Jonathan Tollefson

Needless to say, I am unimpressed with snowboard season pass prices in the Midwest.  I am only going to talk in general terms because I have not found every deal out there and I have not researched every resort in the Midwest. But come on.  $500 dollars for a season pass to cruse a hill that takes 30 seconds to get to the bottom.  Really?

I don’t know where the prices come from or who decides what the price should be, but obviously supply and demand play a big factor when it comes to season pass prices.  All I want to know is, where is the supply, and who is demanding these prices?

OK, so I get it.  You buy a pass to your favorite mole hill and you get to go there as many times as you want.  Do you really feel like you get a deal?  With ticket prices in the mid $30′s you have to travel to the hill at least 15 times to get your moneys worth.  This doesn’t allow you to go anywhere else.  Is it really worth it?  Are your friends going to travel to one hill?  What do we have going on here?  Is this really community?

Man!  As I type this, I find so many more issues with this model.  When I live in Michigan and find it more beneficial to buy a season pass to western states where I can snowboard for days, and buy a season pass for less, it doesn’t make sense.  Do I even have to mention that this pass covers 3-4 different MOUNTAINS!  All it takes is one trip a year to make it worth it.

Obviously the season pass prices are geared towards the local family that only wants to drive their die hard snowboard child to the same hill every weekend.  What about the mid aged person who likes to board as much as possible and search out the best hill?  How do you make it worth it to them and the many friends they have?  Maybe I should be asking, what are you doing to show that we should come to your hill?  I don’t see you at local events.  I don’t see you promoting your parks.  I don’t see you doing anything other than propping up on a trash hill and blowing 4 months worth of ice out of the year.  I don’t know if you will ever change and I don’t know if you ever will, but come on, step up.

Without getting technical and showing you every position and knee jerking reaction, I am going to say that skiing is harder on your knees than snowboarding is.

Snowboarding is Better for Your Knees

The reason I think snowboarding is easier on your knees is because your feet are secured to one board.  This means that when you fall your legs are going to stay together.  When a skier tail spins into a yard sale, their legs and knees can get twisted in all different directions.  If you are skiing in this situation, you can only hope that your skies will fall off.  This doesn’t happen with snowboarding.  Weather you catch your toe edge, or take a heal side slam, your knees will always be in the same position.

As I say this, I do have to caution and say that knees are torn up on snowboards.  It happened with me.  However because of this tear, I will never ski again.  This actually ticks me off a little bit because I loved to ski.  I just can’t take the chance of a ski twisting sideways and taking out one of my knees again.

Rain comes and goes, water freezes and thaws, Placid Wake Park meets Marhar Snowboards, and Boarding the Midwest All Day, Everyday slowly becomes a reality.  We met up with Josh (owner of Marhar Snowboards) this past weekend at Placid Wake Park, which is located just outside of Grand Rapids, MI.  Placid is set up with System 2.0 which is one of the newest cable systems on the market, and it is also the one thing that allowed all of us to wakeboard until our arms were about to fall off.  Enjoy a few pics of our day!  If you snowboard and want to learn how to wakeboard, find the nearest cable park and go there.  You won’t regret it!

Placid Wake Park Pictures

From Left to Right: Andrew, Jon T, Josh, Dave

Andrew Shredding Placid Wake Park

Josh gearing up to dock start his second time ever wakeboarding!

Myself making the corner and ready to destroy the the next obstacle.

To see more photos of Andrew, Josh and I killing it at the Placid Wake Park CLICK HERE!!!

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!

Journals are used to keep memories, write down feelings, keep track of your days, and to write down something you might forget.  This is exactly why I think you should keep a Shred Journal.  Having a journal will help you remember how many days you spent on the hill.  They will help you accomplish your goals, that is if you have goals.  They also provide you with a source that you can look back on to see what you were thinking at the beginning of the season, or what you were thinking at the end of last season.

By living in the Midwest, I am only able to snowboard 4-5  months out of the year.  This leaves a huge gap where I am not snowboarding, but do you think I forget about it?  Nope.  Everywhere I go, I always look for urban rails, wall rides, or natural hits.  Over this long period of time, do you honestly think that I can remember everything I find or see?  No way.  This is exactly why I keep a shred journal of my own.  Without it, I would miss out on past experiences, I would forget the numerous urban hits I see, and I would never be able to take my skills to the next level.  In my journal, I write down possible trips, tricks I would like to stomp, ideas to get me on the snow more, and anything else that is on my mind at that time.

I believe everyone should have a journal of some sort.  Maybe the word journal scares you.  So call it what you want and write everything down.  You won’t regret it, and the next time you step on your snowboard you will be a step ahead of where you were.  Unless you have an incredible mind, which I am sure many of you think you have, you will never be able to keep track of all of your snowboarding thoughts.  With a simple journal, shred note pad, or whatever you want to call it; you will be on top of your game, and you will never forget that stupid thing your buddy said that made you laugh so hard you almost fell off of the lift.  Keep one by your side, reflect on past memories, and take yourself to the next level.  This is what a journal can do for you!  Give it a try and if you don’t like it, you can always go back to where you were when you started your journal.