One of the Wasatch’s finest freeriders, Forrest Shearer. Photo by Oskar Enander.
Welcome back to the In My Boots 2012 interview series. We’re jumping in the boots of each our team riders to get the lowdown on what their best trips and deepest days of the winter were. Hopefully their adventures will inspire you to get out on your own epic shred missions this spring and next winter.
Up next we have Forrest Shearer, a Wasatch ripper who’s endless motivation is only topped by his shred skills.
Weapon of choice:
Flagship 161/ Carbon Solution 161
Blower day in Juneau, AK. Photo by Abe Blair.
Where did you shred this year?
Started the season off hiking in Utah October 7th, some of the earliest turns I’ve got in awhile. Rode fun days in November around Utah, December was Bachelor for the Derby and back to Snowbird for the TGR avalanche workshop to refresh avalanche snow safety skills, glacier travel,and wilderness survival. Jan. and Feb. rode a lot with Patagonia designers testing and developing new outerwear. Got up to Mt. Baker for the banked slalom. Then Jackson to film for the Dream Factory. Scored great snow there. Juneau, Alaska in March for a sick trip with Ryland, Dirksen, and Yoder. April headed back to Utah with snow conditions improving and good stability. Then made it out to Mt. Shasta in May. Fun to get together with friends and the timing was perfect with the solar eclipse happening just as everyone got to the summit. Finished of the season with my first surfing boat trip in June to Indo.
Flashing a line in AK. Photo by Abe Blair.
What was your favorite shred trip this winter?
Juneau, AK with the Patagonia snowboard team. Snowpack was so deep there. Rode everything in site. Endless areas for splitboarding. Also the Further credit shoot on Mt. Shasta was fun. Perfect corn conditions.
Would you recommend visiting Juneau to other backcountry snowboarders?
Juneau is a good alternative to Haines. There’s also lots to do there on weather days. Great splitboarding access and Eaglecrest resort has perfect natural terrain. Mt. Shasta if your into splitboarding volcanoes. It has to be one of my favorites places.
Rollin into an AK hallway. Photo by Abe Blair.
Did you visit any new zones that surprised you or any backyard zones that were all time?
Washington is epic, I love the vibe there. Lots of technical riding and spines. Snowboarding roots run deep in the northwest. Alaska is always where it’s at. Mountains as far as the eyes can see. Rode a line in the Wasatch that was so fun this spring too. Sometimes the wait is worth it.
Best line of the season:
Riding down Shasta during the eclipse or a line I did in the Wasatch this spring.
Gettin ready to get some in AK. Photo by Abe Blair.
Deepest pow day:
Jackson. There was tons of stashes deep in the trees. Perfect.
Scariest moment of your winter:
There was a day riding with Andrew McClean in the Wasatch backcountry. We had hiked up to an area and ran into my friend Alec with some splitboarders at the top. With stability being an issue our game plan was to ride low angle trees. The other group headed off for bigger terrain. When we finished our day, sad news hit us that the other party we had ran into set off a good size slide. The outcome, one of the riders was killed in the slide, Alec.
On the summit of Mt. Shasta.
One thing you learned about backcountry snowboarding this year:
Make the most of your season. We often don’t fully appreciate what we have until we don’t have it anymore.
Did you work on any film projects?
TGR films – Further and The Dream Factory.
Any people you would like to thank for another great winter?
Jones, Patagonia, ClifBar, Sanuk, Tactics, Sambazon, POC
