TOP TEN MOUNTAINS:

Alpine Meadows, Tahoe City, California

Lift tickets range from $50 to $69 depending on half day passes or holiday dates. You can buy your tickets online. Opening Day is scheduled for November 26, 2008.

Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia, Canada

A two day passes ranges from $125-$178. Opening Day is scheduled for November 27, 2008.

Kirkwood, Lake Tahoe, California

Sometimes considered the largest natural snowboard park in the , Kirkwood offers high altitude, open bowls, steep chutes, drops and lifts. It’s also a great place for spring skiing and working on the California tan. Opening day is schedule for late November.

Mammoth Mountain, Mammoth Lakes, CA

With the California sun shining almost 300 days a year, Mammoth offers a long ski and snowboarding season. Tickets range in price, but are about $50-$70 and you get a discount if you buy multiple days at a time. Weather permitting Opening Day is currently scheduled for November 13, 2008.

Mt. Bachelor , Bend,

Located in , 22 miles west of Bend, Mt. Bachelor has made a concentrated effort to attract snowboarders. It’s 400 foot is among the best on the continent and they have just hired a new Pipe Cutter who will be cutting the pipe almost every night. Opening Day is set tentatively for November 22, 2008.

Snowbird, Utah

With 500 inches of annual snowfall, Snowbird offers the highest altitude of any Utah resort. The Tram whisks snowboarders up 11,000 feet in about eight minutes. This season Snowbird has added a Superpipe. It’s called zaugg and is a Pipe Monster. Zaugg is scheduled to be cut three times per week and is supposed to provide an experience like no other. Opening Day is currently scheduled for November 22, 2008.

Mt. Hood, , Oregon

Mount Hood Meadows is one of the few places offering year-round boarding. It’s also home to Meadows, the 500 foot long, eighteen-foot high, super pipe that received Transworld Boarding Top 10 pipe rating. Tickets range from $50-$70. Opening Day is scheduled for November 21, 2008.

Stowe Mountain Resort, Stowe, Vermont

If you can conquer boarding in the East, you can board anywhere. Opening Day is scheduled for November 22, 2008.

Sugarloaf, Maine

At 4,000 feet elevation, Sugarloaf is sometimes considered the best riders’ mountain in New England. Opening Day is scheduled for November 21, 2008.

Park City Mountain Resort, Park City, Utah

Often found on the top ten family resorts list in , Park City averages 360 inches of snow each year and is snowboard friendly. Opening Day is scheduled for November 22, 2008.

TYPES OF SNOWBOARDS:

There are different types of snowboards, fiber glass, polyethylene, freestyle, and alpine boards. The size of the board matters because if you are heavy, you need a long board; if you are light weight, you need a short board.

GEAR: Leash: prevents run away snowboards

Board: can’t go with out one!

Boots: not hard stiff ones snowboarding boots.

Bindings: lock you into the snowboard.

INJURIES:

Injuries happen in the first 2 days of snowboarding and it’s easy to lose control.

CLOTHING: Layer 1: thermal tops and bottoms made of wool and cotton blend or a synthetic fabric such as polypropylene. Layer 2: light weight wool sweater and pants don’t wear cotton, cotton is comfortable but not when it is wet. Layer 3: water resistant snow pants and a snow jacket lined for warmth.

FAMOUS SNOWBOARDERS:

Shawn white Aaron March Adam Livingstone Adam McLeish Adam Smith Allyson Carroll Alex Pulling Alexandra Duckworth

SNOWBOARDING QUOTES:

Shawn White: I could not do my homework if my room wasn’t clean and it has carried on now that I am older in a very freakish way.