This 2011 winter season is just now gearing up to be whats forecast as another el nino. Our local mountains were snow-blasted with 4-6 inches and mammoth with 14-16 inches just from our first overnight storm.  Yeah, sick…I know…our first storm…its almost unbelievable, I almost fell off my chair when I heard the news.  I quickly sent a mass text to my fellow snowboarding amigos. In addition, temperatures are now cold enough for snow making. Like the rest of my fellow so. cal. snow junkies I’m equally stoked…can you tell? Road trip?…anyone?

Unheard of and never before seen in this world…until now. One snowboarder’s ultimate dream come true. Watch this jaw-dropping clip now and be awe struck just as I was…

What?? Pretty sick right?…Yeah, I know! A secret halfpipe built just for you. Can you imagine? Shaun White’s the luckiest snowboarder ever.  But, he’s proving to the world and Red Bull that it was definitely worth the investment.

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Snowboarding tricks keep evolving getting more and more challenging as the sport progresses making it tough for those snowboarders in competition to keep pace with the new standard.  This new standard, dubbed the double-cork is definitely good reason for categorizing snowboarding as an extreme sport.  Rightfully so, its an extremely difficult trick.  To describe it, double-corks are two diagonal flips, or off-axis rotations.  To picture it, try tossing up a wine bottle cork into the air with a jerk in your wrist as you release it allowing the cork to flip diagonally twice.  Watch the double-cork in all its glory as Shaun White nails it to perfection in this clip.

If you are a snowboard enthusiast and haven’t heard of Shaun White then presumably you’ve  been hiding under a rock.  This guy is an icon in the world of snowboarding not just nationally, but globally.  In the clip above, you may have noticed he’s added a bit of flavor of his own.  In addition to the double-cork, as if it wasn’t hard enough already, he also does a 1080 grab.  So to recap, while he flips diagonally twice (double-cork), he simultaneously executes three full spins (1080 degrees) while grabbing his board.  There’s definitely a WOW factor involved when watching this guy perform.  Most will agree that calling his performances amazing won’t even suffice…more like extraordinary.

This ultra-difficult trick will set the tone in this upcoming 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver and those riders that haven’t included it in their bag of tricks will have to settle for Silver or Bronze.  Essentially, the Gold will belong to the master of the double-cork.

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Remember when your were a kid and couldn’t sleep the night before going to Disneyland?  That was me last night.  Like I’ve mentioned earlier, snowboarding is an addiction and I couldn’t wait to get up and get shredding. Ooops…did I write shredding? Yeah, I know shredding is a skateboarding term, but its where I started. You can find out how easy it was for me to transition to snowboarding here. Sorry to veer off topic there…so where was I? It’s been close to 9 months since my last time up but its felt like an eternity. 5am finally came and I was already staring at my clock before my alarm even went off…almost as if I hadn’t slept at all.  But I think I did get a good nights rest because I was completely pumped…and that was without coffee.

Up the mountain we went…

Route 330 leading up to Snow Summit was a complete disaster. Bumper to bumper traffic like I’ve seen many times before. Seems as though everyone and their mother shared our feeling of yearning for fresh powder.

U-turn…

No way were we going to waste a couple hours moving at snails-pace.  We turned around and headed to Mountain High.  A closer snow resort we usually don’t go to because of its low end facilities.  The mountain is small and their runs are short…nothing compared to Snow Summit.  But we had no choice and ended up having a great time.  We were able to get 10 runs in down the mountain…so it wasn’t too bad at all.  Surprisingly, they even had a snowboard park with a few jumps, boxes, and rails.  Another positive of Mountain High is the drive home…a mere 30 minutes vs. 2 hours compared to Snow Summit…something I’ll never complain about.  No more down playing Mountain High for me…I’ll definitely give it a thumbs up next time we decide where to go.

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Rail sliding is insanely fun and my personal favorite when riding through snowboard terrain parks.  There are now a wide variety of different types of rails (i.e. short, long, small, tall, thin, wide, box-type, etc.)  Check out the length of the rail in this clip…

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Southern Californians are fortunate to have three mountains to their disposal when deciding where to snowboard.  They are Mountain High, Big Bear, and Mammoth.  The latter being the biggest and baddest, but also the farthest to drive to.  From where I live, broken down it would take 1 hour to get to Mountain High, 2 hours to Big Bear, and 5-6 hours to Mammoth.  Though the first two choices are local and convenient, I’m almost positive you’ll be willing to make the drive after you find out what Mammoth has to offer. The amenities available will completley blow your mind.  Check out this WOW factor…I’m a numbers guy so let me lay it out for you to see the comparison.

Mountain Size

Mammoth: 3,500  acres  Snow Summit: 240 acres

Number of Trails

Mammoth: 150 Snow Summit: 31

Number of Lifts

Mammoth: 28  (3 gondolas)  Snow Summit: 14 (zero gondolas)

Snow Base

Mammoth: 48-60 inches  Snow Summit: 4-6 inches

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Nuff said…Get the picture?

Bonus

The biggest bonus is their terrain parks.  Yes…plural…there’s 3 altogether supplied with a diverse collection of boxes, rails, half-pipes, quarter-pipes and more.  And…each park is designed for the needs of each level of ability ranging from beginners to experts with the only difference between them being the size of features.

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What Other Snowboarders Are Searching For:

What Other Snowboarders Are Searching For:

You may be wondering why a whole post on pants.  Well I’ve seen it a thousand times on the slopes and it just hit me that I should probably write about it.

Seen what a thousand times?

Soaking wet snowboard pants.

Now who wants to board with wet pants?  I sure don’t and I’m certain you don’t either.  You can get away with wearing any type of pants while snowboarding…I mean I’ve seen people boarding with jeans and sweat pants…BIG mistake!  Probably the fastest way to turning your back side into a frozen popsicle.

Purchasing snowboarding pants is definitely a good investment if you enjoy being warm and dry. The pants you shop for should include the following four criteria…

First and foremost – Waterproofing

Most definitely a MUST. Otherwise the feeling you’ll experience would mimic jumping into freezing cold water waste deep without a wet suit. Not a pretty picture…agree? When shopping, make sure to check the labels.  What you’re looking for is a waterproof rating of 30,000mm or more.  You’ll notice a range of anywhere between 5,000mm to 100,000mm.  Of course, the higher the ranking the higher the price. But I would not recommend anything less than 10,000mm.

Secondly – Breathable Material

You may be thinking…the thicker the material, the warmer you’ll be.  True, but not the case here. Believe it or not, your core temperature will be much higher than the ambient temperature while snowboarding.  Snowboarding is an exercise…a lower body exercise, where you’re constantly flexing your leg muscles.  This will cause your legs to sweat.  Therefore, the fabric of the snowboarding pants you’re looking for should also consist of breathable material.  Remember the key is to stay dry.  So when your legs start to sweat you’ll want a material that will whisk it away.  The labels on the snowboarding pants will also reflect a breathability index ranging from low to high.  Again, choose the highest number.

Thirdly – How should they fit?

Baggy, loose, or tight fitting? This is usually a matter of preference, but I’ll recommend loose. The key here is to have them fit well…not too baggy or too tight, so you can move freely.  Snowboarding requires a lot of bending, so you’ll want to avoid pants that could constrict your manueverablity.

Lastly – Pockets?

Yes, definitely!…and I’ll go as far out on a limb to even say they are mandatory. Where else are you gonna carry your belongings (i.e. keys, cash, credit card, lip balm, etc.)? You cannot wear a backpack cause it’ll throw off your balance.

Last Word

I know this is a lot to consider but following the above criteria will assure you of an enjoyable snowboarding experience.  No doubt…you’ll stay warm, dry, and comfortable.

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This largely depends on your height.  Rule of thumb is that the snowboard be no taller than your chin when standing it up on the ground.  I’m 5 foot 10 inches and ride a size 56.  Where 56 is the length of the board in inches.  When shopping for a board, all you’ve got to do is stand them up vertically up to your chin while keeping your head level.  If the board sits below your chin you’ve got yourself a board that’s suited perfectly for your height.  Just remember that the shorter the snowboard the easier to maneuver.  Longer boards are for slalom or downhill speed.

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The majority of snowboarding tricks are performed in the air off jumps or ramps.  They consist of a variety of twists, turns, flips, and grabs.  Most of which were made up by pro snowboarders who’ve usually coined a name for them after performing and completing them to perfection in competitions.

Here are a few…

Backflip Rodeo: Performed off a jump…and the rider turns upside down while simultaneously rotates their body and board 360, 540, or 720 degrees.  This trick requires super speed pre-jump.

Ollie: When a snowboarder jumps over small obstacles while riding.

Air to Fakie: When riders jump off jumps, boxes, or rails and complete a 180 turn in the air and land fakie (opposite stance).

Nose to Tail Roll: When a rider shifts his/her weight to the nose thus lifting the back-end and spins 180 degrees and continues riding fakie.

Backside Air: Completed while performing an aerial trick off a half-pipe

Grind: Performed on the top-edge of a half-pipe where the middle of the snowboard slides along the edge.

Nose Grab: When a snowboarder grabs the front-end of the snowboard while performing an aerial trick.

Tail Grab: When a snowboarder grabs the back-end of the snowboard while performing an aerial trick.

Wheelie: When riders lift the front-end or back-end of their snowboards while continuing to ride down the slope maintaining their balance.

Method: Performed off a half-pipe when the rider gets air, grabs the board pulling it towards their back.

McTwist: Performed off an almost vertical jump and combines a front flip while in rotation twisting 540 degrees while also grabbing the board at the same time, then landing fakie.

Here’s a sick clip I found showcasing several of the tricks mentioned above.  Note: If you mind rock music, you’ll want to turn your volume down.

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