Shot by Alex Pashley
Camera: Nikon Z9
Lens: Nikkor Z 70-200 f2.8 (ất 82mm)

Aperture: f6.3
Shutter: 1/1600 sec
ISO: 160

Snowboarding lost a great light. This issue is dedicated to Alex Pashley, who was killed in a tragic avalanche alongside Jeff Keenan and Jason Remple last winter in British Columbia. Since this magazine relaunched a few years ago, Pashley had not only been a friend, but one of our most published and celebrated photographers. We can’t thank him enough for saving our behinds with plenty of photos over the years, but we can land his first cover with a shot of Austin’s switch back 540 in AK. It is never easy to write about loss, so we are just going to keep giving thanks to Alex for everything. And a huge thanks to Erin Pashley, Ben Gavelda, and Aaron Blatt for working behind the scenes to make this cover possible. Enjoy these words about the day from Austin Smith below:  

“Alex loved snowboarding as much as anyone could. He was introduced to it at a young age—his dad owned a snowboard shop and he and his brother grew up with it. Snowboarding shaped Alex’s life. Years later as a veteran of the industry, with many tours to X Games cleaning goggle lenses at the top of the halfpipe, and trips around the world for sales meetings, he picked up a camera and started shooting photos. This was his ticket to reconnect with what he enjoyed most: riding powder. Whether it was splitboarding Teton Pass with his wife, Erin, resort days, cat trips, Äsmo laps, snowmobile missions or heli trips, he loved powder. 

In 2019, we started going to Alaska together, and I saw him fall in love with the place, the terrain, quirkiness, wildlife, the ultimate powder playground. That year, we got skunked. He had planned a glacier camping trip, and on the first night a blizzard came and collapsed our tent. The following day, we built a snow cave and remained stranded on the glacier, living underground for the entire trip, reading a book aloud to each other to pass the time. On paper it was the least productive trip of our lives, but it was also the most memorable thanks to Alex’s charisma. Alex was the planner, chef, entertainer, shit talker, cyberbully, weatherman, first aid expert, ultra runner, instigator and so much more. It was impossible to not have a good time with him around. After that trip, we made an annual effort to go to Alaska.

As I said, Alaska is the ultimate powder playground; it’s also a “photographer’s wet dream” (his words, not mine). Combine the two and you have Alex’s happy place. But as good as Alaska can be, it’s hard to find that perfect day. There’s always something—the sunny weather window turns cloudy, the powder blows away, one year we had a cold snap to -40 degrees that turned the snow into velcro. Or it is too many people fighting for the same terrain, injuries, equipment malfunctions, a nervous pilot, a hesitant guide—the list goes on. The perfect Alaska snowboarding day is as rare as a total solar eclipse.

But this trip on this day, March 15, 2025, was shaping up to be the elusive perfect Alaskan day. Not a cloud in the sky, no wind and no other people. Alex had plans to leave midday, so we wanted to make the most of the morning, and then we’d send him on his way. This was both Nic and Mateo’s first trip to Alaska, and they were a couple of kids in a candy store. I kept telling them the conditions are never this good, to not expect it to always be like this. We rode spines first thing and then went to a new zone we’d spotted the day before for a kicker. We built the jump and took some fun runs. All was gravy. Near our heli pickup at the bottom of our run, we spotted a set of natural mounds that looked like a ready-made jump. We were short on time, but once we took a closer look, we saw it was perfect. No shovel needed—we just packed down the takeoff, and it was ready for launch. The youth nominated me as the guinea pig. I was the first and the last to hit it. The frame here is from my final hit, it was our last photo of the trip. The bookend of a perfect snowboarding day in Alaska.

Nine days later, Alex passed away in an avalanche in British Columbia. To say this photo holds a special place in my heart is a grave understatement. I miss him everyday. 

Love you forever Pash.” – Austin Smith