Most people who snowboard do so because they enjoy it. That’s pretty obvious. But not everyone enjoys it in the same way, or as often.
Winter, by definition of being a season, is seasonal. For many people, snow is viewed as seasonal. Yet we know that if you look in the right places you can find snow throughout the year. The question is, how seasonal is snowboarding to you?
One or two trips a year, nothing more
It’s very common for snowboarding to be limited to one or two trips per winter. Maybe that’s a couple of weekends in the mountains or a week away in the Alps. It could be supplemented by a visit to a snowdome or dryslope, depending on where you live in the world.
Look online, thumb through a resort guide or magazine, maybe even check a travel brochure. Book something, wait, and then start getting excited in the weeks leading up to the trip.
It’s how so many of us started. The excitement builds for that weekend or holiday away on the snow. Then it’s followed by business as usual.
If I’m not doing it, I’m thinking about doing it
There are a lot of riders out there who simply love snowboarding. If their not standing sideways on a plank of wood, there’s a good chance they’re thinking about it. They probably make up a good portion of the people that read this site.
Does the bug kick in at the start of the ‘season’ – or is it there 365? If it’s the start of the season, there are probably a bunch of triggers…
Maybe it’s when the first issue of your magazine subscription arrives? Or when the shops start to stock new equipment and clothing. Catalogues start to show up; you notice that last year’s gear is discounted by 40%! Look at all this cool shit! Then of course there are the new snowboard movies…
If you’re on it all year ’round – you might be a regular forum user. Interested by what others are doing with snowboarding and helping people out when they’ve got questions you can answer.
You might keep an eye on snowboarding-fitness – or pick summer sports that are a good match?
The competition scene is followed by many. There’s a continual stream of new video to watch online. New gear to research, resorts to contemplate and techniques to learn…
Whether you’re biased toward the winter months or you’ve got snowboarding on the brain all year around, it’s something you do, something you’re really interested in.
I’ve managed to fill my off-season with this site. In fact I spent hours creating our new snowboarding size calculator. Without this distraction, I would have gone mad!
Clocking up serious time on the board
Not everyone has the opportunity to ride on a regular basis. It can be too expensive or too inaccessible. Sometimes it simply can’t fit in your life.
But for some it can fit, and does fit. In some cases people make brave decisions to alter their lifestyle, to make it fit.
How regular are we talking about here?
In the UK we have rides hitting the snowdomes every week, sometimes twice per week. They could be supplementing that with trips to a dryslope. It’s a similar situation in other, mainland European countries.
Weekend Warriors – living close enough to the mountains to make a trip every weekend during the season; or at least, as many weekends as possible! These guys are almost certainly season pass holders – a concept unfamiliar to those making a single trip to mountains each year.
Other season pass holders include those who live in mountain villages, or work in the resort on a seasonal basis – seasonnaires. In some cases, that can mean snowboarding every day of the week throughout the winter season (it’s probably hard to hit every day!).
And what about the summer? In search of real snow on real mountains – snowboarders head to the Southern Hemisphere. Think New Zealand or Chile. Balance out the seasons. It’s also possible to snowboard during the summer on mountain glaciers, which can be home to great summer parks and snowboard camps.
Serious time on the board.
Where do you fit?
Naturally, the scale is more varied than what’s written above. How do you view your snowboarding? Are you happy with the balance or are you craving more? Ever think about making a life change and heading to the mountains?