Steamboat 3/31/10

The mountain conditions are taking a hard hit from the lack of snow this year, there’s more brown than white on lower mountain and you definitely get the feel that the season is winding down quick for Steamboat.  Today the winds were roaring in Steamboat which meant chair and gondola closures, I stayed low on the mountain where the winds weren’t too bad.

I rode up the chairlift and the first thing you noticed was what normally is a super busy mini park was empty which meant it was closed and is probably done for the season.

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Luckily the medium and large parks are being kept up enough to last through to closing day.  Park Crew was hard at work salting the approaches and landings for the features so even though it’s slushy out…they stay intact as long as possible.

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I met up with Chris from snowboarderguide.com who lives in town and even though he’s been riding with a student for the week, I was able to take a couple laps with them.  They hit the jump line while I hit the rail line in Rabbit Ears Park.  Chris even pulled off his first 7 today (missed it but heard about it).

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Around this time of the season, I really start to notice what gear is holding up especially gear that I ride all the time (boots, outerwear, gloves) without changing them out too much.  This year I’ve been rocking the 08-09 Vans for the majority of the season and today I noticed my boa cable is stranding (that’s what I call it).  The cables are tightly woven strands, I believe 49 strands and I can replace the cable easily so I’ll be dropping by boa’s office in Steamboat to get a spare cable to replace it with.  I’ve been rocking snowboard boots with boa since 2002 and it works for me, so I continue to only buy snowboard boots with boa.

You can see in this photo, the second row of cable from the bottom of the photo has an unraveled strand of cable.  It’s still rideable but it’s definitely going to be fixed quickly.

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Tomorrow is the first day of April, aka Gaper Day.  I’ll be working and taking my ride break but not enjoying the festivities.  I’ll have to save my stellar one-piece, wig and fanny pack for another year.