working.

so, not only do i snowboard there, but ive also worked at the ski hill.
it was, perhaps .. the best job that i have had yet.
although, sometimes it wasn't so great. like doing parking! who wants to direct moody traffic at 730 in the morning? and to top it off, we got to wear super hot bright orange and yellow vests. wooot. not so fun. especially on the cold days, which we had alot of. i only had to do parking a couple times though, so i wont complain.
the best part of working at a ski hill? no one cares. as long as you get what you need to get done, and you dont screw it up so much that someone complains, you're all set to go.
working t-bar 3 and 4 was the best. you know how they say, "out of sight, out of mind" ? it's true. we were totally out of sight from anyone (other then those using the tbar, of coarse) but, when no one was using the tbar, we had to keep warm somehow right? and what better way to stay warm then to steel a lunch tray from the caff. , stand on that tray, and take a ride up the tbar then back down again? it was a good time.

the first or second shift that i ever had at the ski hill, though, i was working with another girl (i wont say her name) and she was also new. neither of us were, obviously, really great at the job yet. and.. to make a long story short, she smacked someone in the head with the tbar, almost knocked her out .. not good! after that, she tried again ..a nd got smacked in the back .. she was furiouse! so then she went and complained. needless to say, i worked the tbar the rest of the night and the other girl i was working with just "supervised" me .

there were so many other great times there, we used to build snow forts at the tbar stands, and couches and stuff like that. awsomeness, what job lets you do that? none, except the ski hill of coarse.

buds.

Friend(frěnd): a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile.

Over the years of snowboarding, i have made so many boarding friends. all on seperate terms, but all equally as great. alot of these people i only really talk to in the winter, because, obviously, that's the only time we can board together. and others i no longer talk to at all, but still have great memories with them that i will never forget <3

first of all, dan k. i met him two years ago when i was working at the ski hill, and he was a boarding instructor. we started talking and then eventually started snowboarding together. he was alot of fun, but kind of full of himself. the most that i remember of him was being able to laugh because i turned out to be equally as good of a boarder, when he always told me that if we ever went boarding he would be schooling me, haha. not, :) one time when we we were going up a tbar, we both almost hit a little mouse that was running across the tracks, it was a close one, and scary .. poor mousey.

then there dave h. i went to school with him for a bit, and i mainly started boarding with him because he boarded with the same people i did before that, and that's how we met. but he became a really good friendfor quite a while. i dont snowboard with him any more, and i dont really talk to him anymore because he moved away and we just lost touch, but he was a great guy to snowboard with. we went snowbarding together pretty much any chance that we got, even on really cold days. one time we went when it was like minus 30 something outside, it was so cold. we would do one run then go inside for a while, then go out again .. it was a good night to say the least.

sabrina was, and still is one of the best girls that i know. i dont't really like hanging out with girsl, most of them are too mood, but she's awsome. i dont even really know how we started boarding together. i started talking to her through my ex-boyfriend, and her and i became really good friends, and still are. we hardly see eachother, we've boarded toegther only a few times becuase it's really hard to work it out. she goes to a boarding school in bethany so she's only home on weekends, and i work weekends, but she is, indeed a great freind. while snowboarding and not snowboarding.

last but deffinatly not least, mitch + devin they're perhaps the funnest guys to snowboard with ever. i used to board with devin once in a while, and i was pretty good freinds with him, then one time he brought mitch with him, and thats how i met mitch. i do snowboard with mitch more, as i havent been at all with devin this year. but they are both great fun. mitch and i have mastered the "going down the hill'together' technique".. we're pretty pro. and we've made quite the fools of ourselves on more then one occation, mostly when we attempt to go up the t-bar together .. which doesnt seem to be working for us alot of the time, aha.

blah.

so, according to [www.injury-study.org], the most common reasons for snowboard injuries are as follows:

Lack of necessary skills
Muscle fatigue,

Tiredness or sleepiness
Alcohol intoxication or a hangover
Poor visibility or blizzard conditions
Dull edges on hard snow conditions
Fear and anxiety
Snowboarding too fast, relative to your ability
Encountering moguls or small bumps
Hard, icy, and other poor snow conditions
Not wearing proper snowboard protection

this being said, ask yourself these questions; have you injured yourself before while boarding? are you prone to muscle fatigue? are you tired when you go snowboarding? etc ...

if you answered yes to these, or many other questions then you should read this ...

wear your helmet.
head injuries, although not as common as others, are very seriouse. regardless of weather you are a beginner or have been boarding for ten years, you should be wearing a helmet, especiallcy if you are going to be trying something new. you never know when you could hit an edge and bail.

keep your eyes on whats going on in front of you.
don't look directly down, at your feet. you need to be aware of the bumps and gholes coming ahead of you, otherwise you're likely to hit an edge and fall. resulting in hurt. don't look back, or, not for long anyways, because you are very likely to fall.

know your limits.

be aware of what you are able to do, and don't try to stretch that limit. if you try to do something that you know you likely can't do, it self explantitory what's going to happen, and you're screwed.

be awake, and be alert.

if you are tired or unalert, it could be harming your ability to stay focused. you need to be following the responsibilities of skiiers, and remember that it is always your responsibility; not the person in front of you.

be safe.

injured.

snowboard injuries are a super serious thing.

you can get broken bones, concusions, or even death.
what can get hurt ? head, shoulders, face, knee, ankle, wrist, hand, ribs and forearm.
now, head injuries are less common than other types of injuries; only taking up about seven percent of snowboard injuries; but they can be very serious, much more then others.

just take a look at this video ..

snowboard injuries arent always clear to identify. when my older sister was my age, she was snowboarding ( she's an awsome boarder by the way ), but as she was going down the hill she took a hard bail and screwed up both her wrists. she ended up leaving the hill holding her right arm because of how much it hurt, so it was clear that she had broken her right arm, right? wrong. when she got to the hospital, they told her that she had only sprained her right arm, but her left wrist was broken. she had a cast on one arm for a month and a half, and a tensor bandage on her other wrist for a while.

when i was the same age as she was when she broke her wrist, i also broke mine. it had been freezing rain the night before but i still decided to go. i hit the box and bailed hard at the end, i bent my hand backwards and even though i thought that it was my actually hand that was broken because it was all blue and a big bump. turned out my wrist was the one that was broken. about a year and a half before that, also, i broke my ribs doing the same thing. it was my first or second time hitting the park, and i was on the 'flat-down-flat', paniced, and fell while i was on top of it. i hit my head on the ground and my rib cage on the edge. ouchh!!!

on foot.

To be a good boarder, you gotta have the right gear.

First; we'll go to one of the most important parts.

the boots, you can't board without them!. .

again, it all depends on what you're willing to spend as well as what style you're into and how often you plan to use them. I suggest that either way, you look for a great quality and you may want to go out and pay a little extra ( and not buy the cheepest pair ) because you're feet are going to be the first to get cold, so with these; quality and strength is everything. We all know that in boarding you are required to bend your legs constantly, so you want to look for something that is flexible at the top, but sturdy enough that your feet arent flopping*. also, you want to make sure you have the perfect fit. a bad fit will cause for a) if the boots too large; too much air flow, making your feet cold or b) if the boot is too smal your feet will get the circulation cut maybe resulting in itching, or sweating ( which sucks! ) you want something that will keep you warm, but still allow some air circulation throughout. I used to ride a pair of forum boots, but since then i have went through a pair of burton, and are currently wearing a new pair of burton boots, which i love. the burton boot allows you to tighten the inner layer, as well as the outer.. which allows for me to choose on more than one level how tight i want them and how loose i want it to feel. they allow just the right flexibility. they are super warm and allow the air pockets on the sides to keep my feet feeling just the right heat.

staying with the feet, lets talk socks...

I used to just wear some sort of knee socks, or whatever else i could find in my room that looked warm, but a year or two ago i bought a pair of burton snowboard socks. they are the coziest thing, and, working with the right boot, they keep the foot the right temperature. these socks ranged from about 25-30 dollars, but are generally all the same. 30$ for socks? crazy i know. but it's worth it. i got two seasons out of one pair of socks, which is worth the thirty bucks i paid for them. as for quality and what name to go with ? I just recently got two pairs of Salomon snowboard socks, and i honestly cannot tell the difference between the Burton and the Salomon, so i wont suggest either. No matter what though, i do sugeest you get a pair before you hit the slopes. while companies like burton and volcom offer a much wider range of nice looking socks, they are no different from campanies like salomon or thirtytwo who offer a much plainer variety of styles and colours through their socks.

holding it all together; the bindings.

this ones a touchy one. it all depends on you if you like the park, and thats where you're entire snowboard experience takes place, you're going to want to go for something much more sturdy, something that will hold together when hit ( hard ) you'll want something flexible, prefferably with a toe strap. something like the burton cartel would be perfect. However, if you're in the mood for a quick start, or justt ready to make the whole mountain yours, i suggest the Flow NXT AT. i have flows, not the NXT AT, but a difefrent style of Flows, and the are the perfect start to a perfect trip down the hill. they allow you to start quick; just put your foot in and flip the back up, so you're not wasting any time. I have, however tried the Burton cartel ( on a firends board ) and they also work great. they give a super secure grip and work great to keep your foot right where you want them. Regardles, make sure you check the strap and make sure they are a good quality and they arent going to snap or stop working on you any time soon.

good luck!

the evolution of our time.

Even though it didn't begin until the 1960's to 1970's, snowboarding has already became one of the biggest evolutions of our time. With many people switching over from skiing to snowboarding, or kids learning at an early age how to snowboard, it poses the question; why do people bother? it's a sport that has injure many people, and im sure many to come. according to taynet.co.uk, in just three short years, there were over 437 injuries from snowboarding alone. thats nearly 146 a year, in winter season alone. 30% of all injuries are directed towards the wrist, which is the most used physical part of your body. so why do people snowboard if this is so? since the early 1970's, people like Jake Burton and Mike Olson have came up with new ways to make snowboarding way more interesting. The sport gives you an amazing adrenline rush. snowboarding poses alot harder of a challenge than skiing does, and apparently people like that. In my oppinion I like how every time you get on the board, it's a whole new challeneg then what it was the day before. snowboarding has no limits, every day is a new adventure and you can ALWAYS get better.