Fresh and Tracked with Josh Dirksen

As an integral part of the Robot Food generation that revolutionized modern snowboard videos, Josh Dirksen has some serious clout these days in front of Mack Dawg’s infamous lens. A present-day backcountry giant, Dirksen mixes technicality, originality, and style into everything he rides. Whether it’s a thirty-five-degree death chute, a forty-five-foot cliff drop, or a ninety-foot do-or-die powder jump, you can rest assured that Dirksen will ride away unscathed. Check out Josh in Mack Dawg’s new release Picture This (hitting shops this fall) for a dazzling display of how a snowboard should be ridden. Honestly, we’re not “joshing” you. [ZING!]

- Tom Monterosso

WHAT'S HOT & WHAT'S NOT IN SNOWBOARDING WITH JOSH DIRKSEN

FRESH

First chair: You’ll never know what you’re missing until you try it.

Urban pillow lines: I like the idea of shredders getting extreme in the city, and these days, it seems like the best pow is falling in the cities, not the mountains.

Razor-sharp edges: After I finally gave up on trying to ride rails, I decided to sharpen the edges on my new boards instead of dulling them. Carving with razor-sharp edges makes you feel like a badass, and makes it easier to avoid the holiday crowds up at the hills. It also makes it easier to avoid the rails.

Hiking a jump: Whenever I snowmobile a jump I end up feeling twice as sore. Sledding is definitely fun, but it’s like trying to ride a rodeo bull; there’s no way to feel good at the end of the day. I also like having a moment to think about the jump while hiking back up.

Rancho Relaxo: Not to toot my own house’s horn, but my house in Bend, Oregon—affectionately called Rancho Relaxo—would put Shaq’s house on MTV’s “Cribs” to shame. It’s not the fanciest house in the world, but it has everything that a hard-core shredder needs: a direct view of Mt. Bachelor, a fireplace with a drying zone, a hot tub, a professionally-built skateboard facility, enough sleeping quarters for up to twelve other snowboarders (or skiers—we’re an equal opportunity establishment at Rancho), BBQ, an extremely stoked one-legged shredder roommate named Thayne who knows how to fix anything, and (of course) a mellow rancho feel that makes you relaxed-o.

My Boost Mobile cell phone: I think my Swiss girlfriend would have broken up with me by now and my parents would have disowned me if it wasn’t for the exceptional worldwide service of Boost Mobile. They’re one of the best sponsors that I have.

Stretching: A little warm-up stretch before shredding makes the days last longer, and also makes the first bomb hole a little bit softer. Gerry Lopez (the legendary surfer/ snowboarder) has stretched for two hours every morning before shredding for the last forty years. He hasn’t missed a pow day or first chair since then, either.

Surfing: Just like riding pow on a snowboard, but it doesn’t get tracked.

Gore-Tex: At my home resort of Mt. Bachelor, Gore-Tex makes it possible to snowboard from nine to four instead of nine to ten. And, with global warming, the world is only getting wetter…

Waxing your board: The benefits of having a [properly]-waxed board are endless. You can clear jumps that others can’t, you make the annoying uphill sections at your resort without pushing, and you can get to the pow faster than all of your buddies and end up stealing all the first tracks.

TRACKED

1440s: This year it’s all about 1620s; 1440s are sooooo last year. I think my plan from here on in is to do 180 degrees less every year. By 2015 I am hoping to be back to the good ol’ styley 180s.

Triple angles: They look really cool in the movies, but when you’re focused on dropping into a jump, it’s annoying trying to organize that many “Ready?” calls. “Did you say ‘NO’ or ‘GO’?” It feels more like I am trying to direct a movie in Hollywood, not just having a fun day in the snow-covered mountains. It is also takes forever to build a jump when all of the filmers are getting triple angles somewhere else.

Digi tie-dye: It’s not here yet, but it’s bound to happen. And when it does, I think it should go straight to the Tracked list.

Following the crowd: If everyone (and your grandma) rode the same brand of snowboard gear, would you? Let’s keep life exciting and switch it up.

Matching top and bottom printed outfits: I am not referring to simply matching the pants with the jacket... I just know that there are some printed pant-and-jacket combos that should be left in the bedroom. Plaid is one good example.

Thirty-three degrees and snowing: The snow phone for my local resort tries to pull that one off sometimes. Let’s just stick with science and say it’s raining.

Landing flat: It was fun when I was twelve. Now I am older, heavier, and wiser, and am searching for some nice steep trannies to land on.

Filming a video part in a three-month-long snowstorm: It was fun from my angle, but I guess from the film camera’s angle it just looked like a whole bunch of virgin snow with me submarining. Sorry, my Mack Dawg video part might be a little bit smaller than average. I can’t complain, though—too much pow is always better than no pow.

Trying to figure out stuff to complain about: Word.

Check back every Wednesday for another instalment of Fresh and Tracked.