Storytime w/ ‘Camp Of Champs’ Snowboard Legend Ken Achenbach | The Father of Canadian Snowboarding

 

One of Canada’s greatest snowboard legends from way back is Ken Achenbach. He may be best known as the Camp Of Champions originator, but he did much much more.

Ken opened Canada’s first snowboard shop at 16. Convinced many mountains to first open to snowboarders. Co-owns Powder Mountain Cat Skiing. Was a rider for Barfoot back in the 80’s as well as a photographer. And add all-time story teller to that list.

Here’s a sample of one of Ken Ach’s great old tales…..

 

You started Canada’s first snowboard shop at a time when most resorts didn’t even allow snowboarding at the time.
I started the Snowboard Shop when I was 16. Mostly because no one said I couldn’t. Growing up skateboarding, I learned that I could do what ever the hell I wanted, and if people didn’t like it, so what. There’s a freedom that you get from not caring what people think. I laugh that growing up skateboarding also made it impossible to be racist. As the outcast in school, you end up with all the other outcast kids and it was the best. My friends were the Pakistani kid, the Nigerian kid, the Chinese kid and the white kid from down the road. You learn to look at people and think of the way people looked at you for being a skateboarder. Muslims in hijabs? All good. I’ve spent my life trying to date girls where all I could see was their top lip and their nose—the rest was covered by a neck gaiter and goggles. That “holy shit, she’s hot” moment when she drops the facemask and goggles is the best. So I get it. All because of skateboarding.

 

Click over to MOUNTAIN LIFE for the full interview with snowboard legend Ken Achenbach

 

 

Ken Achenbach is known by many as the father of Canadian snowboarding. In the early 1980's he founded The Snoboard Shop in the basement of his mothers home. According to Ken, it was not just the first snowboard specific retail space in Calgary, Albert but the first in the world. He was a key figure in ISM magazine, which was the first snowboard magazine. Later in the ’80s Ken rode for Barfoot where he helped design the first twin tip snowboard with Niel Dafferin. In the 1990's Ken was a top notch photographer traveling the world shooting covers for @twsnow. He also owns and operates The Camp of Champions, which has been in business for over 25 years. Here Ken stands with his first ever Barfoot Snowboard. #KenAchenbach | #VintageSnowboard #SnowboardHistory

A post shared by Scott Serfas (@scottserfas) on Feb 19, 2015 at 4:31pm PST

 

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