2020… what a year!
Who would have thought that when we celebrated the arrival of the New Year, it would forever be engraved in our memory thanks to a virus that seems to have turned the world upside down.
Last month of March, while we were working on our annual splitoard test at Tavascan, the Covid-19 forced the authorities to start with the first lockdown. That was a hard hit for a project like this one, and so many others suffered. Some weeks ago, we read that such important publications like Powder and Snowboarder are being forced to shut down because of the economic crisis partially due to the coronavirus. We really hope that this isn’t a final decision and that they can keep being a referent in a closer future.
Furthermore, a second wave arrived in Autumn, along with the announcement of the Prime Ministers of France and Italy, Macron and Conte, of not opening the ski resorts until mid-January.
A big drawback in a crucial time of the season that will make the snow industry shake, and with it, the local economies of the mountain towns and valleys. We are for sure at the doors of a very uncertain season for all the people that work in the industry.
But I’m not here to talk about something you probably already know, other than that, this editorial is a message about staying positive and happiness. Especially for us, because this Autumn 2020 we celebrate, no more no less than… 10 years!
And all of this has come thanks to uncountable hours working and loads of dedication, but passion above everything. Passion for splitboarding.
If we were to be told that that a tiny, local magazine called splitboard.cat (referring to Catalonia, our home), would become a worldwide referent a few years later, we’d sure laugh for a long time about it.
The truth is that after working very hard, uncountable hours, and believing in the project even in the darkest times, we now can celebrate the tenth anniversary at Splitboard Magazine.
Needless to say that all of this is thanks to people like you, that in the good and bad times you kept reading our magazine, commenting and sharing the posts in our social media, and sending over your pictures and videos of your favorite mountains to share your happiness. And of course thanks again to the manufacturers that believed in our project and have been supporting it ever since.
In these 10 years, we’ve seen how splitboarding took off and made it to the big crowds, and how it keeps growing year after year. Truth be told, we don’t really know anyone who isn’t hooked right away after earning their turns!
We foresee a brilliant future for splitboarding, whether it’s with social distancing or without, and we couldn’t be happier of the path that splitboarding has taken, and so we see it at every Ispo Munich show we attend, where we realize year after year that we are a small big family.
From our side, and to continue with this beautiful madness that Splitboard Magazine is, we’re launching a completely redesigned website to be able to keep enjoying the best content related to splitboarding wherever you might be.
We don’t give up our passion, and we’re coming stronger than ever.
Splitboarding forever!