Westbound Boarder

My Open Letter to Burton:

While embarking on my journey to Vail and Breckenrigde, I stopped by the local Burton store to check out the goods. I picked up a copy of the latest film, “The B“. The cover indicates that it is a movie of epic proportions, and after spending the 30 dollars on the purple retro style VHS tape box, I returned home to watch it. However, after watching it I have decided that this a movie of epic disappointments. The filming style and the footage of riders and their parts was exceptional, yes, although it was what I consider, extremely short.

The film did not come without its perks, however. Jeremy Jones laid down the best part of his Career, and the outro of the team ripping all of the Giant B that was configured into a park was impressive as well. Well filmed, with great angles and tricks, just short. Plain ol’ short.

I’m not narrow minded. I have spent my fair share of money on videos, I own most of Mack dawgs films, the people movies, Absinthe’s handy work, the list goes on. All of these films have a lower price tag and more raw footage. With all of the money and resources the Burton family harbors I expect a movie of supposedly “epic proportions” should be longer than a half hour (32 min.). Not to mention the largest team hands down, with absurd amounts of talent - Jeremy, Nico Muller, Jussi, Kevin Pearce, Tadashi Fuse, to name a few - the movie should have been 50 minutes at a minimum. They are the corporation of The Industry and the fact that the end result is the over priced, over packaged (green mtn project..Eh?) under-lengthy production is just disappointing. I still love their products, I still ride a Burton Troop with Escapde bindings, I just expected a longer more team oriented movie. Also, with all of the phenomenal female ripper talent they have, there isn’t a single part for one of their many girl riders.

I think I saw a couple of the ladies do a trick a piece in the outro. Just that alone could have added more bang for my buck. I just think that the biggest and richest company could provide me with more than a dollar a minute for their 30 dollar commercial, I mean film. Maybe next year Brad Cramer will school the production and make a worthy flick. Or they B family should just spend less dough on catalogs and more on their should be, could be Banger.

Sincerely,
Disappointed Burton Consumer, Supporter & Indulger

The economy’s affecting more than just the financial world; the bad news has even spread to America’s favorite snowboard brand.  This week, Burton announced that it would reduce employee salaries to minimize layoffs.  I think its very admirable that the company chose to go this route (the founders chose to eliminate their salaries all together), and I hope the best for, not only Burton, but every action sports brand in these tough times.

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.

I’ve needed a new board for quite some time now… and when I was visiting Oregon this past weekend, I finally made the big investment.

If you’re thinking about getting new gear, now is the time to get it.  Many snowboard shops are trying to rid their shelves of the old stuff to make room for the surf.  Joe’s Sports for example has 40% off a lot of their snowboards (I almost got the Ride Solace) and 30% off Burton boards - the downside is that they don’t have many intermediate plus boards to choose from, but they have the best deals on boards and boots I’ve seen so far.  They also have great deals on helmets, outerwear, boots (I got discontinued Ride’s on sale from $169 to $50!) - basically, you name it, it’s probably on sale.

US Outdoor Store also has good end-of-season deals.  25% off most their boards, and they have a larger selection to choose from than Joe’s.  After much deliberation ($200 for the Solace at Joe’s or $300+ for a better board at US Outdoor store) I finally settled on the Burton Blender - the one Danielle and I have both been eyeing all season

If you’re thinking about getting a new board or gear, I’d recommend starting the search now if you want to save a few bucks.  Hurry though, both these places will sell out fast!

Know anywhere else that is having a good sale?  Let us know in the comments, or e-mail us!