Goldsmith's Boardhouse - Going the Extra Mile

You wouldn't start a snowboard shop expecting things to sell themselves...

But in these days of over saturated egos and an undeserved sense of entitlement, how often have you waited ten minutes for Joe Cool Shop-Kid to finish a conversation with his buddy before he reluctantly approached you.  Then as quickly as he came to chuck you whatever you needed, he was back into his chat and unavailable to help you out any further.

Thankfully this experience is characteristic of only a few shops; out there still exists the core shop that symbolizes why we need to keep the little guys alive.

A small shop named Goldsmith's Boardhouse in Big Bear, California is one.

Goldsmith's and I go back a long way.  I rented my first snowboard from them, and I'm really glad--though honestly not surprised--they are still around.

You'd be hard pressed to find a shop employee willing to dive into sweaty, and tremendously smelly, old liners to get your insoles fitted properly--definitely not part of the job description, but a huge display of customer devotion.

Or how about when you are "Closed for Summer" and in the middle of inventory when a kid shows up to look around?  If it was you or me, "Sorry, we're closed" would be the likely response.

Not Goldsmith's though, whose employee came running out to the parking lot to let me inside for some last minute shopping.

What a relief having every question I asked met immediately with an answer.  From general specs to product comparisons, the good folks at Goldsmith's are completely on top of it.  Think the binding is too narrow for your boot?  They run and find their widest rental boot to check the fit.

So am I writing this just to give Goldsmith's props? Yes.

They deserve to be recognized as do all of the local shops out there going the extra mile. Celebrate your local shop by sharing how they made your day in the comments below!

Bear Mountain 11.19.09

Bear Mountain, Snow Summit, and Mountain High are often the victims of an inversion, an unusual rise in temperature at increased elevation. This is why for the past couple of weeks it has a been a crisp 20ºF nightly at my house but a wopping 40ºF on the hill, far above snowmaking temperatures (especially with humidity, but that's another post).

Last night there was finally a break, and good one at that: Bear Mountain cranked the guns at just about 8pm and ran until early morning...

If new snow wasn't reason enough to head out there, today is day three of Bear's complete overhaul of their park. Everything is now completely different, and the best part is these changes supposedly came from rider feedback. Thanks Bear Mountain!

The first phase of the park change-up was the addition of a rail area. There were no surprises with this decision; Bear is notorious for having the best rail riders in attendance, and with the likes of Joe Sexton, Jake O.E., Jed Anderson, Gabby Maiden, Chris Bradshaw, Zak Hale and others shredding up here today was not any different. Now we all have a thin rail, fat down rail, ledge/shotgun rail, and a double-barrell down rail to play on.


Along with the rail park, Bear put rider progression in mind and expanded the line of boxes, starting thin and going as wide as the dance floor box. The down tube that once lay where the rail park is now was a popular feature, so the park crew switched out the corrguated tube with the down tube to create a tube-wall ride combination. I managed to snap this awesomely amateur shot of the infamous TOBY on said feature.

A pretty neat addition to the park in preparation of the Ashbury team and some Bear team riders coming out to visit is the up-flat box paired with the ledge box, officially dubbed the "Up Flat Box- Side Car with a 30-foot Press Box" via Bear Mountain's website. Only at Bear Mountain I guess...

All in all it was another excellent day on the slopes. If you live locally and haven't visited Bear because one run doesn't seem that fun, do reconsider. Tickets are still discounted, the snow is fresh-like, the features are fun and if those reasons aren't enough than how about getting your riding legs back so you aren't all rubber-legged when the good stuff does open?