It’s over. Or close enough. A handful of resorts are still spinning lifts on a prayer and a north-facing pitch, but for most of us the season ended a few weeks ago, whether we were ready or not. That post-season feeling is its own thing. Part relief, part grief, part already-thinking-about-next-year. If you’re in that headspace right now, here’s how to close out the season like someone who’s done this a few times. 1. Tune and store your board the right way. Don’t lean it against the garage wall and walk away. A proper end-of-season hot wax seals the base and keeps it from oxidizing over a Utah summer. A lot of shops run storage tune specials right now when they’re not slammed. Get it done while it’s still on your mind. 2. Assess your gear honestly. That binding that was “probably fine” all season. The boot liner that’s been packed out since January. Now is the time to be real with yourself. Buying in the offseason means actual selection, not whatever’s left on the rack in November when everyone else woke up at the same time. 3. Lock in next year’s pass before prices go up. Ikon and Epic early renewal windows are either open or opening soon. This is the lowest price you will pay, full stop. The people complaining about pass prices in October are the people who didn’t buy in April. 4. Book early-season trips now. If you’re the type to chase turns in November, accommodations near Mammoth, Keystone, or Loveland are bookable now at prices that won’t exist come fall. And if you want to go full lifer about it, both Chile and New Zealand open in June. Valle Nevado and Cardrona are calling. 5. Write down what actually mattered this season. Best days. Worst gear decisions. Runs you want to hit again. It sounds unnecessary now but it’s genuinely useful when you’re staring at gear pages in August trying to remember why you were so done with your setup. Future you will appreciate the two minutes it takes. The offseason is already underway. Might as well make it count.

Three weeks in April, and the snowboard industry quietly went sideways. Not sideways like a laid-out heel-side carve. More like a wobble you don’t notice until you’re already going down. In the span of a few weeks, the world’s largest snowboard company lost its CEO, the last major board factory in America changed hands again, and a beloved brand’s parent company continued its slow-motion identity crisis in plain sight. If you only read about snowboarding to find out what gear to buy next season, you might have missed all of it. You shouldn’t have. Here’s the rundown. John Lacy Is Out at Burton After nearly 29 years with the company, Burton CEO John Lacy is leaving. He started in 1997 answering phones in rider services, worked his way through product development and global sales, became president in 2015, and stepped into the solo CEO role in February 2020, just months after Jake Burton Carpenter died. He ran the company through a pandemic, a gear-buying boom, the inevitable hangover that followed, and everything in between. Now Donna Carpenter, widow of Burton’s founder and chairman of the board, is stepping back in as interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement. The official word from Burlington is that this is a mutual decision, a planned leadership transition, not a response to business performance. And maybe that’s true. Burton is a private company, so the actual financials stay close to the vest. What’s publicly known is that 2023 sales were expected to top $352 million and the brand controls an estimated half the market share in snowboarding worldwide. That’s not a company in freefall. But context matters. Lacy took over under the shadow of Jake’s death, navigated one of the most disruptive stretches in the outdoor industry’s recent history, and now exits without a named successor. The search is on. Donna holds the wheel in the meantime, which is not nothing. She’s been deeply embedded in this company for decades, and Burlington knows her. Still, a CEO transition at the world’s dominant snowboard brand is not a small thing, and the question of who comes next and from where will say a lot about where Burton thinks it’s going.

If you’ve been paying attention to snowboarding for any stretch of time, you know John Jackson. “John J” has been one of the sport’s most respected names for the better part of two decades, with a film catalog that reads like a greatest hits list: early breakout parts in “Hifi” and “The Empire,” iconic work with Standard Films and Brain Farm, plus “That’s It, That’s All” and “The Art of Flight” cementing his place in the upper tier of snowboarding’s all-time greats. More recently, the Red Bull series “The Book of John J” offered a more personal look at the man behind the riding. He lives in Verdi, Nevada, with his family, and he’s still very much out there chasing it. So when Gordini announced this week that John J has joined their athlete roster, it makes sense on every level. Vermont-based and independently owned since 1956, Gordini has quietly built a reputation for serious handwear and performance socks without a lot of noise. They’re not the loudest brand in the room, but riders who’ve spent time in their gloves tend to stick with them. John J currently runs three Gordini pieces, and they’re worth knowing about. Gordini Polar Glove The Polar is Gordini’s coldest-day weapon. Built around 700-fill DownTek insulation on the back of hand, Megaloft synthetic in the palm, a goatskin leather grip, and an extended gauntlet cuff with drawcord closure. AquaBloc waterproof/windproof insert keeps things dry when the weather gets nasty. This is a proper big-mountain glove. MSRP: $142.99 | gordini.com Gordini Front Line Midi Glove The Midi is the versatile layer you reach for when you don’t need a full gauntlet but still want real warmth. Primaloft 100g insulation, 4-way stretch softshell, and a Kevlar palm that actually holds up. Works as a standalone on cold-but-manageable days, or layers under a shell mitt when conditions turn. Packable and low-profile. MSRP: $60.99 | gordini.com

Spring contest season just delivered its two most culturally vital events of the year, and the takeaway couldn’t be clearer: the snowboard world doesn’t need a stadium, a massive title sponsor, or a broadcast deal to throw an unforgettable party. It just needs riders who care, mountains that deliver, and a crew willing to show up for each other. From Vermont’s rich heritage roots to Utah’s raw, send-it energy, Homesick at Stratton and the Bomb Hole Cup at Brighton reminded everyone why grassroots events remain the beating heart of snowboarding. Homesick at Stratton Mountain, Vermont (March 20–22, 2026) East Street Archives and Stratton Mountain teamed up for the fourth annual Homesick festival, cementing its place as the East Coast’s premier celebration of snowboard culture. Founders Gary Land — legendary photographer — and Barry Dugan built something authentic that riders actually look forward to, rather than something manufactured for clout. The three-day on-hill program united legends, current pros, up-and-comers, and everyday shredders across every age and ability: - Friday, March 20 – Planet Zebulon Rail Jam (Lower Suntanner): Hosted by Zeb Powell (Stratton Mountain School alum and one of snowboarding’s most creative forces), this event featured expanded pro men’s and women’s divisions alongside open and grom categories. - Saturday, March 21 – Powers Retro Pipe (East Byrneside): Olympic gold medalist Ross Powers returned to help judge on a throwback halfpipe carved by Stratton’s Parks crew on a slope that hadn’t seen one in decades. The session perfectly blended early-2000s nostalgia with modern progression. - Sunday, March 22 – OG Downhill (Suntanner): The weekend closed with head-to-head dual slalom racing straight out of snowboarding’s raw origins. This year introduced a dedicated adaptive athlete division — a long-overdue and widely praised addition. - Off the hill, Homesick’s cultural programming was just as strong. Pioneer rider and artist Jamie Lynn made a major appearance, teaming with his 1910 brand (co-founded with artist Schoph) for the 1910 Print Show at the Burton Store in Stratton Village. The exhibit featured collaborative limited-edition prints, graphics, and apparel that beautifully captured snowboarding’s artistic heritage. It fit seamlessly alongside the Dawning Exhibit, Vintage Board Room, book signings, live music, and endless community hangs. Jamie Lynn’s presence alongside figures like Shannon Dunn, Ross Powers, and Zeb Powell created an atmosphere thick with legacy and inspiration — proving snowboarding culture isn’t a side attraction; it is the main event.

Back in August, we laid out the case for why letting kids ride free isn’t just good PR, it’s the only real play the industry has if it wants a future. The argument was simple: cost is the single biggest barrier to getting young people on snow, and if resorts actually care about growing the sport, they need to act like it. We called it a disruptive campaign to reignite the soul of winter sports. You can read that piece here. Well, somebody was listening. Mont du Lac Resort, sitting right on the St. Louis River in Superior, Wisconsin, just announced that starting with the 2026/27 winter season, every skier and snowboarder 15 and under rides free. No asterisks. Free season passes, free lift tickets, for all youth in that age group. The resort expects to open the door for more than 1,500 youth during the coming season alone. That’s not a marketing stunt, that’s a genuine commitment to pipeline development, and it deserves recognition. Now, MDL isn’t Whistler. The resort runs 11 scenic runs and a terrain park with over 20 rotating features, situated right along the St. Louis River near the Minnesota border. It’s a family mountain in the truest sense, the kind of place where someone gets their first chairlift ride, links their first turns, discovers that snowboarding is actually the greatest thing on earth. Those hills matter, probably more than the big-ticket destination resorts ever will, because that’s where the next generation actually starts. The economics of snowboarding participation have been broken for years. Lift tickets at major resorts have spiraled to the point where a family day on the mountain competes with a car payment. The sport has quietly been pricing out exactly the demographic it needs most, kids. MDL is cutting through that noise with a policy that’s hard to argue with. The program is expected to become one of the most accessible youth ski programs in the Midwest. For a region with a deep, cold-weather culture and no shortage of stoke, that’s a meaningful distinction.