Prior Backcountry Splitboard; Available at Piorsnowboards Starting at $1,149
Virgin powder is the holy grail of snowboarding. In the past, however, backcountry crusaders looking to break beyond the yellow-taped borders of a resort's well-groomed pistes were forced to ditch the board and climb‹one sweaty bootstep at a time‹in search of their trophy trails. Prior's Backcountry Splitboard represents a renaissance: a board that easily separates into a pair of cross-country skis.
"The resorts are getting more crowded; this is an escape route," explains Chris Prior, founder and owner of Whistler-based Prior Snowboards. His 13-worker team of skiers and boarders build some of the most exciting boards and skis in the country, including the company's line of legendary splitboards. Many feature patriotically creative graphics (everything from Canadian Air Force logos to designs by local Haida artists), and all are fully customizable (clients can tinker with the width, length, flex and even apply their own artwork to the top and bottom). Not that the company's standard package isn't luxe enough. All Prior splitboards come with Voilé bindings (the best in the business), connecting hardware and a set of climbing skins that, when attached to your skis, enables your Spiderman-like ascent. Best of all, these beauties are built in a factory that overlooks the very mountains they were designed to climb. "It's as much a lifestyle as it is a profession," Prior admits. "We use the 20-centimetre rule: If it snows that much in the morning, we shut down and head to the hill."