My experience and what I do in snowboarding is really quite independent of the industry and the more independent it is, the more pure and better I feel about snowboarding.

What you do once you're beyond the confines of your local lift service can be as limitless as the mountains themselves.

All of a sudden you have this feeling of clarity. Backcountry snowboarding has really done a lot to boost that feeling in me.

I suffer every moment of every day that I am not with my son. All I want is to be reunited with my son.

While I will always have the utmost respect for the superhuman out-of-bounds freestyle and extreme stunts that seem to continually progress beyond our imaginable limits, my highest appreciation goes out to the simple rider who's out there just for the experience.

My experience and what I do in snowboarding is really quite independent of the industry and the more independent it is, the more pure and better I feel about snowboarding.

So I've been pushed farther and farther out into the mountains, but at the same time realizing that that experience is really nice and I'm glad I'm getting pushed out there farther.