Slytech's list of athlete's we're sponsoring keeps growing. Welcome Rob Heule from Alberta Canada to the team! Flowin, growin and showin his jibbin' skills in Calgary's Canada Olympic Park...

Here are some more stats on Rob:

• My Sport: Freeskiing

• Hometown: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

• Birthdate: 09/04/1991

• Website: http://www.vimeo.com/user483419

• Best Results/ Media Coverage: 1^st Place- World Ski Invitational- Super Hit (Halfpipe), SBC Skier Magazine- Radar Section, Joystick- Hot Lunch (Ski Film)

• About Me (provide a bio): My name is Rob Heule, I’m 19 years old. I have fun in all aspects of skiing; mountains, to halfpipes, to skiing in the streets, I love it all.

• Films or Publicity Coverage: check out this years Voleurz film

• Something you think everyone should try in their lifetime: Shredding powder

• Age you learned to Shred: My mom and dad would take me to the hill in a backpack before I could walk and take me down on their backs. When I was 2 years old, I got sick of that and strapped on my own skis, and have been shreddin’ ever since!

• Craziest Dream: A city full of snow

• What excites you: People that express themselves through a sport. I am very influenced/excited watching people skateboard, snowboard, surf, ski. All these sports are very similar. You can share a lot of ideas from one another.

• Other (anything else to say?): Don’t take skiing too seriously, its meant to be fun! Go shred and be yourself.

Some more insane high-flying action coming your way courtesy of Romain de Marchi and his YES Crew. Here they hit Whistler-Blackcomb backcountry and just hit some big stuff. Watching this makes me just cringe at the high-stakes maneuvers they're hucking. Any miscalculation when you're throwing yourself over 30 foot cliffs has serious consequences. Yes, these guys are highly talented athletes with a body control that rivals some of the world's best, but while they shun the head protection, it's at least a little calming to know they wear back protection.

But don't take my word for it... see this insane action for yourself...

YES. Quick and Dirty Whistler from YES. Snowboard TV on Vimeo.

Slytech Shredder Marcus Caston won the Overall Skier title for the 2010/2011 Rhalves Banzai Competition. That's a quite a feat when you check out the deep line-up of skiers. Ultimately, taking Beaver and Eagle Bowls was enough to secure the overall win and buncha cash. Congratulations, Marcus!

For anyone not familiar with the format of the Banzai contests this year, just take a look at this video taken from Sugar Bowl just a few weekends ago. With so much carnage, you'd better be wearing protection!

We recently received an email from a shredder that we just had to pass on...

Dear Slytech,

My name is Sophia Winfrey, I am fourteen ( second year J3 racer). On
Sunday, January 16th, 2011, I crashed and I crashed hard. The back brace
made by your company, saved my back, and probably more than just my back .
So I would like for you to check out my clip. It was a Super G race, on
Tiehack, at Buttermilk ski area in Aspen Colorado. I got launched into the
air from a compression that I wasn't ready for. Instead of breaking my
back, I tore my ACL, stretched my MCL, and broke my thumb. It could have
been a lot worse, and I feel lucky. I love ski racing. To sum it up, it is
my life. I have skied since I was five for Loveland Race Club in Colorado
and have been a competitive ski racer since I was ten. I have been training
four days a week this year, and hope to increase that to five days next
year. I am always going to love skiing and speed is still my favorite event.

Sophia Winfrey (LRC racer)

These are the REAL STORIES we receive from people who see back protection on par with helmets and that it's not a matter of IF you will need one, but WHEN. Accidents are a probability and the more we reasonable protect against that probability, the less injury we'll incur, the more money we'll save (on forgone medical bills) and the more fun we'll have.

And by "reasonable" I mean, it's got to be COMFORTABLE. Who wants gear on that hinders you from full and natural movement? Certainly not racers like Sophia and CERTAINLY NOT big mountain guys like Wolle Nyvelt who need every ounce of personal grit and movement possible to make it down potentially fatal spines, fingers and chutes.

Thank you Sophia for sharing your amazing story!

Here's a video of Sophia's crash...

Prior to the earthquake and tsunami devastation in Japan, Lisa was there for the most epic shred sesh. Here's the vid...

Happy Riding in Niseko - JAPOW from True Color Films on Vimeo.

Wolle, Lucas, Nicolas, Jake and Bode hit Alaska in this, the last installment of Absinth's FLIPSIDE behind the scenes. Watching this makes me really realize and totally 100% appreciate the athletic prowess of these guys. They do things at such high speeds and from such huge heights that even the smallest miscalculation or error can mean certain doom.

Hats off to these guys.

Finals in Lenzerheide are not only about competition now. They're also about a group of skiers who are banding together to make a difference in the lives of people in Japan.

Shredders like Julia Mancuso, Ted Ligety, Akira Sasaki, and many more have pledged to donate half of their prize money to "Skiers Helping Japan. " In addition, many have come together to send personalized messages to Japan.

Here are just a few...

As if there weren't reason enough to watch World Cup skiing, now you've got racers plunking down big bucks if they win for a worthy charity.

Hey there!

After having an awesome time in Japan we (Alvaro, Nicholas, Prendi and me) went to Canada for the second trip of our project. There we met up with our G Mr. Mario Käppeli and snowboarding storyteller and iconic photograph Mark Gallup.

After running through airports, almost missing flights and super slow pass controls we finally arrived in Kelowna interior BC. Some of our boardbags didn't quite make it in time and our filmer being really sick and our photographer having a stomach flue, Nico, Alva, Mario and me checked out the Monashee area and built a kicker on our first day. We had four incredible days there, doing drops, cliffs, lines and a kicker.

Next stop K3 operations, a bit further north. There we stayed down in the valley at a hotel, and got driven up every day. The terrain looked so sick, real alpine stuff, but unluckily everything on the top was really windblown, so we couldnt do all the good stuff. It looked so nice.

But we found some stuff to do in the woods and on the last day I must have really fallen in love with one tree and headed home with three stitches. Please wear helmets when you go ride!

All in all we had a blast, thanks to Monashee Powder and K3 !

Sick terrain, good snow, amazing food and a lot more...

Thank you Mark for taking us to such a sick place.

Cheers,

Lisa

Hey shredders... everyone at Anomaly Action Sports sends their deepest sympathies to the people of Japan who have been battered by forces of nature. We mourn the lives lost and send our thoughts and prayers to the families of victims and everyone dealing with great hardship.

We are reminded that the same nature that gives to us powder and bluebird days can also take away in an instant.

We stand with you in your time distress and pray for a swift recovery.