Industry News
The ski industry was shocked to hear that Eric Pollard and LINE skis have finally cut ties after over 20 years of designing skis and riding the world together from Oregon to Japan. Pollard has been every bit of the ski legend, switch-skier extraordinaire as well as the face of the company over the last 20 years. Pollard not only rode for LINE but he is also responsible for designing cutting-edge skis. Pollard issued a statement on or about October 19th, 2020 on Instagram indicating that he and the skis brand he was so closely associated with for two decades were going their separate ways:
Pollard has been instrumental in developing cutting-edge ski design for LINE while really being a pioneer of switch-skiing and deep-powder style. If you have been watching him shred for the last two decades you’ve seen him float and butter like no other. He’s been able to ski switch off pillows and cliffs or show-off his surfy turns in the backcountry with his dog or his kids.
However, Pollard is not done yet. Along with pro snowboarder Austin Smith, Pollard has created Season: the ski and board company where the two winter sports are seen as equal and where the equipment never expires and service is included to extend the life of a snowboard or pair of skis.
Season has created a unique service partnership with the online sales giant Evo. Season snowboards and skis will include unlimited complimentary waxes and a free tune each fall. Pollard described the company him and Smith have put together since they have both been in the ski/snowboard design world for the last two decades:
“My goal is to create a concise offering of versatile shapes that transcend categories. By doing this, we can offer our customers better quality products and make their purchase decision easier. We are launching with three ski and three snowboard modes, and they are the result of a lifelong exploration into shape, width, length, sidecut, flex, camber, and material selection.”
His ski designs with LINE ranged from 87 underfoot to 130 underfoot during the fat ski heyday. In more recent years he has created a more surf-style ski that has early rise and camber as well as a fish-tail design that is ideal powder flotation that is like nothing else on the market. The Sakana, Sir Francis Bacon, and the Pescado have piqued the interests of skiers the world over and if you can make it look 25% as good as Pollard, you are doing something right.
Well-known people from the ski and snowboarding scene expressed their sentiments about Pollard’s departure as well as his importance to the industry. Without a doubt, Eric Pollard has turned the ski game on its head and shown everyone what really can be done while shredding the deepest of powder on the fattest of fat skis. He will no doubt be sorely missed at LINE. However, I for one, have no doubt he will be back to show us something new and iconic: as he has already done with Season.
