Over the Feb. 26 weekend, Burton Snowboards will be taking over Fernie Alpine Resort (FAR) for the annual Burton Mountain Festival.
While the Festival is only in its second year in Canada, it is a decade old within the United States. So far, the festival has seen success in Canada, according to Kyla Butchko, marketing coordinator for Burton Canada.
“Last year was our first year and we definitely gained momentum by the end of the tour and this year we have seen such good success with it,” she said. “We have really great guys and girls working it. They are super informed about the product and can educate you so you know exactly what you are taking out. It’s been really well received so far.”
Burton brings their fleet of 2016 products to the mountain, and invite people to try any board and binding on the hill.
“People can come to the trailer and as long as they have an ID or a credit card, they just sign a form and they can take our boards out and go ride with them,” said Butchko.
One of the weekend’s biggest events for Butchko is the Burton Girls Ride day. Girls of every age and skill level are welcome to join the group for an afternoon ride.
“We are basically trying to bring this community of female boarders together and just learn stuff together,” said Butchko. “It’s a really kind of supportive non-intimidating environment for lots of female riders to kind of progress.”
Girls Ride Days in other locations have been popular over the season. At the event in Lake Louise, 47 female riders mustered together for the occasion.
The Burton Mountain Festival started in Ontario and has stops across the country, including lesser-known Saskatchewan hills, not just large resorts.
Other features of the festival include a Throwback Challenge and a Riglet Park. In the Throwback Challenge, participants are given original prototypes of Burton Snowboards to ride - as Butchko described, they are “essentially a plank of wood with no edges” – through an obstacle course. The winner of the obstacle course gets to keep the throwback snowboard.
For the young boarders, the Riglet Park will be open at the bottom of Mighty Moose.
“It’s a miniature snowboard park where you can pull kids around on a riglet board,” said Butchko. “It’s a really cool opportunity for any new parents, if they just want to get their kids on a board for the first time.”