Boarder's Blog ( back to main page)
Articles by Thomas Dawson

The Endless Winter

We wax our boards and sharpen our edges in late November. We pack it up and put it away sometime around April. Most of us only get six months out of the year to ride, which is far to little. It seems as though the seasons come and go as fast as it took you to learn that 270 on the C-Box this year.

What are we supposed to do in the off-season, the summer? We spend our whole lives on the mountain all winter and then BAM just like that we have to move on. Some of us may take up other sports during the summer like wakeboarding or in Shaun Whites case skateboarding, but unless you are competing in the Summer X-Games or the PWT I have a suggestion for you. It’s called the endless winter.

The endless winter is a dream. Imagine fresh powder every day, new terrain parks, various events, and most importantly the ability to keep on riding. This does not have to be a dream. You can make it a reality. Snowboarding is the perfect sport to do year round. Our season occurs when we are supposed to be in school or working. It comes with the cold and leaves with the sun as does our daily jobs or classes. How can we create the endless winter?
This summer I challenge you to stay away from the beaches and the sun. Follow the clouds and the snow. It is a perfect time to travel south for the summer. You don’t have any school, and if you work, then is there a better time to take vacation? I think not. Travel to those places that get dumped on while we are frying. Make this year your endless winter so that you can ride all summer long.

Here is a list of places that you and some of your cronies can travel too during this upcoming off-season. To start off your journey I would recommend hitting up several spots that have snow year round in North America. Mt. Hood in Oregon and Whistler in British Columbia are two spots that would be perfect to start your summer shred session. Moving away from North America I would next journey into somewhere south of the border where winter is at full blast. Argentina is known for Las Lenas Ski Resort and its great terrain to ride on. Switzerland is the gem of mountains during the summer. They have the biggest peaks and the best snow. Some of the mountains that have been recommended to me are, Saas Fee, Iceripper, Zermatt, and stoked summer camp.

Do your research, get your friends together, and plan the summer trip of your lifetime. You can travel the world and shred all off season while the other riders are sitting on their couch playing Cool Boarders on their Play Station. Check back on the web site for more awesome summer shredding spots to hit up. Pumpachamoni….