All of the ladies I’ve ridden with have been super stoked about snowboarding and push themselves to get even better…they don’t just go to the mountain to be a snow-bunny.

This past weekend I was hanging out in a cabin near Stevens Pass as a part of Ride Snowboards’ Ladies Collective. It was a group of women that Ride pulled together to think of new ways to get more girls into snowboarding and support the female side of the sport…something I would love to see happen.

The first full day, we headed out to Stevens Pass. I was set-up on a Ride Promise, my first time ever on a Ride board–so I was interested to see what it was like.

Kelly, Megan, Tess, and Sarah waiting to go ride at Stevens Pass.

We started out as a group for a couple of morning runs, hitting up the backside a couple of times. The snow was good, and it was way better than the rain that had been predicted than the night before. Riding in a group of 15 or so girls is a pretty sweet time, especially since it doesn’t happen that often. We left a lot of surprised people in our wake.

I liked riding the Promise. I felt like I could keep a lot of control at high speed down runs but if I wanted to ollie, it had a little snap in the tail. So it was a stiffer board with a little pop in the tail.

Part of the crew at the bottom of a run.

We met up with some of the product designers for Ride. It was fun seeing everyone’s riding style. I was just trying to keep up–but a lot of the girls were killing it on natural features.

Natalie, softgoods designer for Ride snowboards.

After cruising through the trees on a fun bordercross-style run, we split up–some girls went over to Big Chief and some of us headed over to the park. I’m just a beginner in the park and the girls that were heading into the park had skills–so I thought I would tag along–even if I wasn’t going to be hitting the bigger features. Megan Ginter, from the Ride team, was such a speed ninja I didn’t get to catch her in action. I got a little faster with my camera work and was able to catch Megan Middleton, Evo and Rome team rider, with this nice grab.

Megan Middleton in the park at Stevens Pass.

The next run, I decided to put away the camera and hit a couple of the features. I’d been having problems doing too many speed checks before jumps, so this time I thought I would try a jump without speed checking. It worked! The first jump I tried, I resisted doing a speed check, I sailed over the knuckle and landed right in the sweet spot. Landing on the landing is a million times better than the flat.

After a morning of snowboarding we headed back to the cabin to talk about how to get more women involved in the sport. There are a lot of barriers to starting out…it can be intimidating, it’s more expensive than some other sports, if your gear doesn’t fit well it can make it harder to learn, sometimes it’s hard to find people to go up to the mountain with…

I didn’t ride for a long time because I was a broke college grad and I had just moved to the PNW so didn’t really know anyone to ride with. I know it can be hard to get out there.

I’d love to see even more women out riding and kicking ass on the snow. What do you think would get more ladies out?

]]> http://www.girlgetssocal.com/2010/04/01/snowboarding-with-the-ladies/feed/ 0 http://www.girlgetssocal.com/2010/02/26/pillow-fight-day-1/ http://www.girlgetssocal.com/2010/02/26/pillow-fight-day-1/#comments Sat, 27 Feb 2010 07:29:18 +0000 Bekah http://girlgetsboard.com/?p=661 This is my first time to Leavenworth. I drove from Seattle taking I-90 to Hwy 970 to Hwy 97. I’d never taken the route before and it was so beautiful. Especially Hwy 97. The rain changed to snow as I started to climb into the mountains and I watched the temperature drop from 42 to 39 to 37 to 34 to 30.

It’s been awhile since I have driven up to Whistler, but Hwy 97 reminded me of it–large mountains jutting up from the side of the road, lots and lots of snow, evergreens. It had been snowing heavily and everything was covered in white, and the wind was blowing so hard I thought my board would rip off of the racks.

The mountains still kind of scare me. Growing up surrounded by rolling hills, mountains were exotic and unknown. Driving by myself in the snow with large peaks above me, and heavy clouds I was a little afraid. What if I crashed? What if the car died? Could I survive? It’s still so foreign.

The road leading into Leavenworth is surrounded by old and new orchards that line the road and are perched on the side of the mountain. It was getting dark and the Bavarian town was lit up. Turning left onto Icicle Road, I drove to the Sleeping Lady resort. It’s an amazing wood-cabin style resort. So gorgeous and relaxing. Little cabins are on 50 or so acres. It’s so quiet here. If you ever get a chance, stay here!

This is the Kingfisher Lodge where I went to meet all of the other ladies that were staying over Friday night. The food was so delicious and it was fun meeting everyone. We then headed over to the Grotto to have a pint, talking on our walk over about what class we planned on taking the next day–beginner, intermediate, park, freeride.

I can’t wait for tomorrow. With all of the snow and a group of almost 50 ladies it should be an amazing time.

The Blender has the party rocker and a scooped nose and tail.When I grabbed the board, the first thing I noticed was the weight. It seemed a lot heavier than my current set-up. Sadly I don’t hit rails or boxes yet, which is what this board is built for. I took it out on the corduroy and it did a good job, but I really didn’t notice a difference in turning with the p-rocker. Doing some flatland ollies it was nice and poppy. A few times when I was turning the stars would align, the tail would really connect with the snow, and the board would pop forward. It was fun, but I’m not sure if the speed was from the rocker or not.

For some reason I was expecting more from the Blender and rocker. But again, I didn’t take it into the park.

I <3 the Feelgood V- Rocker. Is this because it was a bigger board? Maybe. Is it just that good? Perhaps. Do I have expensive taste? I guess. It is one of Burton’s priciest women’s decks.

It charged. I felt like a speed ninja. I could pop and flex the board easily. I loved it. It felt substantial, like I had something solid under me that could handle speed without freaking out. The ice wasn’t so noticeable with the Feelgood and I didn’t want to give it back at the end of the day.

What have you demoed this year that you liked?

Photo: Alex Indigo

Your board. Probably one of the most basic of basics when it comes to snowboarding. In the past few years, the ways that boards are engineered have changed dramatically to say the least. Coming into the 2009-2010 season it seems like snowboard companies have their act together and actually know how to talk about the product they are trying to sell.

There are some really great articles on the differences so I don’t need to re-write what has already been written, but I do want to go over the basics…and give some places to go from here for more information.

The word of the day is “camber.”

And, if you don’t know, like I didn’t, camber refers to the curvature or arch of the board (Wikipedia). The way that your board arches can affect how you can use your edges in pow, groomed trails, or the park.

THE LINE UP

Traditional

This is the camber that you have been riding up until maybe last year. The center of the board arches up off of the snow from from each end of the board. When you ride this board, the middle of it presses down, increasing the amount of edge that is in direct contact with snow. The 2009 Transworld Snowboarding Gear Guide says traditional camber “initiates lively turns.” I’d have to agree.

Flat

This type of board will lay dead flat on the snow. The center doesn’t arch upwards like  traditional camber boards do. Since all of the edges are flat on the snow, Transworld says its a pretty stable and predictable ride. They also say that it has a lot of flex and will be easier to do ollies with. A move that’s harder with a traditional camber board.

Reverse (Rocker)

Like the flat camber board above, this design is exactly what it says it is. It’s a reverse of the traditional cambered board. The center of the board connects with the snow and the tips of the board arch up. Because there is less edge-to-snow contact at the tips of the board it is much easier to sail through pow.

Mixed Camber

Want a little bit of everything? This is where you are going to find it. There are a lot of different variations depending on the brand, but most mixed camber boards are concave-or touch the snow-between the bindings, then arch up off of the snow at the point where the binding is, then arch back down at the tips. It basically looks like those low-tech bows used for archery.

Learn More

There are a couple of other really great descriptions of the different board cambers that are out on the market.

• South if the North’s Guide to the Technology Formerly Called Reverse CamberGood examples of boards with the different camber styles. They also match riding style with board design.

• Shredding Betties’ Sneak Peak: The Shape of Boards to ComeExplains why you should even care about this new technology. They break down some of the camber designs from a variety of snowboard brands.

• Angry Snowboarder’s Camber Theories In UseTakes the discussion one step further, commenting on how these new boards actually hold up on the hill.

• And, if you still buy magazines, check out Transworld’s 2009 Buyers Guide. They have some excellent visuals that might make the different types of camber a lot clearer.

What do you think? Is the new technology all it is cracked up to be?