“Do you think I should go fix that tree?” The questioning rider points towards the leaning pine situated next to the wallride. It’s tilted after he just ran into it, but he wasn’t the first do so, nor will he be the last. Some snowboarders are intentionally incorporating it into their lines, so it’s bound to fall eventually. “Eh,” I reply. “It’s probably good either way.” This is the Mash and Bash, after all.

ABOVE We wouldn’t be here without him. Host of the Mash and Bash and one of the most ripping riders to ever come out of the state of New York, Johnny O’Connor, blunted up and headed for the tree trap.

Now in its seventh year, the Mash and Bash continues to grow and serve as a low-pressure, high-energy jam session at Windham Mountain Resort, NY. Hosted by local pro snowboarder Johnny O’Connor, the event welcomes boarders of all ages and ability levels for a day of freestyle fun. This year’s setup has features to accommodate talented shredders and fledgling groms alike, from the challenging flat bar to down-flat-down rail which only a few balance their way through to more approachable features like a ride-on box, hips, and plenty more in between.

ABOVE How ya doin’? Here to ask the important questions, Ice Coast Kills Shit O.G. Joey B.

ABOVE An unintentional doubles-line by SHRED Foundation ambassadors LJ Henriquez (left) and Johnny O’Connor (right). The snow was soft and forgiving which made for a particularly fun iteration of the Mash and Bash event.

With the sun shining brightly overhead and temps nearing 50 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s a scorcher here in the Catskills. Yet dozens of riders have shown out for the session—Jake Aaronson in from Massachusetts, Timmy Sullivan down from Vermont, LJ Henriquez over from New Jersey, the Empire State’s own Ice Coast Kills Shit crew—to name a few. And each one of them has something good to say about Johnny. “Johnny’s been my boy since high school,” Andrew Herrera, founder of the boutique Fifth Place clothing brand out of Albany, says. “We used to skate together and he never even mentioned anything about his snowboarding. He really is the most humble dude.”

ABOVE Johnny O’Connor.

ABOVE #TimmySullivan. Enough said. Now you know.

ABOVE Heavy-hitting young gun LJ Henriquez with a boardslide gap to boardslide on the challenge rail.

As a pro ambassador for SHRED Foundation, a non-profit program that uses snowboarding to promote healthy living and life skills to youth in upstate New York, Johnny uses the Mash and Bash to help raise funds for the foundation. Ten-dollar entry fees for the session go to SHRED and this year’s event wraps with a raffle to raise funds for a Ukranian humanitarian relief fund. “We raised $1,500 for the Ukrainian foundation, Spilka, that builds bomb shelter schools for kids,” Johnny says. “And we raised $2,000 for a SHRED.” A few folks continue to ride into the evening over at Jimmy O’Connor’s Windham Mountain Inn, where Johnny invites people for a nighttime shred in his backyard park.

ABOVE (Left/Top) Sebi Diaz going big on the hip. (Right/Bottom) The ever-eclectic Jasper Kahn keeping it zany on the wallride.

ABOVE Jake Aaronson’s tweaked out tail grab.

Now, I can’t say with certainty if that rider from this morning ever tried straightening out the tree next to the wallride. It was for sure gone during the latter half of the session. So too was the tree on rider’s right of the bonk. But the Windham Parks crew has maintained the rest of the setup for anyone who missed the event. So, get up there and mash and bash it while you still can.

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Want to get involved with SHRED Foundation? Read about it here and get involved at shredfoundation.org. 

Thank you to Johnny, SHRED Foundation and the folks at Windham Mountain Resort for putting on the event.