Another beautiful day

As I adjust to a temporary life in Pacifica, CA. I am very greatful for the opportunity to visit a new town. Ordinarily, this would be a place I would just past through on the way to somewhere's else. Not this time, I actually get to have a forced vacation, Certainly, as a caregiver, your schedule is always close to those you are taking care of. This isn't my first time at this role, what I've learned is that you will never find enough time for yourself. Not complaining, its wonderful to see Anne recovering from her bout with Plasma Cell Leukemia/multi myeloma. On monday, I get a break so I can go home and back to work. I'm going to use every extra moment to get caught up.

Pacifica Pier, December 13, 2014

Its winter in the Sierra, it took its time but its here to stay

I don't know what to think, its december 12, the mountain just opened and I can't get there. Life is like that, it throws all kinds of challenges at you along with trials and tribulations. I am going to have a great winter season, it just hasn't started yet and when it does I'm going to enjoy every moment. In the meantime I am inspired by my daughter, she decided to move to Tahoe for the winter of her 20th year, she is the same age as I was when I decided to move to Aspen, Colorado. She is smarter than me, she actually found an apartment, a job and planned it all out. I just got a one way ticket, a bus fare and was dropped off on main street to fend for myself. So many years later, it was one of the best things I ever did for myself. I am so proud of her and just know it is going to be one of the winters we all remember.

Its raining here at home, time to go to the mountains and test some boards

This has been a punishing fall season, with Anne sick and in the hospital, work, managing home life, a 20 year old daughter and trying to build Grellboards's, all things considered I'm doing great. The boards I've build over the past several months are amongst the best I've ever made. The have ptex bases, 3 dimensional design and are build with carbon fibers, epoxy, a variety of fiberglass weaves, vacuum bagged and heated. The finished product comes off the mold like as a unique individual, from that point I get to shape and be creative. The wall street journal just recognized "Snurfing" the article is available online but I'm posting it here. In the future, if you want the best go to www.grellboards.com. If you want to talk Snurfing, I bought my first board in 1968. Snowboards for the Sledding Hill Ditch the stiff boots—and lift tickets—with a back-to-basics, binding-free board, like the Snurfer, Burton Throwback or Jones Mountain Surfer POWDER RANGERS | From left: Burton’s limited-edition Throwback, based on a 1981 rope-steered model; a recent reissue of the Snurfer, a 1965 proto-snowboard; and the Jones Mountain Surfer, which lacks bindings but has small metal cleats that riders can push their boots into for greater control. ENLARGE POWDER RANGERS | From left: Burton’s limited-edition Throwback, based on a 1981 rope-steered model; a recent reissue of the Snurfer, a 1965 proto-snowboard; and the Jones Mountain Surfer, which lacks bindings but has small metal cleats that riders can push their boots into for greater control. By JESSE WILL Nov. 28, 2014 12:40 p.m. ET 4 COMMENTS SNOWBOARDING IS a relatively young sport, but some riders are still pining for its humble roots. “There’s an interest now in returning to a place where you don’t need to dress like an astronaut and take a chair lift,” said pro-snowboarding legend Jeremy Jones. Indeed, in the sport’s earliest days, riders would “snow surf” down backyard inclines and sledding hills, not ticketed resort slopes. The equipment was more rudimentary, too. One classic will make a comeback next week, when the venerable Vermont-based snowboard maker Burton releases its Throwback Snowboard ($120, burton.com)—a plywood model based on the brand’s Backhill, from 1981, which was one of the sport’s most popular boards at the time. Like other early snowboards, the Throwback has no bindings to lock boots to it. Instead, you stand on a grippy polymer footpad and hang on via the handle attached to the nose by a rope (kind of like standing on a sled). That rope serves two purposes: It allows you to steer (just lean back in the direction you want to turn) and prevents the board from becoming a projectile when you spill. The Throwback isn’t meant for use at resorts, since it lacks the metal edges that make for tidy turns on hard-packed snow. It’s also missing the polyethylene base that gives modern snowboards their glide. But it’s perfect for absolute beginners to use at the park (Mr. Jones himself learned on a Burton Backhill—a Christmas present—in his backyard when he was a child) as well as powder junkies who want to snag a hillside run without getting fully geared up. The Throwback will be available in two sizes—100 cm for kids, 130 cm adults—and limited to an edition of 800. It’s being joined by another blast-from-the-past: the Snurfer, a proto-snowboard first sold in 1965 that has been out of production for 30 years. Vermont-based Vew-Do recently attained Snurfer’s license and is just beginning to ship hardwood remakes of the original as well as an updated model, called the Nomad, which has a wider, more forgiving nose ($120 and $140, snurferboards.com). Mr. Jones’s eponymous snowboard brand—now a Burton rival—is getting in on the retro act, too, with the binding-free Jones Mountain Surfer ($349, jonessnowboards.com)—a model aimed at more experienced riders that is less of a toy than the Throwback or Snurfer. “Raising kids and teaching them how to snowboard was really a reminder to me that you don’t need a bunch of fancy gear to have a lot of fun,” said Mr. Jones.

And it just escalates from here, check this from the Manchester Journal in Vermont

MANCHESTER - Brew Moscarello climbs on a Vew-Do balance board — the top-of-the-line El Dorado model with an extra-wide concave deck and quick-radial-taper roller — and begins swinging his weight back and forth, bending his knees, mimicking the motion of skiing. His shoulders are squared to the fall line. Moscarello has built a $1 million business in Manchester, where Burton Snowboards also got its start, selling his balance boards, which can be used to train skiers, snowboarders, and other athletes. Now Moscarello is about to launch a new product resurrected from the misty past of snowboarding's earliest days — the Snurfer. Debuting in 1965, the Snurfer is essentially a small surf board for snow with a string attached to make turns by lifting the front end. It went on to sell more than 1 million units in about a decade after being bought by the Brunswick Corp. from inventor Sherman Poppen. Most of all, the Snurfer was just a hell of a lot of fun, whether you were at a ski resort or on the hill in your back yard. "When you're doing it you feel like you're eight years old again," Moscarello said. "You feel like your mom is going to be calling you, 'Brew come on in for dinner!'" The Vew-Do is an improved version of the Bongo Board Moscarello rode as a kid growing up in Yonkers, N.Y. The Bongo Board, introduced in the 1950s, had a cylindrical roller, without a taper, that only allowed the left-to-right rocking motion associated with skiing. "Once you combine that with the taper to the roller, I can transfer my weight in any direction or rotate," Moscarello said. Now Moscarello swings around to face the fall line head-on in a "ready" position, like a snowboarder, and begins shifting his weight front to back, instead of left to right. Next he rotates and spins, thanks to the taper in the roller, practicing more snowboarding moves. Moscarello, 51, founder and president of Balance Designs Inc. in Manchester, began making and selling his balance boards in 1992 to snowboarders, skiers, and other athletes such as surfers and even baseball, basketball and football players. Developing and practicing balance is integral to nearly every sport, Moscarello said, coming from an athletic background that included playing lacrosse, baseball and other sports. "It's balance instincts," he said. "If you develop your balance instincts you're going to become a better athlete overall. You're going to have a stronger core and that core strength is what's going to take you to levels you could not achieve previously." Brunswick eventually licensed the Snurfer to the Jem Corp., which went defunct in the 1980s, Moscarello said, just as snowboarding was coming into its own. The Snurfer was left behind, but it launched a new industry. "The predecessor to all of snowboarding and snowboards was the Snurfer," Moscarello said. "It inspired Jake Burton and Tom Sims pretty much simultaneously to take Snurfers and say, 'Hey, this thing could use some improvement.' They put on metal edges and bindings and that kind of thing." BUR20141121Snurfer8Buy Photo Brew Moscarello, owner of Balance Designs Inc. in Manchester, is bringing back the Snurfer, the predecessor of the modern snowboard, and the inspiration for Jake Burton and others, that sold more than 1 million units in the 1960s and 1970s before disappearing from the market. The Snurfer is essentially a small surf board for snow with a string attached to make turns by lifting the front end.(Photo: RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS) Stratton gets on board Sherman Poppen is 83 years old today living in Georgia rather than the cold and snow of his native Muskegon, Mich., where he developed the Snurfer. Poppen launched his invention on Christmas Day in 1965. Moscarello is planning to visit Poppen soon, and hopes to have him attend the SnowSports Industries America Snow Show at the end of January in Denver. Moscarello will re-introduce the Snurfer to the snow industry on the 50th anniversary of its creation. Moscarello began in the snowboarding business with Burton Snowboards. He was a 20-year-old working in an EMS store in Ardsley, N.Y. when he called up Burton and said he'd like to carry the company's boards. He was connected to the vice president of sales, who quickly realized Moscarello didn't represent EMS as a whole, but was just a kid who wanted to get some boards in the store. "While I had him on the phone I said, 'Hey are there any positions up there?' He said, 'There are, come up and interview,'" Moscarello remembered. Soon, he found himself at the SnowSports Industries of America show in Las Vegas, selling Burton boards to a skeptical industry. With the exception of Stratton Mountain. "Most resorts said, 'Stay away,'" Moscarello said. "Stratton welcomed it. It was also the first to put in an instructional program for snowboarding." Anxious to get out of the office and onto the snow, Moscarello was soon teaching snowboarding at Stratton, and working at Burton in the summers. It was as a teacher that he realized most people had no idea of the balance required to ride a snowboard, especially in the early days. "The technology was so lame it was much more difficult to learn to ride a snowboard than it is today," Moscarello said. It was that experience as a teacher than led Moscarello to develop his Vew-Do balance boards. At first he brought his old Bongo Board for his students to practice on. "That was where I saw the need to teach balance before getting on the snow," Moscarello said. "I broke out the Bongo Board before putting them on a snowboard." Moscarello liked what the Bongo Board was doing for him as an instructor, but at the same time, he knew it was archaic. The wheels really began to turn for Moscarello when he saw one of his roommates in Manchester — John Gerndt, long-time product tester for Burton — hop on the Bongo Board one summer evening when they were kicking back in the front yard. Gerndt is known by his initials, JG. "So JG gets on the board, and here's a guy who can ride anything — wake board, surfboard, skateboard — anything," Moscarello said. "He gets on the board, goes back and forth, and all of a sudden he starts trying to do spins and tricks and flips, snowboard moves, grabs. At that moment, that's what inspired me to take the Bongo Board to the next level, just like Jake took the Snurfer to the next level." An abandoned Jem Moscarello realized the potential for the Snurfer as snowboard sales began to falter in the past several years. He researched the patent and realized it had been abandoned by Jem. He secured it for himself, with the blessing of Poppen. "Now we've come full circle," Moscarello said. "Basically what's happening is as snowboard sales are waning some of the companies are starting to come up with something similar to the Snurfer called 'noboards,' bindingless snowboards people are riding in powder." "Most board sports are cyclical, they have highs and lows," Moscarello continued. "Skateboarding is famous for that." What happened to snowboard sales, according to Moscarello, is that the ski industry incorporated the technology developed for snowboards into skis, changing the shape and design of skis to allow skiers to spin and rotate without catching an edge, and to ski forward or backward. "That technology has allowed kids to really excel in the freestyle realms of skiing," Moscarello said. "What's happening now is everybody is having fun, whether on four edges or two edges. They're all wearing the same clothes, all speaking the same language." Unfortunately, that's not good for the snowboard industry, Moscarello said, unless you're a company that makes snowboards and skis, like K2. Moscarello said he approached Burton to help him launch the Snurfer but was unable to reach an agreement with the Burlington company. "Burton was always purely snowboarding and proud of it," Moscarello said. "They did quite a bit of restructuring this past year, trying to determine how they're going to combat this trend. Quite frankly I met with them to bring my product line to them to discuss how we can do something together. They were basically minimizing their brands as opposed to taking on new ones." Burton declined to comment. Stymied at Burton, Moscarello turned to his old friend Dave Schmidt, Burton's original global sales manager and a well-known name in the ski industry. With Schmidt's help Moscarello was able to line up several investors to launch the Snurfer. Schmidt, whom Moscarello calls "Schmidty," has joined Balance Designs. "Just having Schmidty's name associated with us gave investors confidence," Moscarello said. "Here's the guy who started Burton Snowboards sales and marketing." Moscarello is making his snurfers at American Sports Laminates, in Rib Lake, Wisc., which made skateboards for Santa Cruz and others for 27 years before skateboard manufacturing went overseas. Owner Jay Winkler was about to close his doors when Moscarello contacted him. Winkler agreed to take the Snurfer on. Moscarello stresses that the Snurfer is not a snowboard. It does not have edges, and you shouldn't take it to the top of the mountain on an icy day, although the possibilities in powder are just about unlimited. He's counting instead on tapping into the kind of backyard fun that families can have together wherever there's snow. Contact Dan D'Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DanDambrosioVT.

"Its surfing on snow and that's exciting"

Wall Street Journal doesn't do much research before going to print.

It seems to me that time has caught up with my little project, when I started this blog, the idea of "Snurfing" wasn't on anyones mind, now its suddenly all in the news. At least according to the Wall Street Journal, the article isn't very well researched but at least its free advertising for what I've been doing. I think that Jesse Will would be better served acknowledging all the brands including Grellboards, Novak, Phnx, Barfoot, Sims, Flite, Ateam, Sherman Poppen, Snurfing, Snurfer, Snowsurfing, Snowsurfer, Skiboard, and the list goes on. Follows is how the article reads online. All for this go around. JG Snowboards for the Sledding Hill Ditch the stiff boots—and lift tickets—with a back-to-basics, binding-free board, like the Snurfer, Burton Throwback or Jones Mountain Surfer By JESSE WILL Nov. 28, 2014 12:40 p.m. ET 4 COMMENTS POWDER RANGERS | From left: Burton’s limited-edition Throwback, based on a 1981 rope-steered model; a recent reissue of the Snurfer, a 1965 proto-snowboard; and the Jones Mountain Surfer, which lacks bindings but has small metal cleats that riders can push their boots into for greater control. ENLARGE POWDER RANGERS | From left: Burton’s limited-edition Throwback, based on a 1981 rope-steered model; a recent reissue of the Snurfer, a 1965 proto-snowboard; and the Jones Mountain Surfer, which lacks bindings but has small metal cleats that riders can push their boots into for greater control. SNOWBOARDING IS a relatively young sport, but some riders are still pining for its humble roots. “There’s an interest now in returning to a place where you don’t need to dress like an astronaut and take a chair lift,” said pro-snowboarding legend Jeremy Jones. Indeed, in the sport’s earliest days, riders would “snow surf” down backyard inclines and sledding hills, not ticketed resort slopes. The equipment was more rudimentary, too. One classic will make a comeback next week, when the venerable Vermont-based snowboard maker Burton releases its Throwback Snowboard ($120, burton.com)—a plywood model based on the brand’s Backhill, from 1981, which was one of the sport’s most popular boards at the time. Like other early snowboards, the Throwback has no bindings to lock boots to it. Instead, you stand on a grippy polymer footpad and hang on via the handle attached to the nose by a rope (kind of like standing on a sled). That rope serves two purposes: It allows you to steer (just lean back in the direction you want to turn) and prevents the board from becoming a projectile when you spill. The Throwback isn’t meant for use at resorts, since it lacks the metal edges that make for tidy turns on hard-packed snow. It’s also missing the polyethylene base that gives modern snowboards their glide. But it’s perfect for absolute beginners to use at the park (Mr. Jones himself learned on a Burton Backhill—a Christmas present—in his backyard when he was a child) as well as powder junkies who want to snag a hillside run without getting fully geared up. The Throwback will be available in two sizes—100 cm for kids, 130 cm adults—and limited to an edition of 800. It’s being joined by another blast-from-the-past: the Snurfer, a proto-snowboard first sold in 1965 that has been out of production for 30 years. Vermont-based Vew-Do recently attained Snurfer’s license and is just beginning to ship hardwood remakes of the original as well as an updated model, called the Nomad, which has a wider, more forgiving nose ($120 and $140, snurferboards.com). Mr. Jones’s eponymous snowboard brand—now a Burton rival—is getting in on the retro act, too, with the binding-free Jones Mountain Surfer ($349, jonessnowboards.com)—a model aimed at more experienced riders that is less of a toy than the Throwback or Snurfer. “Raising kids and teaching them how to snowboard was really a reminder to me that you don’t need a bunch of fancy gear to have a lot of fun,” said Mr. Jones.

Its starting to snow in the Sierra and the rockies are opening for business

This has been one unusual year, my life has been full of challenges and I'm not sick, it takes a loved one to make you feel as though you are missing something and its true, as humans we bond with others and life feel normal. When that changes, everything changes. Anne just had her Bone Marrow Transplant yesterday, she told me she had crazy dreams the night of the transplant, oddly enough, my dreams were crazy and vivid. Regardless, so far all is going ok, the next 3-12 weeks are critical as she addapts to here new immune system. In the mean time I'm still building custom boards and they are getting better each time. Get out and have fun in the snow, we plan to be there soon. JG

This blogspot is not co operating. As I try to input it won't so this is short. Grellboards, Snurfer, Novak, all original brands. Lets go. CJG

Ok, there it is, that little cursor on the blank screen telling me its ok to type now. I learned to type on a typewriter, it was a state of the art machine and the girl next to me kept me going. I never regretted learning to type, punctuation and spelling have always been a challenge. I leave that to the results of the Belgium experiment. Regardless, all this nonsense, has gotten met to where I am now.

The Snurfer Brand is back, I actually had the chance to see a photo of their new "Snurfer Truck", its not what I would have chosen but then they are trying to capitalize on what Sherman Poppen did back in the 1960's. I hope they built in a legacy program to help take care of some of the pioneers that brought them to this point. Lesson learned, there are almost 7 million snowboarders in this world, not such a big number as other sports but still substantial. If I has 1/2 of one percent of that market I would have to build 60,000 boards. Thats a jump from my humble beginnings. I'm sure the new snurfer brand has done its homework and is hoping to achieve Sherman's and Brunswick's success of the 1960's where the produced around 500,000 boards at a price of $10-20 each. I love the Snurfer, the last time I saw mine was at the SIA show in Las Vegas, Tom Sims had it on his old boards display wall, that's another story. As if anyone give a shit and reads my Banter. Tom was a good friend, employer, competitor and visionary. I miss our occasional talks, emails and seeing him. It makes me cherish my old friends all the more.

Anyway, what I need to do is sell boards. Give me a reason to have them built.

There are 3 models

G-42 for Kids
G48 for Adults
G-60 for big adults

Anne's Round three Chemotherapy and Bone Marrow Transplant starting Monday, November 10th

I don't know how to feel about this, it is inevitable that this is what has to be done. You go and get admitted into the hospital, you sign a bunch of forms, they find you a room and it starts. I'm not sick but my wife is, she has Plasma Cell Myeloma and with out this bone marrow transplant she would die within a year. So here we are on the eve of her transplant. They are going to give her six (6) days of intravenous Chemo, as the doctors explain it, they are essentially wiping out her existing immune system and replacing it with one from a donor. The transplant will take place on the 8th day and at that time she will be pretty wiped out. They will be giving her all kinds of stuff to prevent infections, graft versus host disease, anti viral, anti fungal, along with stuff to make her feel better. Can you say, Hickman catheter, allogenic transplant, a month in the hospital, then 4 months of house arrest with a full time caregiver. For me, I will do the best I can, try and stay focused on what lies ahead and to continue living my life to the best of my ability. Anne will be at the UCSF medical center in San Francisco. I will continue to build my boards and evolve my designs, while separating myself from all the BS that comes along. Enjoy every day as though it is your last, life changes and one must adapt of suffer. I chose to adapt. JG

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More trials of life and I'm still building boards

Just when you thing you've got things undercontrol, expect the unexpected. If you've been reading my intermittent posts on this blog you would have read about my brothers trials with diabetes, totally out of the blue and in retrospect, his timing was pretty good. My timing was pretty good and we got him the care he needed and now he is doing great. Fast forward another month and a half and Jay is doing great, still needs his insulin, but he up to #170 and feeling good. As all this transpires, I am still finding time to build a board here and there and continue experimenting. The new boards are the best yet and have the MST husk technology which allows me to build a 3 dimensional base contour with a Ptex base and get all the curves right. Then back to my story, we have a great trip to San Onofre to go spend time with family and friends and surfing. Two days later, Anne has to check into the UCSF medical center ICU, her multi myeloma has mutated into plasma cell leukemia. After much soul searching, a roller coaster of emotions and $400K in medical, a good reason to have insurance for all of you who don't; Anne came home, after Chemotherapy, Leukopheresis, bone marrow biopsy, quinten cather, pic lines and a view of the city from her room. Having a loved one home gives me good reason to build yet another board. Tomorrow or perhaps the next day that would be 9/23 or 9/24 she goes back to UCSF for phase two of her Chemotherapy, then in another 3 weeks she gets to come home for another week. Beyond that there is the transplant phase and that will take another 5 months and we need to find a place within an hour of the hospital as she will be undergoing an Allogenic transplant, that is donor stem cells from someone else, hopefully a close family member will be a match. Between visits to the hospital, time alone at home, some of these boards may be my best work yet. Love your family, hug your wife, your kids and cherish every minute. Chief JG

Trials of life

As the days passed by, Jay afterall got better from his unexpected illness. It was one of those trials in life that test what you are made of and with alot of support from friends and family things turned out OK. Now that the tough part is over, we are receiving the bills from the hospital, interestingly enough, when you rack up a $120,000 bill without insurance, they deduct %90. That is still around $12,000. Another thing to consider when you are traveling is travel insurance, but don't let them fool you, the insurance is only good for the dates specified by the initial travel itinerary, if you make a change they don't carry the insurance over to the next leg of the trip, be careful of that.

I am home and I am ready to get back to building boards. With renewed excitement and a trip to TAP Plastics, I can get back to building the next round of MST Husks and Grellboards combo. The new boards are UHMW bases, with an epoxy, carbon fiber, fiberglass construction. The new boards are super strong, lightweight, wider to accomodate a real foot size and flexible the way a modern snurfer should be.

Meanwhile, here in California, it is hot, dry and we need water. People are changing habits to conserve water, the latest thing I heard today is in Cambria, they are renting portable toilets rather than use the water it takes to flush the household toilet. Interesting happenings, this is the stuff that makes California great, alot of innovation ahead.
CJG

Outta there

As each day winds down, I look forward to what the next day will bring.
Today is the day that my brother gets released from the Swedish Medical Center in Denver, Colorado. It all started on Monday morning, what a ride its been over this week. A full range of emotions, anxiety all mixed together. Now my bursitis is back and my right knee is stiff. So if that the worse of it I'm doing pretty good. Jay goes home tomorrow morning, a flight from Denver to San Jose, Costa Rica. He'll be in loving arms by 2:15 tomorrow afternoon. Its been great to spend time with my brother, I know he can't wait to get home.
I feel the same, I get to restart my trip west tomorrow afternoon, my goal is to cross the rockies. After that Utah, then on to California. My route is about 1278 miles. It should take me two days, my goal is to be at the house on Sunday evening. We'll see how that turns out. JG

Road to recovery

What a difference a day makes, we got to the Critical Care Unit at Denver's Swedish Medical Center to find my brother awake, talking and realizing that he is in the hospital. Most of you won't ever know my brother but he is one of the most creative artists around. I don't even know where to start but to say I am relieved, he made it through a tough emergency visit to the critical care unit. It came on gradually and fast together. I didn't read into his symptoms early enough  and could have prevented some of this, if I could do it over... Jay lives. That's the most important thing and soon he will be home in his beloved Costa Rica and I know the country will embrace him and take care of him just like the good people of Denver have.

Once again something came up and we tackled it head on and prevailed. For many of us, we will never know when, where, how or why, just move beyond yourself and reach out and get the job done.
JG

Prayers for my awesome brother

It all started out with Jay arriving at New York LaGuardia, I found him waiting for me at the curb. It is always a great day to see my brother and I knew that we would get to spend a few weeks together in Bridgewater as we cleaned out mom and dads house. As it turned out it was a lot of work and we managed to get it all done. We never had any disagreements and we got it done and were ready to leave to take mom and dads stuff home to California. This past Friday, we had done all the heavywork and manage to hit the road around 10 am. We drove all day and made it to Ohio. Day two we got up early and left Ohio and made it to Illinois. Day three was the tough one and I started out driving. I found we were stopping more often than usual as Jay needed to relieve himself more than what I thought was norma. Anyway, at some point along the way, I realized that Jay wasn't %100, so I took over driving with a destination of Mike Troppman's house in Roxborough Village. I managed drive most of the 800 miles to get us to our destination and when we got there Jay was wiped out.
He went right to bed and I figured that it would pass and in the morning he would be ok, that was my first mistake. He wasn't better, he was much much worse. We managed to get him out of bed and to the emergency room. The Doctor on call did a great job and the next thing we know he was in the Intensive Care Unit at the Swedish Medical Center in Denver. The told me that typically anyone with blood sugar over 1000, should have died. Jay managed to get through that especially tough part and his levels are now under 400. They don't know what caused this and will get to the bottom of it in the next few days. Lesson here is don't wait when your loved ones are really sick, if in doubt bring them to the professionals and those few minutes could save their lives.

Memorial Day 2014

Its memorial day and all day long I keep thinking about my dad and his service in the Marines and all the things has done in his life, I am blessed to still have my dad and mom around. They moved from Connecticut to California last summer after my dad had a knee replacement at the age of 86. It was a long rehabilitation and they ended up a couple of miles down the road from me. I get to seem them every week and enjoy their company. Dad misses Bridgewater, but realizes there is family here and thats important.
I also think of my Grandfather, William (Bill Grell). He fought in two wars, WW1 and WW2. He did incredible things and so of his exploits are archived in books and papers commemorating the contributions made by the likes of my grandfather. Bill, archived his life in photographs, letters to his mom, his exploits.
So yesterday I built a board in memorial of Bill and pulled it off the mold this morning. It has a sweet flex and now I just have to bring out its shape. So fun building these boards. Hope all of you enjoy the rides.





Commemorative Grellboard for my Dad and Grandfather on Memorial Day 2014.

grellboards.,com

On May 7, 2014 we launched Grellboards.com.
It will  be and adventure that will fill the rest of my lifetime.
For all of you who have supported my project and continue to drive me foreward, thankyou.
I built 149 boards leading up to the launch of the new website. They are now all worth $1000 each.
If you have one congratulations. The good news is that the new boards will be the price as shown on the site, until we raise the prices. In the meantime if you really want a board contact GRELLBOARDS distributor at Wave Rave in Mammoth Lakes.
More to come. JG

You know how fast a day goes by, a week, a month and then a year. That has been the spectre of what has been happening with Grellboards. We advanced into new technologies, switched over to epoxy resins and started using vacuum bagging on all of our new boards. The result has been terrific. The boards are stronger, lighter and better. We have been actively sending out boards to Idaho, Alaska, Colorado, Ohio, Oregon and that is exciting. We realize that we have a ways to go to perfect our recipe but feel good about what we have accomplished. Our best delivery yet was flying in 14 board to mammoth on my friends Cessna 180, such a fun trip. If I'm successful, I will get my own plane and do all the deliverys myself.

November 23, 2013

I don't know where all the time goes and I can't seem to keep up with the demand for grellboards. Like anything, I have really productive days and then there are all those other days where its hard to get anything done. Everything is a process, the more moving parts the more time it takes. For some reason, the blog doesn't want to post any new photos, so until I figure that out you will just have to read what I have to say. We have managed to send out boards to Aspen, Colorado, Ohio, Denver, Alaska, Southern Cal, Mammoth, so far this season. The serial #s are up to 140, which isn't such a big deal but then when you build them by hand and they are evolving everytime, it becomes quite a task. Anyway, I hope all those boards I've built get put to good use and we look forward to a great season ahead. JG

2014 Vermont Open Trophy Boards, congratulations to the champions. Make sure you take the boards into a shop and have them texture the base and wax for conditions. CJG

There is alot of hype and money revolving around the new Red Bull Double Halpfipe. Seems to me that "Chuck Allen" RIP, performed this miracle at Bear Mountain a decade ago. I hope that Red Bull  recognizes the pioneers of this sport. Thanks for being exceptional. JG

It is rare that awards are given in the snowboarding industry but the Jackson Hole
POWWOW has managed to break that pattern. Rob Kingwell, pro snowboarder, Jackson Hole Local and events protege, has put together a project that is just plain fun. I am blessed to be a part of the project and honored to be voted in as the "Chief" for 2014. My job has just started and I expect that 2015 will be the best event ever. JG

Gene Hamilton Thanks for your innovation Jeff, a lot of fun times were had on those original Sims highback bindings (still have my 86 Terry Kidwell!).

22 hours ago · Like · 2

Shigeru Ishihara Red Lobster !!

22 hours ago · Like

Rob Giustina Yeah boy wish I had a set of those for my Terry Kidwell

22 hours ago · Like · 1

Herb McLane I can't imagine riding with out your high back!! Thank you !!!

21 hours ago · Like · 1

Bud Keene Yeah Jeff, I remember staying with you in '85 at Tom's place in Santa Barbara like it was yesterday. Picked out my Kidwell off of the drying racks at the factory next day, and screwed a pair of those onto it. Game changer...thanks man

15 hours ago · Like · 2

Steve McNutt You gave me my first pair, with the brown covers. Changed my life. Thanks Jeff

13 hours ago · Like · 1

Rands Toberz Snowboarding would not be the same without Jeff Grell's highback.

about an hour ago · Like · 1

Brandt Todd Richards all hail Jeff Grell. thanks man, you literally made the sport better. not many can claim that

17 minutes ago · Like · 1

Artie Castro Jeff , even though it is not an exam question (should be), I ask it every time, just so the young ones can look it up and know for a lifetime:) Thanks buddy!!!

10 minutes ago · Like

Paul Graves agree with all of the above!Here are two unfinished boards next to the VTO trophy boards, to be won this coming weekend March 9-9, 2014 at Stratton Mountain Resort. JG