Poach, poach, poach, and poach again!

[wavechaser]

Let 'er rip!

http://burton.com/poachers/Default.aspx

MRG here I come!!!

[skategoat]

That's beautiful. With hard boots, it would be that much easier for us to poach these resorts. Can't wait to see Bordy's video from Deer Valley.

[Steve Dold]

I think all this will do is make snowboarders look like jackasses.

[Galen]

Hmmmm....well, the footage of the young ladies deliberately riding close to and spraying skiers seems a bit counter productive to the cause. I could see those resorts using it as an example of why they dont allow boarders. Poor show, IMO. The other 3 are sweet

[Sinecure]

That's pretty funny. I'm sure it will really endear the snowboarding community to the management of those four resorts.

Personally I couldn't give a $hit about Taos and Mad River, but I'd sure love to carve up the cord at Deer Valley and rip the steeps and pow at Alta. Oh well.

[DiveBomber]

Dont care about MVG, always wanted to ride taos. I love the idea, execution was a bit lacking. Those guys at taos seemed like jack assess, I highly doubt they would have tackled someone their own age!

WAIT!!!!!!!!

maybe it IS a MONOski!!!!

Actually I think the problem is not the gear but the people on it. I know for one, I get A LOT more respect from skier on the lift/gondola when on my alpine set up.(which is 90% of the time)

[Dave ESPI]

*** um.

It works against what we snowboarders are, and invading an exclusive area would be just as rude as a skier going to a boarders-only park on a big mountain like Whistler or Loon.

I dream someday of an eletist snowboarders only entire mountain....

an entire mountain free from skied off snow and mogul piles of pure sh!t lumped up right where I walways need to lay out for a tight turn around some 4 year old on a leash 30 feet infront of mom who is wedging the entire trail clean to the tractor skid ice under it......

[queequeg]

I have to admit, I laughed my ass off, as someone (like many others here, I would assume) who had to endure the early years of hardship, when few mountains would take us, and skiers ridiculed us at every opportunity.

It IS kinda childish, but it made me giggle my brains out, with the exception of the one segment where the riders were purposefully harassing the skiers on (their) mountain by riding over their tails etc ... that's pretty lame.

I'm not familiar with these mountains, but I would (assume) that most of them are holding out on this policy because they have nothing (positive) to distinguish them from the crowd and attract ridership, so this is the only way they can attract a loyal base of customers who might otherwise go to mountains with better prices/location/snow/lifts/trails/etc ... I assume the only people that ski at these places are the same jackasses that complain that snowboarders are "scraping all the snow off the mountain" as they snowplow from summit to base ... irrational snow-sliding xenophobes.

I'd bet that that the same prank, executed by a capable alpine rider at a resort that doesn't see (any/much) snowboarders might earn quite a few converts. <snobbery>Most softbooters are pretty decent, reasonable human beings, but sometimes I think the reason so many skiers respect alpine riders is because we're (often) a much more polite crowd, and also because we generally let our riding to the talking for us.</snobbery>

I get nothing but respect from skiers on an alpine board.

[DiveBomber]

Hmmmm, Well a Split alpine board would sure look alot like skiis!

[Phil]

"You either give us your names or none of you will ever ski here again."

[tex1230]

F**K Taos - they are on the edge on financial collapse.

Perhaps if they weren't employing Nazis with ski patrol jackets they would get a little more revenue.

Those guys were really a**holes

Deer Valley was stupid...running into people isn't gonna help.

I have a letter from the marketing director that says Skwals are ok...so that's a start. not much difference between a skwal and an alpine board.

[willywhit]

pure genius. I thought it was going to be a skiing closed trails thread. In the spirit of civil disobedience maybe we need a jumping ropes thread. I've never had my pass pulled for it. Got caught, got scolded,c'mon you know better. :p

At Stowe, patrol tends to understand. :rolleyes:

I've clipped a snowmaking pipe under the pow and ruined an edge and got hit in the head by a ski hanging off the chair ducking (not low enough)and dented my helmet. Poaching is BAD, kids....don't do it...ummmkay?

[Gecko]

Deer Vally is the only one of the 4 that even remotely interests me but it's not like I'm gonna fly out there just because they open to boarders....might be interesting if they open to Alpine snowboaders only

[carvedog]

F**K Taos - they are on the edge on financial collapse.

Perhaps if they weren't employing Nazis with ski patrol jackets they would get a little more revenue.

Those guys were really a**holes

Deer Valley was stupid...running into people isn't gonna help.

I have a letter from the marketing director that says Skwals are ok...so that's a start. not much difference between a skwal and an alpine board.

Cmon tex tell us how you really feel. Holding back leads to emotional constipation. :lol: :lol:

[wavechaser]

As someone who lives next to one of these resorts, let me clarify something. The aim of this is obviously NOT to endear us to these people or to try to change their minds...you can forget about that. The animosity and elitism is so deep they will likely never change - the only thing I can see that would bring that about is financial need. And IF they did open those mountains to us, the animosity of the locals would be off the charts and it wouldn't be much fun to be there anyway...at least for 20 years or so until things simmer down.

Being in the Mad River Valley is like being a snowboarder in 1985. I hear comments and see attitudes about snowboarders and snowboarding I haven't heard since back then, seriously...it's like a time warp. Sugarbush included. I get a LITTLE more respect as an alpine boarder and racer, but when in the same breath they say something like "that's cool, at least your not like the rest of the snowboard idiots" it really rubs me the wrong way. Guess they don't figure I own soft boots and ride the pipe/parks too...which I do, and I LIKE those "idiots" too.

So I feel this is a fun and appropriate jab at these folks and their elitist BS... it's a good challenge and a chance at some nice cake too! Poach on!

[bobdea]

F**K Taos - they are on the edge on financial collapse.

Perhaps if they weren't employing Nazis with ski patrol jackets they would get a little more revenue.

Those guys were really a**holes

Deer Valley was stupid...running into people isn't gonna help.

I have a letter from the marketing director that says Skwals are ok...so that's a start. not much difference between a skwal and an alpine board.

custom topsheet idea: skwal by coiler

[Steve Dold]

And I thought the gangsta snowboard image was fading away. I guess Burton boards aren't selling as well as Jake would like.

This kind of crap is the reason that people in my office look at me funny when I tell them I snowboard. I spend a lot of time on the lifts and on the mountain trying to convince skiers that snowboarders aren't all thugs trying to look and sound like white gangstas, and then this kind of crap comes along to undo my efforts.

This "jab" doesn't help anyone, any cause, anywhere. It pisses people off and confirms their prejudices that snowboarders disregard the rules, and it will make them even more sure that "no snowboarders" is the right policy. It proves to them in their mind that they are right. Then they take that attitude to other resorts and I have to deal with them. F--K Jake Burton and his lame board marketing scheme.

What about the "good" boarders who are surely out there trying to convince management that they are good people and should be allowed?

Yeah, I bet this helps their cause

And what's with all this "Bro" stuff? I have a Bro and he doesn't snowboard.

[wavechaser]

And I thought the gangsta snowboard image was fading away. I guess Burton boards aren't selling as well as Jake would like.

This kind of crap is the reason that people in my office look at me funny when I tell them I snowboard. I spend a lot of time on the lifts and on the mountain trying to convince skiers that snowboarders aren't all thugs trying to look and sound like white gangstas, and then this kind of crap comes along to undo my efforts.

This "jab" doesn't help anyone, any cause, anywhere. It pisses people off and confirms their prejudices that snowboarders disregard the rules, and it will make them even more sure that "no snowboarders" is the right policy. It proves to them in their mind that they are right. Then they take that attitude to other resorts and I have to deal with them. F--K Jake Burton and his lame board marketing scheme.

What about the "good" boarders who are surely out there trying to convince management that they are good people and should be allowed?

Yeah, I bet this helps their cause

And what's with all this "Bro" stuff? I have a Bro and he doesn't snowboard.

I'll say it again - you will NEVER convince these four areas that boarders should be allowed - ain't gonna happen. I can't stress this enough. Their minds are made up - this won't "prove" anything to them. I've had endless conversations with the MRG elitists and it is like talking to a rock wall - no matter how adult and diplomatic you are. Believe me, I do the "snowboarders are good people" ambassador thing everywhere too - but it doesn't play with these folks no matter what. And these people don't GO anywhere else - they're phobic, so you won't ever deal with 90+% of them.

I posted the link on the MRG forum for the Mad River Valley and the response has been anything but nasty. Got some "go for it" and "good luck" and some comments on how it might be done, as well as offers to help make it happen...all from skiers. One guy found the video "pretty entertaining". So lighten up and relax, this isn't the end of the world.

I loathe the "gansta" image as well - but it's anything but fading. Just pick up the latest issue of TW Snow and see for your self. It's the main marketing thrust, like it or not. A bunch of my friends work at Burton and their business is anything but slow.

And remember, without Jake Burton we all still might be skiing. :)

[Blue Bird]

I would like to be amazed that Burton would attach their name to something like this. This does nothing but promote a division between skiing and snowboarding. I hope that these resorts keep the rules the same for a long time to come.

This lack of respect, shown for a group with a different opinion about snowboarding, only casues snowboarders to lose credibility when change is wanted or being discussed.

It does seem like this is becoming a game between snowboarders and these ski areas. It would be nice if snowboarders would send diplomats instead of doped up wiggers

[queequeg]

And these people don't GO anywhere else - they're phobic, so you won't ever deal with 90+% of them.

...

I loathe the "gansta" image as well - but it's anything but fading. Just pick up the latest issue of TW Snow and see for your self. It's the main marketing thrust, like it or not. A bunch of my friends work at Burton and their business is anything but slow.

Actually, if what you say is true about MRG's skiership, then they're probably doing us all a favor by keeping the freaks contained in their own little "sanitary" isolated world, the fewer anti-snowboarding retards I run into on the mountain, the better. Instead of thinking about them as a bunch of elietists, think of them as a leper colony :-).

As long as there are teenagers, lemmings and retards, there will be wannabe gangsta's ... it's got nothing to do with snowboarding and the vast majority of the population recognizes this. I'm really not worried about it.

The bro stuff is pretty half baked and lame ... bad execution. They should have used a military/infiltration mission type theme instead. That would have been less rancorous, and seemed less of a pathetic appeal to the lowest common lifestyle-marketing denominator. Jake may have started snowboarding but pandering to these jackasses is a lame ass play, I agree.

"You either give us your names or none of you will ever ski here again."

Yeah, I thought that was hysterical too. What do you think you are, a cop or something?

I really liked the little exchange on the first video where the guy says "Hey, did ya lose one of your skis", and the snowboarder replies "We lost 'em all"

funny.

[bobdea]

depending on the state laws the resorts do have the right to remove you if they can make a argument that you're a safety issue or you're hurting their business somehow.

either way you can be removed from a ski area on federal land.

I've worked at a few of them, I know this.

[LeeW]

Hell yeah! Me likey. Only two things I frown on -- the Deer Valley segment with the girls spraying and messing with the skiiers. Not cool. Taos -- ski patrol pinning them down? isn't that oxymoron to their "duties" ?

Besides, this issue is too old and is beating a dead horse. In mid 90s, we had articles on poaching at Keystone, Taos, Alta, Deer Valley, few others in TWS magazine with split boards (they didnt allow "snowboarding" back then, for n00bs who dont know), and its strange. The ski patrol who caught the guy -- he happened to be my roommate at Wildernest in Silverthorne. Jim. Kinda strange, because he and I have had ocnverstations about it before. He's cool with the boarders, and all, but he said he cant do anything abou tit cuz its his bosses who are not too cool about it. -shrugs-

so, as for those four ski resorts, i really dont give a manure about 'em. I mean... its their loss, really. Taos, Id like to try it, but Im already spoiled up here in CO. :)

[wavechaser]

I would like to be amazed that Burton would attach their name to something like this. This does nothing but promote a division between skiing and snowboarding. I hope that these resorts keep the rules the same for a long time to come.

This lack of respect, shown for a group with a different opinion about snowboarding, only casues snowboarders to lose credibility when change is wanted or being discussed.

It does seem like this is becoming a game between snowboarders and these ski areas. It would be nice if snowboarders would send diplomats instead of doped up wiggers

I guess people aren't reading and understanding what I was saying above - there will be NO CHANGE and it is not "being discussed" in ANY manner, and the "division between skiing and snowboarding" already exists, IN STONE, at these resorts. No "diplomats" are going to make one iota of a difference. Nobody is losing credibility here - did you see where I pointed out the reactions I got here on the local MRG forum? They understand what it is all about and are cool with it. They know it is silly and will be a one-time thing. And believe me, PLENTY of poaching (at least here at MRG) already goes on, even without the $5000 offer. I've done it. The locals know I've done it - and we joke about it. Not every person who poaches on a snowboard is a "doped up wigger" - that is exactly the kind of stereotyping the skiers do - we don't need it from our own kind! Nuff said. If you don't understand that - then I guess you just don't WANT to.

As long as there are teenagers, lemmings and retards, there will be wannabe gangsta's ... it's got nothing to do with snowboarding and the vast majority of the population recognizes this. I'm really not worried about it.

The bro stuff is pretty half baked and lame ... bad execution. They should have used a military/infiltration mission type theme instead. That would have been less rancorous, and seemed less of a pathetic appeal to the lowest common lifestyle-marketing denominator. Jake may have started snowboarding but pandering to these jackasses is a lame ass play, I agree.

You are bound to get the "gansta" thing from Burton of course, and their video to start this off follows that vein. But again, you can poach and not be an idiot about it. And let's not forget - there are PLENTY of gangsta SKIERS on twin tips in funny outfits hangin' with their "bros" at the park "wiggin on dope" too...the times they are a changin (again!) and some of us are gettin' old (me) and are bound to find it annoying, just like my parents did when I was a skate rat in the 70's (and still am in a way ;) ). And even at 45 years old I fail to see what is so bad about being a "bro", or a "sistah" for that matter. There were over 1500 bros and sistahs from age 5 to 65 (and more) at the USASA Nationals in Northstar last spring and we ALL had a great time and the resort loved having us there. Yeah, there was the gangsta look and attitude on display but everyone behaved and got along. Those who didn't (very few) just got ignored.

[skategoat]

I'm trying to understand how they pulled it off. In the MRG and Taos vids, you see the riders digging their boards out of the snow. How did they get there? Hike after hours?

At Alta, you see a dozen of them hiking. I'm assuming they hiked up from an out of bounds base area.

[carvedog]

I'm trying to understand how they pulled it off. In the MRG and Taos vids, you see the riders digging their boards out of the snow. How did they get there? Hike after hours?

At Alta, you see a dozen of them hiking. I'm assuming they hiked up from an out of bounds base area.

I think they hike over from Brighton or Snowbird. I thought it was the Bird, but in the sketchy audio I thought they said Brighton. Thought it was pretty much an April Fools day tradition to hike over and bomb down Alta.