In the Olympic city Beijing, China, Burton has signed on as the sponsor for the new indoor terrain park.Touted as one of the most strategic moves in the Chinese snowboarding market, Burton will be the key sponsor of the Burton Qiaobo Mellow Park.This terrain will provide year-round facilities to all the riders.
Burton was first started in 1977 by Jake Burton Carpenter.He found it out of his barn in Vermont.Since then it has boosted the growth of snowboarding around the world.Along with a group of top notch snowboarders, it has made snow sports widely accepted in a number of resorts.In 1996, Jake Burton began expanding by starting a group of brands for board sports and apparel.Burton, which is privately-owned by Jake, has its headquarters in Austria, Australia, California and Japan.
This June 14th, the snowboarding landscape of China will forever be changed when the new Burton Mellow Park is revealed by Qiaobo Ice and Snow World.This part of the country has one of the most identifiable and highly-reputed indoor snow-domes.
Steve Zdarsky, CEO of Burton Qiaobo Mellow Park recently commented, “The drive behind the project is to get more people on the snow riding and having fun.With Burton as our partner and their LTR program in effect, the new park is really going to draw the crowds. Besides, we are all just super stoked we can now ride in Beijing year-round!”
The Mellow Park which is located right outside the city center, comprises of a kicker line, wallride and rail and box combinations.The designer of the park, Marco Huang has said, “The park will be as sick as we can make it.The snow in Qiaobo is surprisingly good, and the management is stoked to have a new Mellow Park, so it’s going to be a fun area for all levels of riding.”
So apart from the summer Olympics up ahead, one can look forward to the unveiling of the first indoor terrain park in Beijing, China.
The schedule of events for the 2009 US Snowboarding Grand Prix was finally announced. Now on its 13th season, the Grand Prix will stop at three locations: Copper Mountain, Boreal Mountain Resort, and Killington Resort.
The US Snowboarding Grand Prix will start on Dec. 12 to 13 at Copper Mountain, Colorado. The next stop will be at Boreal Mountain Resort on Jan. 29 - Feb. 1. The Grand Prix will conclude at Killington Resort on March 14-15.
According to Grand Prix Tour Director Eric Webster, they are excited about the ski resorts that they are teaming up with since the resorts are renowned not only for their great snowboarding terrain but also for their efforts in creating new ways to improve the snowboarding experience.
Hey, bigfoot! Yeah, I'm talking to you! Toe drag got you down? I hear you, bro. There's nothing worse than botching some sweet, buttery moves by sticking your digits where they don't belong. I wear a size 12 myself. Not as large as some of you rippers out there but large enough to cause problems. I've gone back and forth on the issue, trying new boards to see what works and what doesn't.
The bad news is, despite how progressive a wide board may be designed it will always be heavier and less agile than a standard board. After all, most wide boards are the exact same as the standard size model from the same manufacturer; there's just more of it. The good news is, it doesn't take long to get used to one and, once you do, you'll be glad you made the switch. In my opinion, the main disadvantage to a wide board is not the weight. That's easy to get used to. In fact, I've always been able to get away with a slightly shorter wide board than a standard board, making the weight difference negligible. The disadvantage is in your heel-toe turn linking. The additional width can make a big difference in the feel of your turns. Initially, your board may feel a little sluggish coming around; but if you give it a day or two, you'll be right as rain (frozen rain, in the form of flakes). After that, you'll never have to worry about your little piggies causing you trouble again and you'll be floating like a raft on powder days.
Since I always seem to find myself jumping or jibbing whether I'm in the park or in the trees, most of the boards I've ridden have been freestyle. Here's a quick review of a few of the boards I've rocked. Hopefully, it will help narrow your decision when shopping for a new board.
Unity Origin – 160 wide
The Origin is a true twin board.It has a lot of flex, which is great for hitting rails but can be a little too soft for some jumps and turns.It seems to get even softer a lot quicker than most.It also has a thinner edge than a lot of the other boards available these days.A good park board, to be sure, but there is better board tech available for the money.
Burton Dominant - 159
The Dominant is a technical freestyle board.It’s slightly directional, which is great if you ride it during powder days.The flex is quite a bit stiffer than a lot of other “park” boards, making rails slightly more interesting but also making turns very responsive.A great choice for making the entire mountain your playground.
RomeSlash
Admittedly, I have not ridden the Slash.I have ridden the Agent, which is the Slash’s little brother.The Agent had a great overall feel to it, with a slightly less stiff flex pattern than the Dominant.Slightly directional and super responsive, this board can do it all.Plus, the edge is extra thick and can take a beating that most other boards can’t.
Ride Dose - 159
The Dose is my current ride (pun intended) and my favorite.It has the softest flex next to the Origin but, because of the carbon fiber stringers, has plenty of pop.The Slimewalls (urethane: made from the same stuff as your skateboard wheels) softens impacts and dampens board chatter.A true twin, this board rips everywhere you go.
There you have it!Hopefully, I’ve given you some food for thought the next time you’re in the market for a new stick.Your agility shouldn’t have to suffer just because you’re a little bigger “down below”.
Sure you may have traded in your boots for boardshorts this summer, but the new Vans Snow site will remind you that fresh pow is just around the corner.
Visit www.vanssnow.comand you’ll get the lowdown for the 2009 season including a boot comparison tool that allows you to compare up to 3 different Vans boot styles to help you find the perfect match. The re-vamped site also features a new and improved video player, 3D product spins and plenty of team updates and videos.
Be sure to check out the microsite for the Vans x Boosted jacket collab atwww.vanssnow.com/boosted, as well as this year’s line-up of snow outerwear and boots.
Twice a year, Nikita takes its newest and hottest designs to some amazing locations around the globe. They shoot the photos with some of the coolest girls on the planet (i.e. from the Nikita team) and showcase the brand new collections through their catalogues, via websites and other mediums, throughout the world.
Just last year and for the first ever time, Nikita invited some girls through the launch of a little photoshoot contest and picked out three lucky ladies as special guests to join them on the journey. The lucky winners, selected from hundreds of entries, earned themselves some cool photos along with some great times with the Nikita crew and of course, a bundle of new clothes to take home!
Check it out for your chance to be a Nikita gal on the next trip happening October 2008! The winning girls (one from the US and one from Europe) will be flown to the secret location where the photoshoot will be held. They will join the Nikita crew from Iceland, including founder and head designer Heida Birgisdottir and members of the Nikita team.
ENTRY DETAILS:
Get snappy with some sassy snaps of yourself and e-mail them over. Photos can be as funny, wild and creative as you want to make them but we also do wanna see what you look like and hear about what you enjoy doing.
Name, address, date of birth and contact details are essential, so please don’t forget to include them. You can send in as many pictures as you want but total file size of all the pictures must not exceed 2 MB. E-mail your entries to internis@nikitaclothing.com before 15th September 2008.
Please note that entrants must be 18 years old or over as of October 1st 2008. Entrants must also have a valid passport.
Your entries will be showcased via Nikita’s website, Myspace, Facebook and Mpora! Make it happen and make it good!
Snowboard technology changes from season to season, so if you are still riding the same snowboard and boots you did years ago then you need to buy some new stuff...
Especially if you have old boots. The facts are that no matter what your snowboard boot, the liners are only going to live to see about 60-65 days of riding and after that, because of the constant wetting and drying, they will expand and eventually stop your riding dead. Snowboards are constantly being updated and innovated with new sidecuts, new lightweight materials, different flexes, and base patterns. Just like in the computer world, if your snowboard is more than two seasons old than it is probably outdated.
It sounds crazy but I recommend purchasing a new set of snowboard boots each season and a new snowboard every one to three seasons depending on how you ride (the more you ride the earlier you should buy, you may even break your snowboard before three seasons is up). Since boots are easily $150-$400 and snowboards $300-$600 you probably aren't seeing that happening soon.
The good news is that I could not have picked a better time to let you know, because now that the end of the season is here and summer is upon us you can expect deals up to and possibly more than 50% off! I'm not just talking about used product or things that are from seasons ago. Brand new merchandise from last year usually goes on a huge price cut right about now. Get a new set of everything for under the cost of the snowboard alone! Boards, boots, bindings, and outerwear are all given away for huge end of the year discounts.
To get the goods to go to the top next season all you have to do is check around your local skate/snowboard shops first. If you live in an area where snowboarding isn't the prominent focus then you can usually land the last seasons top snowboards for the cheapest prices right at home. If you don't have a shop near your home than you can go through the Internet. There are tons of online snowboard shops and rest assured that they all participate in the end of season savings. I personally recommend DogFunk.com, which has an enormous selection of snowboard gear not to mention some huge end of season savings and the best prices on the hottest snowboard gear all year long.
Take advantage now or suffer the full price consequences next season. It's your choice!
It wasn't that long ago that the little orange ovals posted over snowboard parks worldwide did not exist. When freestyle snowboarding starting to move further and further mainstream the resorts and the snowboarders decided to create a method for approaching the features in a park and they called it Smart Style. But what does it mean? I know that the orange oval means there's going to be some fun stuff to hit, but what is this 'snowboarder's code' all about?
There are four parts to Smart Style:
Make a Plan
Pretty much common sense, this section is about knowing what you want hit in the terrain park before you drop. This means not only knowing what features you are going for and where they are, but also the trick you want to do and the mechanics (speed, approach, take off, execution, and landing) involved. This must be why they call it Smart 'Style', because if you took that approach to your runs I don't think you would ever fall.
This implies a reserved style of riding, a 'stick to what you know' mentality. On the weekends or when snowboarding a packed run this would be a pretty good approach to avoid hitting or being hit by others.
But what about progression?
Look Before You Leap
Ties right in with the last point, just know everything about what you hit before you are hitting it. Also pay attention to conditions. If it gets cloudy then the temperature can drop drastically, colder snow moves faster so never assume that the feature will be the same.
Another really important idea brought up is the spotter. Especially for bigger kickers, you don't want to be mid 1080 looking down at the skier that climbing up the landing for his pole. Every snowboarder throwing down at the park probably has someone spotting him. They not only make sure the only thing you have to worry about is doing your trick, but they make sure that the new kid behind you doesn't just assume you landed and then land on you.
Snowboarding is inherently dangerous, it is definitely worth it to take the time to check off all the things within your control that could go wrong so you only have to worry about landing... right? Well said Smart Style.
Easy Style It
This is where they talk about progression. The first rule is to know your limits, which is of course necessary if you want to push them. It's all about working way up, taking tricks from flat, to small jump, to the kickers. Don't assume that just because you've got one trick then you have the others... make sure you really know the tricks.
People spend hours a day doing hundreds of laps, lifting thousands of reps and snowboarding is a lot like that... except you are going to need to do hundreds of backside 360s to know you can do a backside 360. That's the essence of being good at any sport, repetition and easy yet constant progression.
Did you know that inverted aerials (rodeos, backflips, etc.) were not even allowed for a while? If you did one you would be greeted by ski patrol at the bottom of the run. Crazy! Things finally changed and parks use the term 'not recommended'. Inverted aerials put you in a position where you may not land on your feet, so you need to know exactly what you are doing in the air. Get a trampoline first and work your way from there. Don't just try a backflip on the first medium kicker of the day.
Respect Gets Respect
Like being in kindergarten all over again. Just understand that terrain parks are risky business regardless of skill. Also note that other people are around you and anything can happen (like being cut off on the freeway you know?).
Calling your start is just a really awesome way of letting everyone know who's next. Ever been caught up at the pipe and you drop but then another guy drops and everything just gets screwed up? Always call you start on a busy feature to ensure that you and only you are going for it. If you fall and you aren't hurt get the heck out of the way spotter or not. You'll have plenty of time to laugh about it later. I have seen people blow right past the spotter (who at this point is screaming and flailing his arms) only to land on the guy who already is having hard time, what with the fall and everything.
So now that I've been through it again I think Smart Style is a pretty good approach to snowboarding in general, not just freestyle terrain. The good thing is that after reviewing it I can say that for the most part we all follow it, whether we knew it existed or not. We are all snowboarders and snowboarders abide by the snowboarder's code: Know the code! Smart Style!
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