Park Change-ups: For Better or Worse

"We have record snow accumulations, and a park that doesn’t stay the same for more than a couple weeks which is my favorite part about of this resort.

The set-up changes so much that it’s like you get to ride a new resort every week. There’s nothing worse that hitting the same rails and boxes, week after week, month after month.

No need to worry though, you’ll never know what that’s like as long as you ride Bear."   

-- Bear Mountain Blog, February 20 2010

When I read that quote on Bear's website one morning, I couldn't help but remember the times I'd been right on the cusp of landing a trick only to be disappointed the next day when the feature was nowhere to be found.

Of course once I got a taste of whatever replaced it things were quickly forgotten, but you have to wonder can there possibly be a downside to riding a park layout that constantly changes?

When features are left unchanged and consistent you open the doors for creativity at all levels; it doesn't matter if you are a beginner to an advanced rider, hitting the same rail over and over lets you progressively learn tricks.

A new rider can start with one basic trick, land it over and over, then look to familiarity with the feature for the confidence to push forward with another.  A feature that never moves leaves very few surprises.

That means while advanced riders may have all of the tricks, they'll have to rely on imagination and their sharpened skills to create new variations that keep a stagnant rail fresh and poppin'.

On the other hand new features inspire trick consistency.  Now, nobody wants to be that guy that only does one trick, but for an intermediate rider with even just a few tricks under his belt, any changes to the park are an opportunity to get those tricks fully dialed.  Even an advanced rider is going to find kinks in tricks he thought were bagged; you could say keeping the park fresh promotes mastery.

If feature consistency aids progression, and park change-ups mastery, then the logical thing to do is maintain a touch of both. Resorts like Bear Mountain already do this:

Their basic features, commonly known as beginner parks, are left almost untouched throughout the season. Meanwhile their more advanced features are moved around piece by piece to give more experienced riders their "old-faithfuls" along with plenty of variety.

In the end I suppose just as in life, sometimes things change for the better and sometimes they change for the worse; it all depends on what trick you were you close to landing beforehand...

Why You Should Listen to Your Shop Rep

It seems like everyone is an expert when it comes to snowboards these days: You've got your magazines and private sites posting up review after review (paid or unpaid?); then there are always your favorite pro riders, and if they are rocking it then it should be good, right?

Of course your company reps are here to let you know about all of the coolest stuff Company-X thought up for this season... so who the hell do you trust with such a big purchase?

What about that friend who knows about all the latest and greatest gear, and they ride a ton so maybe they will offer the best opinion?

If your friend happens to be a shop rep, then maybe.

In this internet dependent world, a lot of snowboarders have lost touch with why dealing with their local shop is so damn important. When you are dealing with your shop rep, you are dealing with someone whose job is to know every thing about every product they carry. This means they have to go out and use the shit, and you just can't get a better opinion than that.

The best shop reps have a real passion for product; they will test anything they can get their hands on, even if it is total shit, and offer up an awesome objective point of view on it. Every product has it's use, and with your shop reps hands on experience combined with your own criteria on what you want, you will always get you what you need.

Don't get me wrong, there are some stinkers. Keep an eye out for shop reps that are seemingly uninterested in your business, or start throwing their "best"--aka most expensive--products at you (especially if they are literally throwing things). Also watch out for the catalog regurgitator; the rep who seems to have memorized the company descriptions verbatim but knows not a whole lot beyond that.

If your shop rep is friendly, asks a ton of questions about what you are looking for, and seems to have an endless list of recommendations than you are probably dealing with someone who knows what they are talking about.

And it works both ways. You should be able to ask your shop rep any question from "how does it turn at speed?" to "what binding works best with it?" and they will have your answer. That's how you find gear practically made for you, and that's why your local shop rep is invaluable.

Cheers to local shops, and knowledgeable shop reps who have helped thousands of people get off on the right foot with their snowboarding gear.

Cigarettes and Snowboarding?

One of the topics in snowboarding that remains relatively quiet is smoking cigarettes. Even though it doesn't seem to capture the big media's attention, I know it is a subject that many have pondered at some point when riding. Curious, I asked readers their opinion of the habit and its effect on their resort experience.

Now, the process of slowly destroying your lungs and throat is blatantly out of place in a sport that demands physical exertion in high altitudes, but the possibility of a resort being completely smoke-free is unlikely. It is important for non-smokers to understand that smoking is an addiction not easily put down; likewise, smokers need to understand that there aren't many who appreciate the smell of cigarette smoke when in fresh mountain air. Let's face it, cigarette smoke stinks; even smokers will admit that. Most non-smokers are simply hoping riders stop smoking in lift lines, on the lift, at the top of runs and in food areas where the smoke is guaranteed to affect several people, and this is a policy many resorts are beginning to enforce in response to customer feedback...but here is the bigger picture:

In most cities, cigarettes are a major contributor to the litter that lines the streets and sadly, the same is true for our resorts. Since many smokers associate their cigarettes with relaxing, the habit fits right in with escaping to the mountain and getting some turns in. Snow works great for putting out a cigarette, so maybe you are on the lift, maybe you are strapping in, maybe you are enjoying a quick cigarette mid-tree run, but it's so much easier to just snuff the butt in the snow and leave it there. Unfortunately, what ends up happening throughout the season is layer upon layer of cigarette butts are deposited in the snow. Of course the snow melts, and now you have butts all over the mountain as well as in the runoff... this runoff likely flows to vital water sources. There are a few smokers who appreciate that their cigarette butts are not meant to be a part of the mountain and make all efforts to dispose of them properly, but the majority do not. In fact, poll results showed that above personal comfort, most readers just wish that smokers would pick up their butts.

In an increasingly mistrusting and unfriendly world it might be asking too much for us to be considerate of one another, but in all likelihood the only thing the mountain ever does is bring us good times, so above all we as snowboarders should at least respect that.

Bottom line: Smokers, pick up your butts!

Music While Snowboarding?

In the latest poll readers were asked if they listen to music when they are out on the slopes. The question was inspired by the fact that I had one iPod stolen a year ago and then this season lost its replacement, and have since not brought myself to purchase yet another; so I spent the end of this season riding without a personal soundtrack for the first time since I first started riding I'd say. Anyway, my experience with life outside of tiny speakers was interesting and prompted some poignant observations:

What I noticed in my days sans-iPod was a powder day is just that much more epic when ridden in subtle silence and the scrape of your snowboard up to the lip of a kicker and the moment when sound and time stops as you fly through the air is pure magic. I noticed that communicating with other riders when queued to hit a feature makes things not only safer and way clearer, but a bit more entertaining as well.

To my surprise, the majority of readers said they listen to music while shredding at all times. This means when you're with friends, when you're cruising an epic powder run, when you're hucking through the park, when there's a really busy day... regardless of the what the day hands you, your headphones are on. I'd say I would fit into this category as well if I still had an iPod.

Without musical accompaniment, I found out that bringing a friend that listens to music at all times when riding fucking sucks! There is nothing more awesome than silent lift rides (or realizing you've been talking to yourself the whole time) and screaming directions at your oblivious friends as they turn down the wrong runs--that's my experience anyway, and personally I bring friends along hoping to vibe, learn some new tricks and just get stoked on snowboarding.

I've come to the conclusion that music while snowboarding has its time, place and purpose. For me, on an insanely busy day--or contest, if you a contest kid-- where there is a lot to tune out, some music is definitely called for. Of course any solo-day is fair game (incidentally this was the runner-up in the poll). I don't think I will ever listen to music while riding with friends again after my experience on the other side. I guess the bottom line is just the next time you find yourself strapping in at the top with your music blaring, consider the question,"What does snowboarding even sound like?"... or something inspiring and meaningful like that.

Snowboarding's Largest Media Pimp

In snowboarding, and definitely in recent times, advertising campaigns have become insanely aggressive. We’ve all experienced it, the anticipation for your next issue of your favorite snowboard magazine and the disappointment of getting it and finding over three-quarters of the pages are advertisements; when it is to the point that companies like Milosport can place a multi-page advertisement of more than five consecutive pages in a widely-read magazine and get away with it… talk about advertising overload!

Even the very professional snowboarders we idolize and wish to ride like, at least in executive eyes, are merely the current most profitable poster children for company-x. I asked you readers which company you believed to be the largest media pimp. Who shells out the most cash for marketing and recruits the most snowboarders to help promote their brand?

With the most votes was Target, who as far as I am aware only works with Shaun White. Now admittedly the clothing line was a little much, and to many Shaun is industry sellout numero-uno, but even so I would have say Target is not much of predator in the snowboarding world.

PacSun was a consideration since each USASA event is another opportunity for the companies logo to be emblazoned on every single bib, flag and tent. Most in the snowboard world view PacSun and USASA as a different page of snowboarding, they are into their own thing… so they aren’t a largely dominant company in the industry.

In my opinion, the winner of biggest media pimp would have to go to the likes of Monster, Red Bull and Mountain Dew. Thirst + Action-sports + Winning riders drinking your product = Many people who will buy your product; this simple equation reveals the logic behind the aggressive onslaught of advertising and rider recruitment these companies utilize.

These are the companies responsible for most of the mainstream events in snowboarding, and in some cases the major financial backers of your favorite snowboard films (Red Bull and That’s It, That’s All). It’s ironic that the most media hungry companies in snowboarding have very little to with the actual sport, but such is the crazy world of marketing.

So you heard it here kids. If you want to be sponsored, hunt down some energy drink companies and start sending tapes.

Hating - The Worse Trend In Snowboarding

So the results are in and it was pretty much unanimous that "hating" is the worse thing to happen to snowboarding since step-in bindings. Hating is essentially the act of zoning in on and attacking a fellow riders personal style (clothes, riding, mustache, whatever). The most obvious and textbook example of hating in general is demonstrated by the more elitist skiers, who start with the shit-talking the moment they see a snowboard... even if said snowboarder were say, an 8-year old, baby-faced child in a pink bunny costume who had cured both cancer and aids.

Within snowboarding, there are the "park police"; the kids who got good--not good enough to be sponsored or win contests, but good enough that they are entitled to shout at you from the lift everything about you that sucks. From a new rider trying to ollie to an experienced rider whose frontside boardslide has gone awry, these are the kids who laugh and jeer at anything that isn't "cool".

On the other side of the spectrum, you've got the "anti-park brigade". These are usually an older generation of snowboarders and skiers; they remember back in the day when *insert park run* was a wide open trail just for them, and some will stop it nothing to keep it that way. They stop in front of kickers, carve ruts and moguls into ramps and in general just make the park a more dangerous place for you and me.

Then there are the haters in your local ski patrol office. When you've been working resorts as long as some of those bastards, you know that if a snowboarder is dressed a certain way you should follow him until he does something wrong and clip his pass... wait, is this really part of the job description?

Even professional snowboarders aren't immune; just head to any video post on TWSNOW.com and read some comments. In fact, I challenge you to find a video where a kid doesn't say something stupid about what a rider is wearing, a feature or snow conditions or the really bold kids will even comment on a riders style/trick choices (which wouldn't be that bad if only they backed it up with a tight video of their own).

Hating can be a tricky subject, though; a double-edged sword of sorts, as where does one draw the line? For instance, some might view the blunt, matter-of-factness of an Angry Snowboarder as a form of hating; others might view the lude and crude shenanigans of one Mark Frank Montoya as a blatant sign of disrespect towards gapers:

I could say more on the subject, but I'd like to hear everyone's personal opinion, particularly regarding the last two examples. I will say this, even I have had my moments... sometimes you just get cut off by one out-of-control gaper too many and something has to be said; but is this "hating" or "regulating" for a better, safer tomorrow?