Why do you skiboard?

[bri_guy]

I agree!

Great links so far! I'm learning a lot!

[Mordak]

Just got back from a weekend in Marmot (Jasper, AB). Spent a little bit of time on the groomers on Saturday to get my legs back under me, but otherwise spent much of the weekend playing in the trees. I've never hit the park, and so am firmly in the 'rest of the mountain' category. They got some snow over Saturday night into Sunday morning and so there weren't any groomed runs on the mountain for Sunday, which suited us just fine. Since making the switch to skiboards last season (Revolts) there are big swaths of the mountain available to me now that would have been strictly off limits otherwise.

I saw a few other skiboarders on the runs over the weekend. I didn't see any other Revel8 boards, but saw some snowjams and some other boards I didn't get a good look at. There are a few shops up this way that are renting the Head boards (Big Easy 94s) and so I always see some of those out there.

[bri_guy]

Briguy, I spend every friday night @ Blue Mountain starting in January. I don't spend any time in the park, I stick mostly to the blues there. My favourite runs are probably Smart Alex and Dr. Doug, both of which are blues. My friends (on snowboards) and I will bomb down Smart Alec and Tranquility (the two runs the silver bullet lift runs between) several times every night we go, but at the end of last year, we did range across all the trails for some variety. Unfortuantly the runs are pretty short, and you spend a lot of time in lift lines doing that. As for learning, I spent the night on the Graduate for my first few trips, getting comfortable with technique, and then progressed fairly rapidly from there. I was on snowblades at the time, and then last year transitioned to KTPs.

In terms of skills development, I found that I became a lot more comfortable on the hills in general one night after my glasses were fogging up inside my goggles making it so I couldn't see too much other than shapes in front of me. It made me realize that I was looking down at my feet, and that was holding me back, instead I needed to look ahead. Once I did that I saw noticeable improvements. I also skiied in colorado for a weekend after a work trip last year, and saw improvements from that experience as well.

"Tranquility" was the blue run I went down and found quite challenging. Here is a photo I took from the top 1/3 point:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/orangeprince/5249757771/

Maybe I'm a bit too amateur, but the terrain felt quite mogully.

[dis]

Maybe I'm a bit too amateur, but the terrain felt quite mogully.

Yah, that's right at the dropoff. I love the feel of dropping off there and flying down the rest of the hill. I will say that Smart Alec is a better run to learn on though. It usually isn't quite as bumpy, and it's a bit wider. When I was learning, I would start at the top of Tranquility and cut across to Smart Alec right before the flat part of Tranquility. It's the easiest way down those two hills. For any sort of skiboarding, you want to make sure your legs and core are up to it. Some exercises for those regions can really help.

The hill that I was talking about with the glasses fogging up was actually Smart Alec. It's so wide that you can get lots of practice. If you want to meet up sometime at Blue, I can try to show you some technique. I don't claim to be an expert, but I can handle most of the night skiing terrain at blue.

[Greco]

Guys... we need to start an 'All Mountain Vid Clips' thread, no park allowed LOL, and make it sticky. There are literally dozens of great clips spread all over the forum.

if someone creates one i'd be happy to sticky it.

[JohnnyL21]

hey, I ski at Blue, I hit every trail there. This yr will b my first at skiboarding though! I just ordered the KTP's. So should be a fun experience! If you ever wanna meet up lemme know.

[dis]

I ski at Blue...If you ever wanna meet up lemme know.

I would, but we're talking different Blue Mountains. The one that bri_guy and I go to is in Ontario, Canada. I believe the one you ski is in PA. That being said, if you're ever in Ontario, I'd be up for a meet, but our 'Mountains' are not a reason to come visit. The resort only has a 720 foot (220 meter) drop from the top of the hill to the bottom. There aren't any runs that take more than 3 minutes to get down.

[bri_guy]

Yah, that's right at the dropoff. I love the feel of dropping off there and flying down the rest of the hill. I will say that Smart Alec is a better run to learn on though. It usually isn't quite as bumpy, and it's a bit wider. When I was learning, I would start at the top of Tranquility and cut across to Smart Alec right before the flat part of Tranquility. It's the easiest way down those two hills. For any sort of skiboarding, you want to make sure your legs and core are up to it. Some exercises for those regions can really help.

The hill that I was talking about with the glasses fogging up was actually Smart Alec. It's so wide that you can get lots of practice. If you want to meet up sometime at Blue, I can try to show you some technique. I don't claim to be an expert, but I can handle most of the night skiing terrain at blue.

Sure, I'll let you know! I only head up there a few times a year, to be honest. Snow Valley or Mt St Louis Moonstone are quite a bit closer to me. I think I'll go back to blue 1 or 2 more times this season.

[bri_guy]

Yah, that's right at the dropoff. I love the feel of dropping off there and flying down the rest of the hill. I will say that Smart Alec is a better run to learn on though. It usually isn't quite as bumpy, and it's a bit wider. When I was learning, I would start at the top of Tranquility and cut across to Smart Alec right before the flat part of Tranquility. It's the easiest way down those two hills. For any sort of skiboarding, you want to make sure your legs and core are up to it. Some exercises for those regions can really help.

The hill that I was talking about with the glasses fogging up was actually Smart Alec. It's so wide that you can get lots of practice. If you want to meet up sometime at Blue, I can try to show you some technique. I don't claim to be an expert, but I can handle most of the night skiing terrain at blue.

Sure, I'll let you know! I only head up there a few times a year, to be honest. Snow Valley or Mt St Louis Moonstone are quite a bit closer to me. I think I'll go back to blue 1 or 2 more times this season.

[dis]

Yah, they are. Same for me. I'm in midtown toronto, so we're pretty much coming from the same place. A number of my friends go, and I've got a deal with work that lets me do half day fridays so I can use a 5x7. The 5x7 is such a good deal that I haven't seen any of the other resorts in the area match. If you buy early, it's $180, which essentially means you have to make 4 trips to make it worthwhile. The only problem is that it doesn't work during the days over christmas break, or during the days on the weekend. It covers nights in both those periods though.

[DennisEvans]

I ride it all, I did for a while have a gravitation to the park but I'm over that. I ride for the fun of riding and if I can't do something without a complete and total fear taking over it's not really fun for me. I love blues for flatland tricks and I love blacks for the thrill. But what I really love is the back country trees, drops, steep and deeps... It's so surreal and calm.