For those of you in the Kootenays, starting right now, you’re going to start seeing issues of Kootenay Mountain Culture Magazine – Issue 28 show up at a fine retail shop, coffee house or backcountry operator near you. For all you snowboarders out there, please, don’t fret. Yes, you’re referred to as infidels on the cover. An old, odd, religiously stewed word, but one could say that we are all infidels in the context of its definition. The word is defined as: “a term used in certain religions for those who do not believe the central tenets of one’s own religion, are members of another religion, or are not religious.” Interesting that the idea for the cover came from our own very talented Creative Director, who is in fact a snowboarder. Know that supporting his idea is all about creating a dialogue and not about insulting anyone.

As we also say on the cover, “All are Welcome.” We recognize that everyone in the mountain milieu shares a host of different belief systems. Heck, you might actually be religious. Perhaps it’s a more spiritual vibe you embrace, or it’s total atheism that swirls inside. The one thing we all believe in, however, is the want for snow. In the winter, it’s what binds us. But to circle back to the snowboarding sect among us, we just wouldn’t want you to miss our story on the legendary Greg Todds, a visionary who started his own paradigm with the noboard. “Believing in Todds,” by Mikey Nixon is the first feature in our Holy Issue package, a narrative that traces back through GT’s influence in the context of the 10th Annual Greg Todds Memorial, a gathering of devout snow spirits who descend on a secret Kootenay backcountry location to celebrate life, love, and a man who went his own way.

So whether you’re a snowboarder, a noboarder, a telemarker, a skier, a snowblader, heck you could even be a tobogganer, come join us in conversation about what it means to revere the mountains.