A friendly face wherever you see him, but chances are you will see him somewhere around Jackson Hole. Cooper Branham has been in the snowboarding community for quite some time. Bouncing around from the Pacific Northwest, to Colorado and beyond, Cooper has found a new home this past season with Nidecker as they grow in North America. He has always put his riding first and it has seemed to pay off, whether that is his new deal, riding with legends like Bryan Iguchi, Travis Rice and Cam FitzPatrick, or just fun days spent in the mountains. We caught up with Branham as his season winds down in Wyoming to check in on what he has been up to over the past winter. – Clavin

How was Jackson this year?
It was a good year. Honestly, the snow ended up stacking up about average. Just like the last few years, we’ve kind of had some warm spells with storms, it’s felt like, so it’s like the windows to get the good conditions felt a bit short.  Felt like we had to get after it when we get it. Right now it’s that fun time of year where you get to go anywhere for the most part. Yesterday was my first time splitboarding in the national park, nice to just go ride and not have any pressure.

Spent most of your winter in there?
Yeah, it’s the home base. Went to Japan for a bit and then rode with Cam Fitzpatrick and Yuki Kadono around Jackson. I had Taylor Gold come up for a month straight in February with Jeff Urbahn to film as well. It is the best time to be here… that February cycle. You get the longer days and a little bit better snow.

Were you guys filming for a Nidecker project or what?
Yeah, the Japan trip was a Nidecker project as a standalone, kind of a board project. And then in February, we’re shooting for another Nidecker project, which is kind of like a team project that’s going to be about five minutes with only bangers. We were just trying to get shots for that.

And then we filmed with Cam and Yuki’s for a follow-up project to Airloom, which they released last year on Shredbots. 

So how did you end up calling that area home base? 
So I grew up in Gig Harbor, Washington, which is just outside of Tacoma, about an hour south of Seattle. My upbringing was mostly going to Crystal Mountain and White Pass, which are ski resorts in the South Cascades in Washington. I got into the snowboarding side by way of skateboarding and having Northwest Snowboards around, which is Temple Cummins Shop, and that was a big part of the community. And then as I turned 18, I moved to Colorado for school, but the main reason I wanted to go there was to snowboard more and have more opportunities with that. I never really took the snowboarding side, at least from a professional standpoint, seriously, until that point. I just loved doing it and it was more accessible there. When I was 22, Raul Pinto over at Satellite Boardshop hit me up to film for a Warren Miller project at Eldora and I ended up shooting quite a bit for that. It was a park shoot at Eldora and that got me on the Warren Miller tour for the next movie, Timeless.

And that’s how I met Cam Fitzpatrick and Rob Kingwill and all the people at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort because they did a segment in that movie. And so Jackson Hole invited me up for Kings and Queens. Cam was talking about having me come up to film with him. And it was just like a ticket straight into the Wyoming backcountry and that whole scene. So I just took it and I didn’t have much tying me to Colorado at that point. And was like, why not? Let’s, let’s move up there and see what there is to offer.

Solid explanation, haha. Did you finish school while you were out in Colorado?
Yeah, I did. I majored in business management with a focus in strategy and entrepreneurship. It doesn’t really set you up for any corporate jobs, which is never what I wanted. So it works out when I’m managing myself.

How’d you end up with Nidecker? Because you were on Burton for a while, right?
Yeah, I was on Burton for a while. And with Nidecker, the first thing that came up was a DM from the sales manager at the time. He just sent me a nice message that was asking about my current situation and said that some of our video projects reminded him of Robot Food and was stoked on what I was doing out here with our crew. I had just met Mons Roisland at Baldface for an avalanche course for risk maturity which they just signed so I talked to him and he was a big advocate for the vision with how this brand’s growing, especially in North America too. So that kind of was the catalyst. I put it on the back burner for a while because I was working on some projects and had my stuff set up. I was kind of in the middle of things and wasn’t looking to make a change. And then I met Tom Pelley, who’s now the team manager at Nidecker. Tom’s just the man. We had a lot of conversations. He’ll tell you it was kind of a slow burn for me. And he just said all the right things and the brand was going in such a good direction of listening to riders and building product. So it got me fired up and I chose the switch. It’s been great. Now I am on the global team.

You were just on global flow for Burton yeah?
I was getting product from Pat Dodge and searching for opportunities that weren’t quite there, you know, I was always pushing but able to make a lot out of my own path, especially through Jackson and what I’ve had here. So a lot of help and support from them, but yeah, now it’s opened up a lot of doors going to Nidecker and what they’re doing. Getting support, getting a lot of trips, getting budget and working on projects. It’s awesome.

You still working an off-season job?
Yeah, I’m out in Washington in the summer. My whole family’s out there and I work with my dad. He’s ran his own company my whole life and I’ve worked with him since I was 14, basically. So I’ve done everything from boxes and warehouse stuff to now I’m working in some of the financial side cause I like numbers. 

What board do you ride for Nidecker?
I switched between the Sensor Pro which is a classic camber park board, twin kind of does it all. I’ve been jumping in the backcountry with it. And then they have an Alpha APX, which is a really fun directional, surfy kind of pow board that also does it all. That’s what I was riding in Japan. So go back and forth between those two.

Yeah. How’s it riding with Mons now?

I actually have only seen him once since then. We just keep in touch. I’m stoked to be on the team with him. I ran into him in Europe for Nidecker Team Week really briefly. But most of what I did this year was with Taylor Gold. Taylor and I were kind of on the same exact travel program, which was sick.

Yeah, how was Home Break?

Home break was cool, man. I was, I’ve been laughing even like right now thinking about my last few years of just being on the sled so much. And then just recently I was on two park shoots, one of them being home break and uh, you know, just like spring transition riding is so much fun. And I forgot how, how cool that build is too.

It’s like that being in a 22-foot pipe with all these modified features and stuff and then seeing Taylor thrive in that environment, cause it’s his brainchild and what he’s so good at, that event was really rad.

As far as future plans with the team, are you guys got anything in the works that you’re looking towards?

Most of the stuff right now that’s exciting is just product development. We were in Switzerland for team week and I got to meet with all the designers and voice my opinion about boards and they’re just chiming in with the riders.

I’m just excited about being involved in the board creation as well as the boots and the bindings. We’re talking about a few upcoming projects, but this year, I’m stoked on what we got in Japan and then with Taylor and the whole team project’s cool because we’re gonna be releasing something with people from all over the world, putting their bangers into one project. 

All right, top three snowboarders you have not ridden with.

Oh, that’s great. Johan Olofsson… haven’t met him, haven’t ridden with him, but I could watch his Alaska video parts for hours just on repeat. Nico Mueller… haven’t ridden with him but his style is just impeccable. Again, could watch it on repeat for hours. A third? I gotta say Craig Kelly, just cause of the influence. You know, that dude is still influencing generations of snowboarders and such a key piece of this industry.

For sure. Top three snowboards you have ridden with? 

Oh man. Torstein, I think he, it’s been a joy to get to know him because as a kid, that was like a big influence of what made me want to do this. Like watching his old torstein.net videos. Those were really fun and that influenced me a lot. Travis Rice, of course, because he’s out here in Jackson. And then, and Bryan Iguchi, those three, I think, have put a lot of influence in me.

That’s such a heavy three. That’s most people’s three that they haven’t rode with. And then you got them all three. That’s a heavy list.

Yeah, I’d say like, especially Guch. I was just out within this last week a lot. And that guy, I mean, he’s a full generation older than me, but when we ride together, I’m learning from him, but I’m also, it’s like riding with a kid your age or like an 18-year-old, he’s just frothing all the time. I got up at 2:30 to climb Buck Mountain the other day with him. So we did a 14-hour day on the mountain. Got to the trail at 4 am and did, I don’t know, it was like a 5,600-foot climb. We took like a nap for an hour and a half, waiting for clouds to break and then got this fun peak.

Worth it?

Super worth it. It was like five inches up high and got some like nice soft pow sun pops. Just looking over the valley was amazing.

Is he running a Rivian truck?

No, he’s not. I think he did the commercial, but he’s not. He’s running a big diesel F350 with a camper on the back. It’s pretty funny thinking about that. 

What’s your setup?

Okay, I have a 2018 Toyota Tacoma, which has 180,000 on it. I’ve been putting that thing through the paces. And then I got a custom-welded sled deck from a buddy in Bellingham, which is perfect because I’ve used the hell out of that thing. And then I’ve got a Polaris 9R RMK 165, running the 900. That’s a pretty trusty setup, especially with the muddy trail heads and everything around here. I like having the small truck that can get around.

Yeah, doesn’t everybody have 850s? You have a 900?

Yeah, I have a 900. There are a lot of turbos out there, 850 turbos, but I like the 900. It’s pretty snappy low end and it’s different. That’s the first sled I’ve really like, you know, felt like gets me anywhere. It’s amazing what these machines can do and it does it all. It’s like a factory race sled that they’re making. It is what they use at the world championship races at Snow King Resort right in Jackson. You ever been here or seen that before?

No, but you take your sled seriously.
Not too seriously. I just like when I’m not the one that’s stuck. 

Before we go, just wanted to say sorry for the huge loss the Jackson (and snowboarding world at large) suffered last month with Pashley passing in the tragic avalanche. 

Yeah, that was a huge wave that rolled over here. Didn’t know him as well as most around but he was such a staple in the community. It is such a loss. Had some great days in the mountains with him whenever I linked up with Guch or those guys. It never felt like you had a media person or something out there. He was just a snowboarder that would duck off real quick and at the end of the day he’d have insane shots for you. He drove an hour over the hill just to stop by and support our premiere last year. To me, that was the definition of his support for the industry. He didn’t have to but he knew local riders were showing a project in the community and he drove an hour over just to like say hi and then drive back home. That dude cared. 

Absolutely, thanks for your time. Talk soon.