Westbound Boarder

A crew of kids showering the park jumps and jibs one, after another, or even at the same time!? They show each other up and even show you up. Whether it is a frontside five here, a rodeo, back flip or two, maybe even a HOT GARBAGE rail jib followed by a bonk and a poke on that ball jib (sometimes known as Park Monkeys!) Oh yeah, I roll with a crew like that!

We all have a shred buddy who is oh-so quick on that board… dodging bedrocks, slate rocks, mud, and gravel…anything, and maybe even jibbing the rocks?? Who knows?? Yet having a yabba dabba doo time bowling down and around that mountain as quick as BAM BAM! I’d like to say I have a little Shred Flintstone in me, what about you?

A fun yet tricky way to start your shredding… The rules? Ha-ha, there are none. Just point and go and be the first shredder to the bottom of the hill and you win! Shredders ready???

This one is not rocket science here. You’re cruising along your wakeboard and bust out the powerslide, and BAM! Next thing you know your face has met the water and you have ingested an unhealthy amount of river water. Shred Betty…meet the face plant. Don’t let it scare you from attempting your tricks again, it always hurts less the next time, right?

It’s like a boardslide, but on the water, sans a rail. The powerslide is a wakeboard trick that looks super sick and is really easy to accomplish. Best to try it outside of the wake by starting with your board parallel to the boat. Turn your board 90 degrees so you are on your heelside edge, lean back a little and that is it! You’re powersliding and look like a pro. Just be careful because there is a VERY thin line between the powerslide and your front edge - catch it, and it is game over.

Wakeboarding Powerslide Courtesy of Macbiff's Flickr

The next step? Try a toeside powerslide, by rotating back onto your toes, it is a little tougher, but that much cooler.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, every now and then they get it right. A hucker is the dude in your group that will hit anything. You know, they charge it hard and fast, fly through the air (grab, spin, vert are optional) and may or may not land on their feet. Although I don’t consider myself a hucker, every now and then I wish I had the balls (or the lack of brains???)…

You love shredding them, but do you know what they are called? The natural cliffs, drops and ledges in the snow that you cruise over, balls to the wall - even though you don’t know whats below - are snow cornices. These cornices are created by natural crests from the mountain or by the inclement weather and wind blowing them into place.

We all love ourselves a good cornice on a pow day, so don’t break the cornice rules by chilling on the edge of it until it collapses, because you don’t have the nerve to charge it. Now go find yourself a cornice and make your day!

It is not about looking cool on the mountain but no one wants to look like a total gaper. It is called goggle gap (a.k.a. - helmet gap) and it looks ridiculous. If you can feel the breeze on your forehead, take a T.O. and adjust your helmet, hat or gogs, because the helmet gap looks like crap.

In most places we have wet snow and in other places we have dry snow snow. However quite frequently we have corn snow? We’re not talkin’ edible snow or yellow snow. We are talking Corn Snow. You know, that crunchy, slippery, slushy phenomenon most commonly experienced on sunny spring days. Corn Snow: large-grained, rounded crystals formed from repeated melting and freezing of the snow. Either way you shred it, no torn corns, okay?

It happens to the worst of us, and hey, it even happens to the best of us. Either way, we have all experienced it. You know, a torn corn. I don’t want to be too explicit here, but use your imagination…your cruisin down the mountain or inspecting your latest rail and BAMN! You are down, on your a$$ with a torn corn… and we’re not talking edible cobs here, were talking behinds in despair.

Still in pain from a torn corn? What ever you do, don’t whine about it, or tell your friends about it, because a torn corn is just plain embarrassing.

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