The latest redevelopment of the Cadet brought Gray and Alek together for the first time, testing prototypes and sampling the fine, French, glacial snow. The following are excerpts from one of a few prototype testing sessions, shared by Gray.
“Picked up Alek from Geneva train station Tuesday afternoon - he had a long travel day from Oslo. So great to finally connect in person after countless zoom calls, deeply conversing on snowboarding and board design. We headed straight to the office in Annecy to check the Cadet prototypes with the team and prep for Les Deux Alpes. We’re testing the ride and feel - graphics are placeholder.”
“3-4 hour van ride brings us to L2A - a small resort village high up in the French Alps. It’s really hot here, Europe is expecting the first major heat wave of summer - hard to imagine going snowboarding.”
“Mount up boards in the evening after some food - measuring inserts and stances. Alek is very precise with his stances - which is great - I more or less eyeball it.
I’m still nursing a knee injury so really leaning into Alek to put this prototype through the ringer. I’m cruising - feeling out the sidecut, overall flex and relation to past versions of the Cadet.”
“Right off the bat, Alek is going for it - Cutting off all the racers, laying down beautiful, deep heelside carves, snapping out of them with power and finesse. Navigating through all the transitions on the sides of park features effortlessly and in style - this is so emblematic of both Alek’s riding and the Cadet.”
“We rode hardpack groomers and park and we even found some deep slush to play around in. This is a great environment for the Cadet. It’s not pigeon holed to one type of riding or condition - it really wants to take you all over the mountain and show you a good time in everything.”
“It’s been a trip, surrounded by all of these young ski racers - out here training hard, trying to win. We feel like polar opposites, out here trying to figure out how to have the most fun and profound experience on a glacier in the French Alps, in June.”
Photography By Théo Lafleur
