Forest Bailey shuts down just about anything in front of him.

Day 7 of the trip we are all tired out but content. We got into Munich had a night out on the town and then woke up in Austria to our surprise it was snowing. We had two full days of riding the resort of Montafon with deep snow and got some seriously good boarding in. The mountains of Europe are crazy because of the fact that no one rides off the main groomers which leaves pow runs all day. You just take a lift up and then traverse or sometimes just hop off the groomers and its powder which is hard coming from a place where every single death defying line is devoured before you even hop on the lift for your third run. Day three was a beautiful sunny powder day and we had a few jumps in mind and Marco had lined it up so we could hit about 4-5 features in one big bowl. This day was by far an all day slaughterhouse. Next we would spend a down day of weather hitting urban spots up in the mountain towns. So many different spots all lined up and we ended up hitting this dam feature that was the first thing that we laid eyes on when we got to town. Sebi had the urban spots on lock down so we took full advantage. Finally we had another sunny day up at Silveretta Montafon. Epic snowfall and cold dry powder led to some serious slashes and even a couple big mountain lines. Overall this trip was amazing the culture, the people, the mountains and the overall atmosphere that you experience in Austria is second to none. A special thanks to Montafon resort, Marco feichtner and Sebi Gieger for really helping show the crew to the goods. Also a big shout out to everyone, Kristin Cusic, Stephane, Vanessa, Sebi, Sebi, Forest, Ben TJ, Ryan Paul, Atsushi, Mario, Liam, Montafon resort and Hubert of Hubertusklause. Can’t wait to come back maybe going to have to take a break from the land jaegers and cheese for now.

Check out Nick Visconti and 686 rider Ryan Paul’s Great White Park Attack jam session at Mountain High this Sunday, March 18 at 11:30am.

It’s going to be a day filled with cash prizes and lots of giveaways! For more information about the event and how to register click here.

After last year’s successful debut, the Second Annual Montafon Banked Slalom returns to Gargellen. Presented by Deeluxe, the event will be held on March 31st, 2012. The Montafon Banked Slalom promises to be filled with good vibes, spring smiles, and an insane course.

Please remember: registration is limited to 80 riders and begins online on March 17th. First come, first served. For more information, drop into www.montafonbanked.com. Don’t miss out!

One of our 686 reps, Jeff Clark, was recently at the 2nd annual SNOWFEST which was kicked off with the Oregon City High School snowboarding team first Invitational Rail Jam fundraiser. read more…

To start off the month of March 686 got together a crew and headed to Austria to ride some of the deep winter storms that they have been having this season for a team trip. Forest Bailey, Ryan Paul, Atsushi Hasegawa, and myself (Patrick McCarthy) headed over seas to meet up with our European counterparts and shred the Austrian Alps.
To our surprise the first day that we arrived it had dumped some fresh snow. With local legend Marco Fiechtner as our guide as well as Montafon local Sebi Geiger we were sure to find some goods. The Austrian Alps as a whole are an amazing place with so many features, good vibes and more terrain than the eye can see with peaks spanning for as far as the eye can see.
What really blew my mind is that in Europe (unlike American resorts) people only ride the groomed runs. leaving powder everywhere on the sides for days after a storm. Not to mention having the guides we do makes this process of finding untracked lines a million times easier.
After arriving in town we met up with Mario Wanger, Sebi Geiger, Ben Thomas Javid, and local legend Marco Fiechtner. So far so good, deep powder snow, some sun, amazing steep terrain, booterville everywhere I will get back to you with another dispatch from the skinny roads of Austria.
-Patrick McCarthy

Recently the Northwest has seen a lot of storms hit the area. WIth over 200 inches at the base of Mt Baker everything was becoming a go. 686 Global team rider Patrick McCarthy thought his might be his time to step to some of the famous Road gaps and Cat gaps that Baker has to offer. Conditions were prime and the footage was on point. Enjoy a little eye candy and a teaser of whats to come this fall.