Westbound Boarder

Last week, Danielle, Rochelle and I all took an epic trip to Vail, our second annual snowboard trip to Colorado.  But this year, instead of spending the entire time riding Vail, we decided to try something new and shred at several different resorts.  Enter, Breckenridge.

Ever since last year’s Winter Dew Tour, I’ve been dying to ride at Breckenridge, CO.  Several of the biggest names in snowboarding call Breck their part-time home – Shaun White, Chanelle Sladics, JJ Thomas and Bobby Brown, just to name a few.  And the park and super pipe consistently top Transworld’s best list.  The combination of the high elevation, expansive free terrain and variety of terrain parks makes Breckenridge a top-notch resort in my book.  Oh, and parking was free for parties over four the day we went – love that they promote carpooling! (Normally, it’s $5 weekdays and $10 weekends, which is still pretty inexpensive in comparison to Vail).

This would be the medium park

When we arrived to Breckenridge, we thought we might as well start out the day right with a run through the park.  Looking at the trail map, we noticed there were three different types of parks – small, medium, and large.  We decided to settle for the in between and hit the medium park (also because it was the most convenient from where we started out, Peak 7).  Well, apparently the folks at Breckenridge do not quite go by the standard definition of “medium” we had envisioned … Compared to what we’re used to riding at Hood and High/Bear, this “medium” park was HUGE!  After staring awe struck for a moment at the top, glancing down at the tables below, we decided to bypass the park (this time around) and sit on the side, watching some of the local riders pass through.  Well, nearly thirty minutes later, our jaws were open just as wide as they were when we first sat down.  We had never seen so many amazing free skiiers and snowboarders all in the same place!  We sat and watched 720 after 720 whiz by, and then quickly came to the conclusion that everyone who rides at Breck is pro … or all pros ride at Breck.  Either way, it was really cool just watching all the talent built up at the mountain throughout the day.

Come on dude, really?!

After watching the pros in the park, we rode through the pipe for a while (not the smoothest pipe I’ve ever  been in, but I definitely blame it on the conditions – it hadn’t snowed in days – and not the resort itself).  The 18 foot walls were super fun, and the pipe was nicely cut.  One of the things I really liked about Breck was their “progressive” park system.  Their parks are set up in steps, or difficulty levels, so riders can start from the small parks when they’re first learning to jump and work their way up.  There are three small terrain parks and one small pipe, one medium park, and one large park and super pipe.  So riders who start  riding at Breck can go through the park system and take it up a step when they’re ready.  And since I am a person who grew up learning to ride a baby park, then immediately transitioning to a large, comp-style park, I can definitely appreciate this style of “at-your-own-pace” learning.  Also, Breckenridge has a really neat Web site called Breck 1080, where you can actually preview the features, meet the team riders, and watch videos before you head up to the slopes.  But park riding definitely isn’t all there is to Breck, unlike some jib-heavy resorts.  There’s tons of free terrain to ride as well, and several bowls and fun tree runs, really making Breckenridge a well-rounded resort.

Lunch!

Now, Breckenridge boasts a lift with the highest elevation in North America.  It’s called the Imperial Express Super Chair (at the top of Peak Eight) and it sits at a record elevation of 12,840 feet.  To put that in perspective, the highest point reached by a chair lift at Mt. Hood Meadows is 7,300 feet, and the top of Palmer at Timberline, one of the few resorts open for skiing year-round, is 8550 feet.  That’s kind of a big difference.  Even though the dismal Colorado snowfall (or lack thereof) during our stay made for some pretty icy runs near the peak, we finally decided that we couldn’t not take at least one run down.  So after lunch, we headed up the 6 Chair to make it over to Imperial before it closed for the day.  We had to rush because the lift stops operating at 3:15.  We made it over to Imperial by 3:02, but of course with our luck the lift had just closed at 3pm, early due to conditions.  Bummer.  But then again, we now have an excuse to go back to Breck next year!  Insider Tip: If you get a chance to make it to Breckenridge, especially on a powder day, I’d recommend starting out your day on the Imperial Lift before the bowls get chopped out.  And before the lift closes.

After our journey to find the top (which we didn’t) we made our way over to Peaks 9 and 10, the final side of the hill we had yet to experience.  And we finally found the small terrain parks!  The small parks were a lot of fun to ride.  We particularly liked Eldorado, because the jumps had a lot of pop and a nice, solid landing.  The perfect way to end our day.

The lifts at Breckenridge are open 8:30am to 4:30pm, with the gondola operating 8am to 5pm, but one of the cool things about Breck is that if you think that 8 hours on the hill isn’t enough (???) then you can head straight to Keystone, which is one of the only resorts in the area open for night skiing (your ticket is good for both resorts).

Overall, I really enjoyed riding at Breck, and I think it is one of my favorite places I’ve ridden at so far due to the vast versatility of park and free-ski options.  I was really surprised at how big Breckenridge is.  Though it’s only half the size of Vail, it really didn’t seem like it, and we definitely didn’t cover as much ground as we would have liked to in just one day.  We had also heard that Breck was a lot less steep than Vail (our skiier friend, Kevin, said Breck isn’t his favorite for this reason), which is true to some extent, but there are definitely a fair share of steep runs as well, especially if you hit the back bowls above peaks 8 and 7.  Personally, I’m not a huge fan of super steep runs because I like straight-lining it the whole way down, so I thought Breck was perfect, especially since there wasn’t much powder or fresh snow when we rode.  Insider Tip: If you head out to the Vail area during icy conditions and are able to add some flexibility to your resort riding plan, I’d recommend riding Breck over Vail or any of the other resorts, namely because there are more options to ride less iced-out runs than the other nearby resorts.

Also, if you can swing it, I’d recommend staying in Breck for a night or two, at the very least.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get the opportunity this year, as we had prior arrangements in Eagle-Vail, but the town of Breckenridge is so adorable, I wish we could have stayed and checked out the nightlife!  Unlike Vail, which is a bit more family-oriented, IMHO, Breck tends to attract a younger crowd, likely due to its stellar reputation within the snowboard community and younger audiences.

Perfect blue bird day!

Now, I had always thought that Breckenridge (or any Colorado resort, for that matter) was purely a winter resort with not much to do in the summer other than dream of the first snowfall of the following year.  However, in talking with a few Breckenridge locals, I learned that this is not the case.  Not at all.  Breckenridge boasts more than 100 miles of bike trails (yes, I say “more than” because they stopped counting after they reached 100), the Peak 8 Fun Park, which features everything from Alpine slides to Colorado’s largest human maze.  Also, we hear the vibe is a lot more chill and laid-back in the summer, so this might be a good option for a relaxing, laid-back summer vaca.  Like the saying goes, “Perfect Mountain, Perfect Mountain Town.”  I’ll add “year round” to that one.

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.