10 Jews, 1 Snowboard
By Danielle Grant, Local News 8 Reporter
10 men, one snowboard and together their mission is to conquer the impossible and to set a world record all while worshipping God in the great outdoors.
On Wednesday, a group of guys who call themselves "10 Jews, One snowboard" attempted to ride down the slopes at Jackson Hole Ski Resort all attached together.
Their goal is to celebrate their faith and set a Guinness Book of World Records.
"10 Jews. One piece of wood. We're going to change the world," said Andreas Thyssen, one of the ten trying to set the record.
And so, the mission begins.
The fearless faces of ten men get ready to embark on this daring feat, mentally preparing as they slide in line to head up the hill.
"This has the potential for disaster. Obviously, we've never done this before," said Joshua Beck, an orthopedic surgeon on the snowboard.
"The old saying is 2 Jews, 3 opinions. Imagine how many you'd have with 10 so it's quite difficult to get 10 Jews to agree on anything," said Eric Sweet who invented the 10-man snowboard.
As they connect the board for its maiden voyage, they prepare to set the record for the world's longest snowboard, ridden by the most amount of people.
"36 feet, 4 inches. We need one more witness. 36 feet 4 inches."
To make this happen, they had to customize 10 different boards, drill holes in the nose and tail and snap some brackets on to keep them all together.
They call it the Minyan board because in Hebrew that word traditionally means when 10 Jews get together to pray.
Now, they're doing it in the middle of Mother Nature.
"We are 10 Jews celebrating not necessarily inside a synagogue but celebrating God and celebrating the beauty of this area as Jews together on the minion board," said Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn, who was worshipping in the snow.
"Time check: 10:01, GPS: Marked."
As they strap their feet in, the crew cheers Hebrew songs and shuffles down the hill.
"Forward, come on let's go," Sweet called out to the guys.
After a couple trips back up to the top, they carve together seamlessly through the white powder.
"It was my wildest imagination coming to fruition," Sweet explained.
But with that many men, they seemed destined for at least one crash and burn.
10 Jews, one snowboard, mission accomplished.
Last year they invented the three-man snowboard specifically to help disabled people ride down the mountain.
This year the board got bigger.
They say in the future they hope to create an 18-man snowboard.
10 men, one snowboard and together their mission is to conquer the impossible and to set a world record all while worshipping God in the great outdoors.
On Wednesday, a group of guys who call themselves "10 Jews, One snowboard" attempted to ride down the slopes at Jackson Hole Ski Resort all attached together.
Their goal is to celebrate their faith and set a Guinness Book of World Records.
"10 Jews. One piece of wood. We're going to change the world," said Andreas Thyssen, one of the ten trying to set the record.
And so, the mission begins.
The fearless faces of ten men get ready to embark on this daring feat, mentally preparing as they slide in line to head up the hill.
"This has the potential for disaster. Obviously, we've never done this before," said Joshua Beck, an orthopedic surgeon on the snowboard.
"The old saying is 2 Jews, 3 opinions. Imagine how many you'd have with 10 so it's quite difficult to get 10 Jews to agree on anything," said Eric Sweet who invented the 10-man snowboard.
As they connect the board for its maiden voyage, they prepare to set the record for the world's longest snowboard, ridden by the most amount of people.
"36 feet, 4 inches. We need one more witness. 36 feet 4 inches."
To make this happen, they had to customize 10 different boards, drill holes in the nose and tail and snap some brackets on to keep them all together.
They call it the Minyan board because in Hebrew that word traditionally means when 10 Jews get together to pray.
Now, they're doing it in the middle of Mother Nature.
"We are 10 Jews celebrating not necessarily inside a synagogue but celebrating God and celebrating the beauty of this area as Jews together on the minion board," said Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn, who was worshipping in the snow.
"Time check: 10:01, GPS: Marked."
As they strap their feet in, the crew cheers Hebrew songs and shuffles down the hill.
"Forward, come on let's go," Sweet called out to the guys.
After a couple trips back up to the top, they carve together seamlessly through the white powder.
"It was my wildest imagination coming to fruition," Sweet explained.
But with that many men, they seemed destined for at least one crash and burn.
10 Jews, one snowboard, mission accomplished.
Last year they invented the three-man snowboard specifically to help disabled people ride down the mountain.
This year the board got bigger.
They say in the future they hope to create an 18-man snowboard.