Ryland Bell
APD Team Rider & Professional Snowboarder
Growing up in a family of commercial fisherman surrounded by the beauty of the mountains and ocean, has permanently shaped Ryland Bell’s lifestyle and outlook. Today the 25-year-old freerides out of Squaw Valley, CA in the winter, returning to Alaska to ride the big mountains of the Inside Passage and fish its waterways during summers. “Growing up in Alaska taught me to love snow, play hard outdoors, be safe in the wilderness, and to work hard,” explains Bell. “These principals also steer my snowboarding.”
Winter traditionally starts for Bell in Juneau & Haines on the first of October and wraps up in the fjords of Southeast Alaska in June. He clocks in well over 100 days a year on snow. While some riders spend summers sunning in the tropics, Bell heads back to the Alaskan village of Elfin Cove, where he captains his own boat. Repeated 20-hour days, hauling, cleaning, and icing salmon and halibut is grueling work. But, the reward for Bell is looking up from the grind to catch humpbacks swimming by, or watching the Peregrine falcons dive, and the orcas breach. Downtime consists of wake boarding or surfing, exploring wild coastlines, or throwing disc in old growth spruce & hemlock stands with his friends & family.
JONES | O’Neill | PORTERS TAHOE | dedicatebrand.com | AURORA PROJEKT | PATAGONIA
Bell has captured a few second place finishes at The North Face Masters, and was included in the Freeride World Tour held in Squaw Valley, Kirkwood, and Europe. His riding is characterized by smooth, clean turns at high speed with tricks interlaced. Look for Ryland in Teton Gravity Research films “Deeper” & “Further” as well as Sweetgrass Productions “Solitaire” and in big mountain competitions around the globe.
Sweetgrass Productions: SOLITAIRE
907.364.2333 | JUNEAU, AK
Showing Nov. 18th | JACC
