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| Double Diamond up top to Kher's at base - Stevens Pass |
This season received less than ideal snowfall and we didn't really have proper winter conditions until early March, which only lasted about 2 weeks at high elevations. Thankfully, the temperatures at Stevens Pass, my primary resort this season, stayed low enough to maintain a decent snowpack. I found that the overall conditions were actually more favorable this season than in previous ones, just because the snow never got extra icy and crusty, like it has in times past... maybe due to less drastic temperature fluctuations.
I managed to visit Whistler twice this season after a few years hiatus due to Covid, and never quite got a proper pow day, but both trips had a few days of what I consider excellent conditions; all things considered. I was especially pleased with the snow falling daily during a trip in late March; where it was still proper winter conditions at the highest elevations. Coverage wasn't great and I did encounter several rocky sections, but that is par for the course in the terrain I seek out anyway.
This season was probably my first proper season back after the rib and ankle injuries I sustained in years prior. I was excited to make as much progress as I have and am feeling much more confident on extremely steep terrain. A lot of black diamond runs are looking and feeling trivial to me now, used mostly as a warm up. I used steep [black diamond] mogul warmups to get me ready to tackle the challenges of the technical double black terrain; sections of unmarked trail where the slope angle is above 40 degrees.
The aggressive stances [that I utilize on black diamond trails] have been scaled back quite a bit and I now opt for a more centered upright stance to allow me to quickly reset my balance and posture as needed when making dynamic turns in highly technical terrain. It's still an amazing workout but it calls more for abdominal agility than pure leg strength.
I also worked quite a bit on 180 spins both frontside and backside; of course, for both regular and switch orientations, but still have a lot of work to do on the backside takeoff and landing. I also worked a little on 360s but mostly in the park, which has a completely different dynamic than on steep technical slopes. I spent a few weekends trying to get comfortable with transitional riding; alternating between the aggressive leaning and centered upright riding. This was because the variable snow kind of lends itself to one or the other as the conditions change throughout the run. When the snow is a little deeper and the crust is well below the surface, I can charge with hard angles, but as the crust is more superficial and the risk of slipping out increases, I need to quickly change posture [to bias less pressure outwardly] so that I can adjust to the slippage as it occurs.
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| Double Diamond trail close-up from the lift @ Stevens Pass |
Not to get ahead of myself, but I think next season will be building on this transitional riding in addition to learning how to better read the snow ahead. I found myself learning about this in both powder and crust this season, where I could visually identify areas that were more heavily trafficked and engage with them to increase my speed in short bursts; all part of speed management.
Overall my speed management has gotten much better and my flow when riding has more consistency to it. I started dropping bigger cliffs with upwards of 8-12ft drops, even when the landing wasn't soft and fluffy. My hesitancy caused me to turn out too quickly, so I've got lots of room to work on improvements in order to hold the straight longer and getting a cleaner run out of the section. It's both exciting and nerve racking to imagine the longer runouts due to the amount of acceleration through very bumpy terrain, but I think with some more training it is not too far away.
I had some notable challenges with gear this season; perhaps exacerbated from the end of last season. I was careful to ensure my binding was securely fastened to the board every morning, with the exception of one or two days; but never went a full morning without checking, so that is an improvement on last season. Both my Bataleon Atom and Burton Genesis bindings had the highback screws come loose from the chatter of a few days riding. A reminder that I need to check my gear thoroughly before every day on the mountain. Thankfully both instances were not at any critical moment and towards the end of the day, but I did lose the Bataleon screws on the mountain and am waiting for a replacement set. I got into a pretty good habit of retightening my bindings and boots after a few warmup runs, but also found that on occasion I just completely forgot to buckle my toe straps. 0_0 Really need to work on that never happening again, especially since it was in double black diamond zones where this took place [after a short hike].
I switched over from GoPro to Insta360 this season and it's been a game changer. The software that supports the new device is slick and helped me crank out videos regularly. It was honestly more than I wanted to manage, but I am glad to have gotten through most of the footage I took so far and to have so many videos on YouTube to watch in the off season. I opted to get the uncut runs [with minor edits to fast forward down time] uploaded and plan to later reflect and find memorable moments to create shorts out of; adding in music to make the content more enjoyable for anyone not wanting to hear what the snow conditions were like or my gasps for air. ^-^
My primary board this season was the GNU Headspace (155W) and it was an absolute delight to ride. It managed pretty well in powder, to my surprise, and I think that is primarily due to the extra volume of the Wide board. I was able to stay centered on my stance and tackle the mountain regular and switch, which is very hard to accomplish on a directional powder board. It will probably remain my daily driver next season, but on less aggressive days I will likely use the GNU Riders Choice (155W), which is much softer and more playful.
There is still a possibility of some summer snowboarding at Mt. Hood, but I stopped riding at the end of March and have been back at work on soccer coordination and agility which may stretch out until late summer or early fall. I'm just happy to have grown so much this season while staying safe and healthy through some calculated risks (creeks, rocks, tight trees, cliffs, jumps); very high consequence risks. Next season seems so far away, but I'm sure it will be here in no time!
Final run down Blackcomb is here on YouTube!
