Jonathan Tollefson

For the past three years Kelly and I have traveled east for a snowboard trip.  Well this year we did it again.  We met up with our friends in Boston and then took off to the mountains of Vermont.  One of our stops during the trip was Mt. Snow.

Mt. Snow 2011

As we drove to Mt. Snow mother nature dumped on us like it was never going to end.  And it didn’t.

Besides the fact that this much snow could make snowboarding down stairs fun, Mt. Snow was a great Mountain.  We parked within walking distance to hill, lift lines did not form, and the variety of terrain Mt. Snow provided made for a good day.

Being from the Midwest I am always interested in what the terrain parks at different resorts look like.  Mt. Snow has a whole mountain that is dedicated to the park.  For us the park ended up sucking, but that is because we were not supposed to be in the park at this time.  We were supposed to be hitting the pow while it is fresh. Check out Adam and Jessica’s hats.  I’m telling you, it was puking out.

Seriously, it never stopped snowing on us the whole time we were at Mt. Snow.  I really hope I can make it back there to ride again.  It felt like we were only there for minutes, and I would like to spend months and months at Mt. Snow and in Vermont.

If you have never been out east because you think there is only good snow in the west.  Think again and give the east a try.  If anything, go to Vermont and drive around in the woods.  Maybe you will see a moose.  You never know.

A few weeks ago Kelly, Adam, Jessica, and I took a trip to Vermont to snowboard at Stratton Mountain.  The resort was great, the park was killer, and fun times were had by all.  Enjoy a few pics from our trip!

Stratton Mountain, Vermont

This is the view from our car as we pulled up to Stratton.  Tons of energy at this point.

The Crew -  Jon, Adam, Kelly, and Jessica (front to back)

A nice view from the Lift.

A view of Stratton Village.  Cool place to be!

Adam strolling through Stratton Village.  Can you guess what he is looking for?

You guessed it.  Apres!!  We stopped into Mulberry Street to finish off a great day at Stratton Mountain.

We also shot some riding footage while we rode at Stratton. I will get that out to you when the time is right.  I hope you enjoy the pics and if you have never rode the east side of the US, you should get out there.  Then you can come back and tell your friends how you don’t just Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday, you board the East too!

…IN HISTORY.

The Worst Snowboard Jump…

I can’t get this out of my head, and if you are a resort I beg you to never build a snowboard jump like this.  I took this picture while I was riding with some friends at my home town resort.  Everything about this jump is wrong and dangerous.

Do you want to know where injuries come from? Do you want to know why the insurance is high?  Do you know having a kicker that is 5 feet wide, 30 feet long, with a sketchy take off and a landing that mimics the sinking titanic is a bad idea?  Well it is time to wake up and move into the 20th century.

Lets face it.  If you are a resort in the Midwest, and you don’t have a killer park; you are falling behind.  People can only slide down the 500 feet of vertical on the same blown snow for so long before they look for something else to do.  I don’t even want to talk about the absolute increase in park type riding that has been taking place in the last 5 years.  How can’t you see it?  Did you see the Olyimpics?  Have you watched commercials?  Have you ever rode through your own park?

Alright maybe I shouldn’t be upset or thinking about this as much as I am.  Maybe I should have made it into a fun obstacle no matter what?  Maybe I should have stopped and fixed it.  All I know is that this article is not about me.  It’s about our kids, our families, our friends, it’s about having fun, and it’s about providing a safe environment to those who come and love to ride.  That’s what keeps you open.

So home town resort, thank you for taking a stab at a park.  But if you are going to have this type of terrain please shut it down, fix it, or get rid of it.  I only wish I would have taken pictures of the flat to down box that I backside board slid.  I guess I had to find out the hard way that the beginning of the down box was higher than the end of the flat box.  Thanks for that!

Get your heads out of the gutter.  If you are going to build something, build it.  Don’t half ass it and then give me the excuse that you don’t have a park crew that day.  You were open.  You had people working, and if you are going to have a terrain park you better have someone from your park crew there.  The only thing that I can hope for is that your crew was out riding at another resort learning how to build a jump and maintain it.

Midwest resorts, and resorts around the world… let this be your wake up call.  If you need help building your parks, I know some guys who can help you out.  Check out people like Board Sport Terrain Design or Planet Snow.  They will both hook you up.  For those who have sketchy obstacles, please give your park a makeover.  The people will be happier, more of them will come, and your wallet will plump.  For my home town resort, Coffee Mill, you know this is your jump, your lucky I have been coming there for years and that I will be back again.

You can check out more pics of the jump below, and I warn everyone to scope out the jumps before you hit them.  It will save you from injury, guarantee you more days on your board, and if you don’t like something about the obstacles, please let someone at the resort know so the next person doesn’t get hurt.

Has anyone else witnessed something like this?  If so, lets get it fixed so we can all have fun and Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday safely.

Do you wonder how you can become a professional snowboarder?  Has it been your dream?  Is this something that you want to accomplish before you die?

If you answered yes to any of the above three questions, you want to know what the USASA is.

USASA = United States of America Snowboard Association.

The USASA is an organization that standardized Amateur grassroot snowboard competitions around the United States.  If you want to be a big gun in the snowboard industry and end up competing in competitions such as the Dew Tour or the X-Games, you should start by competing in a USASA series.  The USASA is broke up into five different Regions across the US.  Each of the Regions are then broke up into smaller competition series.

For instance, if you live in Michigan,  you will choose to compete in the Central Region.  From there you have two competition series to choose from.  You can either compete in the Huck Finn Series, or you can compete in the Middle Earth Series.  Once you choose the series that fits you the best, you will have to throw down your best tricks in each competition in hopes that you can stack up enough points for your chance to go to Nationals.  If you make it to Nationals, this will be your time to shine and get noticed.  You can do it!

Middle Earth vs. Huck Finn

Middle Earth Snowboard Series is northern Michigan’s competition series.  If you join this series you will be competing at Boyne Resorts, Nub’s Nob, and the Otsego Club.  If you are unfamiliar with the Otsego Club, let me tell you a little of what you have been missing.  The Otsego Club produces the biggest half pipe in the Midwest and one of the only half pipes with 22 foot walls in the US.  Unreal!!  If you want to compete at some of the best resorts in the Midwest, and want to take your chance at conquering a half pipe with 22 foot walls the Middle Earth Snowboard series is for you.

Huck Finn Snowboard series is southern Michigan’s snowboard competition series.  If you decide that the Huck Finn series is your cup of tea, you will be competing at resorts such as Alpine Valley, Mt. Holly, Mt. Brighton, and Shanty Creek.  Along with the standard USASA competitions, the Huck Finn Series throws in an extra event called the Impossible Rail jam.  The Impossible Rail Jam is a competition that is all about rails.  This rail jam style event is a little extra something for you to go out and prove yourself on rails.  I have been apart of these events and they are nothing short of fun.  If you live in southern Michigan and want to test your skills on the hill or on the rails you need to check out the Huck Finn Series.

All in all, if your dreams are to be on the cover of Transworld Snowboard Magazine, or if your dreams are to be a person who gets to travel around snowboarding while getting paid, you need to become a member of USASA.  This will be your first step to success and it could change your life.  Get out there, ride hard, meet some new people, and and enjoy every minute of it!  I’d much rather Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday with a pro that smiles than one that doesn’t have fun if he/she isn’t winning.

Say goodbye to cold fingers.  SmarTouch gloves have arrived.  They are revolutionary, they can be used with every smart phone on the market, and you can text your face off without removing your gloves.  ISOTONER recently hooked me up with a pair of these gloves to test out, and take to the streets.  So far I agree with the technology and the quality of the glove.  The idea is that touch screens don’t work with gloves, UNTIL NOW!  ISOTONER has implemented killer tips to the fingers of their gloves that act like skin and allow you to answer, text, and manipulate your smart phone without taking your gloves off.

SmarTouch Glove Giveaway

Click the Pic and go to my Facebook Page!!!

I have reaped the benefits of SmarTouch gloves, and now I get chance to let you do the same.  To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment, picture, or video that involves SNOW on my Facebook Page.  After December 4th, I will pick the two most creative people and send them a free pair of SmarTouch gloves.  Even if you don’t like snow, tell me why, and you will be entered to be one of the lucky people who will receive a new pair of gloves!

If you are not a member of Facebook, leave a comment and I will add you to the giveaway.  I also have to give it up for ISOTONER for coming up with another way to help us keep our hands warm.  This puts us all one step closer to Boarding the Midwest All Day, Everyday.