How do I get some stickers?

You've got a couple options. You can place an order for a sticker pack here for $10. Or, send us a self-addressed stamped envelope to WNDR Alpine 860 S 500 W SLC, UT 84101 and we'll take care of the rest. Additional cash toward the bevy fund and/or any random trinkets are bonus and will receive additional love.

I just ordered my dream skis/snowboard! How long until you ship? 

We typically send out skis and snowboards within 1-2 business days of ordering. If you're pre-ordering a new product during the fall, please check the product page for the estimated shipping date. Please note that if you've ordered ski bindings or touring skins, or if you've ordered during our busy season (October through December), shipping times may be longer due to high demand and extra preparation time.

How do I start a ski/snowboard return or an exchange?

If you need to initiate a return for reasons such as warranty claims, sizing issues, or exercising our Love It or Return It policy, please start by filling out our return portal here. After submitting the form, we will email you within 1 business day with instructions on the next steps.

How do I return items other than a ski/snowboard?

If you want to return or exchange items like apparel or accessories (not skis or boards), please begin by filling out our return portal here. After you submit the form, we will email you within 1 business day with instructions for the next steps.

Can you provide more information on your end of life Take Back Program?

For those of you with WNDR skis or snowboards that have reached the end of their usable life, we are offering our Take Back Program.  Obviously, in an ideal world, our skis and boards have held up for multiple seasons and you’ve got 300+ days on them. You take pride in keeping a regular and dialed tune on them and repair any core shot or burred edge with precision and diligence.  The greenest product you can ride is the one you already own, and we are all about that. 

But, if and when you do choose to get rid of your old skis/boards, we’d much rather you send them back to us, as opposed to having them uselessly sit in the back of the garage, or worse, end up in the landfill. Long term, we would love to create a closed loop process that diverts ski material from the landfill by reusing and recycling materials into new ski and snowboard builds, or simply using old materials for industrial applications. Used products  empower us to begin this process. 

We understand that skis and boards are meant to be ripped hard, and sometimes they are put beyond their capacity, and no longer have any life left.  Either you blow out an edge or bust the core smacking a rock or that hidden tree stump.  Or, you’re just ready for an upgrade to the quiver.  Whether they are still rideable or not, ideally our goal is to keep these from ending up in the trash can. 

If you’re ready to retire your skis/boards, we’re offering a 20% discount off a new pair once the skis/boards are returned.  Once we receive them back, we will review the ski and figure out what the best course of action is.  If they are just in need of a fresh tune, we would most likely get them fixed up and cycle them back through our HQ demo fleet, up on our site in the Archive section for resale, pass along to one of our local consignment partners to help find a new home, or even donate the skis/snowboards to a local charitable organization.  If the skis or snowboards are beyond the point of a quick fix/tune, we will set them aside to be broken down by our in-house granulator and reserve the material for incorporation as new components in future skis/snowboards, and or other products inside or outside the ski space. 

To begin the process, just reach out to us via phone at 801.415.1815 or via email at hello@wndr-alpine.com.  

Where can I demo your skis and snowboards?

We offer several options to help you experience your dream ride:

1. Visit The Nest, our Salt Lake City headquarters. We’re equipped with most sizes and profiles of skis and boards, downhill bindings, touring bindings, as well as skins and poles to complete your experience. For every dollar spent testing our demos, we’ll equip you with a gift card to apply to your new pair when you’re ready to pull the trigger.

2. Look out for our winter travel schedule, where we bring our products to a mountain near you. Stay tuned for tour dates and locations once the snow starts falling.

3. You can also visit our retailers worldwide, where you might find a demo fleet closer to you. Check our Dealer Locator for a complete listing of shops carrying WNDR Alpine products and offering demos.

I love what you’re doing.  How can I represent the brand?

If you’re an avid skier or rider and align with our mission, we’d love to hear from you.  Please fill out our Ride with Us form located here or at the bottom of our site. We’ll get back to you within with 48 hours with a reply.

Why the snowy owl? 

Inspired by sightings on ski tours deep into the backcountry of Interior BC, the snowy owl symbolizes the magic and awe of the alpine experience. Fast and agile, yet powerful, we think it’s a fitting metaphor for the products we create. Learn More.

Did Matt Sterbenz join Checkerspot having skis in mind?

I joined Checkerspot with the title GM of Winter Sports so I would remain engaged in my life long love affair with skiing in some way. Of course, the first few months were very exploratory. I focused on setting up a "Design Lab" in SLC where we would have the resources to animate the physicality, as everything back in Berkeley is molecular research and testing materials at a super small scale. Once we got a spot, we started to identify a team of local suppliers with experience casting polyurethanes, as well as engineers. A lot of those relationships carried over but some are completely new.

By December, 2018, we wanted to begin laminating and then on-snow testing to follow after the holidays. By February, I was already on version 5, enjoying our "prototype" so much that I became convinced that after a few more tweaks we should just make our own skis. So we decided to build a brand to drive the technology and story forward, as the lack of proof in design of our technology wasn't very conducive to setting up partnerships. Along the way we've identified several polyurethane applications in skis and snowboards that our molecule will improve the performance characteristics of what is currently used. This approach to ski building is providing us the physical vehicle we need to show and prove our technology and fuel the innovation of new materials for specific applications. We can dissect what’s existing and reimagine the origin of how petroleum-based materials perform and, for me, that’s at the heart of why I decided to join Checkerspot, and start WNDR Alpine. - Matt Sterbenz - WNDR Alpine Founder & GM

Why should I buy WNDR over a well established brand?

As to why support WNDR versus any other established brand, just look down and see that the materials haven’t changed that make up your skis/snowboard. Those same brands use the same materials as all the others, just in a different configuration, shape and color. In some cases, they even feel the same. We’ve taken on the challenge to reinvent what these world class skis and snowboards are made of. That being said, WNDR is more than a product, it’s given birth to a community of advocates who are seeking change across a variety of technological and environmental interests, all seeking to play a role in reducing our impact on the tracks we create and leave behind. 

First and foremost, our goal is to use biotechnology to introduce new, better materials, from a non-petroleum source. While we never claimed that we’re the most sustainable right out of the gate (again, above all we’re performance-driven), we’ve made it a goal to use this technology to increase the amount of bio-based plastics and composites in a ski and snowboard, and in doing so, reduce our reliance on petroleum products in building. We view this project as a continuum, and we’re just getting started.

We invite you along to experience this journey into the world of new materials for outdoor gear - it's sure to be an interesting one. Or, if you're in the SLC area, come by our design lab and check out what we're working on in person!

What’s different about WNDR Alpine’s materials? 

The outdoor industry has long been restricted to materials that aren’t purpose-built for use in technical outdoor gear. And the vast majority of them come from environmentally harmful resources.  Using the power of biotechnology, we’re unlocking new materials with improved performance characteristics. Using Checkerspot’s unique biotechnology platform, we’re building better materials, with better performance properties for specific use in alpine products. The icing on the cake: we derive these materials from microalgae - a renewable, biological resource.

Why are microalgae so special?

Microalgae are one of the oldest forms of life on Earth, having existed for literally billions of years. In fact, all higher plants evolved from microalgae.  Over these billions of years, some microalgae developed the ability to produce large amounts of oil. We can use this pristine oil to create a wide range of new materials - using biology, polymer chemistry, and materials science along the way to reach novel performance characteristics.  Microalgal oils also have an extremely low impact in terms of land and water use, and carbon footprint, as we can produce large amounts of it with very few inputs.

How do you grow your microalgae? 

We grow them by feeding them sugar in stainless steel fermentation tanks. Picture your local microbrewery, but with more scientists :)

What does the algae have to do with the ski/snowboard's performance? 

We're creating our products because of the new performance characteristics that our technology can unlock. In the case of the ski and snowboard core, we developed a bio-based material to improve bulk strength to weight, torsional rigidity and dampness characteristics. These materials, aside from targeting our desired performance characteristics, are derived from a renewable resource - in this case, microalgae. Granted, the most sustainable ski/snowboard possible would be a hand-carved single plank of wood. But for those of us that want cutting edge performance from modern materials, microalgae offers something quite revolutionary:  The ability to gradually reduce our reliance on petroleum products, and improve ski and snowboard performance while we do it.