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…

[phpbay]dc snowboard, 4, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “snowboard720-snowboardingrails”, “1″, “”, “4″[/phpbay]

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Whistler is one of the most talked about destinations amongst snow junkies located 75 miles north of Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada.  Any snowboarder fortunate enough to have carved this mountains silky powder would solemnly swear to it being winters ultimate paradise.

Count me in as being lucky enough to have experienced its greatness.  It was an obsession of mine to be able to snowboard at the biggest and baddest mountain on the west coast.  Everyone spoke of it being heavenly because of its powder.  That made it all the reason to max out my credit cards on a plane ticket and lift tickets.  It was truly an experience to never forget.  The sheer number of runs and the length of the runs were massive…nothing compared to what I was used to at my local mountain.  And one of my favorite aspects of Whistler was not getting down the mountain but getting up the mountain.  Can you say gondola…yupp, that’s right…no more freezing in a chair lift to the top of the mountain.  I got to experience warmth in an enclosed 10 person heated gondola.  Awesome!…Yes, I know!  Another great amenity is their backcountry.  This was my first experience of powder.  I heard stories but never experienced it for myself.  Lucky for me, I was at the pinnacle of mountains. Check out this amazing clip and you’ll know what I’m talking about…

[phpbay]flow snowboard, 4, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “snowboard720-snowboardingwhistler”, “1″, “”, “4″[/phpbay]

If you are planning to go for a snowboarding trip and you still have not decided about your equipment, then buying the required gear seems to be the best option, but be prepared to spend some cash.  Beginners…your best option is renting.  Its how myself and many others I know started off at least the first few couple of times.  But if you’ve got the cash…splurge.  Because once you’ve experienced the thrill of boarding you’ll wish you purchased right off the bat instead of wasting your moola on renting.

Renting is the most affordable option for beginners because at the end of the day if you come to the conclusion that snowboarding just isn’t your cup of tea, then you can just return the gear and say sayonara.  Also if you’re traveling to your snow destination, then loading them in your car is also another issue….unless you own a truck or snowboard rack.  Traveling by plane  will also require a special bag for your snowboard.  So in the end, you can save yourself from all the hassle by just renting.  Every snow resort has rentals but you can even save yourself a few bucks if you rent outside at a local sporting goods.  But then you run into the problem again of finding space in your car to pack them.  So, renting at the resort does have its advantages.

Furthermore, if you’re traveling during the peak season…normally around holidays, keep in mind that rentals are scarce.  Try to reserve in advance or you’ll have a heck of a time finding gear specific to your size.  This is very important…many times I was stuck searching different sporting goods the day before my trips just to find my size…not a fun experience.

[phpbay]special blend snowboard, 4, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “snowboard720-beginnersnowboarder”, “1″, “”, “4″[/phpbay]

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