One of the most exciting and captivating personalities in snowboarding, Mary Rand has evolved from East Coast rails to Pacific Northwest backcountry cliffs. A winner of Transworld Snowboarding’s coveted “Rookie of the Year “and “Reader’s Choice” awards, Mary can trace her success back to the 310-foot tall Yawgoo Valley, the lone ski resort in her powder starved home state of Rhode Island. Mary, her older brother and friends formed the Yawgoons, a crew that perfected the art of working with what you’ve got. Their creative and entertaining snowboarding video edits worked their way up from the underground snowboard scene to the mainstream media, and Mary was spotted for her innovation and style. Growing up in the coastal town of Narragansett, surfing and skateboarding have always influenced her snowboarding, just as they do today.
When she was two years old, Mary started playing on wooden skis, and by age 3, she was on snow. Five years later, she was snowboarding alongside her parents and brother, spending weekends and school breaks at Loon Mountain, New Hampshire where her family had a modest, mouse-ridden ski cabin. Her parents worked at the resort to provide season passes for the family. Mary joined the recreational snowboard team when she was 14 and started winning rail jams and USASA contests. She worked to save enough money to go to High Cascade summer snowboard camp on Mt. Hood. Attending an expensive snowboard academy wasn’t an option, but Mary and her father fashioned a DIY version from their cabin at Loon so Mary could spend her senior year snowboarding as much as possible. Three years later, after experiencing the Pacific Northwest as a summer snowboard coach on Mt. Hood, she moved to Washington (but continued spending winters on the East Coast filming street segments). In 2016, Mary spent her first winter at Washington’s Steven’s Pass, quickly gaining backcountry skills and experience in big-mountain terrain and unlocking a promising new path for her snowboard career. After four years based at Steven’s, the 27-year-old recently migrated north to Glacier, the closest town to Mt. Baker.
Accomplishments:
- 2013 First street video part
- 2014 Second street video part
- 2015 TWS Rider’s Poll “Rookie of the Year”
- 2015 Full street video part in Rendered Useless
- 2016 TWS Rider’s Poll “Reader’s Choice”, “Video Part of The Year” / “Rider of The Year” nominations
- 2018 Full backcountry part in Vans ‘Listen to the Eyes’