Team Rider Josh Randich takes his Hoji's for a rip.
Known around the office as the "Spine Doctor", Team Rider Josh Randich made a name for himself by surgically destroying some of the longest and gnarliest untouched AK spines we've seen. Rarely leaving his home state of Alaska, Josh has spent the last 10 years skiing big mountain lines exclusively in the surrounding ranges and continues to bag spines rarely visited by other skiers. When the "Spine Doctor" isn't out performing high alpine surgery you can catch him In Bristol Bay, home of the biggest Sockeye Salmon run in the world. Him and his crew of fellow dirt big fisherman spend their seasons living on the beach and Set Netting, preparing for next winters snowfall!
"The cycle of my life since than was work all summer and all the way up to winter than take winter off and ski as much as physical possible."
The crew preps the netting
"Last winter I was told by my doctor that I needed to get surgery on my Femur Head. Although it had been giving me trouble for the last few years, I was unaware of the extent of the problem that I was dealing with. It had lost blood flow and was slowly dying out, making any sort of use of my leg extremely painful. Although it ended up being a fairly quick surgery, the procedure included a bone graft which would sideline me for almost a year. This unfortunately meant no skiing for me during the winter, which was tough news to stomach. With no spines in my near future, I got a job at the local ski shop and tried my hand at painting. Painting turned out to be a great time killer and I was able to fill the void of winter as my painting alias 'Senor Cinnamon'.
Set up turn to send'er | PC: Carson Meyer
"By the late spring my hip was feeling pretty strong and the urge to get on snow was irresistible. During the final week of shredding in Girdwood my hip was ready enough, so I took out my sled out to get some speed flying in. Speed flying seemed to be the safest option post surgery since you spend most of the time in the air flying rather than skiing big line. I was super stoked to get on the snow, and in the air. Hip felt great and I cannot wait to get back into the mountains and return to my home mountain Turnagain."
"Speed flying seemed to be the safest option post surgery since you spend most of the time in the air flying rather than skiing big lines."
Putting the hip to the test...in the air
"By the late spring my hip was feeling pretty strong and the urge to get on snow was irresistible. During the final week of shredding in Girdwood my hip was ready enough, so I took out my sled out to get some speed flying in. Speed flying seemed to be the safest option post surgery since you spend most of the time in the air flying rather than skiing big lines. I was super stoked to get on the snow, and in the air. Hip felt great and I cannot wait to get back into the mountains and return to my home mountain Turnagain."
"After high school I started commercial fishing. The cycle of life since then was work all summer, then take winter off and ski as much as physically possible. That has been life for the last 10 years. I own 'Set Net' sites out of Bristol Bay, which is home to the worlds biggest wild sockeye salmon run. It remains a sustainable fishery and has had runs surpassing 55 million fish for the last 2 years. Set netting is one of the lowest forms of commercial fishing, or as I like to say, the purest form of dirt bag fishing because it is extremely minimal. You don't need much. You don’t burn a bunch of gas in order to get fish and you don’t need much in terms of gear to run a successful operation. With Set Nets, you are fishing the tide line. This makes it a real natural way to harvest fish.
"It is by far some of the hardest work I’ve ever done. I love it though. You get to live on a beach, work hard everyday and make money for yourself. It’s a simple life. Other than selling fish to go to market we also harvest the fish for ourselves. I personally brought back 100 pounds of smoke salmon after last season. I eat that almost everyday in the winter, it is a staple of my diet and life. It’s hands down the best backcountry snack ever. A strip of smoke salmon and a squeeze of cream cheese, that’s energy a cliff bar will never deliver. I'll end with two pieces of advice: Buy Bristol Bay Salmon and buy 4FRNT skis and you will be happy forever!" - Josh Randich
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