A Note from Spread Stoke: Love for the mountains is powerful.  It is passion that extends from one’s own personal endeavors to a collective who pays homage to these beautiful, geological titans. The mountains are where we go to conquer our fears, learn about our mental and physical capabilities, escape from societal pressures and routines, and fall in love over and over, whether it is with a new line, view, or moment.  The feelings the mountains bestow us are uncontainable. These feelings transpire all around the world and communities are built upon them.  It is these ‘communities’, like the one Dani DeSalvio, a lady shredder with great alacrity, is trying to grow with her brand 山ILD. 

山ILD looks to unite individuals with a strong love for the mountains all around the world.  With her first project, ‘山ILD Women’, Dani will portray female influence on the snow industry and how women continue to grow with the support of their fellow mountain companions.

Spread Stoke is super excited to be working with 山ILD and we encourage you to check out the brand, get on board and join the community. Without further ado, here is an introduction from Dani about 山ILD.

What does 山ILD  mean?
山 = mountain in Japanese and also Chinese. It also looks like our English letter “W” hence how 山ILD was born. 

After traveling around Hokkaido last season, I still wanted a way to connect my love for Japanese culture with my passion for skiing and visual arts. What I have personally noticed about the 山ILD logo and name is that it is actually a conversation starter, which gets you talking with people you might not go out of your way to talk to. 

What is 山ILD about?
This is exactly what our mission sets out to do, which is to connect people worldwide with our similar passions for the mountains. The people who are involved in the 山ILD company are the influencers and riders making positive changes in our snow industry.

What is your next step for 山ILD ? 
Well, we started to pump out comfy tee-shirts and stickers and plan to expand later on an apparel line.

The goal for this year and what I am focusing on is a video project for the brand, titled 山ILD WOMEN. The plan is to enter this film into snow related film festivals. This will be a short video which centers around strong female influencers in the ski and snowboard industry. These women are either on their way to becoming professional athletes, are professional athletes, or are just your average local lady ripper.  I would like this project to continue the women’s movement in the snow industry, because yes we do shred. 

Who are you influenced by?
I am very influenced by my soul shred sisters I have met over the United States the past five years. They helped me grow into a better skier and are always encouraging me to be better on and off the hill. I am very thankful for Ed Lewis (founder of SNOCRU) for being real with me, opening my eyes to what I need to do to achieve higher. He is a great leader and I hope to be more like him in the future. Also, Lynsey Dyer and Rachael Burks. Damn, after hearing these women talk at the “Pretty Faces” premiere at iF3 International Film Festival, my motivation kicked in. Rachael Burks worked her ass off in the summer to pay off her own heli-skiing trip for the film.

How can I get involved or support the “山ILD WOMEN” project?
Great question! If you want to be involved in this project as an athlete or just want to stay in the know about the project, email Dani DeSalvio at danidvisuals@gmail.com.  If you are interested in supporting this project, check back when we are doing our fundraising campaign. You can also email wildyamawear@gmail.com if you would like to purchase tee-shirts or stickers. 

I am also very excited to be working and partnering directly with Spread Stoke on the 山ILD WOMEN project beginning this January. After revealing the project and attending International Women’s Ski Day in Killington, Vermont, I have received nothing but positive support, encouragement, and new friendships. Check our website for more information on this project here: http://dd0613.wix.com/wild

Cheers and stay stoked,
-Dani

So after going to iF3 Montreal…. you can say I was a little more than inspired by the films I saw. Some had character, some had big budgets, but they all followed the same plot line: skiing around different places with your friends.

With recent snowfall in Colorado and other parts of the United States, you can say we are all ITCHING to get out there… some of us already have. Here’s a short video I filmed and edited from my trip to Japan to hopefully get you all drooling more.

This is all footage from just one day at a local resort called Sapporo Teine, it’s roughly 20-30 minutes from the city of Sapporo and we were skiing with local professional skiers/friends from Japan.

Next year I hope to enter a small edit into iF3 Film Festival in the amateur category!

だいすき – DAISUKI – LOVE

This one time I went to Japan and fell in love. These are my favorite things in no particular order.

1. ONSENS, ONSENS, ONSENS!
In Japan, hot tubs are pretty much non-existent. Instead you have the glorious Onsens – aka Japanese word for hot springs. There are many hot springs all over Hokkaido, there is even a public one just for your feet in a small mountain town. I pictured these magical things to be in the middle of a snow covered mountain where men and women would sit together… naked. I was sort of wrong hahah.

Things you should know about going to an onsen:

• The onsen’s I went to were separated by men and women
• There are usually a few pools inside with different temperatures and another one outside
• You DO have to get fully nude – (it feels amazing on your skin!)
• Before you can actually get into the onsen, you have to completely wash yourself including your hair
• There are shower heads in the onsen area where you sit on a bucket and rinse off with soap provided
• Tattoos are frowned upon and sometimes not allowed, especially in the more public onsens (at a ski resort)
• Ladies – if you have long hair, make sure you put it up so it doesn’t touch the water!
• It is the most peaceful and rejuvenating experience – it probably results in longer life
• Your skin will look and feel so fresh
• Your first time might be a little awkward… but now you know so embrace it!

2.   7/11′s and SEICO MART 
Okay, if you live in America you have most likely at one point in time been to a 7/11. No big deal, right?
Japan is very different! I survived off of these places, and so will you! You can literally get everything you want, including porn!… if you’re into that. The food is made fresh: fresh beef bowls, rice bowls, other meals. These places are on almost any block in Sapporo. They are everywhere! My favorite thing, besides the fresh rice bowls, were these mini pancakes that came in a package of 4. They were actually pancake sandwiches, so when you bit into it the butter and syrup spread out. Yup, I could live off of those for 100¥ (basically $1). The stores also have hot bottled drinks. America – get with it! Perfect place to stop before heading up to film on the slopes. You can also buy beers out of vending machines throughout the streets, so that is pretty neat.

3.  TOILETS
Let me just say you will be pleasantly surprised by the toilets in Japan. After a 10 hour flight from LAX->Tokyo and going through customs, the first place I headed for was the bathroom. I thought I was in a hotel for a minute, maybe due to lack of sleep or maybe just sheer insane excitement. As I walked in, a robot voice talked to me and I found that each toilet station was like it’s own little room where it had high walls and two doors you shut together. If you hate going to the bathroom (you know which one) in public, you have found your heaven. First off, everything is so clean. There are wipes you can clean the toilet seat with before and after. When you sit down on these modern toilets, you realize the seat is HEATED! And then the unthinkable happens, music or a flushing noise comes from the toilet. You guessed it, no one can hear you. Sometimes I wish these existed in America.

4. FOOD
Alright, well I already talked about 7/11, but we all know that Japan is known for its food. This is true, I never had a bad meal there. Obviously sushi is a must while you are in Japan. There are some sushi places where they make it in front of you and put it out on a conveyor belt, so you can pick whatever looks good to you! Don’t get me started on soup curry. Soup curry is my favorite food ever and I try not to think about it while I’m here in the States. Then of course you can’t forget about the famous ramen.  I felt so healthy and my skin was very clear because the food there is pretty good for you! I’ll be writing another piece solely on great places to eat in Hokkaido – mainly in Sapporo, so look out for that.

5. YUKI aka SNOW!!!
Last but not least…. SNOW! Holy shit. That is all I can say about skiing in Japan. Let’s face it, we all grew up watching Warren Miller and TGR films where they go film powder skiing in Japan and we all dreamed of doing the same thing. When I was 16 I was sitting in a golf course at work watching an old Warren Miller flick and decided that one day I would live in Hokkaido for 6 months. Well, 7 years later I went for 5 weeks and it was enough to fall in love with Japan. It snows all the time, the access to backcountry riding is incredible, the people are friendly, and you will love it.  If you ever get the chance to go to this magical land, please go… and don’t forget your boots.

Hope you found this useful and I hope you will visit Japan one day! Enjoy my continuation of stories on Japan in the near future.

Always stay stoked – Dani.

I’m sure you.. YES you, have done this.

There comes a time when you don’t listen to other people when they tell you not to do something.* Though, the best adventures and experiences seem to occur only when taking risks and challenging yourself to do something you never thought attainable. Of course things will be scary, but that’s the risk you have to be willing to take. Whether the end outcome is positive or negative, that depends… but either way you’re learning a lot more about yourself along the journey. This is where my story begins.

I grew up following freeskiing. Attending the first ever Winter Dew Tour in Killington, VT sparked my hunger for photography and skiing. By the time college came around, even after getting into school in SLC, UT I was told that “it’s too far away”.  Well yes, this is a true fact, but I can’t imagine all of the experiences during that time I would have never been able to do had I listened to that one person. I was told I shouldn’t go to Japan last season, but to me that was my biggest accomplishment and progression of skiing images so far. Today, I am still being told to not pursue my goals of becoming a published action sports photographer/videographer.

Do you think I’ll listen to that?

Skier: David Wise Photo: Dani DeSalvio

Here’s to the mistakes to be made, lessons to be learned, and the hustle to be had.  Cheers & stay stoked – dani

*Though it is probably a good idea to listen to your friends in the backcountry.