Jonathan Tollefson

With day snowboard passes reaching $40-45, and season passes climbing over $500 dollars, it is hard to see why people love the sport of snowboarding so much.  What a lot of people don’t know is that we who love to snowboard find creative ways to board without going to the hill.  One way many of us get on the snow more is by getting off the couch, going outside, we pick up a shovel, and build ourselves a backyard snowboard park.

I love creating and building different snowboard obstacles in the backyard, or anywhere else that you can find some open land.  One of my favorite hits to build is a simple wall.  The only materials you need are a couple saw horses, a 4′X8′ piece of plywood, and a little bit of the white fluffy stuff.  From there the options are endless, and the the tricks you can preform are amazing.  This winter get off your butt and go for it.  I have just given you one of the best ways to Board the Midwest All day Everyday!

Before I talk anymore about cable parks and about my 2011 Cable Park Tour.  I should fill you in on what a cable park is.

Cable Parks

A simple explanation of a cable park is a body of water where you get pulled by a rope that is connected to a overhead cable.  The cable is run by an electric motor which allows multiple people to wakeboard at the same time without the use of a boat.  Every rider on the cable can ride until they fall.  After they fall the cable will pull the rope around to the next rider, and they will be off and riding in a blink of an eye.  Along with getting pulled around the lake by a cable, the lakes are usually littered with obstacles that you can slide, bonk, or hit at your free will.  Obstacles come in all variations, and the most common obstacles include sliders and kickers.

If you don’t have a boat and want to learn how to wakeboard, look up a cable park, go there, and ride till your arms fall off.  You will never regret it, and everyone can do it.  I went to Wake Nation a few days ago, and there was a 60 year old bush whacker out there testing her skills.  If she could do it, so can you!  The best thing about cable parks:  They give us all another way to Board the Midwest All Day Everyday.

For many of us there are at least two different seasons throughout the year, snow season and water season.  I believe the general population calls them summer and winter.   In the picture above you will see one of the best backyard snowboard parks that my friends and I have ever built.  What I want you to ask yourself is, “how did we come up with this set up?”  Let me tell you, it did not come to us over a cold wintery night; however that is all that it takes.

This idea/design was crafted over the summer and into the winter months.  Everyone can have this and everyone should have a backyard snowboard park of their own.  It is easy, it is fun, and you can create anything you want.  Wait, I didn’t mention the best part about it.  It is completely free to hit all winter long.  If you want to  improve and take your game to the next level, you need to start thinking about the park you are going to build in your backyard right NOW.  It is going to take work and if you want a pimp rail to soup up your park, contact Board Sport Terrain Design.  They will build anything you can think of.

Materials are everywhere.  So think big, go big, and build yourself an epic backyard snowboard park.  You won’t regret it!

In the world of snowboarding, I believe there is a huge reason why more of the population does not get out on the slopes.  The reason; because snowboarding is conceived as expensive.  I am not saying it is cheap,  but I want to share with you a list of ways that will keep money in your pocket so you can have enough cash for your next lift ticket.

Buy Used Gear

Gear always seems to be a big purchase.  Snowboard, boots, bindings, pants, coat, hats, gloves, goggles, and hand warmers.  It all adds up.  Friends, Craigslist, Ebay, and your local newspaper can all be good sources for you to find some good used gear.  Take your time and shop around.

Get a Season Pass

The upfront cost can be huge.  However you will be able to snowboard as much as you want once you have the pass.  If you go enough, this can save you a lot of money.  Certain resorts have also teamed up and combined their season passes.  This means you can buy one pass and snowboard at a few different places throughout the year. Resorts will also have discounted season passes if you buy them at a certain time of the year. Figure out when that it is.

Saltines and Hot Sauce

This is one of my college favorite ways to save some cash.  Head to the soup display, grab some saltines, and snag a bottle of hot sauce.  BAM!  Instant snack that will hold you over until you get home.

Discounted Lift Tickets/Package Deals

Resorts will offer package deals on lift tickets.  Buy 3 lift tickets and get the 4th lift ticket free is a great way to save you money and get you out on the hill at least one more day.  For day passes, check in at your local shops for a discount on lift tickets.  If you are near the Rocky Mountains, stop into a grocery store on your way up to the hill, you might find a deal.

Ramen Noodles

Nothing better than stopping into the local grocery store, and picking up a couple of 19 cent packs of Ramen Noodles to eat for lunch.  You cook the Ramen at the hill by getting two cups.  Fill one cup with hot water from the coffee machine, crush up the Ramen, and put it into the hot water.  Flip the other cup upside down and use it to cover the cup with Ramen and hot water.  Five minutes later you will have perfectly cooked Ramen to fill your belly.

Snowboard During the Weekdays

Resorts will often have days during the week that are discounted for different reasons.  Give them a ring to figure out what they have going on throughout the year.  Snowboarding during the week will also allow you to avoid long lift lines which means more time on the snow for you.  Who knows maybe you will even find a buy one get one night!

Parking Lot Lunches

Pack a lunch, grill some dogs, stop by subway, or travel to the local Little Ceasars for a five dollar Hot and Doughy!  What ever you do, it will help you stay away from $10 bread bowls of chili, or $8 dollar burgers.  Granted every now and then I like to step up to the plate for the chili, but if you pack a lunch you will have money for another day of riding.

Après-Ski

For those of you who are like me and like to relax and chill with friends after a good day of riding.  Head to a tavern away from the hill.  Sometimes we will grab one on the hill and head somewhere else, but overall I have found that the local tavern down the street will  have the better deal.

Now it is your turn

I know I did not cover every little trick in the book, and I know you have some creative money saving tips up your sleeve.  Please leave a comment if you have found a way to save a buck or two.

With unreliable winters in the Midwest our snow season seems to come and go like it was never here.  Some winter seasons are two months long and others we can maybe stretch out to four months.  Does this piss anyone else off?  I love the sport so much, and as soon as I start to get into a groove it seems like it is over.  It ticks me right off.  The good thing for us is that there is an answer for it all.  SNOWFLEX folks!!

A fellow snowboard blogger David Z. at shredding the gnar snowboarding blog has touched on this subject a bit, and  I would like to continue where he left off.  For those of you who do not know what Snowflex is, here is a quick explanation.  Snowflex is a engineered materiel that allows you to snowboard 365 days out of the year.  It is a carpet like material that provides you with the ability to snowboard down a hill with the same feeling that you would get when you are on snow.  Brilliant!

What does this mean for those of us that live in BS climates and only have snow on the ground for a small portion of the year?  It means we have to combine forces and get a Snowflex complex in the Midwest right now.  These complexes can cost any where from 1M to 14M dollars, and can be open 365 days a year.  Those of you who are looking to win the X GAMES, The Dew Tour, and possibly go to the Olympics.  You need this.

As of now there is one Snowflex complex in the US which is located in Lynchberg, VA.  Check it out.  How sweet is that?  The possibilities are endless and with a force of people who are as passionate about snowboarding as I am,  it can happen.  It might already be happening and we don’t even know about it.  If not we need to push this idea to the max and get it going.

Throughout the Midwest I have heard of a few new hills that are about to open.  Why waste your time on only being able to be open four months out of the year?  Why not invest your money in something that people can come to all year long.  It is new, innovative, and something that is not around.  Do you see this as an extension to winter, because I see it as another way for the Midwest people to board all day, everyday.