Bode Merrill

Travis Rice's Jackson Hole Backcountry Powder Session | "The Natural Selection" Test Event

► Learn more about "The Natural Selection" test event: https://win.gs/naturalselection

An expression session for the ages in Jackson Hole was the first step toward bringing snowboard icon Travis Rice’s vision to life: A world class big mountain competition series that combines freestyle tricks with freeriding artistry in Wyoming, British Columbia and Alaska.

On January 27th, 2020, Travis Rice unveiled plans for a new freeride competition tour at three landmark North American sites that aims to begin in January 2021. To tease what’s to come, this announcement was paired with a test event on Rice’s home mountain of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort that included twelve of the world’s top backcountry riders.

The test event, which worked to capture rider feedback and express the true potential of competitive snowboarding, was a product of extensive planning between Travis and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. “Jackson Hole and I have worked closely for years,” said Travis, “It is such a fun mountain to ride and I am really proud that after we pulled off (Natural Selection) over a decade ago, we now stand together, ready to bring such a paradigm-shifting event to life here that emulates the uniqueness of the local community that has had my back through it all.”

By removing rocks and stumps during the summer while building wooden domes, takeoffs and landings across an entire mountain face, the course has proved to be the most arduous, yet fruitful endeavors that Travis has ever set out on. It offers opportunity to create the most rideable natural run the world has ever seen.

The test event course was approximately 1/16th the size of what Rice and the team hope will be rideable in a future The Natural Selection Tour kickoff at the same location. “The event was a small version if what we’re building. We wanted to run this event so people have a better understanding of what we’re doing”, said Rice. “It’s a sliver of the bigger picture, and when we open it up, it’s going to be a lot different.”

Riders from a myriad of generations of backcountry snowboarding got a chance to test their mettle on the downsized course. The illustrious group of elites included Austen Sweetin, David-Carrier Porcheron, Bode Merrill, Leanne Pelosi, Sage Kotsenburg, Pat Moore, Elena Hight, Werni Stock, Blake Paul, Nicolas Müller, Robin Van Gyn, Travis Rice and Hana Beaman.

“To be able to see some of the best in the world come out and bring it under incredibly perfect Jackson Hole conditions… It was beautiful”, said Rice. “In 2008, when we ran the first Natural Selection here with Jackson Hole, that sparked this bigger idea. We’re now bringing it to its full expression as the Natural Selection Tour. The Natural Selection Tour is the culmination of over 20 years of experience, riding at the world’s top destinations, experimenting with several individual freeride competitions, and listening to the wishes of professional snowboarders, industry leaders and fans.”

The Natural Selection Tour aims to begin in January 2021 at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, which was host to the original Natural Selection event in 2008. Stop two would take place at Baldface Lodge in Nelson, British Columbia, the same location that hosted Red Bull Supernatural in 2012 and Red Bull UltraNatural in 2013. The final stop plans to take place in Alaska at the Tordrillo Mountain Lodge tenure.

“This is such a group effort," Rice said. "And I have to thank our whole production team, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort park and pipe crew, ski patrol for running safety, and on top of that, the riders and the entire snowboarding community for continuing to back us. It takes a village and we can’t do this alone.”

Contrast—Full Movie

Starring: Bode Merrill, Desiree Melancon, Erik Leon, Justin Keniston

Director: Paul Osborne

The collaborative vision of CONTRAST is to pair progressive riding with a point of view and aesthetic that will not only provoke the stoke but also take the viewer on a more cerebral visual journey. By juxtopozing the ubiquituous experience of daytime riding with the darker hues and shadows inherent with after-hours exploits Contrast creates an ethereal viewing experience.

Contrast (Official Trailer)—Starring Bode Merrill, Desiree Melancon, Erik Leon

The collaborative vision of Contrast is to pair progressive riding with a point of view and aesthetic that will not only provoke the stoke, but also take the viewer on a more cerebral visual journey. By juxtaposing the ubiquitous experience of daytime riding with the darker hues and shadows inherent with after-hours exploits, Contrast creates an ethereal viewing experience.

Starring Bode Merrill, Desiree Melancon, Erik Leon, Justin Keniston and more.

Check out the world premiere at the Rendezvous Mountain Culture Festival in Salt Lake City on 9/28 at The Gateway!

Sponsored by Salomon, Anon, Billabong, Arbor, Smith, and Airblaster.

Summer Vacation - Salomon Snowboards at Mt. Hood

A solid week of sunshine and glacier gliding with the Salomon Snowboards Team. Skateboards, campfires, kitchen tattoos, Charlie’s, BBQ’s, and nail-biting games of ‘muff’ and ‘knockout’ brought the team together, building upon lasting friendships and creating new ones with riders from across the globe.

Video by Marco Morandi

Rewind: Salt Lake City – Episode 2, Influx & Explosion

Covering 40-plus years of snowboard action and innovation in the Salt Lake Valley, this series takes viewers through decades of documentation and the endless progression that has come to define the Salt Lake scene. With interviews and insights from the sport’s most iconic riders and media makers as well as footage from every era, it is a retrospective of Salt Lake riding that celebrates the impact and enduring influence of snowboarding’s finest city.

Episode 2, Influx and Explosion, covers the boom of freestyle snowboarding in the Salt Lake Region, particularly the birth of street riding and urban rails. Dive into the early years of snowboarding with interviews from JP Walker, Jeremy Jones, Andy Wright, Rob Mathis, Rob McConnaughy, Jason "J2" Rasmus, Bode Merrill, and more.

SALOMON TV - FOCUS

After joining the Global Pro Team in 2017, Toni Kerkela hits the ground running with a full-length project, “Focus”, focusing on street riding around the world with a heavy supporting cast of Salomon Team riders.

Bode Merrill, Louif Paradis, Artem Smolin, and Flo Corzelius join Toni during the filming of Focus, “We managed to make a short movie of the season including bunch of other team riders and friends, I’m a big fan of all of them and everyone of them loves filming street which made it natural for them to join the project.” – Toni Kerkela

“Focus” follows Toni and a different rider to a new location throughout the film visiting new street spots in Finland and Quebec City to the pasta tables of Italy. “Our plan in the beginning of the season was to film a full part of me to be as a welcome to the team video. After 2 trips we realized that we could be able to make something little bit different and keep filming to produce a short film.” - Toni Kerkela

Salomon Snowboards - Ultimate Ride

Built for all snowboarding environments; AK lines to the streets.

One-Of-A-Kind shape designed by Bode Merrill, featuring the best of Salomon’s innovative technologies. Ripper by day, bank robber by night.

The Fourth Phase | Action Cut w/ Travis Rice

From the backcountry of Wyoming to the snowy Japanese Alps, the volcanoes of Russia, and a spectacularly remote area of Alaska, Travis Rice and crew reinvent what is considered possible on a snowboard. Witness 18 minutes of pure shredding from The Fourth Phase featuring Rice, Mark Landvik, Eric Jackson, Bryan Iguchi, Pat Moore, Mikkel Bang, Cam FitzPatrick, Shin Biyajima, Bode Merrill, Jeremy Jones, Victor de Le Rue, Ben Ferguson, and more.

Thanks Bode Merrill for another awesome Merril Minipipe #mmpi 🎥: Scott Barber Film & Will Film For Food