Roger Munns asked:


Increasing numbers of snowboarders are emerging as a large percentage of the snow tourism industry, but are they a welcome addition? Some U.S. resorts still ban snowboarding, while others are opening the door.

While some resorts do not ban snowboarding, either allowing snowboarding on all property or allotting certain areas for the activity, there are three resorts in the United States that still have complete bans on snowboarding. The issues at the heart of the conflict stem from several reasons, one of them a longstanding rivalry between skiers and snowboarders, a rivalry that can sometimes get a tad nasty.

The big news for snowboarders is that Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico has recently announced that they are lifting their ban on snowboarding. This comes as a result of increased pressure by the public, including a campaign by Burton Snowboards.

The company offered a prize of $5,000 to individuals or groups who film their illegal snowboarding, or poaching, at locations where it is not allowed. A representative of the company cautions against the manifesto of this publicity stunt being taken to the level of a civil rights matter, but there is a serious side to the issue. Snowboarders feel that they are discriminated against by the ban.

Taos defends their decision on their Facts and Answers page of their website. Complaints by individuals about the change centered around the impact on the snow levels, protesting that the snowboarders scrape snow off the trails, misbehave on lifts, and are an unwelcome presence in the community. Many others still welcome the change, saying it’s about time. Taos asserts that “Opening to snowboarding allows us to refocus on being a family oriented mountain.”

While Taos has changed their tune, three other resorts still ban the practice of snowboarding. Mad River Glen, Deer Valley in Utah, and Alta Ski Area stay focused on skiers. The central complaint revealed by these resorts is the conflict of interest among their clientele. Skiers claim the snowboarders ruin the mountain, and the experience of skiing.

Mad River Glen, located in Fayston, Vermont, still vehemently upholds their ban on snowboarding, posting a press release that declares, “Despite the fact that snowboarders account for 25% to 30% of all lift tickets sold in the United States, don’t expect Mad River Glen to lift its ban on snowboards any time soon.” Mad River Glen is privately owned by shareholders and operates as a not-for-profit entity. More than 75% of their shareholders voted to eliminate snowboarding after “legendary” events occurred at Mad River when the activity was allowed. For those who hope that Mad River Glen will eventually buckle to economic pressures, “Don’t hold your breath!”

Deer Valley’s Website, when searched using the site’s own engine, brings up links to a press release, and at the bottom of the page simply states, “No snowboards, please.” The press release reveals, however, that Deer Valley will be one of the sites to host events of the 2011 World Freestyle Ski Championships. These include a variety of alpine, freestyle and snowboarding events. It is unclear whether any of the snowboarding events will be hosted at the Deer Valley site.

Alta Ski Area, also in Utah, does not allow snowboarding. Some speculate that since the resort introduce a combined pass with Snowbird, a neighboring resort that is open to snowboarders, in 2001, Alta may eventually change their policy. At present the resort is standing firm, however, “preserving and protecting the skiing experience.”

Another reason to drop the ban is the number of younger individuals who prefer snowboarding. Younger families and older snow bunnies with snowboarding family members want to share the slopes, and this has a heavy economic impact on ski resorts. Those that turn away snowboarders also turn away entire families or groups. Time will tell what the result will be for these three remaining resorts. They may not totally rule out a change of perspective.

Gifts Under 0 from Sun and Ski Sports!

Jeffrey Fang asked:


Snowboarding is basically surfing but on snow rather than on water. Snowboarding started around the 1960′s but really made itself known with its debut at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Japan. Since then it has become one of the fastest growing sports with over 7 million people participating in the United States alone.

Snowboarding is a winter sport and is therefore difficult to participate in at any other time due to lack of snow. There are many ski resorts that now have slopes that are for snowboarding only so for those interested in trying out snowboarding ski resorts are a good place to start.

The main equipment that you will need for snowboarding is the board itself, snowboard boots and snowboard bindings. Of course you should also wear a good quality helmet and gloves. You can rent this equipment at ski resorts if you want to try out the sport before purchasing any equipment. It is actually a good idea to rent the equipment first anyway to find out which brand and size is best suited for you. Look for my latest article about snowboard sizing.

The main styles of snowboarding are ‘freeride’ and ‘freestyle’ with ‘freecarve’ also being quite popular.

Freeride

This is the most common style of snowboard riding and probably the easiest. It is the style that you want to be doing if you are a beginner as it is simply just riding down a mountain. Whether it is the mildest of slopes or the steepest of slopes if you are just doing a straight ride down the slope then it is a freeride.

A rider however can use some tricks while riding freeride if he chooses by using any natural terrain that may be on the slope he is riding on.

When riding freeride riders will usually have a soft boot and the snowboard itself will often be longer with stiffer flex, this is to ride effectively on any type of snow condition you may encounter.

Freestyle

The freestyle style is when the rider uses man made obstacles such as boxes, jumps, half pipes, quarter pipes, rails and more. They will use these objects to perform tricks such as aerial or jib tricks.

The usual stance used in freestyle is the ‘duck foot’ stance which is when the back foot is facing the back end of the board. Freestyle riders usually use a shorter board that has additional flex.

Freecarve

Freecarve or race is the style of snowboarding is used mainly for racing and carving. There is very little jumping if any with freecarve style as it generally focuses on carving.

Whatever style you prefer to use many resorts will be offer the appropriate slopes for you. Many resorts now have parks with rails and halfpipes for those wishing to performs some tricks.

Snowboarding is becoming a very popular sport among men and women of any age so be careful if you are trying it out you may soon be hooked.

Let’s Move On To Tips In Taking Care Of Snowboarding Equipments

Frequent snowboarding can take its toll on your boards as well as other gears. In order to make them last and save you from further costs, it’s best that you take care of them well. Maintenance is always the key when you own valuable items.

Snowboards need regular tuning to enjoy them for many seasons and maximize your experience in this ultimate winter sport. You have to take care of your gear especially when the winter season comes to an end. Not being able to maintain it well may only result in poor performance or early deterioration of your board.

But before you try to do anything yourself, we share some tips that will give you helpful information on what parts of your board require special care and whether it’s time you should bring them to the shop and be professionally maintained. Of course, doing the basic maintenance yourself can save you money and you can do it without the use of many specialized tools. However, if you want to smoothen the snowboard’s base, never attempt to do it alone as a specialized grinder is the only tool that can do the work.

Clean is in

Cleaning the board is the first important step any snowboarder should take. Grime and dirt are most likely to build up on your board so make sure that you get rid of them at the end of the winter season. The best product to use is a citrus cleaner because it not only takes away dirt but also removes any dead wax from the base. All you have to do is just apply the cleaner and use a clean cloth or rag to get rid of dirt or any residue.

Check the edge

After cleaning, check your board to find out if there are certain portions that need fixing. Look carefully at the edges and the base. If the edges appear to be dull or burred, they need to be filed to keep them in good shape.

As for the base, if you see any minor damage, you can easily fix it with a tune-up kit that should include a p-tex candle. However, if you’re not certain about this, better bring your equipment to a snowboard shop and have it tuned up.

Wax to the max

Once you’ve seen that your board in is in good condition, it’s time to apply a new coat of wax. The things you will need at this stage are a scraper, iron and wax, preferably an all-temperature wax. Any iron will do but there are irons specially made for waxing a snowboard.

Now, while using the iron, apply a thick coat of wax on the base and make sure that it covers not only the base but the edges as well. Then scrape the wax from the base and the edges. The wax here serves to prevent the board from drying out and the edges from getting rusty while it is being stored.

Proper storing

Your snowboard together with your gear should be kept in a cool dry place during the hot summer months. As much as possible, don’t store them in the basement. Boots that are the soft type should be properly cleaned and should be applied with foot oil to maintain its softness.

Following these tips is a sure way to have durable and long lasting snow boards. So, keep them in mind and have a great experience with snowboarding.

Snowboards from Sun & Ski Sports

Lou G asked:


I may be starting to sound redundant always talking about trampoline but that’s because the trampoline is the greatest tool a snowboarder could own! With the exception of slides and presses, which require some sort of obstacle to execute, any trick you ever attempt in snowboarding should first be mastered on the trampoline. Just jumping and spinning on a trampoline won’t help you in snowboarding though. This next statement might confuse some of you, but learning a trick on a trampoline is way different from taking it to a snowboard. So how can a trampoline help you get better at snowboarding then? Here are some tricks and techniques to use on your trampoline that will benefit you when you take them to the snowboard slope.Springs Only!We all know that those springs can snap and come flying. What you didn’t know is I guess somebody sued and now they make these really lame trampolines with elastic wraps instead of metal springs. The result: an almost unusable trampoline. It doesn’t bounce right, it doesn’t bounce high, and it’s a huge waste of money and time.So in using the tips on this article, I am talking about a metal spring trampoline. The originals. You can usually get them super cheap just by looking in your penny saver or the classifieds. Trampolines are big cumbersome objects that people like to get off of their lawns once the kids grow up (I never grew up though… sorry mom). I found mine for a whopping $40 and it’s lasted going on two years.StartersJUMP! The first thing to do with your trampoline is jump as high in the air as you can. A couple things to concentrate are how you are timing the jump and your body’s orientation in the air.Once your body leaves the ground all sorts of core muscles (inner muscles that you can’t see, not even if you workout all the time) will kick in and try to keep you level and stable in the air. If you are flailing your arms about in the air going every which way then this is where the trampoline will help you.Jumping straight up and down will get you use to being in the air. If you want to add more authenticity you can strap you snowboard on (just remember to tape the edges so you don’t tear your trampoline). Now you are ready to practice some grabs.Grab every spot on the board you can (between bidings only!) and just start playing around with it. Adding your own little tweaks to grabs on the trampoline will set you apart and develop your style for the snowboard slopes. For nose and tail grabs make sure you are grabbing the very tips of the board every time!
Spins/InvertsThis is where a trampoline can come in really handy. Now, spinning/flipping on a trampoline is entirely different from executing the trick on your snowboard… there is no edge work, no transition, and no speed involved in the equation, but…You can’t just throw a 540 without knowing what it feels like to rotate a spin and a half. That’s where the trampoline comes in. When spinning/flipping on a trampoline there are several things to take into consideration: 1. Your orientation: are your legs tucked, are you relatively flat based in the air.2. The windup: Concentrate on how you are initiating the spin. This will help you gauge how much force you need to bring the rotation around on the slopes.3. Head position: Where are you looking as you do the spin? Think about doing the trick on your snowboard. Where do you need to be looking to bring the trick around completely? At what point during the spin do you spot your landing zone?4. The landing: Are you landing a nice full rotation? Think about your edgework. The nice thing about snowboarding is that if you under rotate a spin you can kind of recover by sliding it through after the landing… but you need to make sure you are landing on the edge that’s going to give not just dig into the snow and scorpion you down the landing.In any rotation trick in snowboarding you can expect to be flying blindly through the air at some point. Practicing those in-air aspects on the trampoline eliminates a lot of that guesswork leaving only your approach up the transition to figure out.Especially with inverts, you want to be landing on your back on a trampoline not hard-pack snow. Inverts put your head and neck in a good bit of danger, it’s good to be sure you are going to land on your feet to some extent before you try it on hill, and that’s where a trampoline comes in.Once you start understanding these tricks more strap on a snowboard and start throwing in some grabs. Certain grabs aid certain rotations… you will have to play with it and find out what works best for you.Rails/BoxesHow can you practice a snowboard rail on a trampoline? Well you aren’t going to practicing the slide that’s for sure. First you are going to spray-paint or lay down a line of tape straight down the center of your trampoline. This line represents the box or rail.See where I am going with this? Now you choose frontside, backside, switch, or regular and jump. This is practice mainly for 270s and above. It is a really good way to get used to staying on target while spinning.As you do this you are gong to want to pay attention to several important on hill aspects: Make sure you are keeping a good bead on where the line is underneath you, it will help you so much later when you can land dead center on a rail every time.Also keep in mind that if it were a rail or box you would be sliding after the fact… so take into account how you would angle your bodyweight to land flat based and slide.Make sure you get comfortable with executing spins on hill before you go try 270s and whatnot because even though you will know how to complete the rotation and adjust to the slide angle, you will need to be comfortable spinning off a transition and getting your snowboard to go where you want.This is pretty obvious but you should know and be pretty comfortable with all the slides and presses on all the kinds of jibs before you start going after 270s.
That’s my trampoline snowboard practice guide. I cannot stress enough that these are only a means to an ends and you will still have to do a bit of tweaking to make it work on hill with your snowboard. I hope it helps or at least kills some of your summer downtime waiting for those local mountains to be white-capped once again.

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