Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums banner

Riding buddies...

5K views 36 replies 25 participants last post by  jwelsh83 
#1 ·
I dont know about the rest of you but I know my number of friends who rides is pretty slim. How many of you have buddies that ride with or are you more a solo ridder?
 
#2 ·
I know a lot of snowboarders and skiers, but very few ride as much as I do, mostly due to time and/or money. So I'm usually trying to scrape together riding buddies when I plan long trips. The past two weeks I'll have been riding 4 times, and 2 of those were alone, both times I had a buddy bail on me because of work.

The closest mountain to us (45 minutes drive compared to a 2 hour drive for the second closest) should be opening up this Friday so that should change things a bit, a lot more friends will be willing to go ride. It also helps that that same mountain closes at 10pm, rather than 4pm like most other mountains, so my buddies can meet up after work. (someone stole my season pass to that mountain though.. so, might be a problem.)

I could ride with a lot more people if I rode during the weekends, but I hate going during the weekends and dealing with a crowd compared to weekdays. So I'm not helping either.

Either way, give me some music and I'll gladly ride solo.
 
#6 ·
I find myself riding solo often even though I have a lot of acquaintances that board. It comes down to a difference in schedules and whatnot, its hard to organize a trip with a bunch of ppl every week or two when we all have different work schedules, some of us have kids or wives, etc. I don't mind riding solo though, it gives you the freedom to get more runs in... but it is nice to have a few buds with you no doubt but either way I don't mind. As said before, just bring some good mountain music and you can't go wrong.
 
#8 ·
He-e-e-y!!! I'm OLD & I have ALL that and I still get out & ride more than I can actually afford too!!! ;) (30-35+ days last shitty season!!)

I'm a NooB & never skied so I don't really know anybody who rides or skis! I have been trying to hook up with some of the guys in the "Midwest" forum. Maybe see if there was somebody local who could stand to spend some time riding with me. (...my sense of humor & personality is a bit of an acquired taste!) :) It'd be nice to have someone to maybe to split some gas on a few trips up north!! Might allow for a few extra trips than I can afford to take on my own!

...but I don't mind riding alone really!! I'm a bit of a loner anyway!! If I was more into park, I could see that being a lot of fun with some pals to ride with. The competition & pushing each other to try new tricks etc.

..but since I'm not that good yet, I'm probably better off riding solo instead of slowing someone else's roll!
 
#10 ·
I go ride with whoever can join me on the days I get to go. Usually, that's not many. I did make a few riding buddies while instructing last season though. I suspect that it will be the same this season as well.
 
#11 ·
I usually ride with my 11-year-old son and sometimes a couple of his friends. I did have a buddy (actually, our intern from work at the time) who rode with us too, but he graduated and moved a bit further away. Last season my son broke his arm so I did quite a bit of solo riding, which is fun too, but I really do like company in the park since I push myself a bit more that way. That said, my only day on the snow so far this season was last Friday when I hiked the "pre-season playground" (i.e. jibs on the bunny slope) at my local hill by myself since my son said he didn't want to hike. :laugh:
 
#12 ·
Looks like we’re all in the same boat. I have one friend who rides but he lives in NYC and it a pain to get to me (I’m a outside the city little up north). It comes down to means of availability I think for most. I am a weekend warrior!! I literally will go to VT every weekend if I feel up to it. I also have the vehicle to get there and will totally spend way too much money but I wait all year for winter so I don’t care lol. that’s where having a bud to take the trip and split the room helps a lot. I guess regardless of that just being up on the mtn under good conditions and having a blast is always better when you have some company. I like the competitiveness too. That’s kinda why I joined this site to see if there are local guys who ride…. maybe we can get something going here.
 
#14 ·
I've only met a couple people that have a similar riding style to me, so usually even if I'm at the hill with a group, I go off on my own. Sometimes I'll meet up with them for some "fun times" laps but then I'm off again in search of secret powder stashes while they go on scenic cruises. :D

Boarded with a guy from work the other day that blew me away. He grew up in Calgary though so has been riding rocky mountains and parks since he was young. This guy pushed the freestyle aspect of my riding heavily. We'd find a little kicker or drop and he'd just go for it, so I followed and had a blast. Normally I'd scope things out a little more before hitting something. I spent much more time in the air because I was riding with this guy! :thumbsup:
 
#19 ·
I have lots of friends who are always wanting to go riding, but most are not as elite and don't have as much enthusiasm. These are the kinds of friends who make me understand the saying 'no friends on a powder day', but they're good friends and it can be fun to ride with them sometimes.

I mostly ride alone or with one of a few equally hardcore friends, the kind of friends I do still want on a powder day :p
 
#20 ·
Alright well I'm gonna throw it up here that we should get a meet going. First good snowfall when we really can get out and ride. Preferably a bigger mountain so I vote Killington but if transportation is an issue and need to do something more local like Belleayre would do. I know there is a meet section on this forum but seeing how we all kinda ride alone here might as well just meet up and ride. Sounds like most of us are more advanced riders who don’t have someone that can keep up (I can speak for myself and say that my case too). So I’m down for some good ridding.
 
#21 ·
I'll ride solo if I have to, which is maybe 25% of the time. I've got a few old friends who ride or ski and a handful of guys that I've met on this forum or elsewhere, so usually between all of them I can get *someone* to ride with. I'm not averse to riding solo especially on bigger mountains but around here it's so small and msotly park, it's a lot more fun with friends.
 
#26 ·
I hear you...but is an extra 15 mins to a-basin and keystone really that bad? I plan on spending a lot of time at Breck as well and definitely will be exploring Vail but I guess Im biased as far as driving time to the mountain since my minimum here has always been 2 hours and a lot more often 3 1/2. :dunno:
 
#27 ·
It makes a pretty big difference because if winter ever comes back to CO, it likes to fuck up traffic and close the tunnel and the pass. And if it doesn't human error will intervene and fuck it up properly.

Mainly for me because I gotta be at work for dinner shift most of those nights and working it into the schedule that way allows 5-6days a week available to ride.

Copper is pretty much my favorite and the extra drive is no worries, its just a schedule adjustment :dunno:
 
#29 ·
Makes sense....I bought the epic knowing I wont be working for at least a couple months so I wanted as much terrain as possible. But once I start working Ill probably have to stick to A-bay to make sure I can get back to work on time....fuckin work is always trying to ruin my season.
 
#28 ·
None of my friends ride, I ride a ton with my kids 16 & 15

I meet a few local forum members and we have become friends and ride together when they come to the hill. I"m there all the time.

I have also gotten to know many of the locals at the hill. From park rats, to dads, to retired riders.

Never at a loss to ride with someone once I'm there.
 
#31 ·
a difference of philosophies keeps me from riding with my friends sometimes who i'd call "social snowboarders". you know, those people who never really pushed themselves beyond skidding their carves on the blues, shit their pants at the sight of a small mogul, and god forbid should they fall a few times on a double-black! if one of them gets tired and decides to sit a while, well shit, let's ALL take a fucking break! so even when i go with them, i might end up taking a few laps by myself towards the end of the day.

i have a group of them that won't get off their asses unless the mountain is 95% open and fully groomed with no "ice" patches, effectively wiping out the first month or so of the season here in the NE. which sucks, because my philosophy is more like, if there's grass on the field play ball! of course, i have a small group that are much more dedicated to go with. always a blast to go with them as we're constantly challenging ourselves and trying to one-up each other. but these are people that are almost strictly my ridding buddies; outside of snowboarding i don't see them too often.

which brings me to a related topic: how many of you are like, BEST FRIENDS with your riding buddies for 3-4 months out of the year, but then once the season's over you never really hear from them until the next one rolls around?
 
#35 ·
a difference of philosophies keeps me from riding with my friends sometimes who i'd call "social snowboarders". you know, those people who never really pushed themselves beyond skidding their carves on the blues, shit their pants at the sight of a small mogul, and god forbid should they fall a few times on a double-black! if one of them gets tired and decides to sit a while, well shit, let's ALL take a fucking break! so even when i go with them, i might end up taking a few laps by myself towards the end of the day.

i have a group of them that won't get off their asses unless the mountain is 95% open and fully groomed with no "ice" patches, effectively wiping out the first month or so of the season here in the NE. which sucks, because my philosophy is more like, if there's grass on the field play ball! of course, i have a small group that are much more dedicated to go with. always a blast to go with them as we're constantly challenging ourselves and trying to one-up each other. but these are people that are almost strictly my ridding buddies; outside of snowboarding i don't see them too often.

which brings me to a related topic: how many of you are like, BEST FRIENDS with your riding buddies for 3-4 months out of the year, but then once the season's over you never really hear from them until the next one rolls around?
The guys I ride with are my close friends year round, so I haven't experienced that. I guess there are a couple people I only see during winter, but they are generally acquaintances who might have a cabin I take advantage of. :yahoo:
 
#32 · (Edited)
I have a friend who has a house on the same mountain i do, so we usually ride together. But he is all about being the best rider and putting others down. so i don't really like to ride with him, but i do it because i like to be challenged. I also have a couple noobie friends at home that i bring up and show them some pointers. I don't usually like to ride alone. I get bored very quickly. After riding for so long at my mountain in VT, i make friends with people on the chair lift and hook up with them if i have no one.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top