Snowboarding Injuries

Pobably the thing I try to avoid the most while snowboarding is the injuries.  How do I go about this?  I go down the hill reeeeaaaalllllly slow.  But for those of you who are deathly nervous about hurting yourself on the slopes, don’t look here for advice, I’m going to show you the worst of the injuries I can find and display pictures for all of your enjoyment!  Seriously though, if you’re squeamish don’t read the rest of this.

Lets start with the upper limb injuries.  Usually caused by a fall which was prevented only by the snapping of an arm, or fly off a jump only to land awkwardly (and painfully) on their shoulder.  Luckily, you mostly get these injuries as a beginner as they are balance and agility based injuries.  To avoid this, I’d recommend a wrist protector to wear while you’re riding so you’re arm doesn’t end up looking like this:

Trust me.  20 bucks spent on a wrist guard could save you thousands if you don’t have the right insurance.  There’s no really guard for a shoulder so if you’re a beginner, try and keep your feet on the ground so you’re shoulder doesn’t end up looking like this:

Moving right along we’ll focus on my favorite injury: the lower limbs.  Usually foot related, these injuries can sprain, break, and even paralyze a snowboarder if they’re not careful and usually occur with riders who know how to ride in attempts to go so big that it’s almost too big…and then they break their feet.  With the removal of the step-in bindings, these injuries have decreased, but are still pretty prominent in the snowboarding community.  Even still, ankle fractures can occur even if a boarder lands his jump, from all the pressure coming down and dispersing through to your feet it’s no wonder they fall apart after you land on them.

Of course there are many other injuries like head injuries which can be prevented by wearing a helmet and spinal injuries which are few and far between, but can have horrible outcomes.  Well I hope you’ve enjoyed the trip down gruesome road, and I also hope that this serves as a warning to all who think they’re invincible…you’re not

Boards

When it comes down to it, there’s a variety of different snowboards you can choose from and it occurred to me that although this is a snowboarding blog I haven’t talked about the most important aspect of snowboarding…the snowboard itself.

Depending on the type of riding you’ll execute will largely depend on your style and how you ride will also affect the type of board you will be using. If you’re looking to go down in the snow pipes and parks, a freestyle board will be your board of choice. This rigid, light board is designed for use in twin-directions, meaning you can ride it from the front or the back and no difference will be seen.

The racing/alpine snowboard is a longer snowboard and is rather narrow and rigid. These types of boards are designed for with a directional shape, meaning they are intended to be rode in one direction as opposed to two with the freestyle and all-mountain boards. The best conditions to use a racing/alpine board in is when the slopes are freshly groomed by machines. This helps eliminate any imperfections that may otherwise injure or throw a contestant off his course which would totally suck at high speeds.

The swallow-tail board is generally a wider board that has a split running down the tail (backside) of the snowboard. They split tail design allows the tail to sink into the snow lower than the nose, allowing for optimum control of the snowboard and your direction. By sinking the tail end of the board into the snow, the control significantly increases because you no longer have to worry as much about weight distribution as you did before with either the racing board, or the freestyle boards, it’s pretty fun to ride but finding the snow for it can be difficult at times.

Going along with the swallow-tail board, the fish shape board plays a similar role. Although the fish board is shorted and wider, it also has a tapered tail which is designed to eliminte leg fatigue in deep powder. This board is beneficial for when there is almost too much snow to go snowboarding in. As the snow rises, it gets more difficult to manuver your snowboard and you become fatigued more quickly. The fish shape allows for proper weight distribution but again, is usually used for back mountain riding.

Figuring how you wish to snowboard can be a difficult task. For beginners, I would recommend a freeride or freestyle board. These boards are very generic and can help you learn rather fast because they do not have one set function. I have been snowboarding for six years and I still use my freeride board mainly because of it’s versatility. Once comfortable, drop that baby in the half pipe and take it for some tricks. If you’re successful move up to the harder boards and show me up.

Burton NZ Open

Yeah, it’s back.  Burton has single handedly done it again, and he’s gathering the top boarders from around the world and dropping them into a central location: Lake Wanaka, New Zealand.  Drawing in boarders like X Games Champs, Olympic Gold Medalists, and world champs all competing for $100,000 big ones it’s no wonder Burton is so popular.

The competition start on July 30th with both the men’s and women’s half pipe qualifiers.  The next day, the newly designed slope style course followed by the slope style semi finals and finals on August 1st.

On Friday night spectators will be able to watch as both the men and women show their skills on the half pipe while New Zealand’s best DJ’s bust out some sick tunes.  Onlookers will be especially pleased to learn that the stadium that they get to sit on is made entirely of snow.

Huge music, huge names, sponsored by the man who created snowboarding…I can’t think of anything cooler.

Boarding Styles

Believe it or not, there are a bunch of different styles for snowboarders to execute while they’re riding down the slopes. At face value, snowboarding can be seen as just simply riding down a hill and maybe catching some air and doing some tricks. But look a little deeper and you’ll find a subculture, a way of life, and certainly different styles that come attached. Try and pick out which one you’re most likely to use and then the next time you’re at the resort, try it out and get back to me.

The first style of riding is known as the free ride (no, you have to pay to ride the lift) and is the most basic style that every beginner basically executes. Free riding, also known as “all mountain boarding” and basically what you do is ride up and down the mountain, exploring it, and getting a feel for it while you ride down. This is by far the most relaxing and peaceful way to ride your board.

The next type of riding is free style type. Don’t confuse this with free ride because they’re drastically different. Free style type riding includes busting out some crazy tricks, aerial spins, flips, and grabs. Once you’ve mastered this, you can pretty much impress any snow bunny on the slopes so I suggest this to all the guys that read this: practice, practice, practice. But that goes for the girls too. I’d be super stoked if I found a girl that could land a backside 540.

Are you a speed junkie? No, not the drug, I’m talking about like speed. Race cars, sky diving, that sort of extreme. Well if you do, and you want to try your boots at snowboarding then maybe free carving is what you should get into. With free carving, you speed down the hill making turns as short and concise as possible so it looks like you’re not really turning at all. This type of boarding takes extreme skill, concentration, and is physically exhausting…but oh so worth it.

The last and final type of boarding is a relatively new type. It’s called splitboarding, and it basically lets you go either skiing or snowboarding at any given time. The board is split down the middle vertically and can be used as either skis (but who would want to do that) and a snowboard and is quickly gaining popularity. Although I don’t have any personal experience with this piece of equipment it looks like it could just open up a ton of possibilities.

Check out the splitboard in action and tell me what you guys think, and what style you guys think you can conquer.

Mountain Profile: Magic Mountain

Want to visit a truly old fashioned mountain?  Then head up to Vermont and board down Magic Mountain, where the air is fresh, the water is clean, and the mountain has a sick base of snow almost all of the time.  Being one of the oldest mountains and is considered one of Vermont’s unspoiled mountains.  With it’s re-opening in 1997, Magic Mountain has made improvements every year to the terrain and overall atmosphere of the mountain itself.

The mountain was developed in the 1960s by a Swiss man named Hans Thorner who was a film producer who wanted to bring the beauty of the Swiss alps to Vermont.  What sets Magic Mountain aside from all the other mountains is that it’s able to maintain that small resort feeling that usually is lost at most other crowded resorts.  It’s certainly a refresher to not have to wait in long lines and hop onto the slopes and ride all day.

Although the mountain is certainly geared towards intermediate and expert riders, beginners are to be assured they will not be left out.  The resort prides itself on grooming and snow making, making it easier for the boarders to learn and adapt to the terrain.  Magic also prides itself on its learning and development programs for every level rider.

But say you don’t want to board that day, say you’d rather just sit down and enjoy a nice leisure fly down a hill.  Well Magic Mountain is also your place.  With their AlaKazam tubing park, anyone can hop on and take a cruise down the mountain, sitting on your rump.

If you’re ever in Vermont, but want to try a different mountain, head over to Magic Mountain and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by everything from the lodging to the terrain.  Happy boarding.

Snowboard: Tricks

You’ve learned the terms, you’ve learned the mountains, the famous boarders, the bindings and the gloves but now you’re ready.  Ready to take on the snowboarding realm to a professional level, you’re ready to learn how to bust out some tricks.  I’ll walk you through four of the most basic tricks you can pull of as a beginner and with a little practice, determination and some luck, you’ll be able to sting these tricks in the air like you’ve been born to do so.

The first trick and probably the easiest would be jumping.  Although it can technically be called a motion rather than a trick, almost all tricks are performed in the air which you can only get to if you, that’s right, jump.  How to execute this one would be to position yourself in the direct center of a jump and at the very top you want to bend your knees and as soon as the nose of your board is off the jump you want to unbend your knees with power and you’ll be launched into the air.  Remember to keep your balance or you’ll either land on your face or end up with a bruised tailbone.

The second trick which is pretty simple to execute is a grab.  The easiest grab would be the “Indy Grab”.  While in the air, you bend you knees and grab the area between your front and rear binding and hold it for as long as you can before hitting the ground.  Variations of this trick include the tail grab where you grab the farmost backside of your board, and the nose grab where you grab the frontmost part of your board. 

 

The third trick is a frontside 180.  It sounds complicated to execute but actually the hardest part is landing it.  While in the air you want to switch your board so your back foot is in front and your front foot is in back and land riding the opposite way you began.  Remember to balance and let go of fear for just a little while.

The last trick is really more of a skill than a trick but is really necessary to execute the advanced tricks that the pros lay down.  Riding fakie is riding with your front foot in back and your back foot in front (just like after you landed a 180).  This is one of the more difficult things to execute because it’s difficult to re-learn how to ride a snowboard.  I’d equate it to trying to learn how to ride a bike backwards…difficult but with a little practice, hey anything’s possible. 

Well there you have it, the four most basic tricks to learn to not be called a poser out on the slopes.  These tricks are usually taught at snowboarding schools or sessions you can sign up for at the mountains but seriously who wants to do that?  Just give it a shot for yourself or go with some friends and you’ll have a blast guaranteed…you might leave the day with some bumps and bruises which is a downer but now you have conversation starters with the snow bunnies so was it worth it?  Totally.

CoverGirl Snow Angels Invitational

Anyone can learn how to snowboard.  It’s almost all about balance and once you have that down you’re pretty much all set.  The real task is being able to snowboard and look like a hottie doing it.  Gretchen Bleiler was able to pull that off along with racking in $10,000 at Saturday’s inaugural CoverGirl Snow Angels Invitational.  Fifteen of the world’s best women snowboarders competed for over $20,000 dollars in prizes.

The final results:

1st-Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, CO- $10,000

2nd- Kelly Clark, Mount Snow, VT- $4,500

3rd- Elena Hight, South Lake Tahoe, CA- $2,000

4th- Hannah Teter, Belmont, VT- $1,000

5th- Manuela Pesko, Lenzerheide, Switzerland- $500

Best Trick- Kelly Clark with a frontside 900

Highest Air- Kelly Clark

Most Progressive Riding- Gretchen Bleiler 

The winners for best trick, highest air, and most progressive award won a spa therapy and massage treatment during the ESPN Winter X Games.

Some of the foxy snowboarders that were in competition were Tricia Byrnes, Soko Yamaoka, Kaitlyn Farrington, Shiho Nakashima, Ellery Hollingsworth, Paulina Ligocka, and Lizzy Beerman.

The competition is more than a regular superpipe competiton.  In addition to competing, the girls are also treated with spa activities, yoga as well as environment and cooking workshops.  I’m jealous.  So not only do these girls get to snowboard for a living, they also get to be pampered AND win fabulous prizes, oh the life.

Learn the Lingo

So, you’re a beginner snowboarder…man that sucks to be you, but luckily I’m here to teach you something so important, so vital to snowboarding that once you know it, you’ll be able to hang with the most extreme snowboarders…it doesn’t have to do with technique, equipment, or even style.  The tips I’m letting you in on is so amazing that you’ll feel invincible.  I’m teaching you the lingo of the snowboarder.

                                                   

We’re going to start with the basics.  Backside is where the heel rests, and reverse, the frontside is the edge of the snowboard closest to the toes.  Freeriding is snowboarding with no contests, rules, halfpipes, or gates.  Freeride boarders are usually the ones that usually enjoy a recreational day of snowboarding.  Moving right along we’re going to talk about footing.  Regular footed is a snowboarder that rides with their left foot in a forward position, and goofy footed rides with their right foot in a forward position. 

Want to avoid the name of poser?  Learn these advanced techniques so you’re not left behind.  Bail is a term used before crashing or falling.  Bust refers to a boarder who falls.  Used in a sentence “he busted his face on the box.”  Flailing is used when riding poorly and out of control, and a hucker is one who throws him or herself off a jump and does not land on their feet. 

Well there you have it,  your all set and ready to start talking in snowboard slang and off to at least impress the world.  Even if you don’t snowboard really well, you’ll still be able to hang with the big dogs and at least impress them with your snowboard lingo.  Now get out there and learn how to snowboard and you’ll be all set.  Happy riding.

Leash it Up

Want to take your dog for a walk?  Put a leash on it.  Want to make sure that your snowboard won’t accidentally careen off of your foot and hit a skier in the head while your on the lift or make it all the way up the mountain only to have your board go down on a joy ride without you?  Then like I said, put a leash on it.

The snowboard leash is a cord or strap that links your front leg to your front binding.  Some have little hooks or “key ring” that you put on the bottom most lace of your boot.  Other leashes actually go through your binding and boot then clasp both ends together to form a circle connection between you and your board.

The reason why snowboard leashes have become almost mandatory in the last few years is because ski resorts don’t want to have dumb people chasing their runaway snowboard all the way down the hill.  What you’re supposed to do is have one side tied to your board and the other clamp onto your boot ideally when you’re on the ski lift.  Once off the lift you bind in your hind foot and remove the leash from the front foot, but because I never really re-bind my front foot I always leave the leash attached just for that little extra sense of security, hey it can’t hurt you know. 

Leashes usually will run the boarder anywhere between 5 bucks to 20.  It may sound steep but for a leash that’s really going to last you I’d drop a few more bones to make sure I’m not running after my board.  The newer snowboard bindings come with a free leash, just think you get a free leash after dumping 300 bucks for bindings, how nice!  The more expensive leashes can also double as a chain lock for your board when you decide to go in and grab a quick hot cocoa.  So remember to use that leash, lock up your board, and keep doing what you’re doing boarder!

Wax My Bottom

No, I’m not talking about my rump thank you very much.  I’m talking about your board, this is a boarding blog afterall isn’t it?  Well anyways this time around I’m devoting a whole blog post to the stuff that makes your board glide atop of the snow effortlessly, almost like hovering because let me tell you, there’s nothing worse than having a board the doesn’t glide nicely down the hill.  So strap in kiddos and let’s learn a thing or two about wax!

Before board wax was even thought of people, boarders used to use candle wax on the edges and the bottom of their snowboards to make them go faster.  But with the lovely technology available to us in today’s society there are a plethora of waxes to choose from, and we determine this by what conditions you’re going to be boarding in.

A cold wax would be used for snow temperatures (not air temperatures) that are usually 10 degrees farenheit and lower and the wax is a hard wax made of paraffin and synthetic parffins which are hardening addivites and make your wax more durable and virtually impenetrable by those pesky snow crystals.

 

A midrange wax is for between 10 and 28 degrees farenheit and is used to combat moderate dry and wet friction.  Because when that sun starts belting down on the snow you’re in for one hell of a ride, and with the wax, you’ll just amp it up that much more.

Finally a warm wax would be used for anything above 28 degrees farenheit and is made of hydrophobic (yes the wax is afraid of water) additive, making your board water-repellent because anything over 28 degrees makes for a sloppy ride down the hill, what are you doing on the slopes anyways, it’s probably spring.

Those are your basic waxes and you don’t necessarily need to wax your board but it’s recommended every now and then because minor knicks and scrapes in the bottom of your board could cause it to drag down the hill and make for an unpleasant day boarding.  Well I hope that helped, you guys all keep it real.