board brands are just the same boards the manufacturer is already pressing, but with different graphics. Are we going to be looking at re-packaged Megalight, or are you doing your own board design.
Jeremy: I will be doing totally different board designs, start from finish, with new presses.

Jones Snowboards' Splitboard Prototype? Photo: Seth Lightcap

SBG: What do you want to be putting out in your boards that isn’t on the market right now.
Jeremy: I’ve been really involved with my Rossignol snowboard design in the last 10 years and taking steps forward. The board I’m designing now is the next phase in this evolution that I’ve been working on. One thing that’s frustrating with snowboards, all snowboards, is that it’s really hard for us to develop new, un-proven designs because the cost of molds is so expensive. So for example, with Rossignol if I make a new mold, I can fine tune that, but I’m basically stuck with that mold for the next 3-5 years. I’m pretty excited to make a step that I would have normally had to wait another 3-5 years to take with the evolution of my freeride board. We’re still in the testing phases for the powder board, but it will definitely be very unique to the market. We’re doing a splitboard; there’s not a lot of options out there in splitboards, so we’ll be bringing in fresh shapes and stuff into those boards. Then we’re doing a freestyle freeride board; we’re in this testing process and I’m all over the map with different profiles. Everything is open and on the table, and it’s great because where that testing process ends up, I don’t know yet.

Jeremy Jones Tahoe Barrel Photo: Seth Lightcap

SBG: Are you doing much with rapid-prototyping? Is that technology there yet for being able to test snowboards shapes?
Jeremy: Not as rapid as say the surf industry. Certain companies can do stuff faster; Nidecker is willing to do that. It just takes more time and man-power, so if a company is more strapped on time, they can’t go down that road, but Nidecker is really excited and is putting in the energy to develop next level stuff.

SBG: So going forward with Jones, do you think you’ll have less than that 3-5 year period to continue bringing out new shapes?
Jeremy: I do, and just in this prototype phase for example, each of these models, the difference between model one and model five is really drastic, and we’ll get into the fine-tuning sidecuts and flexes along the way. In the past you’d get five boards made and they’d have this teeny little change; you’d spend half the time just trying to figure out what the difference was between to boards.

SBG: Will you have your full line at SIA in January?
Jeremy: Four model line in January is our goal.

SBG: When you get knocked down, what motivates you to get up and try again?
Jeremy: I’d say the motivation for me is in snowboarding. I feel like I’ve been given an incredible opportunity, I know a ton of people would love this opportunity, and I think it’s a disservice to not give everything I have to it.

Jeremy Jones. Photo: tgrsnowboarding.com

SBG: Shout-outs or final comments?
Jeremy: Huge thanks to my family and my sponsors, without both of them I wouldn’t be able to live this life, and a big shout-out to Chris Steinkamp, Executive Director of Protect Our Winters.

This interview is transcribed from a live interview on October 9, 2009. The questions and answers have been edited for clarity and readability.

Thanks to Teton Gravity Research (TGR) for use of their images.

For more information about Jeremy Jones and his projects you can check out:
Jeremy Jones’ Website/Blog | Jones Snowboards | Protect Our Winters | Teton Gravity Research

Deceptive early snow in AK

Rain and cold hit pretty hard in August, a sure sign of impending winter. September had other plans though, as a late “indian summer” swept the state, and we had temperatures that didn’t even hint at snow until the very end of the month. We finally saw some white flakes in the last week of September; 2 inches that melted, and then two days later 4 inches that stuck around for about a week. And with that, winter seemed to give up, relenting to weather more conducive to shorts and t-shirts than snowpants and hoodies. It was warm enough that I thought about getting the boat back out for another round of wakeboarding.

All the while we’ve been not getting snow up here, I have to read about (and post articles about) the snowfall and early resort openings in Colorado (my winter home). See, this summers in AK, winters in CO thing usually works out great, this year it’s torture. As resort after resort starts spinning lifts, my patience is pulled thinner. Mammoth will start turning chairs tomorrow (Friday 10/16), and all I can say is that when California has enough snow to open and Alaska is bone dry, there is something wrong with the world.

11 days until I board a plane and out of this snowless land. Will it be soon enough, or will I be found rocking back and forth in a chair muttering about climate change?

“I wanted to get back to solitude, adventure, and new descents,” Jeremy Jones said. “By hiking past boundaries set in place by helis and snowmobiles we were able to get into bigger mountains, away from people and back to first descents

Editor’s Note: We have an interview with Jeremy Jones coming out early next week.

Watch the Trailer

The filming of Deeper will take over two years and requires an extraordinary commitment from the production team to travel to remote locations. In order to capture the lines and footage on film, cameramen are required to climb alongside athletes, without the aid of helicopters or other assistance.

During one shoot, Jones, Travis, and the rest of the production crew spent 27 days camped on a glacier in Alaska. On another shoot in the Swiss Alps, Jones and De La Rue started hiking at 10 at night in order to ride a line at sunrise the next morning.

The production crew must also use solar chargers and other technology to be able work for extended periods in the backcountry, away from the comforts of modern society. “Being away from electrical outlets for such long stretches really forced us to plan differently. But if it wasn’t for all that, Deeper wouldn’t be half as unique,” said Director of Photography Chris Edmunds.

The filming of Deeper proves that world-class freeriding does not require huge financial investment. “We hope this inspires people to continue pushing beyond what has been done and to realize how much is still left to do.” Says TGR’s Steve Jones.

Teton Gravity Research is one of the fastest growing brands in the action sports industry. Founded in 1996, TGR has produced 18 award winning feature length films, numerous television series for Showtime, NBC, Fox Sports, and Fuel TV, and is known for its cutting edge media and lifestyles clothing line. TGR films showcase the world’s top snowboard, ski and surf athletes including Jeremy Jones, Ian Walsh, Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, and Seth Morrison. TGR is a proud member of 1 Percent for the Planet and strongly believes in protecting the environment in which the team works and plays. TetonGravity.com has become one of the leading online destinations and communities in the action sports industry delivering over 5 million pages views a month.

Helping Donny will be his hand picked Rep cartel known as The Active Labor Syndicate, which include; Jodi Judson, Adrian and Earnie Peachay, Adam Portue, team riders Ashley Thornton and Forrest Devore. Donny has over ten years of Action Sports Industry experience which consists of a great track record and not to mention he rips at snowboarding as well!!

While many snowboarding companies have spent a lifetime trying to fit-in, FLOW has spent its time standing out. Born from originality, FLOW is defiant against the norm of tradition. The world has witnessed how this one time “binding” company has progressed into the leader of innovative products featuring a complete line of “speed entry” bindings, performance proven boots and award winning snowboards. The future is here and the future is FLOW.

Richard Bass, who owns the prominent Utah resort, has partnered with William H. Hunt to form PacRim Coal LLC, which has submitted permit applications to build a coal mine directly on top of 11 miles of prime salmon fisheries feeding the Cook Inlet. Nearly all the coal excavated from the mine, located about 45 miles from Anchorage, would be exported to coal markets in China and other Pacific Rim countries. The Chuitna mine would produce more than 12 million tons of coal annually, which when burned, would emit more than 27 million tons of carbon dioxide.

“It’s sadly ironic that the owner of a business that is solely dependent upon heavy snowfall and consistent winters is pushing a project that is a direct threat to the ski industry and completely contrary to the ideals of outdoor recreation,” said Ryan Demmy Bidwell with the Ski Area Citizen’s Coalition. “Coal is the single largest source of global warming pollution on the planet. We’re already seeing impacts on climate and weather patterns in the West. And this man wants to sell millions of tons of coal to China so it can be burned? Utah skiers and backcountry enthusiasts should be outraged.”

Bass’ mine proposal is even more hypocritical, conservation groups say, since Snowbird has been an active participant in the National Ski Area Associations Sustainable Slopes program, whose environmental initiatives include reducing greenhouse gas emissions from resorts in order to protect the climate.

“Snowbird has been one of the leading ski areas in terms of addressing global warming,” said Mark Clemens with the Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club. “In fact, they were the top award recipient from the NSAA in 2007. That’s what makes this proposed coal mine by Mr. Bass so troubling.”

Over 50 national organizations and businesses made recommendations that were incorporated in the Sustainable Slopes charter, a program designed to make ski resorts more environmentally friendly. Clemens doubts any of the participating organizations would be too thrilled to know that Bass was planning to develop a large coal mine.

“I can’t help but believe that some might consider this a real slap in the face” he said.”

In addition to its contributions to global warming, the mine would destroy one of Alaska’s most productive salmon fisheries. According to three scientific analyses of the mine’s impacts being released today, it is highly unlikely that the river’s fishery would ever recover from damage done by the mining. This year, the Chuitna River was one of the few rivers in the Cook Inlet region where fisherman enjoyed a healthy king salmon run. But if the mine is built, the studies determined, damage done directly to the streams and approximately 30 square miles of surrounding riparian habitat within the watershed would be irreversible.

“We want to keep Utah cool and Alaska wild,” said Dan Ritzman, the Western Director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “We aim to show that sparing the climate hundreds of millions of tons of CO2 pollution and protecting this fragile fishery are better long-term investments for local economies in Utah and Alaska. In today’s transition to a greener economy, investments in coal are simply wasted dollars.”

Registration begins Monday, December 15, at 8am MST

Salt Lake City, Utah, December 12, 2008 – Now in its sophomore year, The North Face Masters of Snowboarding (TNF Masters) has become the largest cohesive competitive big mountain snowboarding tour in the country. A three-stop tour, TNF Masters is designed to cater to the motivation, talent and skill of world-class big mountain snowboarders. The 2009 tour visits Snowbird, Utah, Crested Butte, Colorado, and culminates at the ultimate big mountain competition venue of Kirkwood, California.

“The North Face Masters tour is going to be off the chain this year,” said TNF Masters Alyeska, Alaska, 2008 champion Rob Kingwill. “I am excited to be a part of the movement toward giving big mountain snowboarding competition the recognition it deserves. All three 2009 venues are world class, and I can’t wait to see what happens.”

TNF Masters features a $45,000 cash prize purse and serves as a qualifier event to the Freeride World Tour. Winners from the Snowbird and Crested Butte TNF Masters events will have the opportunity to compete in the Nissan Tram Face at Squaw Valley, California.

“Freeriding, the use of natural terrain, fall line, and innovation from riding style is the essence of big mountain snowboarding,” said TNF Masters Head Judge Tom Burt. “The TNF Masters series is designed around this and that is the reason why I agreed to become the head judge. The terrain will be delivered by Snowbird, Crested Butte, and Kirkwood. All have different flavors of terrain so each will bring its own challenges for the riders, and every rider will bring their own style and innovation to each venue. When the two mesh the best freerider will emerge.“

TNF Masters gathers big mountain snowboarding tribes from all around the world. All male and female snowboarding competitors above age 18 are welcomed to participate. Registration begins Monday, December 15, at 8am MST, on www.thenorthfacemasters.com.

The North Face Masters of Snowboarding 2009 Series Schedule Stop #1 – Snowbird, Utah. January 29-February 1, 2009 Stop #2 –Crested Butte, Colorado. February 12-15, 2009 Stop #3 –Kirkwood, California March 5-8, 2009

Fans of big mountain snowboarding can catch same-day coverage of the Semi-Final and Final rounds of each TNF Masters event on thenorthfacemasters.com where there are complete videos, photos, athlete profiles, detailed event schedules, registration information and more.

For more information please visit thenorthfacemasters.com.