Vail Snowboarding Legend Adam Merriman Leaves an Epic Legacy

A Celebration of Adam's Life is Saturday, October 1, 2022

The snowboard world recently lost a legend when Adam Merriman tragically died in an accident in Vail.

Growing up in Boulder’s influential snowboard culture, Adam was a teenage phenom with talent well beyond his years, as one of the youngest sponsored riders for brands like Kemper, Quimbola Man and Wave Rave.

I’m from Boulder, and still live here. As Adam was growing up in Boulder before moving to Vail in the 90s, we were friends since those early days, and then I was able to sponsor him with my first apparel brand, Twist. Adam’s grandfather was actually my school bus driver in elementary school.

In the early 90s, Adam continued to progress at the highest level, helping to usher in the skate-driven new school movement, where innovative riding on natural terrain, with style, counted more than podium finishes.

 

He was one of the first riders sponsored by Twist Clothing, and went on to create his own pro-model snowboards on K2, where he created the first snowboard created specifically for riders with big feet, the Fat Bob signature model.

Adam was also a fixture in snowboard media, featured in countless videos and magazines, bringing Adam’s smooth style and innovative terrain progression to the global snowboard community, exposing an entire generation of riders to what is possible on snow, on logs and in the air.

After exploring terrain in Summit County, Adam moved to Vail, becoming an original Team Vail rider together with top riders Barrett Christy, Todd Richards, Joe Curtes and Megan Pischke. After a long pro career, Adam became a well-respected judge at the highest-profile events like X-Games, and the US Open.

More importantly, Adam was a loving husband to Jamie, a father to Aaron and friend to all of us who truly loved him. We will miss him every day …

 

A celebration of life will be held at the Colorado Snowsports Museum in Vail on Saturday, October 1, 2022, from 4 to 6 p.m., continuing at Vendetta’s late into the night, just as Adam would want.

Donations to help support Adam’s family through this difficult time can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/f/jamie-and-aaron-merriman.