2009 Snowboard, Ski and Snow Play Thread

[Brad Felmey]

I'd love to participate in this, but we haven't actually seemed to have a winter so far this year.

It was 88F today.

[PharmerKyle]

[Radioman]

[Noggin]

Fighting our way through the crowds at Heavenly, 02-10-09

[Askel]

So we have this neat little ski hill near me- Mt. Bohemia http://mtbohemia.com/.

Pretty challenging by midwest standards, but it's beset by a management that's a bit, well.... odd.

They do two big marketing pushes every year- one is a one day, $100 pass sale. The other is today- "Mardi Gras Madness" an event that implies there will be hundreds of topless women running about the hill groveling for beads.

Even if more than five women who don't already have season passes show up, the -20 to -10 windchills today will probably put a damper on the festivities.

Nonetheless, I'll soldier on for the common good....

"SHOW US YOUR BASE LAYER!!!!1!"

[YakSpout]

I'm amazed...

Way back when I started snowboarding I hated Jake Burton. I don't know why, but he seemed the antithesis to the skate punk thing I was coming from as I got into boarding in Southern California. I avoided Burton boards, jackets, pants, boots, binding, etc. for no reasons other than they were the biggest name and they were expensive.

I ended up picking up a Burton board used from a friend-of-a-friend at some point and I abused it horribly as my 'rock board' on days with crappy coverage until I gave it away a few seasons to some stoned mover that helped us schlep our crap from one side of town to the other. The tail was too soft, the shape was no good for carving and it was a little too short for me.

Four seasons ago, I bought some new boots to replace my aging Airwalks. The most comfortable pair I found were Burtons. Dammit! Of course, they didn't fit my Preston bindings properly (I have big feet), so I had to buy Burton bindings. Double-damn! But the combination was comfortable and they worked well. A shop at a local resort even replaced a strap when I snapped one, no questions asked when I told them it was for a Burton binding.

Three seasons ago, I was looking for some new pants. Bought a pair of Burtons. Two seasons ago, a jacket. Burton again. WTF?!? Now that I had the cash to afford the gear and I'd torn the hell out of most of the lesser brands, Jake and I seemed to be best friends. I even put a pair of P1.1 bindings on my new Donek powder board.

Well, my new-found faith in all things Burton was rewarded today. I found a broken spring on the toe strap on one of my older bindings and it made it difficult to lock the strap in place. I sent them an email to their generic info account and got a response asking me to call Rider Services at an 800 number. 5 minutes on hold and one two-minute conversation later and they're sending me a new strap for free for a binding that's 3 years out of warranty. Now THAT's service! Thanks, Jake. Your company rocks.

[Askel]

I have no brand loyalty anymore. It's impossible to keep track of who's been sold to who, who outsourced what, and what's just been rebranded.

Well, except underwear. I always buy my tighty whities from JC Penny.

[YakSpout]

Originally Posted by Askel

I have no brand loyalty anymore. It's impossible to keep track of who's been sold to who, who outsourced what, and what's just been rebranded.

Well, except underwear. I always buy my tighty whities from JC Penny.

I wouldn't say that I'm loyal to Burton, but I found that when I was shopping for gear, they consistently had the quality, function and the appearance that I wanted. Unlike a bunch of the brands that try desperately to follow the trends, they keep a few jacket and pants lines that aren't day-glo pink or purple arctic camo for those of us in our mid-30s.

And it's still a privately-held company, surprisingly enough.

Bought my last stick from a small one-man shop in Colorado who still handcrafts his boards. Doesn't happen much anymore with the bigger brands.

[LEDSLED]

[Stinez]

I'm off to Northstar Wed. & Thurs and FWIW Every Thursday this Month is a $49 lift ticket day. (Web purchase on their site.)



PS this may be spam (I have no connection beyond being cheap) but...these guys have the shit and the prices.

[Hannda]

Originally Posted by Stinez

PS this may be spam (I have no connection beyond being cheap) but...these guys have the shit and the prices.

Thanks.
The missus is looking for a new Burton Custom but we suffered from sticker shock. Some nice deals there.

[rokklym]

Well I don't have much for snow play photos this year, been trying to avoid it and keeping my mind and money on the upcoming riding season. I've almost pulled the trigger on a cross country ski package many times, but I really don't need another hobby. I have three snowboards and I've only went out twice, and that was to a little back hill to teach the girlfriend how to snowboard.

We did photograph the local ski jumping tournament though.











Its good to see a strong youth culture in the Nordic sports. We had a youth tournament and I was really surprised at the turnout.




Now I have my girlfriend hooked on snowboarding so I'm sure next year we'll be doing more of it.

[Lornce]

[Skibum]

Skied Kirkwood and Sierra at Tahoe last week. My first time skiing either. Fun area's

[Askel]

Originally Posted by rokklym

I've almost pulled the trigger on a cross country ski package many times, but I really don't need another hobby. I have three snowboards and I've only went out twice, and that was to a little back hill to teach the girlfriend how to snowboard.

Do it!

You've outgrown the snowboards, time to step up to real skiing.

And don't worry, it's not hobby. More like a fanatical religious cult lifestyle kinda thing.


No new pictures from me, but this has been my inspiration as of late:



Got my skate ski tele turns down pretty well. I think I might take them out to the local hill with lifts and embarrass a few folks with their big plastic gear.