JeffreyCH

I started riding kinda late in life (37) so I was wondering if some of you guys that have been riding for a long time if it ever gets stale? I've been riding wake a lot longer and this year it just started to seem kind of boring. When I started I pushed myself hard to learn new tricks, and perfect my techniques, making things look smooth, and effortless. Everything came pretty natural to me, and I got good quick, but now years later I find I am pulling the same sets I've pulled for years. I have no place to go with wake, unless I break down and get a boat with a bigger wake, even then, who knows.

I guess that's why I've been focusing more on snow, with the varied terrain it's always an adventure. I know I'm limited in some things just cause of my age(41) I'm sure I'll never double cork anything, or make it much past a 540 for spins. I was just looking for some insights from some of the older guys around here. Does it ever get old?

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seant46

Im only 18 but i have been riding steady for 7 years, and I'm just as excited as ever for the season to start
I think if you have a good passion for the sport it wont because like you said how versatile snowboarding can be.

Dano

I think snowboarding has a lot more avenues to progress when compared to wakeboarding regardless of age. The tricks are more fluid without having to fuck with a rope, different hills have different things to offer when it comes to terrain like pow, trees, steeps, chutes, and parks (unlike wakeboarding, a lake is a lake), and even in shit weather you can have a hell of a lot of fun. But slamming sucks! I seperated my AC joint in December and it still hurts, probably should have done physio I guess. That's the problem with progression on a snowboard at an older age, you gotta be willing to pay for it.

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'12 Lib Tech T.rice / '12 Burton Cartels
'10 CustomX / '10 Co2 EST
Salomon F22

thetraveler

Snowboarding doesn't get stale if you go riding with friends. If you go to the mountain by yourself and all you're doing is pushing yourself to progress, eventually you will get tired of it.

NB. Riding powder (on your own or in company) never, ever, ever, ever gets stale.

wrathfuldeity

At eight years on the same hill, started at 44 yrs old, certianly have had plateaus, but due to highly varied weather, snow conditions and a challenging hill there's always something to learn. In fact one of my minor complaints is that the snow conditions often change so quickly it's hard to focus on one skill...but otoh it forces you to become a good rider of varied conditions and terrain. Last year was getting more comfortable with switch, small airs and drops of 20 ft and bombing a 50+ mph. It hasn't gotten old, but I have, and find that I need to focus more on the decrepitude aspect of things so that my body can handle the things I want to do. I'd imagine at some time the progression of "trickery skills" will have to stop and then its a matter of going for quality lines...so BC skills is a whole other aspect.

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HoboMaster

My argument against surfing and wakeboarding, is that in the end the terrain your riding is always almost exactly the same. The wake/wave size might change, but compared to riding down a mountain it's just so much more limited. I'm young (18) but I'm also way more cautious then most kids my age, so I've kinda shurked freestyle riding for freeriding. I'm at that point though where if I'm not riding powder, I do get kinda bored, so this year I'm going to really push myself into the freestyle aspect since it's something new to master. Hanging out on the shallows and mastering switch is going to be interesting.

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PowderHound and TreeNinja

gjsnowboarder

Sometimes it has felt like it was going to get stale. Then I would get on the hill and strap on the board and staleness would go away. Not just the staleness; but the hangover, tiredness, stress, depression, anger, feeling sick, etc. Snowboarding has always been for me the tonic for all the maladies of the soul and body. In 15 years of riding I still get the same giddy feeling as soon as I can see where I'm riding and when I step onto the snow at the bottom of the hill.

Not only that but I have students that were in there forties and they regardless of abilites always have a shi!@# eating grin on their faces when I see them out freeriding now.

Donutz

I'm 53 and I don't see myself giving up on snowboarding as long as the body holds out. There are too many different things you can do, too many different terrains you can hit, too many different techniques and skills to learn. And that's just freeriding. Now add freestyle. Different mountains have different flavours of runs, and snowboarding can be done with a crowd, not just one at a time.

Of course it's like anything else -- your mileage may vary. Not everyone likes the same things.

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Illegitimi non carborundum

Mountain Days: 30

Rufus

I'm 46 and I've only been riding a few years but I don't foresee it getting stale. There's always something new to try and new places to ride. Near the end of last season I finally got comfortable riding steep terrain and I can't wait to get back to it.

roremc

I would say not. I start in 2000 (im nearly 33) and it never gets old.

I would call myslef an advanced freerider and a beginner park rider. I think the thing with snowbaording is that you have such varied terrain. I had about 40 days at my local hill last season and I still find new stuff to do. This season i am buying a park board to work on that. When the snow is shit and icy I will mess around in the park. When it dumps i hit the trees and steeps. Thats all at my local hill. Then you have road trips. When you find a new hill with good snow (revelstoke for me) its like going to disneyland for the first time!

I think in the end I will snowboard until my knees cant take it anymore. If you are scared of it getting stale change things up. New mountain, maybe a totally different type of board>?

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So many runs so little time.