What the Pros are Rockin’- Gretchen Bleiler

Name: Gretchen Bleiler

Age: 22

Height: 5′ 5″

Weight: 125 pounds

Home: My DaKine roller bags and occasionally Snowmass, Colorado

Roots: Dayton, Ohio

Sponsors: Oakley, Aspen, Red Bull, DaKine, Giro, Polar Revolution snowboard shop, K2

Stance: Goofy, 20.5 inches wide, set back about one and a half inches. I switch up angles for different circumstances, but generally 21 degrees on the front and six degrees on the back foot.

Boards: I rode the K2 Mix 151 for everything this year. The one time I changed it up was when I went to Silverton, Colorado—I rode a 155 cm so I could attempt to land tricks in powder

Boots: K2 women’s T1. I like a boot with medium stiffness—once you ride a stiff boot you realize that soft boots weren’t giving you any support. But I hate super-stiff and uncomfortable boots. I like to be in control of my riding, not my boots.

Bindings: K2 Virtues.

Riding style: Determined.

Quote: “There is nothing in the world like the feeling you get when you’ve just landed a new trick, won a competition, or had a day filled with powder and sun. I’m addicted to that feeling.”

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Board: K2 Mix 151 ($439)

Boots: K2 Women’s T1 ($259)

Bindings: K2 Virtue ($229)

Gloves: DaKine Comet GTs ($60)

Hat: DaKine Goth Cap ($20)

Photo: Mark Gallup