“If you lose it out there, there’s nobody coming to lift you off of that thing.” — Ryland Bell

“Wild Alaska” for the title of this episode in the Patagonia Find Away series is an understatement. These guys are going into complete wilderness, exposed and at the mercy of the elements. But the reward is worth it. Over the past several years Ryland Bell has been refining his trade alongside Jeremy Jones in Alaska, where Ryland was born and raised. Now he’s a fixture in Jeremy’s crew, following right behind him into some of the gnarliest lines that AK has to offer. In this episode of the Find Away series, Ryland talks through what it’s like to be in these mountains and the fortitude it takes to actually ride a snowboard down them.

Watch the first episode of the Patagonia Find Away series: The Northern Sky with Josh Dirksen, Gerry Lopez, Alex Yoder, and Taro Tamai

From Patagonia via YouTube:

Ryland Bell grew up with Alaska’s big mountain lines always in view—familiar and yet unknown. Even when he’s out of state, the untapped potential of his massive “backyard” is never out of mind. In Episode 5 of our Find Away series, Teton Gravity Research follows Ryland as he fits the pieces together to hike and drop some all-time lines in remote Alaskan terrain.