Best Day of the Year

[Radial]

Last week we talked about volume measured in number of vertical feet and number of days. This week I was thinking we should talk about what really matters. What was your very best day this year?

Mine just happened to be Saturday. Bright sun, which has been kind rare the last few weeks here in Seattle. I was at our local area very early and just happened to help a Ski Patrol carry some stuff up from the parking lot. He invited me to go with him to CHECK the runs before opening. Just awesome conditions with no people. All of the work in the rain and dark from this winter came togeather and I was about as good as I can be.

Before I end this season I would really like to thank everyone for their interesting posts and technical help. Especially, Jack for posting the pictures which got me to get my butt down on the toeside.

For the people that are lurking out there. If you don't get started you will never get it done. Buy the best equipment you can find/afford and get ready for next year. This is just an awesome sport and is even more fun to do than it looks in the pictures.

Have a good summer!

[tex1230]

Toss-up for me...

Thursday of ECES was epic - starting with a major pucker factor run on 20-year old gear and ending with a ride and lesson with PSR

and I think it was President's day - huge powder day at stowe and a local showing the stashes.

[Dave ESPI]

My best "day" was actualy a Night session at West Mountain.

I don't think I missed a single turn, or slid out even once.

Just something about being able to see better at nigth and the confidence I have in it..... saddly the groom is usualy all shagged up way before the sun goes down, but on this particular night, noone was at the mountain all day, so it was primed for ripping cordoroy, and I did :)

Saddly, it was way too dark to get any good video despite trying :(

[Mike T]

Day 2 of OES, hands down. Hero snow, lots of excited carvers, I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to ride due to back spasms the day before but the back was OK after lots of stretching and some Advil, the grooming was awesome on the Outback runs, just a fantastic day!

[Steve Prokopiw]

at OES! Also the day that Stan McGee at 60 years old,did his first day on hardboots(was his sixth day of snowboarding total !) at Silver four lessons ahead of our original ten lesson plan and then bought the equipment.Also the day of INWES,also the one day I got to ride Scweitzer with Sean,Troy and Russ,also any one of the ten or so sunny carving days we had this season in between powder days....Impossible to pick just one!

[Galen]

.....Feb 15th. Ist day riding and realized I would'nt have to sit out the season.

[pebu]

I'd have to say it was my first day of the steamboat vacation. Sun was out, switched to soft boot setup at lunch and took part in the morningside park... The pow was a little bit heavy, but much better than what we get here in MI, and much deeper too. Came down between some trees and a little roller caught me a little off guard. I thought, oh, I'll just get a little air off of it... Came down a little nose heavy and tumbled like a rag doll. It was so unbelievably awesome and totally made my day.

[AccidentalChef]

Best day? How can I pick just one?

This was my first year on hard boots, so almost every day has had some sort of breakthrough happen. Which one do I pick? First toeside carve, first heelside carve, first time I actually linked them smoothly? Learning to absorb chop with my knees so I don't end up in the woods? Learning how to be dynamic on the board? I could think of a dozen more. Most of these breakthroughs are courtesy of the Loveland crew. I can't even guess how terrible my carving would be without their advice, especially Mario, Inkaholic, and Monodude. Best day? No idea. Best season? I'll take this one.

[Snowriter]

Last Friday in March at Stratton.

Powder day.

Got several fresh lines to myself.

My friends could hear me yelling WHOOOOO even when I was completely out of their sight line (they were on skis and I floated by them pretty quick). Caught air by accident - more air than I ever get as I pretty much stay on the ground - and landed on pillow and just kept moving.

It was heavenly.

Then I caught my heelside edge in some heavy powder took a fall on some exposed hard hard hardpack ... fell on my back/left hip, felt the pain radiate through my groin. Took a while for me to get up. My friend thought ski patrol was going to have to be called, I hit that hard. Shook it off and got back to the lift ... I was a little hesitant for the rest of the weekend after that ... and had some pain stick with me until Tuesdayish.

But, oh, overall it was a FREAKIN' SWEET Day. Best day of the season, for sure.

[crucible]

For me it was January 23rd - an epic powder day at Sun Peaks in Kamloops BC.

A full day of riding powder with very few people on the hill, with powder stashes still untracked by the end of the day.

A close second was a day of GS racing at Red Mountain in Rossland BC with the local carvers in February.

[Dave Pushee]

I've had some great days this year, but I always look forward to another great day. Maybe tomorrow will be the best. No matter what, I know I'm gonna enjoy it.

[big mario]

all of them!

[C5 Golfer]

Day 2 of OES, hands down. Hero snow, lots of excited carvers, I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to ride due to back spasms the day before but the back was OK after lots of stretching and some Advil, the grooming was awesome on the Outback runs, just a fantastic day!

Yes Mike that was a good day plus you were able to ride with your back issue but my best day was last week - Rode Crystal Mt in blue sky and lottsa snow and left about 1:30 to get to my golf game at 4:30 - so Golf game and a snowboard day together make for my Best Day. :biggthump

[Kirk]

Pow days, hero groom, early season chalk/ice, spring slush, poor lighting/visibility, cold/windy...EVERY ONE of them better than my BEST day at work

[AaronG]

My favorite day was December 22. I remember that day as I ventured to Colorado for Christmas and was able to ride with Mario and D.T. It was by far the best conditions that I have carved in this year, although a bit on the cold side but with a little carving you can warm right up!!

Thanks again you two, I can still picture that day ripping turns back down to the bottom. I can still recall the dizziness that I experienced at the top of that one chair, the one that sits right below the Divide!! Pretty fn damn high for this here flatlander!!

[Pow]

Best day of the year for me was the night I rode with 350 and his brother at Jiminy. It was icy boilerplate, a usual night in western Mass, and I had been riding the greens and some blues and gaining confidence the nights before. 350 pushed me to ride trails i wasn't brave enough to ride before. My riding wasn't perfect, but I've improved a lot since the last time I rode with him and it made me feel great to be able to actually keep up with his carving. Ace of Spades was great for carving that day, the softest trail of the night and so wide with rolling steeps.

[Erik J]

My best day riding this year was at little ol' Mt Peter ski area. There's very little vert but the sun was shining bright, no wind, about 23 deg. or so - and the snow was an absolute perfect carpet of cord, not one ridge betweem groom lines, not too hard, not too soft, just right.

The mountain was completely empty except for about 10 racers all training in a line on the side of one trail -the whole place was mine. Maybe I got lucky this day, maybe my bowl of Wheaties kicked in or whatever, but I swear I rode better than I ever have before. I seemed to have WAY more airtime, carves felt SOOOOOOO smooth and powerful, it was almost like I could just imagine doing something and then just make it happen. I did things that day that I'd never done before. Everything just clicked together so perfectly. It felt like a magic day.

[D.T.]

Any day hangin' with my bros.

Best day of the Best year so far...Backcountry Powder Boardin...

with our son on my birthday in march...so sweet it was.;);)

that's PRICELESS!

My favorite day was December 22. I remember that day as I ventured to Colorado for Christmas and was able to ride with Mario and D.T. It was by far the best conditions that I have carved in this year, although a bit on the cold side but with a little carving you can warm right up!!

Thanks again you two, I can still picture that day ripping turns back down to the bottom. I can still recall the dizziness that I experienced at the top of that one chair, the one that sits right below the Divide!! Pretty fn damn high for this here flatlander!!

Your very welcome, Aaron! That definitely was a good day. And you were not dizzy, you were just getting your Rocky Mountain High. :D

Let us know when you're going to make it back to town. Shelly and I are considering WTC this year.

[spil]

St. Patty's day...

In Red River, NM. I was the first one up the lift, first one down. Perfect groom (although there was like an inch of fresh over some parts), NO people on the trails, I got lots of cheers going under the lift, and the rest of the day was about the same. But that first run made the day for me; it was possibly the best run of my life.

New Years' Eve...

Spent the night in the Silverthorne Rec center (due to I-70 being closed), woke up and had about half the gym full of "refugees" sing me happy birthday (it was my birthday incase you couldn't tell:rolleyes:), got to A-basin about 9:30, it was already kind of tracked up with flat light, but that was a "breakthrough" day for me. It was the third day on my Madd 170 (my first alpine board), and I was making really tight turns, flexing the board a lot. My first day of "active" carving, I was actually flexing the board, not just leaning over and riding the sidecut. Possibly my best birthday (except for getting back to Denver at about 9pm:mad:).

Good Friday...

Back to spring break in Red River, I had switched to skis after breaking the cant adjuster on my boot (thats a whole different story...), and was starting to really carve the skiis. I much different experience than carving on a board. I went a lot faster, but that might be just because I wasn't cranking my turns very tight yet. For my third day on skis, I would say it was pretty good.

[big mario]

My favorite day was December 22.

Aaron,

that was a great day, my second one back from my little incident, and it was a turning point, pun intended, I had a blast defiantly charging the trees on drifter. It was by far one of my more memorable days of a memorable season

mario

[davekempmeister]

My best "day" this year was actually 2 days with my 6 year old daughter at WISP in Western Maryland (only ski hill in Maryland) on a 2 day jaunt. First day a nice gentle snowfall all day that added up nicely, not too windy or cold. Next day, sunny, 30 degrees, few inches of fresh and I watched her really let her natural abilities (she skis) take over. One of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. We came out of the hotel on the 2nd day when it was sunny and she looked around and insisted we weren't even in the same place. So cute.

[AaronG]

Aaron,

that was a great day, my second one back from my little incident, and it was a turning point, pun intended, I had a blast defiantly charging the trees on drifter. It was by far one of my more memorable days of a memorable season

mario

I still remember we were carving down the run heading for the chairlift, you were to my left, all the sudden you were gone!! I think you shortened that sidecut radius on that Donek to about 4 meters. You flat out disappeared from my peripheral view with that carve!! Good times!! What was the name of the guy and his daughter that we were riding with??

[big mario]

That would be Tony and Kate, he has been in hiding since the Mtn dew thing back in march

mario

[b0ardski]

I can't pick 1 day but here's the highlights;

1st meeting of the Inland NorthWest Hardboot Posse at Schwietzer, perfect cord, perfect pizza at Thor's, newfound friends of a similar ilk, Gus, Steve, Sean, Russ & I. We milked the last 2 hrs in blinding sleet. BOL made it possible.

18in of Jan. powder on the new 169 3800, & new thermofits, top to bottom steeps & trees 2-3 days in a row.

1st annual INWES at Silver Mt, perfect bluebird cord getting trenched up by a dozen new friends, amazing commaradery, thanks Steve P. Again, BOL made it possible.

2ft of Feb. fluff on the newly replaced Identity 173, thanks to Dr.D for hooking me up with the builder, John. That board blew away the 3800 in everything especially carving the cord, the Osin sold that week. Again, BOL made it possible.

Watching Sean fall in love with the ID 173 slaying foot deep March powder tree lines followed by effortless carves back to the chair. Great day:biggthump

Demoed the versetile Arbor A-frame 170 in 10in of April pow on top of soft chop. By far the most beautiful snowboard ever built:1luvu: Couldn't afford to take her home But I will find her again.