anti-alpine sentiment- do the jibbers feel threatened? awww

[FTA2R]

thought you all might get a kick out of these jackholes from a local DC area meetup.com (oh how I wish they coulda been with us yesterday hahaha)

1. "What are you guys trying to prove by doing freestyle tricks (hitting a rail) with an alpine board? Are you trying to get more cool points since you are carvers? Or being able to tell girls that you are sooo extreme that you can also do tricks too?"

in another post some guy posts a pic of some 80s carver wearing crazy and bright clothing and says "i'll be there with my carving setup," which I woulda easily laughed at if he knew me but it was clearly meaning to poke fun at carving. not as obnoxious as above, but still unecessary.

i really think they feel threatened by carvers doing slides and such. if anyone is bored, feel free ot sign up for the group and respond to them. i've responded privately.

[NateW]

That's pretty funny. :)

[D-Sub]

doesnt bother me a bit, really. or even seem "anti"

most of the time, rails and stuff look pretty awkward on an alpine setup. its obvious from statements made here that alpiners are trying to "prove" something anyway a lot of the time.

just carve. its what the boards are made for. dont worry what others are doing.

[skatha]

I agree with D-sub, let the kids be angst-ridden...I just want to have fun and a nice glass of wine afterward

[ak_rider]

those posts were most likely made by "haters", ya know those kids who hang out in the mini parks and think they're the **** and hate on everyone else but think they're cool because they can do tricks on a ride on box that's like 5ft wide.

i say let the haters be haters, they tend to not leave the park very much anyway, so less people to get in the way of some sweet carves

[philw]

They seem a bit over concerned about what they "tell girls"; sounds like they might be teeny-weeny kids to me. They do seem a bit worried by people who can actually ride though.

[philfell]

I'm sure the local DC snowboard scene is pretty core.

[D-Sub]

and so it begins. you guys perceive that there's a "threat" so you fire back.

come on now...so far everyone that posted is a good, solid rider...especially the two Phils...who cares what some kid says?

I still dont see what they said as all that big a deal.

[dano]

Snotty nose little whippersnappers!

In my day, we rode plywood and merrils, everyone hated us and we LIKED IT.

Is that an old fart I smell? Or pickles?

[D-Sub]

put some vinegar on it

[FTA2R]

there's more than that 1 comment. the moderaters apparently rm'd a few comments. hard for me to describe it but people are cool in the group, there is very little arguing. these 2 new guys come in and just start spreading negativity everywhere. no teens in teh group as far as i know, mostly 23 and up.

[D-Sub]

its hard not to feed the trolls, B. they're likely just plain idiots...can't be taught, inflexible, ya know?

[FTA2R]

i'm restraining myself.

[D-Sub]

I didnt check the thread...someone else posted something similiar not too long ago, and it got me pretty fired up until I realized I dont care what other people think about the things I know and love

I love watching MMA fights...get plenty of ridicule for that one.

I love electronic music..."techno sucks"

I grew up on punk rock...never quite fit into "the mainstream"...

and I really, never, cared. riding alpine boards is fun, fast, and precise. riding them in the park is usuall awkward and sometimes stupid looking...and yeah...some dudes do it because they think theyre doing something special by cruisin in the park with their hardboots on. tis true.

[Gleb]

thats the first time Ive seen people actually negative about alpine snowboards. For the most part, I really, really hate the park rats. When on a chair lift with some of them, all I hear is them yelling down at people, "Ooooo, wow, you can hit a rail..." (sarcastically) or "You f***in suck" and just anything along those lines. Never heard a positive thing come out of their mouths.

[eastcoasterlm]

I agree with D-Sub 110%, even the music part:biggthump So far I hear mostly postive comments, but usually I hear a few kids saying" thats the......Thing ever" I don't even bother trying to say anything back. I stated snowboarding 9 years ago because it looked fun. Now I realize that I alpine beacuse it brings the fun back into the sport that I have been so stressed out about trying to land my 270 nose press 270 outs of the past. To each his own, but everytime I take a run I have a huge smile the whole way down, I never smiled in the park

[Phil]

riding them in the park is usuall awkward and sometimes stupid looking...and yeah...some dudes do it because they think theyre doing something special by cruisin in the park with their hardboots on. tis true.

Here is what I don't get:

Back in the late '80s and early '90s, there were guys at the top level who would race and do freestyle in hardboots. There were also guys who would do both at the top level in softboots. Then there started to be a chasm between the two.

Back then, I could only afford one setup. I raced in softboots. I also rode the halfpipe in softies. My friends and I also went to local parks looking for handrails to ride after it snowed. I still have a video of a rail session in a local park from 1990.

In the mid '90s, I started to have a little more money and was in a situation where I could afford a race setup (I had wanted one for years). Since there was definite segregation of hard and soft setups by this time, I started to wonder if a race setup was versitile enough for my needs. On any given day, I would carve hard, run gates, ride the pipe, and ride rails. I wanted to be able to do all of the things that I normally did, and I wondered if that was possible on a race setup.

I was in a PSIA clinic (thankfully it is now AASI) with an examiner who was on hardboots. He was RIPPING the bumps and killing it switch. I talked to him about it and I decided that I would get a race setup.

My first year on plates I realized that movements are amplified on plates and a race board, so you had less forgiveness. I learned that if you are going to do things in the park and pipe, you had to do them right or pay the price. With a little practice, I was able to get right back to doing the things that I loved. The great part was that now I was on a setup that I liked far more than softies.

So why is it that anyone has to be questionned for taking their race setup into the park and pipe? Why is anyone in my or anyone else's business? Why is it any different from the day before when I was in there on my FR setup?

In my case, I have never gotten any grief for it. I saw Barry's post and I see comments on Bomber from time to time.

I just don't get it.

When it is just kids, I laugh. I was riding rails before they were born - should I stop now just because I am on plates?

Lastly, I don't know why plates would look awkward in the park and pipe. Maybe I look silly? I would have to ask others that question - I can't see myself. I know that it feels good. I can't imagine why it would not look good. I actually tend to get a lot of encouragement and props when I am in there - I feel like I fit in every bit as much as when I am on softies.

[Jack M]

I haven't wasted any time looking at that other site, but just tell me one of you has posted this:

[Dan]

I just came back from a great day of riding at Meadows. I was riding single and rode the chair with a lot of young snowboarders. Reactions were uniformly enthusiastic/interested: maybe they're not quite ready to do it themselves, but they ask a lot of questions and they do seem to get the appeal of more response, faster edge changes, more stability at speed.

We're all ambassadors for the sport, right? And hey, if you can't win over a few softbooters here or there, who cares? Like Phil says, I have a grin ear to ear all the way down no matter what someone else thinks about how/what I ride.

[FTA2R]

so i have been a memmber of the meetup.com DC forum group for well over a year, all the folks i know from it are cool. these completely new guys come in and just start spreading their negativity everywhere. i respond to one of them in private, he responds to everyone. here's an excerpt of their latest message:

"is this a carver board? or is this a snowboard board? instead of talking about freestyle skiers, alpine boarders that slide on rails and your broken odometer, why don't we talk about actual snowboard conditions? like the condition of the mountain, trails, or park? i think most of us aren't impressed that you rode with level 3 aasi certified instructors, or hearing about your issues with your odometer. that's what blogs are for. from what i understand this is a snowboard meetup group, which encompasses freestyle, freeride, and racing. stop segmenting this into a "carver" group and trying to make yourself sound cool that you are a "carver." we are all snowboarders, we are out there to have fun, it's not like high school where we have to prove how cool we are to other snowboarders, skiers, or carvers.

so i DID mention conditions, never mentioned a broken odometer, and certainly didin't say "how cool I was" for being a carver. I don't preach the "Alpine Gospel." Heaven forbid I mention MAC Trax and give a brief summary of it (totally w/in the realm of the message board), and even one of the co organizers of the message board was there, these jackholes start the flaming. The thread to which the above response was posted was a few days old anyhow.

[skatha]

I can understand why it pisses you off, but my feelings are-you really hit a nerve of inadequacy on the part of the flamer....

Unlike most other pursuits I've partaken, snowboarding seems to be rife with posers.....

or perhaps, this guy can rail the pipe, but skids back to the lift line....

In any case, it definitely is HIS problem, or "HP" as I've gotten fond of saying....

[FTA2R]

it's quite clear guy has some rather significant "issues." let him dig his own grave

[wavechaser]

The thought occurred to me that too many of us spend WAAYYY too much time on internet forums, and not enough time riding...and end up caring WAAYYY too much about what some poster in who knows where thinks about who knows what...hey, wait a minute...I'm on a forum right now...AHHHHHH!!!

[skatha]

My excuse is I'm nursing my broken ankle-from last year, no less(2/5/05)....

That and I'm unemployed-quit my last job due to general disgust and the need to nurse my hubby back to health. Now's he's better-should be walking by 3/1 and plastic surgery to revise the muscle graft sometime this summer-and I don't have a new job YET......

And I will be riding in March and April, ankle or no....

I either need more surgery and it won't matter if I screw it up more or I'll be better

[philw]

Well it's certainly true that there are some very odd people on internet forums. Probably they're just average people; for sure some of them believe some very odd things.

Anyway, how about the other end of this... so what should we do to encourage people to learn how to use the board's edges properly?

I find that you don't get any **** from professionals, even young ones. A lot of other people probably don't have much clue about hard gear so they're perhaps just scared by stuff they don't understand.

If it helps, I used to be a bit defensive about snowboarding back when I was the only snowboarder on the hill. Perhaps I'm unreconstructed, it's just that they invented skateboarding-on-snow whilst I was out riding on the mountain.