March 1, 1999

Poach-A-Lot

The first thing I have to say is that Snowboard Life is by far my favorite magazine. It's the only mag I have, or want to have, a subscription to. But I just read "Resort Rider." [From The Top, December 1998] What kind of pussy shit is that? You don't have to know how to save a life to poach a little. There's a big difference between going full-on backcountry and ducking a rope that's been put there for no apparent reason. Nothing feels better than those illegal tracks just out-of-bounds. I'm talking about untouched virgin freshies that give me a boner just thinking about them. Not everybody is the editor of a snowboard magazine and has the opportunity to heli-board and snowcat all over the world. Most of us work all week, then have to ride an overcrowded mountain that's all tracked out except for the trees and the forbidden. So stop harshing my mellow, dude. And remember, if you take the "free" out of riding you might as well be a skier. Cimone Portland, Oregon

Big Deal

The information in your magazine is by far the most relevant to the true freerider. I don't care to waste time in a silly halfpipe or doing flips off man-made hits-I just want to ride powder. I only go to BIG mountains to ride BIG powder, and I need information on BIG boards for BIG guys. I'm six-foot-three and weigh 220 pounds. I currently ride a T. Sims 169, but in deep snow I find it too small. Any suggestions? Any advice for bigger riders to come?

Mark Francis Toronto, Ontario, Canada

We'll see what we can do, big guy.-E.M.

Circle Of Hype

It was with great interest that I read your article "El Ni�o-Friend or Foe" in the October issue's Boarderline section. True, Schweitzer Mountain did have a below-average season, but that was the only statistic you managed to get correct. Schweitzer's average snowfall is 300 inches per year, not the 169 you reported, and we received 164 inches during the season as opposed to the 52 inches you claimed (not to mention an additional 18 inches that fell before the season began). Although it wasn't a great year, we still managed plenty of powder turns, especially in January and February. Our deepest base was 108 inches. With all the talk of La Ni�a this season, maybe next year you could inform your readers that Schweitzer Mountain, with its yearly average of 533 inches, received an astounding 974 inches, thus completing the circle of hype. See you on the mountain.

Shawn Taylor, Ground Zero Snowboard Shop Sandpoint, Idaho

Jeez, we just called the mountain and asked for their yearly snowfall average and how much they received that season. Honest.-E.M.

Small Is Beautiful

How's it goin'? I've been riding for about a year now and I just love my resort here in Wenatchee, Washington called Mission Ridge-home of Joey McGuire! It's a peaceful little resort with four chairs and 2,200 feet of vertical. The new owners of the resort want the city of Wenatchee to help them expand Mission Ridge's snow-making system and build a new high-speed quad up to the top of the ridge. Once this happens, the resort will become more like its crowded sister resort, Steven's Pass, which I'm totally against. Riding on the chairs is fun and gives you a chance to talk and rest. I'm just hoping that other rustic, family-owned resorts won't do the same and turn toward the industrial side of our sport.

Brandon Rodstol [email protected]

International Stoke Message

I live in New Zealand and just read your mag for the first time. It was the perfect issue. I appreciated the boot article-'cause I'm seriously considering step-ins for my own setup. The article on customizing your boots was cool because I tried out some Blax I-Spines by renting them and they were absolute crap. The arch-support bits were so big that all of my weight was sitting on the arches of my feet, which gave me really sore feet. The helmet article was cool. A lot of riders in the mag were wearing Spy Scoop Goggles, which I think are far superior to any other goggles. And, of course, you had absolutely NO halfpipe pics-yeah!

Miles Nevin Whangarei, New Zealand

Ceep It Klean

I'm a 47-year-old guy who learned snowboarding with my two kids (seventeen and fourteen) a few years ago while on sabbatical in Vancouver. We love it, although we only get to go once a year now. One consolation for so little boarding has been reading Snowboard Life. I'm a charter subscriber and hope to continue enjoying the magazine for some time to come. However, I was offended by the Burton ad inside the front cover in the November 1998 issue, featuring a very thinly veiled, blatant vulgarity. I can slide by the trash-talk that appears in the Letters section if I have to (although I'd prefer not to), but I don't care to be confronted with such language, and I certainly don't want my children to be confronted with it in such a prominent way. I would think that Snowboard Life could do better, particularly if the magazine is to continue to be family oriented, and so could Burton. If not, I probably won't maintain my subscription.

Walter Brown New Orleans, Louisiana

It's certainly not our goal to offend anyone with the magazine's content, and we make every effort to create a wholesome, entertaining, and enlightening product. We monitor our advertisers' content as well, and in this case the decision was made to run the ad. Our sincerest apologies if you found it offensive. I've forwarded your letter to our friends at Burton, so they may benefit from your feedback also.-E.M.

Transmissions From The Hill

As you read this we're sliding right into prime riding season-so how's it going? Did you score early harvest magic, or are you still wondering when winter's going to show?

Send us a transmission from the front. Send all correspondence to: Snowboard Life 353 Airport Road Oceanside, CA 92054 FAX: (760) 722-0654 E-mail: [email protected]