Proving that women’s gnar gauge can be just as shock-proof as men’s, this Mary Rand snowboard edit is today’s Friday Flick—in honour of International Women’s Day tomorrow.
Mary Rand’s journey to pro snowboarding reads like a backcountry odyssey, shaped by an unshakable love for the mountains. Hailing from the powder-challenged hills of Rhode Island, she cut her teeth on the slopes of Yawgoo Valley—the state’s lone snow resort. There, she and her ragtag crew (the Yawgoons) transformed limited terrain into a test range, pushing the boundaries of freestyle with ingenuity and style.
Their raw, daring edits rippled through the grassroots snowboard scene, and soon, Mary’s effortless flow and originality landed her squarely in the spotlight. Media accolades followed; she was destined for burlier lines and bottomless snow.
Born in Narragansett, a coastal town where waves and concrete were as much a part of life as snow, Mary grew up amid an intersection of surf, skate and snowboard culture. At just two years old she was on skis; by three, she had found her way onto a snowboard. Winters were spent carving turns with her family at Loon Mountain, New Hampshire, where their mouse-ridden ski cabin served as the launch pad for her new obsession.
With parents who worked at Loon Mountain to keep the family on snow, Mary was clearly immersed in the lifestyle from the start. By 14, she was stacking podiums in rail jams and USASA contests, and every cent she earned went toward a single goal: more riding. Without the benefit of a snowboard academy, she and her father carved out a homespun version—crafting a senior year around maximizing time on snow.
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That same tenacity and resourcefulness carried her westward. A seasonal job coaching at Mt. Hood planted the seed, and by 2016, she called the Pacific Northwest home. The snowbound peaks of Stevens Pass became her new playground, where she traded urban rails for remote lines and refined her understanding of big-mountain terrain.
After four years of gaining chops in the Cascades, Mary focused even higher, relocating to Glacier, Washington—on the doorstep of Mt. Baker, a storied proving ground for riders questing for the untracked heart of winter.
Now, with a foundation built on creativity and a profound respect for the mountains, Mary Rand continues to push her riding into unmapped terrain, embracing the challenges one turn at a time.
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