Published in Whitelines Magazine Issue 93, December 2010

Every month we send a load of your snowboarding questions to our guru, Sri Devun Walsh Yogi, in the hope that he can set you on the path to enlightenment.

Devun, I know you always ride powder and you’re amazing at it, but you used to hit rails too right? Do you ever do that anymore? If not, how come? Adam

Adam – Yeah I used to love hitting rails because of my skateboard background, but I have just found powder riding to be so much more fulfilling these days. I love the fact you can go as big as you want!

Hey Devun, do you spend time patting down takeoff son natural hits or are you better just to hit them first time? Gordon Cruden

Gordon – I will usually pat stuff down cause there is nothing worse then getting everyone set up and getting all hyped up to do something and you sink in on the take off, tumble down the landing and completely destroy the shot and the hit for everyone else! Never happened to me but I could imagine. With that being said, some things are just better fresh, especially riding lines and pillowy type stuff. And if we do pat it down, we try and keep it looking as natural as possible.

I did a couple of seasons in France when I was younger, and I’ve always been back there on holiday, but this year my family and I want to try Whistler. Are there big differences to riding in North America? And how come we don’t see you riding in Europe that often? Anna Parsons

Anna – I love riding in Europe but we don’t get over much as it tends to be so expensive. Well one of the big differences is we have a ton of below tree line skiing so even on the worst days you have decent visibility. I think lift tickets cost about the same but lodging and food tend to be a bit cheaper. I love the beer in Europe though!

Is the saying true that “there’s no friends on a powder day?” Cos I’ve often been tempted to leave some of my mates behind when they’re being really slow getting out in the morning…Peter Howson

Pete – Absolutely, this is a common rule among my friends! Ditch em’. That’ll teach em’.

Hey Devun, I just wondered – where are your parents from and what do they do?!Sarah Bright

Interesting question Sarah. Both of my parents are from Canada – my mom is part Hungarian and German, and my dad is English. My mom worked at a grocery store and is recently retired and my Dad passed away when I was eight. Long ago.

Not wanting to come across as rude in any way Devun, but you’ve been lucky enough to enjoy a pretty long career. Why do you think there aren’t more pros who’ve kept going at the top for so long? Josh Dixon

Josh – Not sure, I think laziness is one and having a great sponsor behind me like DC is another reason that I’ve made it so long.

Yo Devun, what do you think of tight pants? Are we gonna see you rocking them any time soon? Ed Porter-Jackson

Ed – Now this made me laugh, hard! Definitely no tight pants for me! Hahahaha!

Hey Devun, I hear you’ve got a baby girl. Congratulations! I’ve got a kid too. He’s a little older (four years old) and I’m thinking of taking him on his first trip to the mountains. Should I start him on skis first? Aaron Ellis

Thanks Aaron, it’s so great hey? That’s what I hear: skis first. My little girl is going on skis at 18 months. Between the legs for the first bit, then on their own. Can’t wait for that day.

Devun Walsh is a genuine snowboarding legend. Hailing from the west coast of Canada, he first rose to fame in the 1990s as a founding member of the Forum team. With his uncanny ability to soak up heavy landings, Devun’s backcountry prowess is un paralleled, throwing down super smooth freestyle tricks in powder. These days he is still charging hard for DC snowboards, in between sharing two decades of accumulated riding wisdom with the Whitelines readers.