I’ve lived in Reno for the past 3 years. But, I always get a Heavenly season pass because that is the mountain I grew up riding, and I love it. It’s turned into quite a long drive from Reno to Heavenly which has resulted in a serious reduction in my time on the mountain and perhaps increased anxiety levels.
The first time I went to Northstar was on Friday. I couldn’t go to the heave because I had a final that evening. It took no more than 45 minutes to get from my front door to the Northstar parking lot, which is GREAT compared to the hour and 45 minutes it takes to get from Reno to Heavenly. The fake snow was top quality. I met some nice snowboarders and skiers on the chairlifts. Their terrain park is perfect for snowskaters like me who don’t want to (let’s be real: CAN’T) go super huge. I was launching little kickers to the sides of boxes and rails all day. And, the big jumps are super fun to slash the sides of. I even met up with a little snowskate posse including the likes of Sean Davis, Justin Majeczky, and Billy Bradford. They are all completely nuts. Flip tricks off 20 footers? What the…?!
Anyway, it was so fun and quick to get there that I decided to go again this morning before my final at 2:45. I gave my COM 329 buddy Alex a call, and we were off. We made it there in record time. Alex is a pretty dang good snowboarder throwing front flips and methods like it’s nothing. I told him he should try snowskating because then he could add some sweet flip tricks to his bag o’ tricks. Apparently, he had never realized that he couldn’t do a kickflip on his snowboard. He was so distraught by this revelation that he tried several times to kickflip, but of course, his bindings didn’t allow it. So next time, Alex is gonna get on a snowskate! Woo, that brings my number of people converted up to 2!
We left Northstar at 1:30, and I made it back to Reno to take my final and finish off the semester by turning in my last paper. Phew. How nice to have a resort so close that I can buzz up there for a quick few runs, and make it back home in time for work, school, or x-mas shopping! I can’t believe it took me this long to realize how conveniently located Northstar is!
Pin Count to Date: 23 <—- yes, I’m this geeky.
Hello from Montreal Kendra,
Unfortunately snowskating is not permitted at most hills in my area (north of Montreal). Insurance seems to be the issue. What info can I provide ski hill operators with to sell them on this sport?
Regards,
Don-Cameron Grant
Hi DC! I’ve had the most luck just showing them the Myth Busters video which you can find on the Project Snowskate tab above. Also, there is strength in numbers… You should join the Facebook group for Canadian snowskaters: http://m.facebook.com/groups/143426822395478#!/groups/143426822395478?view=info&__user=682535073
The only other thing I would recommend is to write complaint letters stating that you would spend your money to ride there, but they won’t allow you. Cite big resorts like Heavenly that do allow snowskaters and hopefully they will get with the times! Snowskating is the future!