Westbound Boarder

I’m not going to pretend to love the rain (because I really don’t) but nonetheless, it has been raining in LA the pase couple of days.  But one great thing about rain in the city means snow at the local mountains!  Big Bear/Snow Summit saw more than 14 inches of new snow this week, so if you’re thinking of heading up to the mountain, now would be a good time to do it.  And if the below photo doesn’t entice you, I don’t know what will!

Photo courtesy of Big Bear Mountain Resorts

Today’s been a long day for me!  I spent the morning boarding at Mt. High (sadly, most likely my last day of the season), and I spent the 85-degree afternoon checking out Val Surf – today’s featured shop in our Saturday Shop Reviews series.

When we asked our readers to send us their favorite shops, this shop came highly recommended: “I shop almost exclusively at Val Surf. My tween wants nothing more than to be just like the folks who work for them.”  With a recommendation like that, I couldn’t not check it out!  So after an awesome morning riding and then lunch with grandma, I headed on over to Val Surf; the clincher to a perfect day.

After spending an hour or so at Val Surf, I have to say it is one of the coolest shops I’ve ever been to.  Its a huge shop with really everything you could ever want or need for skate/snow/surf, but it still manages to maintain a true local vibe.  One thing that makes this shop unique is that every employee is really an expert in his/her respective areas.  The kids who stop by once to drop off a resume and maybe mention how they like skating – they don’t work here.  I chatted for a bit with the co-owner, Brandon, and he said the kids who come into the shop every day after an afternoon skating or surfing – those are the kids who eventually end up working at Val Surf.  They’re passionate about what they do and the industry, and I definitely caught that vibe walking around the store.  Listening to a couple of the conversations of employees helping customers out, I could instantly tell why people keep coming back time and time again.

Val Surf cut the ribbon back in 1962, opening up its first shop in North Hollywood, CA.  Brandon’s uncle opened up the shop because, back in the day, really the only place to get good surf gear was in Malibu.  It was great for stopping by for a quickie visit en route to the beach, but not so great for the surfers who lived inland and wanted to shop on their off days.  Hence, Val Surf was born.  Since then, they’ve opened up four additional shops in the LA and Valley areas (Woodland Hills, Thousand Oaks, Valencia, and Pasadena), and its owned and operated by Brandon’s whole family.

At first, I was really surprised at how big the store was.  As I was walking around, I’d turn a corner and there would be an entire separate section of the store I hadn’t even noticed before!  Val Surf focuses on three main areas – surf (really?), snow, and skate, each with its own little section in the store.  It carries everything from name brand clothing to its own branded gear; and of course has a complete clothing section just for women.  They also have surfboards, skateboards, snowboards and wakeboards available for rent (for relatively cheap), so if you don’t want to commit to buying a whole new setup just yet, you don’t have to!  In addition to clothing and gear, Val Surf has a shoes, books, posters, stickers and a complete video section – really, they have absolutely everything; its one stop shopping (they even offer tune-ups for relatively cheap).  The vibe and set up of the store is neat, too – the atmosphere is chill, relaxed and inviting, the employees are friendly and helpful, there’s couches and movies playing, and groups of kids skating outside.

All in all, I give Val Surf five gold stars (yes, five!)  This shop has it all – Awesome gear, cool cloths, friendly and helpful staff, and a great atmosphere; you really can’t go wrong.

Don’t live in LA?  No sweat, Val Surf has an awesome Web site where you can order everything from cloths to boards and in between to suit your riding fancy.  And if you’re still in the market for new snowboard gear for next year, their entire selection of 2009 gear is 30 percent off, and their 2008 gear is 60 percent off!

Have you been to Val Surf?  Leave us a comment below and let us know what you think!

For the past few weeks, I had been counting down the hours until Christmas, not because I got to see my lovely family who I hadn’t seen in five months, but so I could make a much-anticipated trip to Mt. Hood for some serious shredding! (Just kidding mom and dad, of course I was excited to see you too! )  Reports of massive amounts of snow in both Portland and on the slopes excited me even more.  Unfortunately, to my dismay, the fluffy powder snow turned to rain on Saturday and Sunday, ruining our plans for a fun-filled weekend on the slopes.  Bummer!  Despite not being able to go to the mountain over the weekend though, my brother and I were able to catch a few minutes on our boards Christmas day with the nearly 1.5 feet of snow Portland saw that week. (Pictures below!)

I don’t carry all bad news, though.  According to Drew Jackson from the Travel Oregon blog, one to two feet of powder is expected to hit Mt. Hood tomorrow. (Two days too late for me! But snow, nonetheless.)   

In SoCal mountain news, looks like another sunny week at both Mt. High and Big Bear mountains.  And today, Bear Mountain officially opened the first pipe in SoCal!  And what a better week to check it out than this?  Good news is you definitely won’t see rain this week, but will the fresh snow melt away?  Hopefully not!  I’ll have my fingers crossed for a good few days over the New Years holiday here in Southern California.  

Wow! As if we didn’t have enough snow yesterday, we got more overnight!  More photos below; check them out! (Note: Click on a thumbnail to see a larger image displayed on Flickr).  Yes; a UPS truck actually got stuck outside of Andrea’s house for nearly half an hour.  Good to know, though, that despite the rain, hail, and snow, your Christmas presents WILL arrive on time (I hope??)

Do you have pictures to share?  Send them to westboundboarder@gmail.com and we’ll post them to the site!

Update: Here are a few more photos Wend Magazine sent over to us; looks like West Linn isn’t the only Portland town with heaps of snow.