Jonathan Tollefson

Is it legal to have the words wakeboard and snowboard in the same title?  Is it possible to wakeboard and snowboard in the same weekend?  You better believe it.  It happened in the Midwest and it happened this weekend.  The clouds parted, the stars aligned, and we had the chance to wakeboard on Saturday and Snowboard on Sunday.

Our last day to wakeboard in 2010 came in the form of a charity event that was put on by Skiers Pier for the American Diabetes Association.  The goal was to go out and support an awesome charity and to watch people brave the cold one last time.  After 18 years of doing this you would think that people would have figured out that being in the water in December is a bad idea.  I am happy to say we were a part of it, and it was great to see so many others out there riding in the frigid cold and supporting a good cause.  Thanks to Skiers Pier for the killer warm up ten, and for setting up the event.  I will be back next year for sure.

This brings us to Sunday where we headed out to Mt. Holly for our second snow shred of the season.  So far, it was the best snowboarding of the year. How couldn’t it be?  There was more snow, there were more runs open, and I am proud to say that we were the lucky ones to break the red tape and cut first tracks down Mozart.  Overall, the snow was good.  We found a couple killer lines that allowed us to sharpen our board skills and keep us busy for the whole session.  It was also great to take a few turns with David Z. (a fellow MI blogger) from Agnarchy.com who was out there priming his legs for a trip to the Colorado Rockies.  It looks like the season is off to a good start, and I can’t wait to see what happens in 2011.  So pumped!

Did you ever think that you could wakeboard and snowboard in the same day or weekend in the Midwest?  If you have combined the two in a day or weekend, please leave a comment with your story!  I would love to hear it.  For the record,Wakeboarding in freezing water is nuts, but it is one way that we all can Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday!

There are certain things in our lives that prevent us from snowboarding as much as we might want throughout the year.  Things such as lack of snow, weekend parties, vacations, significant others, and hangovers cause us to miss the few days that we have in the Midwest to snowboard.  The more of these we can get rid of, the more days on the snow we will have.  One way to do this is by getting your spouse or significant other to come with you snowboarding.  In doing so, I want to tell you that you should never teach your spouse or significant other to snowboard for the first time.

If you are looking to get your significant other into the sport of snowboarding, or maybe they want to come snowboarding with you, you need to get them into a lesson before they ever snowboard with you.  Believe me, this will save your marriage or your relationship.  Because snowboarding is a very frustrating and brutal sport to learn, it is important to leave the pressure of teaching and learning on someone else.  I know this from experience.

After living in Colorado for a bit, my girlfriend and I thought that it would be a great idea to teach her how to snowboard.  So what did I do?  I took it upon myself to train her.  Seeing that I have taught many different people how to snowboard, I thought that this would be a perfect chance to become closer to my girl and teach her something completely new.  This could have been the worst decision I have ever made!

Usually being a calm and go-with-the-flow type of person, I want you to know how I ended up feeling and treating my precious girlfriend this day.  One quote can explain it all, “Kelly, you are going to make me break my goggles and stab myself in the eye if you keep saying you want to quit and that you can’t do it!”  I know it sounds crazy, and we laugh about it today, but honestly this is how I felt.  I promise that if you try to teach your significant other to snowboard, you are going to go through the same frustration.  I can only imagine what my girlfriend wanted to say to me.  I am sure that she was not going to tell me how much she loves me.

To sum it all up, pay the extra cash that it takes to get your significant other a snowboarding lesson.  I know it is not cheap, but I promise that this little act will save your relationship.  One lesson is all it usually takes, and from that time on you will be able to snowboard more, your spouse or significant other will love the sport, and you will never want to gouge your eyeballs out.  Snowboarding is a sport that everyone can enjoy, and one that most people love once they are able to go down the hill without killing themselves.  Get your spouse a lesson and you are one step closer to Boarding the Midwest All day, Everyday.