No-boarding is a young sport that is like the traditional way of snowboarding but with a knobbed polymer traction pad and a heavy-duty bungee rope, which transform a snowboard into a no-board. Without highbacks to straps to hold feet in place, the pad prevents slipping, and a firm grip on the rope keeps the board in place and is like surfing -riders adapt to pitch and snow conditions by moving their feet and center of gravity.

In recent years a six-year-old company near Revelstoke, British Columbia, is promoting the sport. The kit is available in snowboard shops in Alberta, British Columbia, Alaska, Utah, Colorado, Vermont, Europe and Japan. No-boarding is the ultimate backcountry tool and wouldn’t be possible without current snowboard technology. For riders who have the chance to try the sport, no-boarding delivers aspiration and innovative spirit and bring people closer to the backcountry. Pulled up the rope and swooped down the hill, a graceful freedom….

Photos by: Jenna Low