EPISODE 97 McKinley grew up on the icy hills of New York, learning to ride in the Catskill Mountains. He made his way west in 2013 and began exploring the snow-filled mountains around Utah, Montana, and Colorado. His love of backcountry riding brought him to the Snow Science program at Montana State University, where he studied the applications of geographic information systems in identifying avalanche exposure. Since leaving Montana, McKinley now works for the Utah Avalanche Center as the Know Before You Go Avalanche Awareness Coordinator in addition to being a ski/splitboard/snowmobile guide at Monument Snowcat Skiing in Eden, UT. When he’s not on his splitboard, you can find Mack on his mountain bike, casting his fly rod, or exploring new areas for when the snow finally falls. utahavalanchecenter.org @utavy kbyg.org @kbyg.avy @monumentranch DARK STARTS darkstarts.ca @darkstarts.podcast

EPISODE 96 2022 Freeride World Tour Junior World Champion, Lila Yeoman. Started snowboarding at the young age of 3, began competing at 11, and splitboarding at 14 Athlete for Jones Snowboards, ambassador for POC Sports, and snowboard instructor at Snowbird Currently working on riding all 90 lines in The Chuting Gallery Some would view Lila as a teen prodigy, she’s accomplished a notable list by the young age of 17. With the guidance of her Dad Jeff, she’s been on a steady path of snowboard progression since the age of 3 years old. Utilizing the Wasatch mountains as her training ground, she seeks out steep couloirs and rides daily at Snowbird and the surrounding backcountry. The future is bright for Lila. We’re excited to see what’s next on her path. Episode links: instagram.com/lilayeoman jonessnowboards.com/content/520-introducing-jones-womens-outerwear Follow us: darkstarts.ca instagram.com/darkstarts.podcast

Alex Gavic is a photographer, adventurer and splitboard mountaineer. Discovered his love for photography over 15 years ago while skateboarding around with his friends Skating evolved into snowboarding, and as an athlete, he started finding himself in front of the lens as much as behind it His content drew a huge social media following, bringing many people to remote and beautiful places they could not reach on their own For the past 10 years, Alex has been venturing into the powder filled peaks of the Western United States and sharing videos of his wild adventures. And people loved it! He developed a huge social media following of over 300k followers, between Instagram and Tiktok. His own story has unfolded into a life of chasing summits, the beauty of nature, and life. His search for the soul has fed ours. We hope you enjoy. Episode links https://www.alexgavic.com/ https://www.instagram.com/splitboardmountaineer/ https://www.tiktok.com/@splitboardmountaineer https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFwXWa0ax03NVU06MbD-ycg

Stratton (a.k.a. Cascade Connections) dedicates his time in the backcountry to raising awareness of the impact of carbon emissions and the effect of increased traffic in the alpine wilderness along the Pacific coast. Based in Bend, Oregon and calls the Cascades Volcanoes his home range Snowboards without the assistance of any fossil fuel vehicles, using only his bike and splitboard to ride mountains Spends 8 months of the year riding full time and creating video projects documenting his journeys In this episode, we discuss how he arrived at splitboarding, the friends he made along the way, and his constant dedication to the bike-to-board movement with his film Shift and constant short format video series on social networks. In his adventures, he hopes to inspire and promote a different way to access the mountains we love.

EPISODE 93 Pro rider Marissa leads by example, is passionate about getting the dawn light, and spends as much time in the mountains as possible. Born and raised in the northern woods of Michigan Moved to Oregon to become a wildland firefighter for the Mt. Hood National Forest She has been splitboarding all over North America, Eastern British Columbia, and Slovakia Marissa wasn't sold on splitboarding right away. For someone who loves the outdoors as much as her, it was in fact inevitable to resist. Now she loves getting up and out to the mountain “dark start” style. In this episode, we learn more about how Marissa got started, what's in her pack, skintrack nutrition, and what the future holds for her on her path of progression.  MARISSA’S COMMUNITY Marissa: @bigmountainmarissa Jones Snowboards: @jonessnowboards Mt. Bachelor: @mtbachelor Sprark R&D: @sparkrandd Tactics: @tactics DARK STARTS Website: darkstarts.ca Instagram: @darkstarts.podcast LinkedIn: @dark-starts Email: [email protected]

After a long hiatus, we're back! Introducing a familiar voice back to the Dark Starts program - Maxwell J. Morrill. Max brings 3 decades of experience to the show, plus a huge rolodex of friends that he met along the way.  In this mini-episode, we chat about where the podcast came from and where it's going. One thing's for sure, we are making the split board community a better and safer place for all. Ah, it's great to be back. Peace!

Episode 91 Guide and Athlete Will Kovacic talks foot powered filming and backcountry safety with Chad & Darrin. For the full show notes visit: https://www.darkstarts.ca/guests  Special thanks to: Visit our website for great deals from our sponsors: www.darkstarts.ca/partners Groundswell Marketing www.instagram.com/groundswell_fm/ Valerie Black The Artist Behind The Logo www.instagram.com/valerieblack.art/ Follow us: www.darkstarts.ca  @ Darkstarts.podcast https://www.instagram.com/darkstarts.podcast/  @ Darkstarts.media https://www.instagram.com/darkstarts.media/

Episode 90 Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Split Decisions, with Mike Lewis of Zeal Optics. For more information, visit https://www.darkstarts.ca/zeal Special thanks to: Visit our website for great deals from our sponsors: www.darkstarts.ca/partners Groundswell Marketing www.instagram.com/groundswell_fm/ Valerie Black The Artist Behind The Logo www.instagram.com/valerieblack.art/ Follow us: www.darkstarts.ca @ Darkstarts.podcast https://www.instagram.com/darkstarts.podcast/ @ Darkstarts.media https://www.instagram.com/darkstarts.media/

Episode 89  Sponsored Athlete Shawna Paoli talks about health, life and lines with Chad & Darrin.  For the full show notes visit: https://www.darkstarts.ca/shawna-paoli Special thanks to: Visit our website for great deals from our sponsors: www.darkstarts.ca/partners  Groundswell Marketing www.instagram.com/groundswell_fm/  Valerie Black The Artist Behind The Logo www.instagram.com/valerieblack.art/  Follow us: www.darkstarts.ca  @ Darkstarts.podcast https://www.instagram.com/darkstarts.podcast/  @ Darkstarts.media https://www.instagram.com/darkstarts.media/

Episode 88  Dark Starts backcountry splitboarding podcast presents Split Decisions, with John Keffler of Phantom Snow Industries.  For more information, visit https://www.darkstarts.ca/phantom  https://www.phantomsnow.com/  Special thanks to:  Visit our website for great deals from our sponsors: www.darkstarts.ca/partners  Groundswell Marketing www.instagram.com/groundswell_fm/  Valerie Black The Artist Behind The Logo www.instagram.com/valerieblack.art/  Follow us: www.darkstarts.ca  @ Darkstarts.podcast https://www.instagram.com/darkstarts.podcast/  @ Darkstarts.media https://www.instagram.com/darkstarts.media/