On the third day of Snowboy Production’s inaugural event, The Orange Grove, 20 soggy snowboarders huddled around a makeshift propane fireplace beneath a sagging canopy tent in Kingvale, CA. Above them, a fresh, transition-friendly rail garden. The lineup for the rope tow servicing the private park was nonexistent. An extreme rainfall advisory persisted to blanket the Northern Sierra Nevada, as it had the two days prior. Snowboy Productions’ Head Honcho Krush Kulesza quickly stepped up to address the hesitant crowd.

Riders and media alike huddle under a canopy tent at Kingvale, CA during Snowboy Productions’ newest legacy event, The Orange Grove. Photo: Stephan Jende

“In my time running snowboard events, I’ve never seen it rain this hard for three days straight,” he explained. “Just picture yourself, in five years from now, when this becomes a legacy event, you’ll be able to brag about how you were here. This is what stories are made of, right?”

Whether Krush meant to deliver snowboarding’s pregame speech of the year remains unclear, but it definitely got the people moving. No one had envisioned monsoon-like conditions when they flocked to the Golden State for an event inspired by tropical groves. But, naturally, snowboarders have a way of making the best of any situation.

Consistently, over the course of the event’s three days, once the session began, it was hard to stop. Lines unlocked and the dreary days turned into last-call affairs.

Ben “Turbo” Longley showing off his new prototype, waterproof (maybe) face mask while locking into a backside lipslide during Snowboy Productions’ The Orange Grove at Kingvale, CA. Photo: Stephan Jende

The Orange Grove showcased a timeless Snowboy Productions park build focused on flow, aesthetics, creativity, and the DIY ethos fostered at Kingvale. The upper section of the park was lined with a series of setup jibs—down-bar to bell, down-flat-down, mini down-tube, and an array of hips and volcanoes—all designed to setup riders for the larger, tighter sections ahead.

On any run, you could spot Jed Sky throwing a back one over the barrel gap, Michelle Schlanger board sliding through every kink, Christopher Andujar-Sanchez grabbing roast beef on his front blunts, or Tony Wagner twisting up a cat-like front board pretzel.

Salt Lake City local Jed Sky came out to Kingvale, CA for Snowboy Productions’ first iteration of The Orange Grove. Here he is hand dragging some metal and reminding us that he can ride more than just rocks. Photos: Stephan Jende

Now, with its first year in the books, Krush is confident that The Orange Grove will become the West Coast Snowboy event of the season. “If this event can work in this weather, then it’s going to fucking work next year—and the next,” he added. “I’m really excited to watch this one grow.”

Michelle Schlanger boardsliding through the upper down-flat-down with ease at Kingvale, CA. Photo: Stephan Jende

Thank you to Krush Kulesza and Snowboy Productions for your hard work in bringing together The Orange Grove. Shout outs to the fine folks at Kingvale, as well as the riders, photographers, videographers, brands and anybody else who helped make the first year of The Orange Grove a memorable experience.

That of course includes you, Mother Nature.

See more content from Snowboy Productions events here.

Read about the history of Snowboy Productions in “Twenty Years of Snowboy Productions” here.