photo insta jacked: @godsguesthouse

As a skateboarder, what do you do with the winter woes? Do you sit shivering by your drafty window, watching the snowfall bury your favorite curb? Do you curse the Earth’s tilted axis for plunging you into a dark seasonal depression? Do you delve deep into skate video wormholes, hibernating in the virtual world? Or do you just say fuck it, buy some long johns, and grab a shovel to get to digging? The ten skaters on this list are part of that proactive class that answers affirmatively to that last question. Where some may see obstacles (or a good excuse to stay in and browse Pornhub) these guys see snowy skate potential. Here’s ten tricks to get you through this last crappy stretch of winter.

1. Trevor Ribeyre – Rudy Tres (2007)

I don’t know much about this guy except that he rips regardless of the weather. A cursory Google search reveals that he’s from Ontario, Canada, though, which may explain how he seems impervious to the ill-effects of skating in the snow. Barely visible through a thick blizzard, a hooded figure presumed to be Trevor Ribeyre flicks a fakie frontside flip over a block and off a drop, rolling away into the anonymity of a low traffic youtube clip.

2. Julian Lewis – MERICA (2012)

What do you think Julian was thinking when he was scraping the ice off the landing of this twenty-something stair handrail? Did he think the mounds of hard-packed powder would cushion his fall if something were to go wrong on the 5050 attempts? Maybe he’s a masochist and liked the added danger the slick substance provided. I’ll never know cause I’ll never step to such a rail in such conditions (or any conditions, actually), but I’ll continue to watch this clip and live vicariously through this daredevil until all the snow melts in Antarctica.

3. Rick McCrank – Menikmati (2002)

This is what we talk about when we talk about skating in the snow. Somewhere deep in the Canadian tundra, with no concrete in sight, Crankers sets up a sketchy plywood ramp and landing and proceeds to pop a well-grabbed melon and 180 across the icy gulf. When you’re using a snowmobile for a tow in, you know you’re winter-time ripping.

4. Chris Colbourn – Snowbank (2015)

Chris Colbourn has the technical prowess of a weather-privileged kid from sunny SoCal, so I was surprised to learn that he actually grew up in the mountainous state of Vermont, where the average annual snowfall is about 6 feet. But if this video is any indication of how he spent his winters growing up, then it starts to makes sense how fucking good he is. Making the best of a clear December day, Chris and his homies turn a couple of pieces of plywood, a strip of steel angle-iron, and a grimy bank of snow into a slip-n-slide skate session that would make Trick Daddy proud.

5. Dave Bachinsky – Welcome to Axion (2012)

Dave Bachinsky kickflipped El Toro, so it should be obvious that his balls haven’t completely frozen off from the brutal winters of his hometown, Lowell, Massachusetts. Here, he pulls out all the stops (including a blow torch) to hit a rail with a fresh layer of powder still on it – no warm up.

6. Angel Ramirez – That’s Life (2004)

Angel Ramirez descended from the Mile-High City of Denver to film this part for the Foundation video, then seemed to disappear just as quickly as he’d come. But That’s Life, I suppose, and now we may never get another satirical tuck-knee landing as ‘steezed’ as the one he pulled off a curb in that part. But young Angel will always be in our hearts for this wintry line that opens with a kickflip between two mountains of snow.

7. Steve Deligeorge – Ethernal (2012)

So what do you do when you’re favorite curb is covered in snow? If you’re this guy, you just skate it anyway. On a snowy night in some frozen plaza in Montreal, the homie skids a sort of boardslide to shuvit across the icy street as slick as licked lips. C’est bien, eh?

8. Quartersnacks Crew – Snowday (2015)

Superstorm Juno was supposed to be the storm of the century in New York City. Feet of snow were supposed blanket the city like nuclear fallout. Schools closed. Roads shut down. Alcohol deliveries sky-rocketed and Pornhub traffic spiked nearly 30%. The guys over at Quartersnacks took the opportunity to crush the slush in Manhattan while the rest of us apparently had a bottle in one hand and our dick in the other.

9. Bam Margera – Jackass (2001)

So, I’m no scientist, but ice is just like snow that’s been super compressed, right? Let’s go with yes so I can include this Bam clip from MTV. Bam reconsiders the meaning of ice skating with this trash can ollie on a board rigged with blades instead of wheels. Nice ollie, Bam, but let’s see a kickflip next time, you jackass!

10. Jordan Sanchez – Welcome to WELCOME (2014)

You never know what you’re in for when you flip on an Ol’ Dirty Sanchez part, and his “Welcome to Welcome” clip is an excellent example of the awesomely unexpected way in which he skates. Somewhere between boardsliding a bicycle and reinventing the Natas spin, Jordan pulls a powerslide across a snow-covered porch and lands on a pane of glass, shattering it and this viewer’s conception of what’s skateable in the process.

Words: CK
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