It’s getting to the time of year to plan your time on the mountains. If you are anything like us you normally end up leaving everything to the last minute and forget at least a quarter of the important bits. We have thrown together our top 5 pre holiday tips for you to cover some of the bits you might overlook.
1. Music – It doesn’t matter how your getting to the mountains, whether you are travelling by car, train, buss or plane it is going to take a bit of time. Make sure your music collection is all sync’d and up to date. There are multiple ways to enjoy music on the slopes. Smith, Bern and Anon all have ways of integrating audio kits straight into your helmet.
2. Socks – You can never have enough. The washing machine, laziness and mice are all out to get your socks and there is not much worse than wearing the same wet pair for a week. Speaking from experience if you are planning to hit the slopes anytime soon, dig out your existing singles/pairs of socks to make sure you have enough. Hit up the link if you need a fresh set.
3. Adequate Protection – For most people another session equals some more progression. Why leave dressing up like a Storm Trooper just for Halloween? Make the most of your snowboard holiday by staying safe out there. Accidents happen so prepare yourself before you leave. We recommend helmets whilst riding for a starters. The most common protective accessories we offer are the Dakine wrist guards, The slimline Burton knee pads and the Bullet padded shorts. All of these items can be worn discretely underneath your gloves, snow pants and jacket. Make sure you check your pads out a good month before your trip, you wouldn’t believe the smell and what grows on a set of last years pads in the bottom of a bag.
4. Getting it all on film – We are big fans of the GoPro. Many evenings well spent around the Macbook after a session reviewing the best fails and bails of the day. Before going away make sure you know your camera inside out. Try out all of your mounts and get them setup correctly, see how long your battery lasts (account for less time in the cold) learn the best settings for what you want to achieve before splashing “Is this on” GoPro faces all over your SD card. Top mounts for snowboarding are the extendable GoPro poles, tripod adapter and helmet mounts.
5. Learn the lingo – What’s the point in dressing down from the suit and tie for a week if you can’t talk the talk in the bar… Right? Luckily for you we have a few phrases to help you out when you and your friends are falling riding down the mountains.
Yard Sale: Your watching your best friend tearin’ it up down the mountain, and for that exact moment in time they are unstoppable. Then some of their equipment falls off, it could be a helmet, a hat, a bag, even their bindings. “Yard Sale”
Shreddin’ The Gnar: Don’t get caught out by saying to anyone you are going snowboarding, this is a much much cooler way of stating that.
Groomer: The “official” word for piste. ie. Max spent the day bombing groomers.
Après Ski: This term is used to describe the ongoing social activities held after a day on the snow.
Pow: Shorthand for powder, why use real words when you can use made up ones? “Man that Pow was so deep” “POW POW POW” etc. The term Pow is used to describe fresh snow, untouched by man.
If you think we have missed any really important points, please tell us in the comments.
