Name: Andy Finch
Age: 24
Sponsors: Palmer, Ripcurl, Adidas, Giro, Fox, Monster, The Collection, Kicker
Years snowboarding: Twelve
Roots: Fresno, California-yeah, that’s right!
Home: Truckee, California
Height: 5’7″ and shrinking
Weight: 170 lbs. this week
Stance: Goofy, 22.5 inches wide, with 27 degrees angle on the front foot and negative-twelve on the back.
Forward lean: I use three notches on the Burton bindings so I can go bigger in the pipe and have more control on my heels for freeriding.
Board: I ride the Palmer Finch pro model 162 for pow ($549) and the 159 ($549) for everything else. I like how fast, stable, forgiving, and poppy my board is. I have different flexes for pipe and for jibbin’, but with jumps it doesn’t matter as much to me.
Boots: APX Vintage from two years ago, size 11.
Bindings: Burton Cartels ($209), spray-painted flat black.
Personal settings: I’ve switched the liners several times in my boots due to the smell factor, but keep the shells because I have them stretched out. I have a bad feeling that I’m going to have to retire them this year, though.
Tuning techniques: I wax my board when the base starts getting dry, white, and hairy. Of course, in a contest situation I wax every night. If I’m hitting rails, I take a small rock and dull the edges.
Jacket: Rip Curl Muspel Puffer in yellow or red ($219).
Pants: Rip Curl Viking Camo ($129).
Gloves: I use the Fox Pipe 2 gloves ($40) almost all year. It has to be below freezing before I’ll even consider putting on a warmer pair-maybe that plays a roll in my poor circulation these days.
Goggles: I use the adidas Burna ($100) with yellow or clear lenses on flat-light days. On sunny days, I’m all about the dark black lens with no iridium.
Helmet: Giro G10 ($120)
Riding style: I would have to say that it’s been classified as powerful. I enjoy going big, so that’s what I try to do. As long as the snow is soft, I’m stoked. I have just as much fun on a slushy day as a two-foot pow day. Ice-I’d rather be in a skating rink. I like riding the mountain with enough speed to clear anything or flying off things you wouldn’t necessarily think possible.
The Arctic Challenge. Photo: Nick Hamilton
