Crew

PETE COOMBS: SNOW JOURNALIST WINTER. STAY AT HOME DAD REST OF THE YEAR.

Here’s a picture of Pete trying to find a place in the world he’s not yet dragged the crew to snowboarded, as Pete organises the Backdrop Journal yearly expedition.

Pete writes for all the main UK adventure and snow magazines. He worked on the World Snowboard Guide, but swapped life on the road for a keyboard and the kitchen sink. Big on balance of life and family, Pete has an admirable set up in which he looks after his kids most of the year. But come winter, he’s off like a dirty shirt. Now his kids and better half ride off piste too, his adventures are an amazing life BACKDROP.

Originally guiding Summer adventures in far flung mountain ranges, mostly in Africa, Pete Wintered in the Alps and was one of the first UK snowboard instructors, and though he looks like a spring chicken he’s older than splitboarding itself. He’s got life's T-Shirt, is a low key dude, and a pleasure to ride with. He’s big on avalanche safety, and is always looking for a story to tell or an adventure to be a part of.

PETE’S FAVES:

IN RESORT: Never Summer Warlock.

SPLITBOARDING: Stranda Biru

RESORT EUROPE: La Clusaz - home to Candide

WORLDWIDE: Silverton Colorado.

FAV SNOWBOARD TOWN: Nelson B.C. -draft kombucha

FAVE SNOW EXPERIENCE: Retallack Lodge, Selkirk Mountains B.C.

FAVOURITE BOARD EVER: Ride, Concept from 1996

HEIGHT: – 168cm

WEIGHT: – 68KG

ZAK EMERSON: COMMERCIALS + SHORT DOC DIRECTOR, PHOTOGRAPHER, DAD, ULTRA-RUNNER.

Born high in the alps in Switzerland, his parents moved to Norfolk which is completely flat. Like, so flat it used to be connected to Holland. And so Zak is always looking for a mountain to climb or run up. He’s obsessed with unpleasant endurance sports, the more sideways the weather the bigger his smile gets.

A few years ago Zak started to take pictures on trips for Pete’s snow articles. The partnership has grown and turned into a collective of like-minded snow loving folk. Zak has won a bunch of awards directing TV ads all over the world, he also loves being at home with his family, he studied fine art painting. It seemed a natural step to start documenting snowboard adventures, creating short docs, which do the global festival circuit.

Zak, Pete and Marty have three more adventures in the edit room, bringing their total to 5 documentaries in their series.

Zak is big on mountain safety, surprisingly OCD for a fella who seems chilled, and loves being part of the BACKDROP crew.

Zaks FAVES:

ONE QUIVER RIDE: Amplid Milligram splitboard (this is such a great deck I got rid of all others, in and out of resort it’s The One.)

RESORT EUROPE: Avoriaz.

RESORT NORTH AMERICA: Shames, BC.

FAVE SNOW EXPERIENCE: Lofoten, Norway.

FAVE EVER BOARD: Amplid Milligram. Evangelical about these decks.

HEIGHT: 172cm

WEIGHT: 69kg.

ANDY: TECH PROJECT MANAGER FOR NON-PROFITS, HUBBY.

We did a science-check and Andy came out as the nicest guy anyone has ever met. He’s also one of the tallest. Growing up in NZ, he left that mother-land in a hail of bullets. Literally, him and his mates were shot at by some drunk failed salesman on Guy Fawkes night. But he didn’t let it get to him and settled in much safer Brixton, London …where ironically he got into outdoor sports in a serious way (go figure).

Andy is serious about keeping work and life in balance, to get outside as much as possible.

He loves mixing it up - trail running, road biking, swimming, throwing down the odd tri and just generally any way to be out in the elements and up a hill - but it’s snowboarding that’s he’s most passionate about.

Andy has been riding longer than any of us can to remember. He worked and rode in Chamonix a few seasons and treats snowboarding as an art to be improved on and mastered: an ongoing life project, developing skills & techniques, knowledge, respect for the mountain and looking out for his buddies. This is why his riding is stylish as Milan fashion week and smooth as a baby’s bottom.

Andy’s FAVES:

ONE QUIVER RIDE: Stranda Shorty BC split, 164W. A revelation, shorter overall, but wider (27cm waist), with short tail, means it’s serious about high-alpine technical situations, with a big nose for loads of float. It has Stranda’s surf DNA in pow and the tail shape gives a long effective edge and it rocks for on-piste carving. Not sure I’ll ever need another board…

RESORT EUROPE: Andermatt - particularly the Gemsstock (mountain) and the ability to get to and from touring spots using some of the most beautiful train lines in the world.

RESORT NORTH AMERICA: Shames, BC.

FAVE SNOW EXPERIENCE: Epic, epic snowfall at the Teine Ski Centre in Sapporo, Japan. Just one lift, with our tracks filled in by the next run, eerie lines through bamboo groves.

FAVE EVER BOARD: My current Stranda Shorty BC split. But big shout-outs for my first split, a Jones Solution 168W, which I still have, and for a solid, my old Ride Yukon (till it got fatally holed by a Chamonix sub-surface sharks-tooth) gets a big cheer .

HEIGHT: 189cm

WEIGHT: 80kg

MARTIN ORTON: PRODUCER, CREATIVE, PHOTOGRAPHER, ULTRA-RUNNER, CLIMBER, SEMI-RESPONSIBLE DAD.

He’s Marty to us. Nobody knows exactly what this Essex boy really does, (including his amazing wife Jayne) but he’s always doing loads. At the moment he’s building a house. But he’s also CD of a production company, making all sorts of cool stuff from BAFTA winning animations to rebranding universities.

Marty has enough energy to power a small city, enough crazy ideas to fill a book and enough gravity for us all to stick to him. His kids are awesome and his wife is a saint. His garage is a man-cave to inspire adventure and, did we mention his axe collection?