Snowbasin

I’ve been fortunate to snowboard out west the last four years. This marks year number five. It’s my second time snowboarding in Utah. My first time was in Park City in December 2002. As for today it was Snowbasin, just outside of Ogden. This trip was a little different. I was fortunate to have a tour of Snowbasin from Scott and Rick who both work for the National Forest Service. According to John, Scott is one of the top five snow rangers in the country. Scott made a big impact by being an instrumental rule in bringing the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics to Snowbasin. Snowbasin held the men’s and women’s downhill skiing events. The Olympics was the main topic of most of the conversation through the day.

When watching the Olympics on TV you don’t get an appreciation of being there and all the logistics and planning that it takes to make happen. Scott and Rick broke it down for me. They are each very passionate about their jobs, which is great to see and encouraging. Though Rick said he felt bad for a young kid just out of college. Ha ha. They expressed that after six years of planning every detail that those two weeks it flashed in front of their eyes like the snap of the fingers and was over. They shared several success stories from the budget, to finding a perfect racecourse, expanding the hill, and getting support from the government. The first run he took me down parts of the men’s and women’s Super G courses. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to be going down those slopes at top speeds of 100 miles per hour on skis!

My first day of riding for the year went pretty well. I’ll be lucky if I get even three days of snowboarding this year. I really miss the days of competing and being a little trickster. It was difficult not being able to use my own equipment and gear. I could freeride just fine, but no way did I feel confident on this little rental board to hit up the rails and jumps. My legs are burning! Sitting in a car for 12,000 miles in four months doesn’t exactly get me in shape. I did miss riding with my boys from the MSU Snowboard Club and some of the local rippers back at Mont Ripley. One thing I’m always sure to do is take a few minutes to sit on the hill and take it all in, which goes back to what my previous blog was all about. As always I closed my day the way I always do, tuck down the hill making as few turns as possible.