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MIKE HANDFORD

Hometown: Carlisle, England, UK
Currently resides: Wanaka, New Zealand
Current sponsors: Airblaster, Smith, YES. Snowboards
Bindings: Surge ST Pro

Mike Handford was born in Carlisle, United Kingdom, and grew up skiing at the local dry slope every Sunday with his father. He usually splits his year between the southern hemisphere winter in New Zealand and a variety of different northern hemisphere winter destinations. Mike is an accomplished splitboarder and has produced splitboard-specific video projects in North America, Iceland, New Zealand, and Japan. His most recent projects have all been with the All Us in Winterland crew!

Q & A

Talk about your most epic splitboard adventure:

There have been many but I would have to pick the two-month trip into Kyrgyzstan as the standout. It was a huge learning experience for me.  Even with little to no information on the area, we managed to tick off some great days out there.

 

What has most influenced your backcountry riding?

I'm fortunate to spend a lot of time with some friends who endlessly study weather and big mountain terrain. Slowly learning from them and expanding my snow safety and backcountry knowledge has given me the confidence and influenced me to step into bigger lines.

 

What are you most excited about for the 23/24 season?

Plans are in the works for a Splitboard-powered trip to Norway with the possibility of returning to India.

 

What inspires you?

My friends, my surroundings, and the need to push myself out of my comfort zone.

 

Why ride Spark R&D gear?

Spark R&D is rider owned and operated, which means the product has been designed and evolved by people who understand what it takes to make a strong, reliable, comfortable binding. The constant research and development they put into each of their products proves that they are committed to pushing the industry forward.

 

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