Jonathan Tollefson

I have heard this snowboard question before, and I am here to answer it today.  At what age can your kids start snowboarding?  If you ask me, I would start teaching them as soon as they walk.

I bought my niece her first snowboard when she was three.  From there we took her to the backyard and to a couple super small hills.  We did not take her to a resort.  Just find a hill where your kids can pick up a little bit of speed.  This will allow them to ride in a very safe environment, and it will let them learn how it feels to have a board strapped to their feet.  You will be amazed how well balanced kids are and how fast they catch on to riding the board down the hill.

The most important part is that you make sure your kids are having fun.  It should also be fun teaching them how to shred.  When they are little you will be pushing them all over the hill which lets you make up all kinds of games and activities to keep their mind into it.  I think if you start your kids young there is a good chance you will soon be Boarding the Midwest All Day, Everyday.

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!

When you buy good snowboard equipment, you hope that it will never break or fall apart.  Well let me be the first to tell you that this is not the case.  No matter what kind of equipment you have, you are going to have to maintenance it at some point.  I want to help you get through the day without any snowboard issues because I don’t want you to have to cruise all the way back to the car from the back country with a loose binding or a missing strap saying “I’m an idiot; I should have brought my snowboard tool.”

Believe me it will happen.  Bindings come loose and straps fall off for no reason at all.  Take a look at the picture above.  This is me struggling to fix a loose strap on my binding with a screw driver that is used to fix skis.  At the start of the day, I always try to check my equipment before I get out on the hill, but for some reason I will still end up with a screwy binding screw that will come loose half way through the day.  This usually happens right before I am about to drop into an trackless powder bowl.  For this reason I have learned that everyone should bring a snowboard tool.

Tools are easy to find at your local shop, and they are fairly inexpensive.  Find one that is small, has many tools in one, and one that will fit nicely in your pocket.  Take it with you even though you might not want to.  It can save you an hour or two if you bring it.  You may never need it, and if this is the case, I say that you are lucky.  Take my advice, and make sure to thank me when you get to shred through the powder with tight bindings.  Loose screws happen to everyone.  Bringing your tool with you will only solidify that you will be able to snowboard all day, everyday.

To snowboard during the summer in the Midwest is nearly impossible.  UNTIL TODAY!  I just found something I never knew existed.  Check it out!  Located in Ohio is the Ohio Dreams Action Sports Camp.  They have taken snowboarding, swimming, and summer and made a combo out of all three.  This pumps up my tires.  Ohio Dreams has a water ramp that allows you to snowboard down the hill turning and carving like you would on the snow.  To end your run, the water ramp turns into three jumps which all lead right into a giant water oasis.   At this point you can decide to take laps in the pool, or you could take your snowboard off and walk back up to the top where you can take another chance at landing that Backside Rodeo 5.  Your choice.

There is only one issue I see with Ohio Dreams.  Wet Equipment.  This is easily solved with old equipment.  Grab your old gear, or steal your buddies boots because everyone including myself needs to get out and try this.  Click on the picture above to check out more of what is going on at the Ohio Dreams Action Sports Camp.

Honestly this makes so much sense.  You can practice any trick you would like to stomp next winter.  This takes safety to the next level and this is a great way to train everyone who wants to hit a jump on a snowboard next winter.   Midwest riders?!?! Are you in?

Snowboard in the summer. What? Can it be true? No way! Well for all of you stuck in the Midwest you probably never think about hitting the slopes during the summer. Well I guess that can’t be true, because if you are a die hard like I am, you are probably thinking about how to get back on your snowboard as soon as the season ends. Well, guess what? You can snowboard in the summer, and you should. Located in Oregon, Mt. Hood is one of the only places in the US where you can get your snowboard gear out and hit the slopes during the summer.

I have to admit that I have never been to Mt. Hood for a summer session, but man I would love to go. For those of you who want to excel and take snowboarding to the next level, there are a few different camps that run all summer. Check out Windells Camp, or High Cascade Snowboard Camp. People have different feelings on both of the camps, however I am sure you can’t go wrong with either one. How can you? You are going to be snowboarding in the summer. What can be bad about that?

Either way, if you are in the Midwest and think that you can’t snowboard during the summer months, your nightmare has ended. Get yourself out to Oregon and hit up Mt. Hood. As for me, I also need to man up and take the plunge. I have been thinking about it for years, and I just need to make the jump and do it. For now, I am going to stick to my guns and keep showing you ways to board the Midwest all day, everyday!

If you have ever experienced Mt. Hood in the summer or the winter, please leave us with your story. Hopefully you will inspire the rest of us to get out there!