The Virtue of Running East and West

Football commentators sometimes describe a running back who plows straight down the field as being a “north-south” runner. In other words, it’s all about moving in a single line, not meandering from side to side.

That kind of approach works fine for football, but it robs the rider of some of the enjoyment of snowboarding, especially on short runs.

If you’re riding down a regular mountain with a two mile run and several thousand vertical feet to descend, being a north-south runner is fine. But when you’re dealing with 300 vertical feet and at most three-quarters of a mile, as is often the case in the Midwest, you’ve got to appreciate the more subtle changes in the terrain and go east-west as well as north-south.

For example, look at the various undulations in the photo above. It’s one of the shortest slopes in this particular ski area, but it’s also one of the most interesting. Near the top–in the shadows–is a section that is fairly steep, though for only 10 feet or so. You can drop off that, or head off to the rider’s right and enter into a bowl. As you move towards the base you have several options as well.

Granted, Breckenridge or Park City it isn’t. We make do here. Looking at the possibilities of the terrain at a small ski area, though, can pay off during trips to the mountains, so you can imagine a line and then follow it.