Just (most likely) finished my snowboarding season at Carnival Weekend at Boyne. Although I didn't get so many runs in between partying and the logistics of wrangling a crew, it was a great time. Saturday had a few inches of fresh with heavy snow throughout the day. It was super sticky at first but got better as it warmed up; count it as a MI pow day. I know people were skeptical about the "revamped" Carnival Weekend but the DJs they had going were surprisingly good. I was expecting a bunch of EDM or Top 40 but it was a lot of groovy house stuff that had people dancing in the lift line. And while the halfway house situation was slightly smaller than in previous years with the crowds split it was still going strong.
I got to try out a new setup I picked up on a heavy discount (Gnu Head Space with Union Ultras) that was a blast to butter and play around on after mainly using a more freeride oriented setup for the past few seasons. The Ultras are super comfortable and damp- I sent the 40'er in the Ramshead park deep into the landing a couple of times and it was like landing a small jump with my Atlses. My wife was able to demo skis Saturday and the shop let her take the ones she settled on out on Sunday at no additional charge (she'd lent hers to our friend so she didn't have to rent). She found a true all-mountain pair she loved that should handle way better than her skinny beginner skis out west and have already convinced her to get some advanced lessons next year to really start carving and skiing aggressively.
Got 23 days on my Ikon pass- (used 7/7 at mountain 6/7 at Highlands, plus 6 at Jackson Hole, and 4 in CO)- probably the most efficient use of the pass since WFH let us take a multi-week trip in 21. Stoked on snowboarding, and between getting over some hangups I had in the park after a few injuries that shook my confidence, finally convincing a few friends after constant evangelizing (gave an old board to my buddy who came out for his second day since he was 14), seeing events like Redbull Heavy Metal come here, and Ikon making 20+ day seasons feasible, I'm stoked on being a snowboarder in MI after a couple of years of thinking I'd made a huge mistake not moving out west before putting down roots. Bummed the season is over but already planning how I can make next season even better.