seriously? I had one of the worst snowboarding experiences ever. I was going to write a separate thread and bitch and rant and whine about camelback, but I'll just put it here.
first the conditions, well I guess I can't really blame the mountain for the ice bowl with sandsnow on the sides, my gf is a beginner and this was her first time being out on conditions like these and...well it felt like this was a high school field trip. I am usually the first one to defend snowboarders, but last night I uttered "fuck, now I know why people hate snowboarders" a couple of times .
let me share with you the ego driven cock measuring spectacle that goes on, on this herpes infested mountain.
my gf and I are fairly laid back people, we don't start trouble, we ride, we laugh and we make friends with anyone, even people who run into us (by accident). last night, my gf was having a pretty rough time handling the ice considering it was her first time out in these conditions. We stuck to NOVICE trails ONLY, I emphasize that because apparently "novice" doesn't mean shit to anyone anymore. As my gf is trying to navigate around the countless of "cliques" sitting around in the middle of the trail, one dude decides to throw a snowball at her...hey I am all for fun and games, but if you see that a GIRL is already frustrated and having a hard time, I don't really think she is in the mood to have an impromptu snowball fight with you and your highschool class. The snowball hit my gf, she lost concentration, slipped on the ice, caught her toe edge and face planted into the snow complete with a scorpion. Obviously this was very funny..mission accomplished. While sitting on the ice and counting her teeth, what seemed like a full blown high school stampede went flying by her at 20mph over the speed limit of a bunny hill. I am not really sure if this is a new trend in snowboarding, but I am definitely a fan of whizzing by people dangerously close while they are sitting down, seems like this should be a new sport all together considering how many people excel at this.
further down the trail, completely irritated at this point, a what seemed to me a guerrilla fighter jumped out of nowhere and literally slammed into my gf, his attack clearly disoriented him as well as he used my gf as a balancing pole to gain leverage so he can ride away cleanly in style. is this considered a "grope and run" should I have filed an investigation with the mountain ski patrol (which btw was nowhere to be found). Considering this guy was wearing camouflage he disappeared into the trees or the countless of other people wearing camouflage. Now I finally understand the point of "camouflage", this is so I can't pick you out of the herd or maybe these guys are just preparing to invade France through the slopes of Graian Alps.
this forced us to go on what probably was the slowest lift on the mountain (L-6 Double..for those who know) in an attempt to escape the crowd. I was literally afraid that the next time I go up there I will be attacked by 5 bananas in my anus, from dudes wearing bright yellow jackets and lime green pants. This trail (the rightmost "novice" trail there is) was much much calmer, until of course we got to that all important "SLOW SKI ZONE"..you know the one that's not just GREEN but actually GREEN WITH STRIPES and has an actual sign to "SLOW DOWN", this is of course just snowboard code for "go as fast as you can". There should have been speed traps and state troopers stationed behind every tree, that would make the state some money. Let me tell you, these guys were SHREDDING ASS...on a bunny slope. Must feel so good about your shredding skills, that double diamonds just don't do it for you anymore. Gotta get on that bunny slope and show all those ladies trying to learn how its really done. Since we all know snowboarding rhymes with showboating. It's practically in the same family.
On a serious note, I love speed and I love going fast, if this were happening on blacks or blues I wouldn't be so irritated, HELL even if it were sometimes happening on the green. There will always be "those guys", but on a beginner area? I am sorry, but grow the fuck up. I don't care that you can rip the bunny slope and quite frankly nobody else cares. You have the whole fucking mountain to do your shit and probably a lot more impressionable people on those trails anyway. This sort of attitude just promotes other people to "get even" and then reasonable people who just come to enjoy themselves on the mountain get caught in the middle and it's completely unacceptable, and where the fuck is the ski patrol? At least try to keep the beginners area safe, at least give it a shot and see what happens...
I am staying out of camelback mountain and if you're above the age of 17 you probably would want to as well (although there were some kids that looked to be older than 18 and were still being douchebags).
P.S.: just wanted to mention, that in the end we did have fun. Once the sun set and there were less people we managed to have a lot of fun. Remember its all about riding and don't let any mountain etiquette or lack there of ruin it for you. Make the best of everything and have fun.