Westbound Boarder

Looking to have a “More Good Time” at your next camp?  Look no further.  In our quest to educate you on the top snowboard camps for females each Wednesday with our Wicked Snow Camp Wednesday series, we came across a camp exclusively for women.  MGT  (More Good Times) Snowboard Camp for Girls, presented by Burton, is “intended for female snowboarders who want to have fun and progress their snowboarding skills, especially in the park and pipe.”  Finally!  A camp that’s caters to the more advanced rider!  Don’t get me wrong, I completely support beginners attending camps to advance to the intermediate level, however, sometimes it is nice to attend a camp that’s a little more advanced if you really want to improve your skills in the park.  This camp is meant for females who want to pursue snowboarding competitively or professionally, and it seems like an awesome way to start that journey.

MGT boasts a legit roster of professional coaches, including Alexis Waite, Tara Dakides, and Spencer O’Brien.  The coach to rider ratio typically stands about 1 to 5, so you’ll really get the attention you need.  And you’ll spend most of the two-day session focusing exclusively on the park.

Another cool thing this camp’s got goin’ on is “MGT Academy.”  Basically, the program is “designed to select one promising MGT camper and place them under the tutorial wing of the MGT pro coaches to give a head start on pursuing a snowboard career in 2010.”  The graduate receives gear, photo shots, video shoots, etc.  Two graduates are chosen per session, and at the end of the year they’ll all regroup to give a presentation on why they should “graduate with top honors.” The person chosen will get some new gear, a travel budget, and awesome lineup for 2010.  Sweet!

MGT offers three camps in the winter and two in the summer at various locations around the globe.  Winter locations included Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, AB and Grouse Mountain in Vancouver, BC, and the third session is set to take place April 4 - 5 at Mount Norquay, Banff, AB.  (Soo, if you still want to make it up to a camp before season’s end, now’s your chance).

Though dates and prices for the summer camp have yet to be announced, both will take place in August 2009, one at Timberline held in tandem with High Cascade, and one in South America alongside South America Snowboard Sessions (Danielle’s previewing this camp next week, so stay tuned!)  Summer camp prices include accommodations, however, lift tickets are not included so keep this in mind when you are budgeting your trip.  Au revior, and see you at Timberline!

UPDATE: I got a chance to catch up with Joanna, co-creator of MGT, tonight (we’ve been playing phone tag for a couple of days) and she told me a little bit more about the camp; so we’ve got the inside scoop right here.  Joanna started the camp seven years ago with riding buddy and pro boarder Leanne Pelosi (hey, that’s an idea; instead of attending camp, just start your own!) and they’ve been at it ever since.  She told me they started the camp for “purely selfish reasons” (hey, that’s fine by me if we all benefit from it, too!) -

Basically, back around the time they started the camp, there weren’t many lessons available just for female riders.  They had several tricks they really wanted to learn, so they put their necessity to action.  Since both girls were competitive boarders and had a large network of people in the industry, they got a good group of talented coaches together and started MGT.  One of the cool and unique things about MGT is that, year after year, they still manage to have awesome pro riders come back to staff the camps (Joanne even mentioned its fun to watch the star-struck campers on the first day).  The riders range in skill level, but they all have one thing in common - they’re passionate about snowboarding and they have high expectations to rise to their full potential, prepared with lists of tricks to master and all.  The camp concludes with a “Jib’n'Jump” Jam, where the coaches throw out their best tricks and the girls follow suit; and the best girl wins a prize!

So… where can you sign up?  I mentioned earlier that there’s still one winter camp left this season, but there are also two summer sessions as well.  In years past, summer sessions have always been held as separate sessions in themselves (just like the winter sessions) alongside camp partners, however, this year MGT will be part of High Cascade.  Students will attend and sign up directly through HCSC for Leanne Pelosi’s session, which is August 8 - 15 and is the session MGT is promoting.  

If you’d like to make a complete world vaca out of your summer camp this year but still ride with the awesome MGT staff, MGT’s other summer session will be held in tandem with South American Snowboard Sessions July 31 - August 16.  Aside from being longer and further away, the Argentina camp will feature more backcountry riding, during the country’s winter, and really foster a truly cultural experience.  It will be completely different than HCSC, but still, of course, a good time.

The weekend I have been waiting for all winter is finally here! That is right; Burton Demo Days is coming to a resort near you (right here in the PacNW!) As Burton puts it, this is an opportunity to ‘unlimit your riding.’ Stop by one of the following locations and you can try the entire 2009 line of Burton gear, for FREE! Bring a credit card for a security deposit so you can, ‘truly understand what Burton EST’s supernatural performance can do to unlimit the way you see, feel and ride the mountain, you must try it for yourself.’

If you have been thinking about grabbing some new gear, there is no better time than the present (aka, the season’s end).  It’s also always great to try before you buy, so join me this weekend at Timberline Lodge where I will be picking out my new snowboard (I’m thinking the Stria, Blender or GTwin, but we will see ). So here are your local demo opportunities in Oregon:

• 3.14.09- Mission Ridge
• 3.14.09- Timberline Lodge
• 3.15.09- Ski Bowl
• 3.21.09- Hoodoo
• 3.22.09- Mt. Hood Meadows
• 3.28.09- Mt. Bachelor
• 3.29.09- Mt. Bachelor
• 3.28.09- Crystal Mountain
• 3.29.09- Stevens Pass

With over nine stops in the area, there really are no excuses not to attend Burton Demo Days! Let us know about your demo days experience by shooting us an email at westboundboarder@gmail.com.

If you’ve been following along, yesterday I competed in the Burton AM Series at Bear Mountain, CA.  What an experience!  I haven’t competed since my high school snowboard team days (much less ridden through the park this year!) so it was a lot of fun to be a part of the competition.

Now, I know I said in my last post that if you have never competed before, the Burton AM Series is a great place to start… Well, after spending a day in the comp. I might have to revise that statement a bit  Though it was a great time, many of the girls competing were sponsored, and if they weren’t they should have been.  Also, I expected the jumps to be pretty decently sized (after all, it is the amateur qualifier to the US Open!) but one look at the jumps on my way up the chair lift made me think twice about competing, myself… Well, almost  The jumps were HUGE! (Don’t believe me? Check out our pics on Flickr!)  If you’re not used to riding the park (basically, a park expert) it might be dangerous to push yourself on jumps you aren’t quite ready for.

However, cautions aside, if you are comfortable with the park I’d highly recommend you take a look at competing in the Burton AM Series.  The event was well-organized and a ton of fun, and competing in a comp. of this stature is a great way to push your ability and give you something to work toward.  For me, it was a bit of a stretch (especially since the last time I went big in the park I wound up with a broken arm!), but I faced my fears and did it, and I’m glad I did!  Though I didn’t make the top 4 (final qualifiers), I wasn’t last, either!  I was somewhere in the middle, but I’m just glad I did it at all.  It always feels so rewarding to know that you pushed yourself and did the best you could.

Overall, watching the girls compete in this competition was incredibly inspiring and it really made me realize that snowboarding has come a long way for women in the past few years.  When I competed back in high school, jaws dropped in awe when a chick could pull a backside half-cab with decent air.  Yesterday, I saw a girl do a backside 5 w/nose grab, and with killer air!  Oh, and there was a 9-year-old competing in the comp. who was awesome!  I couldn’t believe it; I overheard one of the girls saying that she really wanted to hit the first kick but her mom wouldn’t let her.  Yesterday, I really saw firsthand the advancement female riders are making in the sport, and the industry.  I think men are finally starting to realize it’s not just their sport any longer! 

Hopefully this post doesn’t deter you from wanting to compete in the future.  It really is one of the best things you can do to improve your skill on the hill; the competitive vibe you feel while training for and during a comp. will test your limits to the max, and you’ll find yourself trying things you normally would brush aside in no time.  Stay tuned for part 2 of this post later this week; I’ll give you newbies a few tips to think about while prepping for your first competition!  You’ll be pro in no time.

Traditionally, the US Open (snowboarding) has only been open to pro riders.  Not anymore!  Last year, Burton announced the Burton AM Series, a competition for amateur riders, with men and women champs winning $1,000 and a wildcard entry into the Open Series.  And the second annual series is well underway, with stops in 6 US locations.  

If your new year’s resolution is to compete this year, I suggest you try this one out!  I haven’t competed since high school, but I’ve really wanted to get back into it, so I challenged myself to this one  After researching it a bit (and becoming a tad bit intimidated watching videos of the pro Burton team!) I decided, what the heck… at least I tried, right?  The worst that can happen is I get last place  So, I’m doing it; tomorrow at Bear Mountain, which I’m so stoked about because I haven’t been to Bear Mountain yet, and what a great excuse to go!   

If you’re also thinking about competing, most of the info. you need is on the Burton AM Series Web site.  You can register here (it’s $10 per event; open to 30 women) and you can compete in slopestyle, halfpipe, or both. 

This year’s schedule is as follows:

• Northstar-at-Tahoe, CA: Jan. 10 - 11
• Bear Mountain, CA: Jan. 19 (Slopestyle only; pipe cancelled due to weather conditions)
• Keystone, CO: Jan. 24 - 25
• Snoqualmie, WA: Jan. 31 (Slopestyle only; pipe cancelled due to weather conditions)
• Park City, UT: Feb. 7 - 8
• Waterville Valley, NH: March 14 - 15

The big clincher - the Burton Global Open Series, US - will be held at Stratton Mountain, VT, March 16 - 22, 2009.  Competitors (pros and those who’ve obtained a wildcard entry through the AM series) will compete for the 2009 women’s and men’s championship titles, each worth $100,000, and events at large will take place around the globe (Europe, Japan, Canada, US, New Zealand, Australia).  So whether you’re a competitor or you simply just want to watch, be sure to mark those dates on your calendar because it should be a pretty sweet comp!  I’ll report back after tomorrow’s big event