JASON
PATA
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Clockwise from far left: Jason Pata has no patience.
for snowmen. The steeps of the backcountry get rav-
aged by pow master Pata. Back in '93, Jason jumped
cornices for fun and profit. Carson 'crete gets crid-
dled with a backside grab. Early morning method in
the Mount Rose backcountry. Jason digs in and reaps
the rewards of mountain livin'. Grey days mean soft
landings. First turns, many more to burn.
Jason Pata may not be one of those characters Who do you respect in the snowboard
who graces the glossy pages of every snow-world as far as ability?
board magazine or is caught in every film
project. But in mountain regions he is known as a
brave legend. However, you can still catch a
glimpse of this master if you are an expert Indian
tracker; or just make it easy on yourself and check
out this month's Cold Snap. -James Jackson
and
Who did you grow up skating with and where?
I grew up skating in the Compton suburbs doing
slappy grinds. Actually it was Pollock Pines, right
above Placerville. Heroes such as Jim Voudy, Jeff
Dufour, Paul Mason, Paul McDougall, Eric Arnold,
my brother Buzz and shitloads of others that had
nothing better to do in the hills were my primary
friends to skate with. Then the bomb dropped. My
dad and mom had divorced and Pops lived in
Sacramento at the time. Buzz and I would go to
visit him down there and we started hanging out at
the Go Skate off Auburn Blvd. Don Bostick was the
owner, and he and Steve-O pretty much gave me
an overabundance of drive to skate like a madder
than hell unit. They turned me on to the whole
scene there. Toland was just a baby then..
Gee, the ones who really stick out in my
mind have to be Farmer, Perata, Tom, Burt,
Palmer, Hatchett, and Damien. They all have
been there already. Nothing had changed
since then till now.
What is your favorite spot in
the world that your travels
taken you?
Without a doubt, Alaska. The
place where even the dirt
tastes good. I think anyone
who is in dire need of scaring
the shit out of themselves
should go up there. I really
have no need to travel over-
seas and "experiment" when
Alaska is so kinda close to me
from here. Let's just say I'm a
hankerin' for a hunka' Alaska.
What effect do you think the Olympics and corpora-
tions will have on snowboarding?
The effects are simple. Jing ling. Not the Japanese dish,
but plenty of money for the industry. Now that it's proper-
ly introduced to the general public, you will start to see
Calvin Klein walking around on Melrose Place passing out
samples of sweat from the pros. "This is Shaun Palmer's
perspiration after a boardercross." Buy it now.
114 THRASHER 2
Do you like skiers?
Who are your sponsors?
Chuck BARFOOT is back! Thanks Chuck, Chucky
Chuck, hockey puck. A big shop in a little town of
Los Gatos called NC. Yeah Alex, my only nig. Yo!
RUBICON clothing, straight outta Incline.
How has owning a bar and a home affected your life?
The bar business and remodeling a home give you a key to life's
gates, which would be patience. I never had any and really didn't care
much for having it at all. I see now that there is a goal. I've learned that
throwing bottles through windows and reckless manners are no-nos.
've been taught not to trust whitey. Stay three feet away from the
other member before swinging a bar bat. On the other hand, sure,
has affected my life. Bottom line would be that I found patience with
myself and others. It really brought me and my girlfriend together tight.
Advice for the young?
Drink Vitamin D milk only. Stay away from Rice Dream. Get
your checkups regularly. Make sure you have your dip-tet
shots. Eat the fat on your steak. Make sure your rights for bear-
ing arms aren't stripped away (depending on age).
I think their dress code has loosened up a bit. Really
though, I do like skiers, just as long as they don't fruit
boot in the summertime. I read this article not too long
ago about my mentor, Scott Schmitt, who said that
snowboarders are very non-appreciative towards skiing
in general. They don't give respect to skiers. Bullshit.
He's still living in the eighties I suppose. What he really
meant to say is that skiing and snowboarding work
hand in hand and that he loves hard snow.
Thanks to:
Mom. Sam, my beautiful buttercup,
you were there too. Buzz, thanks for
making me so pissed off when I was
a youngun that I had to use creative
thinking. Nae, you know. Clint the
magnificent. Dad, peace. Merril at
Northwave Boots, Chris at GH.
Basically my wonderful family.