Shopping Notes: Sierra Snowboard

There are thousands of places where you can buy a snowboard, either online or in a traditional retail store.

I have never purchased anything from Sierra Snowboard, but I came across them through some Internet searches.

What caught my eye are the interactive features of the site. It offers forums, a Wiki, chat, and other features that draw people to the site and build loyalty. It also has videos that describe various projects.

They sell Flow bindings, my favorite.

If you're looking for new gear for next season, check out the company. You might be able to find something you need for a good price.

Boycott Burton?

Is Burton good for snowboarding? It's a matter for debate in any number of discussion forums, including one for ski and snowboard instructors. For the last several months I've been toying with the idea of writing a brief article explaining my dislike of the company. In short, it has done some good, but it also promotes an image of riding that is bad for the sport--or at least bad for mature riders.

To quote a member of the Grays on Trays discussion forum,

Snowboarding is a sport, and one to be enjoyed, not to see who can dress more "gangsta."

I try to avoid buying from brands promoting such crap. Burton is the biggest offender, go so far as to put a d*** "spinner" in one of last year's boards.

Yeah, that's one reason to avoid Burton. But friend, I'll see you and raise you one gangsta: Avoid Burton because it encourages riders to violate property rights.

From the Associated Press (December 2007):

Burton lays down a $5,000 snowboard poaching challenge. ... BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Burton Snowboards is challenging snowboarders to go where they're not wanted, offering a $5,000 bounty for the best video of those who take to the slopes at "elitist, fascist" ski resorts that don't allow snowboarding.

"Poaching isn't simply a peaceful form of protest. It's truly your patriotic duty," the snowboard maker says on its Web site.

Complete and utter nonsense, even if it is great marketing. Patriotism means love of country, and the good that it stands for. In the case of the U.S., that includes a respect for private property. Yet here's Burton, calling for people to go where they're not wanted.

Ever hear of live and let live? Apparently not.

Jake Burton is lauded by some for taking a "pure" approach to snowboarding by not selling his company for the multimillions it would fetch. But comments such as those above--echoed by too many riders--are off-base. For one thing, they're incredibly offensive to victims of real fascism, who have been denied life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

There's also a strange sense of justice in the "we're going to ride wherever we want to" campaign. Says Mr. Burton:

"For 25 years we've been working to open resorts and we couldn't have done it without the involvement of local riders. I don't think that our job is done, so you can snowboard everywhere. ... Mountains can be brutally cruel but they're not discriminatory. I don't think any resort is entitled to be discriminatory based on what's on your feet."

Of course "mountains" do not "discriminate," since they're not moral actors. But what of the people who spend millions of dollars to install lifts? Certainly they ought to be able to have some say over what people carry onto those lifts, which are their property.

Think of this: Is is wrong for a movie theater to "discriminate" against patrons who bring floodlights into screening rooms?

Let's continue with the news story.

Like Mad River, Deer Valley said its guests are looking for a ski-only experience.

Snowboarders have options at other resorts, said Coleen Reardon, director of marketing.

"They (skiers) feel that snowboarders ride the mountain differently than skiers ski it, and that they'd feel a little safer," she said.

The few times that snowboarders do poach: "We tell them snowboarders aren't allowed and help them off the mountain," she said.

Here's a business that is attentive to the wants of its customers. For various reasons, some skiers don't like to be around snowboards. You or I may think that's a foolishness, but then again, there's no accounting for taste.

Back to the story:

But that's discriminatory, says Burton.

"Just like you want to be able to walk into any restaurant and eat. You want to go to any resort and ride," he said.

Burton is no stranger to poaching. He and his wife were hele-boarding in Utah a few years ago when they were dropped off at the top of Alta.

"We were screamed at," he said of the ride down.

A few points. One, the restaurant analogy is absurd. A better analogy would be this: You walk into a restaurant with your own food and portable stove and demand a table. The restaurant refuses. Are they being "discriminatory?" Yes, and rightly so.

It's too bad that Mr. Burton and his wife were screamed at. People can be such idiots. But then again, should customers of a business who expect one service be happy when an outsider comes in to disrupt their experience? Say Mr. Burton and his wife are having dinner at a fancy restaurant. Would he be thrilled if a bunch of guys came in, set up a couple of kegs at the next table, and started throwing bones from chicken wings down at the floor?

Such silly thinking may not be unique to Burton, and any company that was the market leader in snowboarding goods would face incentives to spout nonsense about being unjustly discriminated against.

Even so, I try to avoid buying Burton goods whenever I can. Unfortunately, sometimes it's rather hard to find substitutes, especially if you're pressed for time and need to stop in a retail outlet rather than wait for a mail-order product to arrive. So at times I contribute to the fortunes to a company that makes riders look silly and morally confused. But thinking back on this last season has given me more reason to consider planning ahead and finding alternatives.

The Value of a Binding Leash

Ask your typical snowboarder what he thinks about leashes, and he may say "They're stupid. I don't see why I should wear one."

A leash can be useful for several reasons. The most common one is that it lets you drag the board behind you as you walk towards the lift. "Walking the dog," as this is called, is a useful alternative to carrying your board.

But there's reason why a leash can be useful: it can keep the board attached to you during the ride on the lift.

The particulars of the story I'm going to tell depend in part on the type of bindings I use--Flows have a releasable highback, as seen on this page--but if you change a few details, the story could apply to other riders.

When I descended the exit ramp, I locked my back finding into place. But I also discovered that I had not snapped the highback on my front foot into place before I got on the lift. During the lift up, the board was hanging in space, secured only by the fact that there was a single (though large) piece of very stiff fabric (I believe Flow calls it the "I-strap") on top of my foot. The whole concept of Flows depends on being able to recline the highback for an easy entry to the bindings, and then pushing the highback back into place. Instead, I had something different--something roughly akin to wearing a backless sandal while hanging in the air.

I was horrified at what might have happened on the lift. The binding did fit pretty well over my boot, so it was unlikely to go anywhere. To shed the bindings--and hence the board--I would have had to point my toes toward the ground and shake my foot a few, or many times. I don't normally do that, and I'm not sure that I even could. But consider what would have happened if that highly unlikely event would have happened: My board would drop 30 feet to the ground. At the least it would land with some force and slide a ways. At worse, it could land on someone.

That's where the leash comes in. Had the board fell off my foot, the leash would have arrested the fall.

Maybe this is all belt-and-suspender stuff, or maybe two pair of suspenders. No matter. The cost of using a leash is trivial, and the benefits (potentially) substantial.

Do you have a screw loose? The importance of binding maintenance

One of the good things about being a snowboarder is that you can do simple maintenance on your gear. Most skiers don't--and shouldn't--adjust their own bindings. But snowboarders can adjust their bindings all the time.

A lot of these adjustments simply involve changing the alignment of the bindings on the board. Are they pointing straight across the width of the board in a "zero-zero" stance? Are they pointing towards the tip of the board? Or maybe they're at a "duck" position (think of reversed pigeon-toed). How far apart are the bindings, and thus your feet, from each other? These are just some of the adjustments that a rider can make.

But there's a more simple task that you should make as a rider: make sure that you don't have a screw loose. I'm not talking about your mental state, but whether or not your bindings are actually snugly stuck to the board. That's really important because the binding is what keeps you from flying off the board when you make a turn.

In a less severe situation, if your bindings have a couple of loose screws, your control of the board and where it goes will be sloppy. It's like driving a car with wheels that wobble from side to side. Not good.

How often should you check the binding screws for tightness? In theory, before every time you go riding. In practice, some of us don't follow through with that rule, and depending on how fast you ride, where you ride, and how long you ride in a day, that can work out just fine.

But if you've been riding long trails at high speeds and it's been "a while" (you be the judge of what that means) since you've looked at those bindings, it's probably time to check them again.

By the way, it's very useful to have a pocket tool with you on the mountain. Think of them as the Swiss army knife of the slopes, equipped with screwdrivers and wrenches of various sizes.

You can usually find a bench somewhere at your favorite ski area, provided by the patrol. But sometimes the necessary screwdrivers aren't there, or they're on the lift on the other side of the mountain and you just realized that your bindings are wobbly. Time to bring out the pocket screwdriver!

If you're traveling on an overnight trip, be sure to pack a long-handled screwdriver in your bags. That way you can give the bindings a good once-over in the lodge before heading out to the slopes.

Impulsive Shopping at Steep and Cheap

If you look at shopping as the thrill of the chase, you might take a look at the web site SteepAndCheap.com.

SAC, as it's often abbreviated in Internet discussion forums, sells a lot of gear for the outdoors: clothing, helmets, altimeters, tents, sunglasses, camp stoves and the like.

It has a somewhat unusual business model. SAC doesn't, like a traditional merchant, have a lot of "shelves" of stuff that you can look at. Instead, it sells one item at a time--and only one item at a time--until it's gone. Then another item comes up on the auction block. Actually, there's no auction and there's no block, but that gives you an idea of how the goods are rolled out.

If you don't want that Big Agnes sleeping bag that's up for sale at the moment, a quick look at a sidebar widget gives you an idea of how long it will be before something else is for sale.

I have one beef with the site, but it's a significant one: So fare, it doesn't have anything I would like to buy. On the other hand, it often offers "Big Agnes" sleeping bags, something I don't have much interest in.

So far, snowboarding gear has been rare, though some people report having purchased Flow bindings on the site. Me, I'm still waiting for a ski mask that I can squirrel away for those coldest days of next season.

Shopping at Steep and Cheap

Got an itch to buy some gear for your next snowboarding outing? I've heard some people say good things about the web site steepandcheap.com.

Not all the stuff is related to snow sports, by the way, but much of it is.

It's got an unusual (though not unique) business model: One item is sold, at a discount (at least 50 percent off retail) until its gone. Then another item goes on sale. Downside: no browsing possible, you've got to know your stuff since there's little time to look at other options.

Upside: you could save some dough and get the stuff you need, or at least want.

Where's the Love for Snowboarders?

I really don't care if any particular ski area company allows snowboarders on the slopes or not. On the other hand, if a resort is going to expect snowboarders as customers, it should accommodate their gear.

Recently I was at Lutsen, which has perhaps the finest lift-served terrain in the Midwest. It has a shuttle bus--an old school bus--that takes customers from the parking lot to the base area.

That's good. What could be better? Start with the outside. It has a rack for holding skis. And not snowboards. The slots are simply to narrow to hold a board, meaning that snowboarders must take the bus on board.


(The shuttle bus is like one of these, but it's painted red--and probably quite a bit older--and has a rack with slots for skis.)

My board is on the long side (162cm) but not outrageously so. But I had trouble maneuvering it through the narrow, relatively short door and up the steps. There's not much room between the seats, either--this is the kind of bus, after all, that transports children to school. The bindings on my board don't collapse, and they fell at just the "wrong" places on my body and against the back of the seat in front of me.

Not having a storage space for snowboards outside the bus affects everyone who takes the bus, not just snowboarders. Snowboarders, I suspect, must take some extra time to get themselves on and off the bus, which slows down loading and unloading for everyone else.

The solution? Put a second rack on the outside of the bus, one that is wide enough to fit boards.

New Year, New Gear

My old snowboard equipment was getting on the worn side, so I thought it ways time to ante up for a whole new setup.

Ouch.

Snowboarding can be an expensive activity, even if you find ways to get discounted gear. But I'm in for it now that I've worn the boots a few times, and my board suffered a chip to the topsheet when an out-of-control kid slid over it. I was standing at the edge of the run-out area from a lift when I heard an awful sound. "Sorry dude," a guy said, before shrugging and riding off. When I got home that night, I noticed a chip on the top.

The board is a Salomon Special. It is stiffer than what I am used to, but that's by design. I washed out during my first time using it, but I'm getting accustomed to it.

I've also got new boots, also Salomon. They're a bit tighter than I would like, so the other day I took them into a shop and they did some heat molding work. Briefly, they heated up a footbed and put it into the boot. I put an foam insert on the end of my toes--to make them longer--and stepped into the boot. Walking around for a bit with this arrangement packed out the front of the foot enough to make for a better fit.

Another piece of new equipment is a pair of Flow NXT-AT bindings. I've always said that a person either loves or hates Flows. Up until now, I've loved them. Now ... I'm not sure. I finally have had to deal with the "pressure points" that some people have talked about with strap bindings. I wonder if the bindings are the wrong size. I had bought XL based on what I had on my old set, but these aren't sitting well on one foot. Or maybe it's that the boot is too small. I'm going to take my old stinky boots for a ride in the new bindings and see what happens.

NASJA 11: Snowboarding With Poles

Snowboarding with poles? What could be sillier than that? After all, in snowboarding, you rock back and forth between heel and toe, while on skis you rock from one side of the foot to the other.

I have read, on occasion, a recommendation for novices to try snowboarding with poles. But while at Crested Butte, I saw something I had never seen before: someone navigating an expert pitch while on a snowboard, and using skis.

Riding up the Paradise lift, you'll see some steep glades to your east. They're double diamonds. And who did I see coming through those glades, but a snowboarder with ski poles. It was an odd sight.

What gives? Perhaps the poles were for flatter sections--after all, you don't come out of terrain like that at a great speed. Perhaps they somehow assisted in making tight turns, though at the moment I can't figure out how that would happen.

Any thoughts? Leave a comment.

Demo Day

Though I've never been much of a gearhead, yesterday I tried out two new pieces of snowboarding gear.

The first was a new set of gloves. They've got some built-in wrist guards, designed to disperse the forces of a sudden impact so that you don't suffer a fractured wrist. Did you know that wrist injuries are the most common injuries in snowboarding? I've suffered two mild sprains in my time, the first coming on my second day out.

I'll have more to say about these gloves later, but I was pleased with their performance as gloves. I didn't get to sample their effectiveness in avoiding injury, thankfully.

The second piece of snowboarding gear I sampled was an all-mountain snowboard. Thanks to being an instructor, I came across a guy who is a sales rep. He hooked me up with a new board for a few hours. When I held it in my hand and compared it with my current board, it didn't feel any lighter. But it felt lighter when it was attached to my feet. Perhaps that's because it seemed to have a quicker edge-to-edge response.

It didn't ride too well for me, though; I wiped out on heelside turns several times. Though I rarely fall these days, it could have been operator error--an unfamiliarity with the board. Perhaps I'll try it again next week.

In Praise of Flow Bindings.

(Bindings: One of those perpetual debating points among riders. Here's my view.)

I have an 3-year old pair of Flow bindings and I love 'em. One reason is that straps are too complicated for me. I know that sounds like I am an idiot, but there you go. The fact that I was a novice rider when I tried them may have had something to do with it.

The switch to Flows came when, at the end of one run, I spent 5 minutes, without success, trying to unlatch a pair of (cheap, used) strap bindings. I then found a way to pull my feet out of my boots, with straps still buckled in. I walked, in stocking feet, to my car and then drove to my favorite ski shop, where I bought both a pair of Flow FR-11 bindings and some Ride boots.

What do I like about Flows? Obviously, no messing with the tiny notches on the strap bindings. Plus, getting into the binding is quick: slide in foot, push lever from its open position to a closed one, and go. It's like putting on a pair of loafers compared with lacing up tennis shoes. While other riders are messing with their straps at the top of the hill, I'm already sliding away. Sometimes I even start sliding before I put the lever into place. It's that easy.

A bonus is that you don't have as much bending or crouching--good for the aging body.

Some people have praised Flows for eliminating pressure points that they got from straps. As I never stayed on straps long enough for this to be an issue, I can't speak to it.

There are several raps against Flows. Some of it is style prejudice--the "you're not a REAL snowboarder unless you do this" nonsense. I've read some complaints that they are somehow less secure than straps. I doubt that; the Flow professional team regularly medals at freestyle events, suggesting that the binding style is quite suitable for jumping in the air, if that's your thing.

The most legitimate knock on Flows is that they tend to be heavier than a strap binding. This is probably true of the older versions such as the ones that I have. But I have also read that the Flow NXT (newer models) are much lighter than the old ones.

I think that Flows would be good for a beginner (and many other riders), since it simplifies time on the snow at a point when so many things are new and different, if not difficult.

During a clinic last week, we pretended to be new students. We took a tow rope (one foot out) halfway up the bunny hill and sat down for a few minutes. Then we had to get the free feet into a binding.

At that point, the lever that slips into the highback can get in the way. If for some reason I have a foot out and the ground isn't flat, I often find it easier to do a flip (we call it a "turtle roll") so that I am facing uphill. Then I dig my foot into the binding, slap the lever into place, and stand up toeside. (Obviously if I want to start out heelside, then I have to roll again.) Rolling may not be an easy task for a beginner.

As for the k2 cinch, I tried them one day and wasn't impressed. It felt awkward getting in, for one thing. In my Flow bindings, my foot goes in flat. In the Cinch, the toes go in, followed by the heel, followed by the heel pushing down an elevator of some sort. That's an extra step that I found rather weird and inexplicable.

The word I've read is that it's not quite ready for prime time; Flow has their model going for a while now, but the Cinch is still new and the first year presented some problems. I think this may be the third year for the Cinch.

One guy whose judgment I normally trust on snowboarding thinks that both the Flow and the Cinch have too many moving parts, which means that they are susceptible to breaking down. He prefers straps. Obviously, I don't share his conclusion.

You can find a lot of discussion about bindings at either http://snowboard.colonies.com/forums/forum/21/ or at http://www.graysontrays.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=9

By the way, I wouldn't recommend driving in snowboard boots, at least based on my one experience. There wasn't enough give in my boot to make me feel comfortable controlling the pedal(s). Then again, I was using a clutch, too.

Thoughts on Three Ski Swaps

Yesterday I went to my third and final ski swap of the pre-season. As was the case with the other two meets, I looked but did not buy.

Every sport has its gearheads. I used to think that golf was the most extreme case; there's a new gimmick for drivers or irons or (especially) putters every year. And that's just the clubs. A visit to a local "outdoors" store made me reconsider, however: maybe it's fishing, with the variety of rods, reels and (especially) lures.

I'm not much of a gearhead when it comes to snowboarding, and I can take only so much tech talk. Still, I look forward to the swaps as an easy low-pressure way to see what's new--or perhaps more accurately, what was new a couple years ago.

The first two swaps I went to this month were at local ski hills. Oddly enough, the new gear that was being sold came not from local shops, but from two shops at a distance--as in adjacent states!

Here is another oddity: you may think that snowboarding is taking over everywhere. Yet at each of the swaps I attended, there was much more ski gear for sale than snowboarding equipment.

Yesterday's festivities took place at the fairgrounds, not at a ski hill. Perhaps that's one reason why I had to pay an admission fee. Bummer. On the other hand, I got two lift tickets for the trouble, each one of which is worth more than the cost of admission.

I talked with a ski area representative about the show. He recommended to the organizers that they include the word "board" in the title of the event. They did. It didn't help. There was even less snowboarding equipment at this event than at the two on-hill events. It was interesting to see a whole table of rental boots, however; they all had a metal rod, used for step-in bindings, that was perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the boot.

There were several exhibitors, with tables, distributing brochures, candies, and tickets for drawings. Sign your name, address, and get put on a mailing list--and perhaps win something.

I was going to stop at one table, but the woman attending the table was yakking on her cell phone. "Yah, it's kinda boring here." So much for customer service!

I bought my board from this swap a couple of years ago. If I get a different board (something smaller and more manuverable), it won't be coming from a swap. At least not this year.

Sporting Goods for Women

The Wall Street Journal picks up on the theme of a post from late last season, on the value of sex-specific sporting goods.

In "A Tennis Racket of Their Own," Carmen Fleetwood says that "Sporting-goods makers target women with gear designed specifically for female physiques."

Tennis rackets, for example, may now accommodate for the fact that on average, a woman will have less upper-body strength (not good) but more flexible joints (presumably good). The difference? The weight is distributed more equally throughout the racket, leaving less (proportionately) at the head. By taking some of the weight off the point furthest away from the player's hand, the racket becomes easier to use by someone with less strength. Or at least that's the theory.

Why do these design differences matter?

Comfort. Performance. Less risk of injury. Heavier rackets for women may increase the number of injuries to the shoulder's rotator cuff.

The WSJ says that there may be a bright future for products of these sorts, especially with an aging cohort of baby boomers.

Sounds like a winner to me. As a society and economy we are advancing in our knowledge of medicine and engineering. Why not take advantage of that knowledge? I've been a big fan of Flow bindings, for example, since they seem to require less stretching and bending than many strap bindings--good things for an older body.

Modifying Snowboarding Gear for Women

Does gender-specific equipment help?

The other day I talked with Jeannie Thoren, a leading expert on the topic of women-specific ski equipment. Thoren, a former ski racer, is a passionate advocate of women-specific skis and boots. SkiPress World calls her the pioneer of women's-specific ski gear. She spends much of the year traveling the country for Dynastar, giving clinics on how anatomy should drive ski design.

You can read her ideas at her web site, or do a Google search to find second-person accounts of her work. The essential point of her message is that women, having a lower (and further back in the body) center of gravity than men, are ill-served by most ski equipment, which is designed with men's bodies in mind. It's not that a woman can't become good or even great skier on men's skis--but she will be working with a handicap if she uses ski equipment that is designed for the physics of a man's body.




I asked Thoren if the same problem exists with snowboards. Her answer: yes. (She does know how to snowboard, but works with, and rides, skis.) She said that there is still a need for women-specific equipment in snowboarding. I'd like to see that idea developed some more. Some boards are being sold as women's board, but if I remember our conversation correctly, Thoren thinks that there's still much work to be done in getting some truly women-friendly boards out there.

As someone who learned how to ski only after the shaped-ski revolution (borrowing from snowboards) took place, I would have to agree that having the proper equipment can make a significant difference.

Wax!

You should start every snowboarding season with fresh wax on your board. And, as I remembered today, change the wax as required.

It should have been a great day for riding. The air was warm, but not so warm that you'd get hot wearing the usual clothes. One section of the "mountain" that has been open only on weekends (of late) was open, and hey, it's late March and we're still riding!

The sky was overcast, and that's what fooled me into thinking that the snow was fine. But the snow was, well, challenging. It had a lot of water in it; while on the lift, I could easily make snowballs out of the snow that was riding on top of the board. (I'm a poor shot and only infrequently hit a lift tower.)

But the snow wasn't, as was the case two weeks ago, mashed potatoes. That snow, though also wet and sloppy, was a lot easier to work with. You had to push stuff around, but the board slide through it. Today's snow, by contrast, was unpredictable, alternately grabbing and releasing the board. You're moving along--not too fast, but still, moving--and then bam, it's like a dozen little fingers reached up from the ground and grabbed on.

And no, it wasn't just me; other riders and skiers reported the same problem.

I adapted, though I'm not sure how well I did. The approach to some of the steeper runs is gently sloping, and very long. To keep the board moving to where the hill dropped off, I crouched very low and towards the tip of the board. It seemed to work.

Alternately, in "cruising" areas, I sometimes leaned as far as I could towards the tail.

Eventually the air temperature dropped a couple degrees, and that made a big difference. But I was ready to leave by then.

Why Don't Riders Use Poles?

I've never tried using poles while snowboarding. Good thing, you say? Indeed.

I have read that some people, including a doctors' group, recommend using poles to help with the early days of riding. A woman I have skied with while during my Colorado trips has tried riding a board in her home state of Michigan. She says that she has tried using poles. Now I wish I had remembered how that experiment worked out.

Skiers--and here I mean people using two sticks to slide down the mountain, not "skiers" in the generic sense of snow sliders--use poles in at least four ways: for moving across the flats; as a prop while learning how to ski; for help in getting up small hills or going up big hills for a short distance; and finally, for establishing rhythm during turns (pole plants).

Snowboarders are in some ways at a disadvantage for not having poles.

Getting across the flats requires keeping up speed, a somewhat dangerous proposition. Why is that? On steeper terrain, you've got more of a built-in angle between the edge of the board and the ground. You can be a little sloppy by not paying as much attention to the edge angles.

But on the flats, you have lost that margin for error. If you tilt up on edge at the wrong time, or to the wrong degree, you will be punished with the dreaded "face plant" or "butt plant."

You may, on the other hand, wish to ride through a flat with a board that is nearly, well, flat. This means that you're going to pick up speed--perhaps more than you are comfortable with.

One way out of this challenge is to skate, whereby the front foot is in the binding and the back foot propels the board. But this has its own difficulties. Most beginning riders have no experience on a skateboard, and skateboarding is what you are doing when you are skating on a snowboard. Further, you are, most likely, going to start your riding career with a stance that is nearly 0-0 degrees. That is, if you draw a line from the tip of the board to the tail, your knees will be standing perpendicular (a 90 degree angle) to that line.

What this means is that while skating, your head will be looking beyond the tip, your back foot will be moving in a line next (parallel) to the board, but your front foot will be pointed sideways to the direction you are pushing. Not only can this be a strain to your knees, it's just plain unusual, which is to say, awkward.

Can poles be a prop for learning how to ride? I have my doubts that this is a good idea. Poles are good for skiing. In skiing, your toes are lined up with the tip of the boards; in snowboarding, your toes usually ... aren't. So the way that you turn, the way that you stand, the way .... It's all different. Where and how would you use poles, anyway?

Even if you are able to use poles a crutch early on, eventually you would not need them. Then what do you do? You've developed habits and muscle memory that will cause problems with riding.

Neither are poles useful in initiating turns, as they are in skiing. Riding requires a different logic.

Which brings us to using poles to get oneself up small inclines. The most common place that riders (or at least this rider) face this problem is when there's a dip in the land between the end of the ramp and the start of the piste.

When you face a situation like this, you have this sequence:

- Leave the chair, with the back foot outside the binding.
- Come to a stop, even though one's ability to use edge control has been compromised by the fact that only one foot can actually control a binding.
- Get into the binding and start sliding down.
- oops! Did you forget that ever-so-slight incline? No sliding for you! Unbuckle and walk up that incline. Re-buckle.

This is where having poles around would be helpful. Or would it? Very few riders (carvers, mostly) ride with stance angles anywhere approaching those used by skiers--that is, with the toes of both feet pointing to the tip of the board.

Given that, using poles could be rather difficult.

And assume for a moment that you could use the poles to maneuver to the next place where you can start sliding downhill. What do you do with the poles? Reduce them, sci-fi like, into something that would fit into the palm of your hand? Throw them off to the side of the trail and hope that someone can hand them to you next time you come by?

No, using poles on a snowboard just doesn't work. Riders must find other ways to cope with the problems that make the use of poles an interesting possibility.

Waxed and Ready to Slide

A few weeks ago I took my board into a local shop to get it waxed before the season. Yesterday I picked it up. Now all I need to do is put the bindings back on.

I had taken the bindings off. One reason was to give the topsheet a good cleaning; the other was to make it easier for the shop to store the board before they actually started working on it.

Shows you what I know.

When I took the board in, the store employee asked if this was a new board that had come without bindings, or if I had taken them off.

"I took them off," I answered.

"Well, it would really help us if you left them on. It gives us something to hold onto as we work the board."

I suppose the whole question would go away if I started doing the waxing myself. But the house already has enough winter gear--downhill skis, poles, and boots; the same for cross country; and for the snowboard, the board, boots, not one but two bags, and a variety of protective gear. Adding more "stuff" -- iron, files, scrapers, six kinds of wax, etc. -- doesn't seem that attractive at the moment.

On the other hand, if I start getting the board waxed more often, the cost savings may make the stuff storage worthwhile.

Pre-Season Tune-Up

Last night I took my board into a nearby shop for a tune-up and wax. After I wrote out my claim check, the shop employee said "By the way, we're not going to start grinding for a few more weeks."

What?

I had called the shop back in August, and the person I spoke with said that they would start tuning in early October. Now it sounds like mid to late October. Oh well. I'm not going to need the board for a while, anyway. I'm not going to any locale with snow anytime soon. (By the way, if you hurry, you can check out this snow picture from Terry Peak, South Dakota.)

Here's something about tuning I did not know. The employee asked if my board had come without bindings, or if I had taken them off. I said that I had taken them off. He asked that I keep them on next time. It helps them hold onto the board during the tuning. "It's a lot easier," he told me.

And here I had thought that it would be easier for them to remove most of the bulk of the board. I use Flow bindings. They're great, but they may not fold down as well as strap bindings. In any case, it was time to clean off the "naked" board anyway.

Other Sports Show the Importance of Good Boots

Lately I have been trying rollerblading. (It's been difficult, as most new things are.) Doing this has showed me the importance of having good gear--especially boots--for snowboarding.

My rollerblades are $30 cheapies that I bought at Target. The footbed keeps popping out whenever I take the boots off. But that's not the worst part of it. The worst part is that the support the boots offer my ankles is, at best, modest. Skating in this situation feels more difficult than it should be. And it probably is. But I'm still experimenting, and am not sure that I will be skating enough to go to the trouble of buying an expensive pair of skates.

I went out for about an hour last night, gliding through the neighborhood. Then I stopped to see my next-door neighbor, who was sitting out front with her son. We talked for a while; after a while, I saw down and unloosened the laces on the boots.

Eventually I stood up and started to talk across the yard to go home. What a difference! I had little control over my skates.

Sometimes taking a lesson to its logical extreme can be quite useful. In this case, I had a lesson in the importance of a boot that fits snugly.

We sometimes learn the most when we compare something new with something old. In this case, "new" is inline skating, and "old" is snowboarding. Perhaps other lessons for snowboarding will become obvious if I continue to work on inline skating.

These Boots Were Made for Riding

When you're just starting out, just anything will do. And then it comes time when "just anything" won't do.

I have enjoyed having my own equipment this season. No need to stop by the rental shop. No need to put down a $300 deposit on my credit card (as if I would steal equipment, especially that which had been used by dozens of people.) No need to always adjust to slightly different gear.

But I decided that the boots I had bought, as a ski swap find, were simply too big. So I bought a new pair from my favorite shop.

I paid about $100 for the pair, but then dropped in another $30 for semi-custom insoles. That is, the sales girl took a pair of insoles off the rack, and then baked them in the oven for a while. Then she tore out the OEM insoles from the boots, dropped in the new insoles, and I had toasty toes for about 15 minutes as I walked around the shop, imprinting the shape of my foot into the renovated boots.

In yet another example of commerce-meets-recycling, I sold the old boots on eBay. They will serve someone else for a while, before being passed along again. Ultimately, they will be so worn out that they will be good only for walking in the snow or shoveling the driveway.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying my new boots. Not as tight as I would like, but they tell me that I'm not skiing, so I don't need ski-tight boots. I may regret this, but I won't know for a while.

Better the Backpack Than My Shoulder

I had a wonderful day riding in fresh powder. It was a great experience except for one unfortunate incident right after lunch.

After having a breakthrough morning, I went in for lunch. One thing that had made the morning so great was the constant availability of water through my new Dakine hydration backpack. If you've never had a constant source of water available to you out on the slopes, try taking in a lot of water next time out, and see what a difference it makes.

But you've also got be careful, and that's something I wasn't right after lunch. I threw the pack on, as well as my helmet, got into the lift line, and rode up the chair, anticipating a great ride down.

I got a ride, all right. But it wasn't great.

As I went to descend from the chairlift, I felt a resistance. I couldn't ride away from the chair. One of the straps from the backpack had gotten tangled up in the lift chair.

I was going for a different kind of ride.

I tried to yell, but I don't think I got anything out. I was stunned. The chair swung around, ready to start heading down the hill again. But I was still attached, via the strap on my pack.

Fortunately the liftie stopped the whole contraption before I got very far. My feet never left the ground, meaning that I was never suspended in air. The happy result: no separated shoulder (or worse) from hanging, mid-air, from the lift via my pack.

The pack itself was ruined; it tore right along side the zipper. Better it than me. I found my way down to the ski patrol, where somebody gave me a few simple tests to determine there was no obvious nerve damage, and I went on to finish the day.

My only damage: a couple of small bruises on my arm. And no significant pain the next day.

A week later, I did buy another pack. But this one doesn't have as many straps, and I'm very particular about wrapping any excess around and a round, so as to make sure there's no repeat.

Different Gear for Different Snow, Moods.

If you really get into snowboarding, you will end up with several kinds of boards. One for the park, one for the mountain. One for snow, one for ice. Me, I've got two choices: a set of skis, and a snowboard.

For whatever reason, I had troubles with the snowboard today. After struggling with it for a while, I went back to the car and got out my skis. And then I had a fine time on the hill. The snowboard can wait for another day.

Maybe I just wasn't in the snowboarding mood today.

It's Official: My Board is 10-Year Old Cool

I took my board and new bindings out yesterday, and made an impression.

It's interesting to see what kinds of reactions the kids have to an old guy on a board. A 15-year old was a good encouragement on a day during my first season, giving me some useful advice. But usually, the kids stick with themselves.

Today I was out on my new board. As I rode away from the chairlift, a 10-year old (I'm guessing the age) boy said "How's the snowboarding today, sir?"

I've long ago adjusted to being called "sir." In fact, when it comes from a kid, I'm actually glad to hear it. A few manners, you understand.

The two of us got to talking about snowboarding, how long we had been riding, and so forth. Then he said "That's a cool board you have there."

So there you have it. Cool, as certified by a ten-year old.

Farewell, Strap Bindings

It was one of the best eBay transactions I ever made.

The package I bought a while ago included boots, a board, and bindings. The bindings were the strap kind, which I have never liked. My rental boards have been a variety of step-ins, though once out west, I took a lesson with straps. I didn't care for it then, either.

When I bought the gear, I thought that perhaps I would learn to use and work with the strap bindings. But it was not to be.

Thanks to the marketplace that is eBay, I found someone who actually wants strap bindings. The sale went a small way to recouping my original expenses.

Now I'm riding Flow bindings, which are a bit hard to explain. If you're familiar with old ski boots, they're very approximately like rear-entry ski boots. In any case, I find them much easier to use than straps. At this point, I'll sacrifice any alleged benefit of straps for the ease of use of these Flows.

Tune My Own Board? Thanks. I'll Pass for Now

Tonight I went to a class about how to tune your own board or skis. I think I'll pass for now.

It's not that I think that tuning and waxing are unnecessary. And it's not that I'm (too) afraid to spend the money for the equipment. I know that in the long run, I'll probably save money by doing some work myself.

It's simply that I don't want to work that hard in the "back office" functions of snowboarding or skiing. Hold an inventory of different waxes, to be applied as required by the changing temperatures? I'd rather not. Lovingly grind the edges and then polish them, all while not bruising the sidecoat that is just above the edges? Nah. Setting aside a shelf in my basement for a whole bunch of specialized gear? I don't think so; my basement is already getting cluttered with the specialized gear of both skiing and snowboarding.

Do-it-yourself can make sense. But in this case, at this time, it doesn't.

New Stomp Pad: New Equipment Helps

While "slippery" is a good quality for the underside of a snowboard, it's not a good quality for the topside. The last thing you want to do when you put a foot on top of the board is to slip away. That's what stomp pads are for.

Today I installed a stomp pad on my "new" (used) board. I am not sure yet where my bindings will end up, or even if I will want to change from a regular stance to a goofy one, so I didn't want to put it too close to either set of binding holes.

That's not the optimal choice. Ideally, I should put it next to where my bindings will end up being permanently. But since I don't know where that is yet, it is better to minimize the downside that would come from having it in the wrong place. Better "middle of the road," which is where the new pad is: in the middle of the board, right between the two sets of binding holes.

My first day ever out on snowboarding was on a rental board (as part of a class) that did not have a stomp pad. It wasn't until my second lesson that I got a stomp pad, and understood its value.

Finally, My Own Gear

After renting gear for a while, it was time for my own set of equipment. But did I do myself a favor, or a disservice?

If you're just starting out with snowboarding, renting gear makes a lot of sense. There's a fairly high dropout rate, and why would you shell out a few hundred bucks for something you are not sure about?

So when should you go and buy your own stuff? There's no easy answer, but if you've been out more than a few times, and you're seriously interested in learning how to ride, it may be time to buy.

In my case, I had gone long enough to know that snowboarding was something I wanted to keep going at, even if it might take a long time to get up to speed. The rental gear wasn't itself too bad, but I resented having to plop down a $300 deposit on the board each time I rented it. I never had to do that with rental skis, after all.

Since I had already paid a fair amount of money for skis, ski boots, and modifications to both (ski alignment, custom foot beds for the boots, etc.), getting top of the line snowboarding gear was out of the question. After all, I haven't given up skiing.

So when word came to me about a ski and snowboard swap, I went.

As it turns out, it wasn't the greatest experience. I went on the final day, and there was little selection left. Still, I did come away with some stuff.

The most obvious need was a board. I could have gone for a semi-scientific approach, but at this point, I don't know enough about my own abilities or preferences to have much of a feel for what I need. Hard boots and alpine boards are out, since I'm interested in all-around riding. So then, freestyle-specific gear isn't that important, either, since it will be a while before I hit the pipe or park.

So I went with two simple requirements (aside from the board being tall enough). One, that it be wide enough to accommodate my large feet. Two, that it not have any of the "teenaged graphics" that seem to populate boards. I wasn't looking for a fashion statement, after all.

Fortunately, I found one (and only one) that fit the bill. The graphic was essentially no graphic. Aside from two solid borders along portions of either edge, the board itself simply has a wood finish. In fact, it looks something like the lane of a bowling alley, with visible grain.

That's pretty cool, actually. It takes me back to my childhood, and to the roots of snowboarding. The Snurfer, a prototype of today's snowboard, was sold by Brunswick. And Brunswick's chief product in that day was ... stuff for bowling alleys. So I have a no-nonsense, "roots" board.

It came with strap-on bindings attached, which could cause problem. I picked up a pair of boots, cheap. I figure that if they don't work out, I can always sell them.

So while this setup doesn't make me a snowboarder, and the purchase did violate all the rules about how to buy gear, it does get me more involved, and sets me on the path to having a familiar situation each time I ride.