Stereotyping thousands of snowboarders into the catagory of "punks with no etiquette or skill" ??

Pretty snobby if you ask me.

And to think! I stopped in the middle of this run to enjoy the view... :rolleyes:


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1136932253.jpg

I never said all snowboarders were this way, just a large majority.

I've had two run in's with them.

In the first one I was blindsided by a guy who wasn't watching his back side. We both went down hard. I got up to see if he was OK...he scurried off without say anything more than "fuch you d*ckhead".

The second one I was skiing down a cat track when one jumped off of the ledge above me, landed on my ski tips and tore both binding toe peices from my brand spankin' new Rossi 4G's. Again, never apologized and continued on his oblivious way.

This doesn't even count all the times I've watched them get in way over their head and side-slip all the way down a triple diamond run with fresh snow on it...effectively creating an ice sheet the width of their board.

Don't even get me started on how badly they fuch up moguls.

:mad:

One of my best friends is a snow boarder and he agrees with most of what I've ranted on here...but then again he's courteous and has skills.

Funny... I just had a thought...

Telemarkers.

Use different lines. Chop up moguls. 'Cept for the all-stars a lot of them stop/fall in the middle of the run.

You think they're punks too?

Unshaven bib wearing backcountry types! How dare they stain the sacred veil of skiing!

Sorry for the above thread hijack SoCal...

To answer your question...

The convience of the local mountains cannot be beat. During the period that you are learning you will not need the bells and whistles that other 'real' mountains offer. The local mountains have everything you need to get started.

You can expect long lines and warm temperatures... But on those first few days of learning you'll appeciate having the long break at the end of a run and not being cold. That mountain high deal sounds biitchin'! Take advantage of it.

Have fun!

Teles are cool. They actually try and avoid hitting you.

Real telemarkers hike for their turns. :p

There is no sacred veil...just look at what the kids are doing on skiis these days. I'm friggin' amazed! This coming from a guy who in all of his 20+ years of skiing has never even pulled off a single sucessful helicopter. ;)

Snow boards have their place...deep snow (minus the side slipping), half pipes, board parks, etc.

Beautiful picture BTW, where is that?

Backside of Copper Mtn, Colorado. Two thumbs up.

I agree that my opinion sounds pretty snobby, but it is honestly how my brain reacts after hearing the word snowboarder. As I tried to also state earlier, I know that not ALL snowboarders today fall into the stereotypical image my old school brain clings to.

You should hear me on the subject of American cars vs foreign!
I learned to drive at a time when Hondas and VW's ran 10 times longer than a K-car or a Ford Escort. Some opinions formed in my "impressionable youth" are burned in permanent!:)

PS: at 39 I can still hammer the bumps (not all day though), ski (not slide) icy steep double blacks and even pull off a helicopter on occasion when I think my kids need a dose of "dad is not too old still have fun":)