You're supposed to ski with a slight bend in your knees/forward lean anyways, you want your shins to be in contact with the tongue/front of your boots. FYI, I'm level 1 PSIA certificate instructor (not a brag trust me, being a level 1 isn't much to brag about).

Anyone ski at Breckenridge? That's mainly where I hit...

I think Breck is the worst of the I-70 resorts in Colorado. That place is always windblown, icy, and has terrible crowd management. I'd rather ski Arapahoe Basin than Breck, any day.

Some of Breck's terrain accessible from the top of the Imperial Express lift by hike is pretty good (whale's tail etc) as is the Chair 6 Terrain and overall it has great tree runs. I understand Breck is the busiest ski resort in the world with >1MM unique visitors each year.

Breck is the only place my friends ever want to go and my car sucks in the snow so I have never went anywhere else.

I hear good things about A-basin though and my pass includes it so hopefully I will get up there at least once this year.

keystone is decent you can make it there with your car

anyone have some recommendations for community colleges in the mountains

Here's a pic of me at a competition this weekend. not sure if this is a brag or a beat, cause i didn't do too well (couldn't land a damn thing for some reason) but its still a sick shot imo

http://www.western.edu/

western state aka wasted state in gunnison is about half hour away from crested butte. not a community college, but pretty sure its easy to get in.

also sick pic mike.

Anybody ever skied at Mt. Snowshoe in West Virginia? I live in North Carolina, so I don't have much real skiing within reasonable driving distance, but a few friends and I are thinking of doing a weekend trip to Snowshoe in a few weeks. Are there better places on the East Coast, or is Snowshoe as good as it gets? I've done almost all my skiing out west, so I'm afraid I've been spoiled by that and will be bored at Snowshoe.

I don't know anything about the mid-atlantic area (or anything south of NY/NE) but Snowshoe really doesn't look too bad. 187 inches is probably close to or more what your meh areas (Loon, Waterville, etc) in NH get.

I have a season pass in Taos NM this year and its been excellent skiing. Great backcountry stuff and hiking. If u are a student and can show proof that you are taking 12 credits a season pass is just 249, day pass is 66. This is also the first full season snowboards are allowed.

I am planning to go to steamboat CO for springbreak for a week. I have never been there, anyone ski up there or have any tips about the area or the mountain?

Mike that pic is tight dude.

and Jack, holy sh*t, that food looks awesome. I can't believe i didn't know about that grill, thats bad ass. Thanks

I was there that day!!! man the snow looks nice!

i think vail is pretty awesome, maybe not greatest, but pretty amazing nonetheless

stinkypete, are u friends with bradl?!

snowshoe is actually pretty good, and probably the best in that area. gets decent snow, fairly fun runs. lodge, parking etc is on the top of the mountain. I drove there from dc a couple of times when i was in high school, 5 hour trip each way but i considered it worth it at the time. wont compare with a good resort out west, but compares really well considering the rest of your options.

might want to check out massanutten also.

who is bradl?

going snowboarding for 1st time. two weekends in a row actually. can someone give advice/answer these questions?

would i be able to rent everything at the mountain?
are there some things i absolutely have to buy? if so what am i looking for there?
does it make sense to rent the board/boots in nyc as opposed to renting one at the mountain? if it matters i am 6.3, size 13 so would they have trouble finding one for me or?

tell me whatever else i need to know

love

Buy yourself a good pair of socks. It sounds stupid but I swear you'll be totally miserable if you wear normal socks. Find a snowboard shop and just pick up a pair of nice comfy thick socks and your day will be much better.

As for renting, I'd just call the place you're going and ask. Most places will have rental stuff but it's pretty crappy gear; you may be better served by renting from a shop in your area and taking it with you to the mountain.

I'm going to Mammoth on the 20th and will be staying for a few days. Any of you guys gonna be up there?

thick socks suck.

okay get not ****ty socks and?

assuming i can get everything there, i figure i may as well buy the pants now. should i bother buying some other crap or?

well you're obviously gonna need a jacket, pants, goggles, gloves too. Since you're just learning and won't be screwing around with trees or park riding you probably won't need a helmet.

If you don't have any non-cotton shirts (read: microfiber/wool) then you should get them because cotton as a base layer sucks. Depending on the pants you get you may want to get some tights also.

All of this stuff will be cheaper anywhere besides the mountain.

Well I have my ski boot issue resolved finally, took three pairs but I finally have a pair I like and that fit well.
Just in time too, heading out to Killington 22nd to 27th. I live in Michigan where our biggest vert drop is about 500' so I can't wait.
Of course rather than just be happy that I'm going to Killington, I'm already looking at resorts out west for next year...

Holy balls, a monster storm just appeared in CO out of ****** nowhere. There was like 3" total forecast for this weekend before today.

http://www.snowforecast.com/KeystoneResort

Mammoth has been getting DUMPED on for the last week, you guys probably got the remnants of that storm.

Hey guys,

I went sbing for the first time last week.

I've got some noob questions:

1. Does it really matter if I learn to ride goofy foot even though I should be leading with my left foot (I was riding goofy foot whole day)? Or should I just start from scratch?

2. I plan on purchasing boots, a board and bindings some time, but not sure what the best approach to do so is (buy online, shop with friends).

3. Is there like a forum for snowboarding you guys check out? Like a 2+2 type site but for snowboarders, lol.

4. My feet were burning/sore as hell for the first hour or so. Is this normal?

5. What board size should I get? I'm 5'6, 157 lbs. The resort gave me a 150 when I went.

6. I was practicing heel-side stopping by going down perpendicular on a bunny hill. Then I start going to my right. What am I doing wrong? Putting too much pressure on left side? What should I be doing/thinking when trying to turn back to the left? My friend said to turn shoulders/torso first, and your legs naturally follow. Is this right?

hey guise, few questions here.

i've been snowboarding for about 8 or 9 years now and i'm fairly experienced. i had been living in vermont for a lot of those years, but i'm now in the new york area and dont plan on doing much riding in the next few years.

anyway im taking a trip to park city in april for a few days of boarding and i was planning on having my parents ship my snowboard out there so i wanted to make sure that it was good to go and i had them take it in for a tune up. according to the guy at the shop, my board, which is maybe 7 years old is beyond repair; untuneable. my mother didn't quite know what the problem was, but it had something to do with it splitting.

she mentioned that i was going to utah which is why i was having it tuned. the guy recommended that because it is so expensive to, a)ship a snowboard or b) bring a snowboard on an airplane, that i rent a demo for a few days when im out there and just bring my boots. he said that the technology in snowboards and bindings now is so much more advanced than it was say 7 or 8 years ago when my board was made, that ill probably be getting a much better product than i would have been riding.

anyway, just wanted to see what others think of this. i'm so out of the gear loop. i want something serviceable for a few days of great riding. i don't want the stock crap that they give to the noobs with the step in bindings who are on their first day ever. i have never been out west before and i dont need to buy a board because i wont be doing much riding in the next few years as far as i can see. any tips on how to get a good demo board? what am i looking to spend for 3 or 4 days? thanks.