Snow. Yes, that white fluffy stuff that sticks to the pine needles and builds up on the ground into levels that can be measured in feet, not just inches. Being a California boy born and raised near San Francisco, snow was not something that I am used to living with. But I did a year of penance in Colorado working at Loveland Ski Area as a "snowmaker" and this gave me a glimpse into what life is like with actual seasons. What a hassle! Always shoveling the stuff, possibly sliding of the road on the stuff, and did I mention that it was sometimes 20 below out on the mountain in the middle of the night while we were trying to get snow guns to fire through frozen fire hoses?

But although snow may affect travel and getting around in a pejorative manner, boy does that white, sticky, fluffy stuff provide the outdoor adventure sports enthusiast with opportunities for playing out in the inclement conditions! Making today's sports list is snowboarding, definitely only one of many possible exercise endeavors one can get caught up in during the winter in places of frozen precipitation.

Snowboarding is one of those things that evolved from the pure desire of those Burton guys who loved surfing and skateboarding, but postulated correctly that there could be an equivalent in the world of Nordic sports. Wow, what a pay off for those original shareholders of Burton, eh? Did they really know that the X-Games would propel snowboarding from a counterculture sport living on the margin of the sports world to a household word emanating from the mouths of millions of grade school kids around Christmas time as in: ' . . . Mom, I want a snowboard this year!'

The beautiful thing about snowboarding is the widespread division within the sport itself. There are so many different specialty areas that it is hard to keep up with all of them. There is slope-style riding where a course is created not unlike a street skateboarding competition. There is downhill, much like the Nordic ski racers. There are the half pipe riders who launch themselves as high as twenty feet above a carefully constructed icy U-shaped cylinder structure. There is X-Cross, which combines elements of motocross and downhill racing to create a full-contact version of snowboard racing. There is slalom. There are helicopter trips to Alaska where guys ride down 4,000 vertical feet on a 45-degree pitch. There is freestyle, big air, and even a combination race where skiers and snowboarders ride as teammates hoping for the best time.

With the amazing growth in popularity just in my adult lifetime, the equipment and development of new technology has aided the sport tremendously. Boards that used to weigh fifty pounds and were extremely difficult to lug around are now made with carbon fibers and odd recycled materials so that you can toss your board in your backpack and easily hike up a hill for your own turns. That's called "earning your turns" in the common lingo and represents even another grass roots division of the sport.

I suggest checking out these links for more information about observing or participating in this awesome outdoor activity!

http://www.snowboarding.com/
http://snowboarding.about.com/
http://www.abc-of-snowboarding.com/

photos and text by ER Harris