Born and raised in Portland, Maine, Maxwell was always wanting to be outside and looking for adventures especially in Winter. 

It's no surprise that in 1986, as a young teenager, he found snowboarding. The small hills of Maine were perfect for learning this new activity. His learning curve happened quickly. Through self-teaching, he learned to link his first turns one afternoon and was catching air by the first week.

Always looking for the bigger hill and longer ride, a small group of friends requested and gained access to surface lifts at the home ski hill, Pleasant Mountain. Throughout high school, the weekends were filled with snowboarding nonstop. Before long, he was entering local race contests hosted by the famous Sunny Breeze snowboard shop.

Quickly gaining mountaineering experience, skills and avalanche education, Maxwell positioned himself at the forefront of splitboarding. He was the first snowboarder to complete all Avalanche Level I, II and III training with American Avalanche Institute. He founded the first snowboarder-focused avalanche program in North America. He has been featured in various publications from National Geographic to Transworld Snowboarding.

In 1993, Maxwell moved to Utah. Upon first sight, the mountains in the West were awe-inspiring, like nothing he had ever seen. One fateful encounter put Maxwell on his path to splitboarding. He met Brett "Cowboy" Kobernik on New Year's Eve 1995. Brett suggested Maxwell go down to Voile and inquire about this new backcountry snowboard system they were calling the "splitboard" DIY kit.

The years that followed, Maxwell found his true calling. After each winter in Utah, he traveled to the Pacific Northwest to continue his pursuit of the endless splitboard winter. Washington, Oregon and Alaska became annual

Most recently, from 2018-2022, Maxwell helped build the Cardiff Snowcraft brand as a core team member. Over the past 5 years, he held the position of Director of Education, Events and Outreach. He created instruction and learning programs: teaching backcountry essentials, splitboard skills and splitboard 101 courses with the Utah Avalanche Center.
Currently Maxwell is owner of Utah Adventures Unlimited featuring experiential education and adventures, such as The Winter School in Utah. He is a ASA certified sailor, AAI Pro 2 certified, N.O.L.S. WFR certified, travels the globe as a splitboard athlete/ambassador and ticks off his ongoing list of the 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America.

Accomplishments

• 30 years of Splitboarding since 1995 to 2025
• Splitboarded the Pacific Ring of Fire '95 to '98, Washington, Oregon and California - solo, many first descents on Mt. Adams NW Face, Mt. Rainier Kautz Glacier to Camp Hazard and Mt. Baker, Coleman & Deming Glacier
• First Splitboarder to descend Mt. Washington Tuckerman's Ravine
• Many first splitboard descents in the Wasatch Range