Adam Merriman from “The Gift” (1996)

On Tuesday September 13th 2022 tragedy befell Adam Merriman, a snowboarding pioneer, an innovator and a patriarch of the Colorado snowboarding scene. A friend to many and inspiration to many more, Merriman was a genuine man who melded wit and charm with a charge it attitude that was infectious and hugely influential.

Adam Merriman entered the greater snowboarding psyche at the cusp of the 90’s as a hyper contorting, tweaking phenom in a Quimbola Man Kit atop a Kemper Freestyle. While other aspiring riders followed the conventional contest path Adam excelled in front of the camera being featured on the cover of Snowboarder Magazine’s Photo Annual in December of 1990 and later landing on the cover of Blunt in 1994. As his native Colorado scene shifted away from the day-glo garb to more grungy attire Adam gravitated towards Twist and K2 and became a card-carrying member of the New School Summit County jib scene. As the rest of the skatestyle vanguard was changing the game one stairset at a time on the streets of Breck, Merriman took the more organic approach pioneering log rides and stump bonks at Copper and Vail. With his peers sporting “Powder Sucks” t-shirts Adam flew the flag for freeriding in the Rockies. His coverage in films like Kingpin’s Sexual Chocolate complete with rainbow rides and cat track gaps cemented Merriman as a style maven. At the same time Adam’s impact behind the scenes led K2 to step up for big footed boarder’s everywhere by collaborating with him on the game changing “Fat Bob” model. As Merriman moved away from the snowboarding spotlight he remained a fixture in the scene, always shredding and bringing an informed first-person perspective to events like the US Open, X Games and Vail Session as a revered competition judge.

Adam Merriman’s impact on snowboarding is immeasurable and the loss on his friends and family is inconceivable.

A memorial is taking place on October 1st, 2022 at the @coloradosnowsportsmuseum in Vail Colorado at 4pm. Visit the Slush website for more tributes, images and memories celebrating the life and legacy of Adam Merriman.

Video Via – Justin Hostynek