tonyisnowhere

If you can ride on the East Coast you can Ride anywhere... Is this true? I have only ridden on the East Coast and only experienced about one tiny foot of powder in VT. I am trying to get good so I can take a trip to either Tahoe or a place like Whistler. I know you all have the answers.
Thanks

This year I decided to get a local season pass to a PA resort. I know it will be mostly ice. But I figured more riding is better than a few good trips to VT.

grafta

Don't worry bro we have ice too

tonyisnowhere

thank man but I am beginning to feel like everyone is saying this because we are stuck here and it kinda makes us feel better about ice skateboarding...I mean snowboarding.

I hope to make a trip out west soon. I think I just need to experience it.

binarypie

There are nuances in the skill sets you'll naturally pickup while learning to ride on a specific type of terrain. ice, powder, parks, streets, pipes, etc...

I grew up in Vermont. Smuggs, Stowe, Jay, and Bolton where my places. I did a few trips to NH (Loon), Canada (Mt. St. Louie, Horseshoe) and CO (Vail, Brek, and Copper).

Later in life I lived in Oregon and rode Mt. Hood. That was my first taste of deeper snow on a regular basis.

Now, I ride Kirkwood in Tahoe and I've never seen so much snow (not counting last year. ugh.).

** they say they have ice out here but they really mean hard packed snow. **

From all of this experience I can tell you that my ice-coast heritage only taught me that falling hurts and not to do that. That's it. I'm just slightly more confident on shitty snow conditions than others who grew up here.

However, skill overcomes any sort of perceived advantage in the end.

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poutanen

I grew up in the east, moved to the west and can hold my own out here. Mountains are more rugged though and things come out to bite you quick. Take less chances than you do in the well manicured east. Oh and a true powder day will kick your ass at first. Great workout but...

tonyisnowhere

Thanks for the info all! I do love Vermont. In fact my wife and family want to move there! I learned how to snowboard in Vermont. I live in the NJ/PA area so it isn't easy getting up there. The closest I can get within a 4 hour drive is Belleayre /Hunter/Windham. Otherwise I am stuck with my local hills, Blue, Camelback, Mountain Creek and so on. But I guess time on a mountain is better than no time at all. Now all I have to do is pray for my local weather man to sound like this guy. AccuWeather.com Snowpocalypse Now! Meteorologist Freakout - YouTube

deeken

I have to disagree with that notion that if you can ride on the east coast you can ride anywhere. I started out in VT and learned here for my first year. My skills weren't really progressing until I took a trip out to Tahoe and got a taste of that powder. I did a few days there and my skills drastically went up more in a week there than months on the east coast.

For me it was the confidence you get when falling in soft snow over falling on hard, packed east coast ice. After falling on that east coast ice so much I focused my attention on riding cautiously and avoiding falls. I'm in my mid 30's and I'm pretty big. When I fall it effen hurts. But once you hit the West coast powder and falling doesn't hurt as much, you take a lot more risks and push yourself.

I remember when I got back from my Tahoe trip I had so much confidence that I took a trip to Hunter with my buddies to show off my skills. I was doing great up until I took a nasty fall when I caught an edge and I quickly realized I wasn't in the West coast anymore.

Bones

I live in the east and ride once a year in the Canadian West.

So does riding in the East somehow make up for not being able to ride in the West?

In a word: no.

Yes we have ice and if we want to ride, then we have to ride ice. Do you learn fine edge control? yes. Do learning fine edge control make a difference? Yes, but nowhere near enough to make up the gap. There's just too much in the West that Easterners just don't get to experience: huge drops, deep powder, gnarly chutes, etc.

A westerner can come here and ride our ice (hating every second of it), but an Easterner is in for a learning curve on their first time on a real mountain in bottomless powder.

tonyisnowhere

Well put!! Thanks for the great post you two!

binarypie

Oh I know. I was just making fun. This is the Northeast section we are posting in.

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