There’s no lying that in the Aussie winter window, there’s some not so good days. There’s the blue bird, no wind, pow days but there’s also a lot of other stuff Mother Nature decides to throw at you – wind, rain, hail, sleet, grass, ice, rocks.
We here at Transfer are big advocates of getting out there and enjoying time on the boards, no matter what it’s like. If the lifts are closed, we hike. If it’s pissing down rain, we go forth and conquer. You are always bound to get skunked, so make the most of it. It would be rude to not do a mission on the classic Aussie rain day. A pastime that every person ever to snowboard in Australia has at some point experienced. And who better to bring along than the only two guys who would opt for rain boarding and not a cozy sleep in – Matty Cox and Ryan Tiene.
Matty Cox is one of the big up and coming riders coming out of Australia. He’s on the Olympic path to glory in Slopestyle and is on a mission to get there. Athletes don’t sleep in, they get out there and ride, no matter the conditions. Matty’s been blowing minds this winter in the terrain park, so we decided to take him out for the day and enjoy a bit of all-mountain exploration. An attitude like no other, we’ll give $50 to anyone who has ever seen Matty not smiling. Positive vibes doesn’t even come close to describing his attitude on a day to day basis. Infectious.
Ryan Tiene, is also no stranger to riding in all types of conditions. He grew up with the mentality of snowboarding every day, all day with no element stopping him. He credits this approach to his success and so do many other Aussie snowboarding success stories such as Robbie Walker, Chris Eacott and more. Ryan’s done it all, and lived the full life cycle of a pro-snowboarder. Hitting the top of the competitive circuit, transitioning into free riding and filming in the backcountry, dropping some of the most iconic video parts to date and now is one of the most sought after coaches in the Southern Hemisphere. Passing his knowledge and experience onto future generations. What’s his number one rule? Enjoy it. If you ain’t having fun snowboarding, what’s the point? This is Matty Cox’s mantra, the kid might as well have it tattooed on his forehead. He’s having a good time, 100% of the time.
The crew were under the impression it was going to be a ‘pow day’. The forecast was for snow the night prior and snow throughout the day. It was an early morning pick up in Jindabyne, so no time for a check in up the mountain as it was straight into coffee and driving up the hill. As we neared closer to the mountain, the windscreen wipers were engaged and it looked like a rainy day down low. But we kept our expectations high – surely it’s snowing up top?
Ryan really wanted to get Matty out of his park element and show him what the sidecountry has to offer. We were anticipating the first decent snowfall of the year and were excited to ride some steep chutes, jump some rock features and enjoy endless turns. As we hopped on the chairlift, we realised it was time for a quick change of plans. Sidecountry turned to a high energy side hit session.
I grew up riding in the rain…all the time. Some of the best days I remember in the resort have been in the rain. I’m washed up now, so having Matty’s youthful energy was great. Kept me going – Ryan Tiene
It was raining top to bottom. The thought definitely crossed our minds to throw in the towel and call it a day. Matty however, being the preacher of good vibes, pushed the crew through and proposed to simply just go boardin’. And boardin’ we went. It was the classic Aussie rain day…laughs, stacks, ridiculous hits and a lot of high energy banter to try keep spirits high as we were being pissed down on each chairlift ride.
We rode the entire mountain, exploring and trying to score whatever snow and side hits we could find…anything to keep the stoke levels high and the day going strong.
Come lunchtime, we were soaked to the bone. Putting every bit of Gore-Tex to the test. We were donned with a sense of pride, soaked and ready for a well earnt beer to finish the day on a high. As we were just about to bail from the car park, the snow started to fall. Ryan was set to head back to Sydney but pushed his plans back in hope of scoring the following day.
20cm fell overnight and Ryan squished in a morning session, unfortunately without Matty. The sidecountry was on (as you can see) and Ryan got to work. Popping and dropping off everything in sight. That’s as classic as an Aussie session can get. Pissing down rain one day, pow day the next.
Huge shout-out to our partners for making these winter missions possible! It’s a pretty crazy time right now to be supporting a travel series and it’s rad to see brands we love, support what we love. Thanks to Ford Australia for the wheels, Go Pro for all the cameras, YETI for all the gear, Tourism Australia for the get around knowledge and Pirate Life for the frothies to end the day in style.
