Started by two friends.
Who really love splitboarding.

“Hey, I was thinking of having a splitfest, want to make it happen in like… two weeks?”

The answer was yes, of course.

Reid Pitman and Erica Kutz became fast friends when they started touring together in the Mt. Rainier/Crystal backcountry somewhere around 2015.

Reid, originally from almost-Canada (Aka Bellingham) had been working at the Alpine Inn as a chef for the last decade+, whipping up amazing menu items, and passionately reviewing the latest/greatest gear in the Cascades. He discovered his love for snowboarding and exploring the BC at Crystal Mountain. Reid is now pursuing a career in guiding.

Erica (Now in Bellingham, WA) has been working in the outdoor industry since 2013, and loves getting after it to balance their time pixel-pushing on a computer screen. Yeilding from the greater Seattle area, Erica grew up skiing and discovered snowboarding at 13. She got into splitboarding through a trip up to the summit of Baker in 2015- and has been hooked since. 

When the two shared their first winter at CM in 2019- they decided to start Cascadia Splitfest- which somehow came together on an insanely tight timeline. The event was inspired by splitfests around the world (Baker, Revelstoke, Front Range, Temple Basin, etc.) Still a volunteer effort, Erica starts planning, coordinating and marketing a few more months in advance.

When Erica moved back to Washington in 2018 from a year of traveling and living out of a van in New Zealand, she really began to miss a sense of mountain community.

Reid had an idea that Kyle Miller planted, and wanted to bring to life. They saw that with the growing interest in the sport, backcountry travel, and need for mountain safety/education, there was a demand for a backcountry-focused festival in the Mt. Rainier area. Reids industry connections and Erica’s background in branding, design and marketing combined, Cascadia Splitfest was born.

Now, Splitfest is not confined to the Crystal Mountain area. Splitfest has expanded to include the Snoqualmie Pass area. Splitfest hosts a variety of top brands, small independent businesses, sponsors, and clinics. Splitfest is an inclusive event focused on backcountry education and community-building. All are welcome.

Thousands of hours are donated to coordinating and executing the event each season. All proceeds from the raffle go to our forecasting friends at Northwest Avalanche Center, a non-profit working hard to keep us informed on backcountry conditions and save lives.