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My Rossignol snow jacket has served me well since I bought it in late 2002, but it’s been heading towards retirement lately. The main zipper has become unreliable, and prone to jamming, causing me to have to pull the jacket over my head.

It was time for a new one, and I decided to step it up from a technical standpoint. The fact that I could get a nice professional discount on some new gear helped out as well.

So I spent the better part of a recent flight pouring over the men’s catalog from Sport Obermeyer.

If you hear someone talk about sports clothing being “technical” and you’re not sure what that means, trust me: It’s technical. Technical as choices in fabrics that might be at home on the periodic table. Technical as in numbers such as “20,000 gm/m2,” which sound like they came out of a physics lab. Technical as in features, such as “Control Zone Ventilation” that conjure up images of civil engineering.

What I knew, primarily, was that I wanted a new jacket.

Now I’m by no means an expert in clothing or snowboard gear generally. So here’s what I went with. There are two numbers key to any piece of snowboarding jackets or pants. One tells how waterproof it is, or how good it is at keeping water out. The other deals with breathability, or how easily it lets the sweat from your body go out, and evaporate.

These two items are in a push/pull relationship. A raincoat is waterproof, but not terribly breathable. Other jackets are breathable, but if it rains or you get in the path of very wet snow, watch out: you’ll get wet.

So if you want a jacket that is both breathable and waterproof, you will have to spend some serious dough. In a totally unscientific method, I looked for high numbers for both qualities. I also made sure that the breathable number was close to or even higher than the number for the waterproof quality.

Oh yeah, and I also had to find a model that was in stock. Shop after November at your peril.

So I ended up with the Obermeyer Radial. Click on the link if you would like to look at all the my-eyes-glaze-over details. Here’s what I’ll say after spending a couple of days in some wet snow: I like it.

I’d like it better if it came down a bit longer in back. (Did I mention that I’m not much of a shopper?) But it kept me dry on a day of wet snow, and though I was wearing four layers underneath it (base, pullover, fleece jacket, fleece vest) on a fairly warm day (high: 22 or so), I wasn’t too hot until I went to the third floor of the lodge and near the fireplace, at which point I had to quickly shed layers.

It’s got several pockets, including one for an MP3 player, and another for a cell phone. There are features that I’m still learning about, such as a loop-with-a-fastener in an outside pocket. That’s for clipping your car keys–something I could have benefited from a great deal about a month ago, when I wiped out–and the keys flew out–while wearing my Rossi.

The jacket comes with a hood, which doesn’t do me much good while on the slopes, as it’s too small to fit over my helmet. But it did come in handy while driving about town.

The coat comes in many colors, including the one shown above. (I got “cayenne,” which is a shade of red.) Availability may be limited.

It’s sold as a jacket rather than a shell, but unlike my Rossignol jacket, it’s probably too thin to wear on colder days about town when I’m not bulked up with mountain-ready layers of fleece.

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.

No doubt about it, skiing and snowboarding can be expensive. Perhaps the most expensive way to find snow for sliding is to take helicopter trips into the backcountry in pursuit of powder.

I just received an e-mail for one such trip. An eight-day excursion in British Columbia costs $8,000, reduced from $9,800. It sounds delightful, though perhaps the accommodations are more upscale than I need. All that snow should be enough.

You’ve heard the cliches about Eskimos and the number of words for snow? Well, if there are hundreds of words for snow, there must be at least a dozen types of snow sliders.

We don’t get much powder here in the Midwest; much of the snow is put on the ground through snowmaking equipment. When snow does come down, it’s often quickly subjected to the grooming machines. It seems a crime against snowy goodness to tame powder into submission, and I’m not sure why ski areas do it. One reason is that many guests actually don’t like powder. Hard to believe, but true, some don’t. Another reason is that powder dumps are rare. So when the powder is inevitably chopped up and pushed around, it can end up in difficult-to-manage piles, so … might as well get it cleaned up right now.

Some of my favorite snow companions are skiers who actually seek out groomers, and find powder a challenge rather than a pleasure. Sometimes, then, I’m faced with the choice of being a “good citizen” and seeking out my preferred terrain.

At other times, like this recent trip, the choice doesn’t exist, since the groomers don’t exist. That means being in a strange position: I’m delighting in the fresh stuff, while my companions struggle through it.

Live somewhere where it’s too warm for snow, but you want to get ready for a trip to the mountains? I’ve come across some instructors who say that the Ripstick is a useful training device. The video below makes it look worthwhile.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clNdfz4KDMU]

I found another blog that has an interesting post about the role of faith in snowboarding. Not religious faith–that’s something I may want to write about later–but something of equal value.

Snowboarding, like so many other things in life, is about owning one’s fear. Every day I go ride, I grow. My greatest joy comes when I overcome my fear and have faith in my own ability to ride through the moment.

Indeed, progression in snowboarding (and some other sports) presents us with many avenues for personal growth. As they say, read the whole thing.

There are many ways to stand on a snowboard. Some people, mostly those in extreme carving, stand with both feet pointing nearly downhill. Many freestyle (trick) riders like having their feet pointing across the hill. That’s called a “zero-zero” stance, and it has the advantage of making it easier for either end of your snowboard to lead the way. That’s useful when you’re doing jumps and spins–something not suitable for many adults, especially novices and beginners.

Lately I’ve been going to parties, family gatherings and other events and looking at people’s feet. Well, not their feet as much as where place them in relationship to each other, and how they stand.

You know what “pigeon toed” means? As you stand, your big toes are pointing to each other.

What I’ve noticed, as I look at how people stand, is that most people use what snowboarding instructors call a “duck” stance.

Quack!

A duck stance is the opposite of a pigeon toed-stance. If you picture that you’re standing on a clock, your toes, in a duck stance, are standing on the numbers 10 and 2.

I don’t know enough about biomechanics to explain why we do this, but apparently it’s a very comfortable, stable stance to have.

Snowboarding is all about maintaining some stability (or balance) as the terrain changes and where you are on the hill changes.

If you’re just starting out snowboarding–or if you’ve been at it a while and a feeling a bit shaky–try standing like a duck. In technical terms, ride with an angle of +12 degrees in the front and -9 in the back. Maybe you’ll find that you’re a duck, too!

I’ve get up a Google News alert with various terms related to snowboarding, so I can keep up on the news. This morning’s alert pointed me to a web site that gives a review of this blog. It’s called Blogged.com. According to the “About Us” page, “Blogged.com is a blog directory that offers reviews, ratings, and comments on a categorized list of popular blogs.” (Here’s the page for the GraysOnTrays blog.) A pop-up screen says that ratings are “based on professional editors who evaluate a blog based on the following criteria: Frequency of Updates, Relevance of Content, Site Design, and Writing Style.

I’m happy to find that the Grays on Trays blog scored an 8.1 out of 10, which translates into “very good.” Of course, a 10 would be even better, but that just gives something to shoot for. “Site design” could certainly use some help. Design has never been me strength, and I recognize the wisdom of division of labor. I’ve never been satisfied with the look of this blog, so if you’ve got some ideas for spiffing it up, send me an e-mail.

I just noticed it now, but the Wall Street Journal had its own article on Taos Ski Valley lifting its ban on snowboarders. The article makes it clear that the decision was a business one. No surprise there.

But with ski revenue sliding and offspring of even the most hard-core skiers gravitating to boards, skiers-only destinations find it hard to keep refusing. Skier and snowboarder visits dropped in the 2006-2007 season to a combined 55 million, from close to 59 million in 2005-2006, the national ski areas group says. Industry revenue of $4.9 billion in 2005-2006 was down slightly from the previous season, according to the group’s latest data. ….

Alejandro Blake, events coordinator and a grandson of Ernie Blake, the resort’s founder, says Taos Ski Valley has been weighing the change for seven years. Skiing clans who came to Taos for generations began writing letters to say they couldn’t return because a child or a grandchild wanted to snowboard. Four years ago, the Blakes asked resort guests to rate the importance of the no-snowboards rule in their decision to visit, on a scale of one to five. For the past two years, more than half the respondents gave it a one, two or three — indicating dwindling support. “It is a business at the end of the day,” says Mr. Blake. “We weren’t forced into this, but we needed to do it in order to grow.”

Mr. Blake says the decision to eventually accommodate snowboarders was made two years ago, when the resort finalized plans for a major expansion of the base area. The resort decided to enlarge rental shops to handle snowboards, install snowboard-size racks outside and build more hotel rooms to house an expected 10% to 15% increase in visitors.

A successful business listens to its customers.

What I found most puzzling about the article was the state that “Relations between skiers and riders (as snowboarders are known) have never been chillier.” The article offers no evidence, not even a quote from a disgruntled skier. If you read stories of the early days, you’ll most likely conclude that today’s relations are by comparison as warm as a spring day. In its current issue, “Pro Rider,” the magazine of the American Association of Snowboard Instructors, features an interview with several veteran instructors. The stories they tell make it clear that times have changed.

One thing I enjoy about the whole snowboarding world is finding out about adults who enjoy the sideways slide down the mountain. Yes, it’s more and more common for those of us 30 and up (and even 50 and up) to enjoy snowboarding, but there’s still something a bit head-turning about it all.

And why is that important? Because it may cause some people to stop and think “Hey, maybe I can do that, too!” Introducing people to the sport is sometimes as much fun as a good trip down the slopes.

Here’s a letter published in today’s Wall Street Journal, written by Tai Sugimoto of Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina:

It may be true that the majority of skiers are older than 25 and the majority of snowboarders are “not old enough to rent a car” (“Snowboards Invade Another Ski Shrine,” Weekend Journal, Dec. 22). It is also a quite common trend that the children and grandchildren of skiers demand to open the “skiers only” resorts to boarders, or else. There is, however, another significant trend developing based on my observations and experiences: boomer skier turned boomer snowboarder.

I’ve just become eligible for Social Security benefits, but about 10 years ago my daughter started snowboarding and was too young to do it by herself. I strapped on a board and took lessons with her. Admittedly, it was humiliating and frustrating for a few days, until I got the hang of it.

To my surprise snowboarding has rejuvenated my excitement on the slopes. I can do more with the board than I was ever able to do with skis and with less probability of leg injuries. Besides, it’s pretty “cool” when my boomer buddy and I say to the teens sitting next to us on the lift that our combined age exceeds 120 years, and then we beat them on the way down, getting (not giving) air for show.

(Emphasis added)

To quote one of my youthful e-mail correspondents: “Go old people, go!”