The video was shot at Powder Mountain, which certainly earns its name, out in Northern Utah. Makes me want to try out my patented “fall awkwardly down the mountain” ski technique again. [Vimeo]

It consists of a 30 metre main landing ramp, with a takeoff point that’s 2.1 to 2.7m below that–so if you get off on a bad foot, or whatever it is in snowboarding lingo, you could very well get a face full of ramp.

Snow wise, the ramp will use three different types (four, if the weather keeps doing Thursday night what it’s doing right now): snow machine output, shaved ice and, my favourite–snow made from liquid nitrogen. It looks like a pretty good time, and it’s all going down on Thursday night–I’m not as big a snow bunny as Brian Lam (West Coasters make sure you check out the Snowmodo 2009 details!), but I’m going to try to be there to see it up close. [Red Bull Snowscrapers]

Dubbed the “Lamborghini of snowboards” by Cheetah, this $US1,900 board is heavy on the hype until we can get resident rider and Editorial Director Brian Lam to test it out (*cough* winter reader meet-up *cough*).

If Cheetah is to be believed, the F-117 will do everything short of take off and do an Immelman Turn, thanks to a huge honkin’ hole that runs down the centre of the board. Says Cheetah, “the main purpose of the opening is to reduce the amount of surface which comes in contact with snow. Smaller surface means less drag, which translates into more gliding speed.”

Then there are the supports, which would no doubt do Christopher Nolan proud with their nod to Batman’s Tumbler. However, unlike the Tumbler, one thing this board cannot conquer is heavy powder, which the makers say one should avoid if you want to buy. A heli-skiing and boarding piece of gear this is certainly not.

The board is limited edition and available for preorder now. Shipping is expected to begin sometime this month [Cheetah Ultra Sports via Engadget]

[Blam: Not sure I buy this design. "Less surface area for more glide" is a principle that doesn't make sense for me on all conditions. I bet that thing will do alright on a groomer but will sink on powder. I like the fact that weight is placed directly on edges, for focused turning power, but depending on the rest of the geometry this board could be very twitchy. And while some makers are focusing on reducing the distance between a boarder's boots and the ground, this design clearly raises you. It might have the same type of instability you'd get from stilts, albeit to a lesser degree. Regardless, a lower centre of gravity is your friend in this sport! But I'd have to test it to find out more.]

The binding borrows the chair’s breathable webbing and strong Y support core, creating a lightweight and flexible structure that will run interested snowboarders $US390. It’s incredibly interesting to see the unique design principles of one product make their way into another product, even if it’s obvious (in retrospect) that such ideas would easily scale for universal application.

But everyone be nice to Burton and be sure not to mention that the Aeron’s successor was already announced…and it uses a completely new “H” back support. I guess that’s what Burton’s 2010 line is for. [Fast Company via Core77]

At this point, the 360 is still a concept, but it did manage to win Volvo’s 2007 award for SportDesign, so there is a strong possibility we might see this board on store shelves sometime in the near future. Until then, you can check out a few videos of what the board is capable of on the project page–just be warned: it is very, extreme…ly loud and obnoxious. [Zerofra via DVICE]