New statement of the year.

[STP]

My new saying to everyone that asks me about my board, what is it, is it fun, etc.... I simply tell them that it is called Alpine. I then say " I don't know why everyone is not doing it"I go on to tell them how fun it is, where to buy equipment, BOL and Donek, and everyone should have as much fun as I am having every time I go down the slope.This is hands down the most controlled adrenaline fueled sport that I have done. Windsurfing is fun, surfing is short and sweet, longboarding is excellent but consequences are severe, but none are better than carving at mach. After hardbooting for over 12 years and between 30-45 days each year, I am more like a kid each time I go down the hill. Everyday and every carve is awesome!

Enjoy the sport and spread the word as I have only seen a single hard booter this year. WTF

[Steve Prokopiw]

I had that kind of day on Sunday;riding with a great carving buddy and having my six year old absolutely ripping with us on his skis.However,for the last 25 years,one my favorite stock answers to "Is that fun?" has been, "It was either this or piano lessons." After a couple of seconds of perplexed looks I follow quickly with the information you so nicely provide.

[John E]

I have not participated in many sports. My main persuits are cycling (road and mountain), rollerblading and snowboarding. I've seen people kiteboarding and that looks like a huge thrill. I tried taking some kiteboarding lessons but soon realized that this was not the sport for someone who lived in Colorado.

Snowboarding in powder is one of the biggest thrills I have experienced but because powder snow is rare, unpredictable and disappears quickly it is hard to say "I'm going powder snowboarding" with any regularity. I started carving becuause I saw some at my local area that looked to be having fun on a snowboard on snow that was quite old. Now, even though I am still learning, I am hooked. It is the most fun sport I participate in. It is my passion.

[corey_dyck]

Well said STP!

I did a few seasons of ice racing (cars), it was pretty fun but it cut into my snowboarding time so it got dumped. There's nothing I'd rather be doing than carving on good snow. Alpine riding seems to hit the sweet spot for me with lots of fun and relatively low risk of injury per minute of fun considering the speed we travel.

The cost per minute is even decent, it's around $250/day for me at SES to get about 2-3 hours of riding in (not counting lift and B.S.ing time). I'm at around $100/day locally for 30 minutes of riding time. Compared with summertime car racing: ~$30/minute for local summertime car race events, and I don't even want to figure out the cost per minute for out-of-town car races or I'll quit going!

[John E]

I never calculated what the hourly cost of boarding is.

At my local area considering lift ticket cost, fuel cost, cost of breakfast and a beer or two at the end of the day, maybe $60 for 4 - 5 hours on the mountain (this time includes riding the lift but not lift lines because we don't have lift lines). I'd say that about 1/2 of the time on the mountain is on the lift. So, maybe $25 - $30/hour of riding.

For SES it would be the ticket cost, lodging cost, fuel cost, food & beer cost - maybe $150/day (I do it on the cheap). This also includes lift riding time but no lift line time because no lift lines at Aspen either. So, maybe $65 - $70/hour of riding.

[b0ardski]

wow, I never tried to break it down to cost per minute of ride time.
Cory, at $3 per min. your not being efficient.
Granted, I go to great lengths to bum on the cheap, but I'm figuring about 20-25 cents per min. of actual turning on a full day including gas, food & beer.

back to the op; I usually explain alpine as all about edge control, whether on groomers, powder, bumps or trees.

[corey_dyck]

I had plane tickets*, accommodations, etc. in there. Highly estimated from a poor memory.

My GoPro revealed the true nature of my local days on the hill. 25-30 1-minute videos, most are about 9 minutes apart. The SES folder is much more satisfying to look at!

* $$! from Canada, as Frontier stopped flying out of the nearby US airports.

[Pusbag]

Well I use a anology to sum up the alpine dicipline " why drive a chevy or ford when you can be hotrodding the piss out of a ferrari ". In real life a ferrari is $100,000 more than a chevy but on a board it is a few hundred dollars more. I feel for john e, I live in north idaho and can ride pow whenever I want to during the winter. We have over 200 inches of snow in the mtns right now. I also have never broke riding down to a $ per hour since it is irrelavent. It can be practically free if you do it right. Carving is one of the funnest things you can do with your clothes on.

[crucible]

I calculated my hourly costs of alpine riding at roughly $7.00/hour.

I included:
- cost of season pass
- gas, car maintenance and auto insurance
- equipment maintenance costs( wax, binding parts, boot parts, tools etc)
- safety gear (helmets and pads)

Not a bad value....

Geo

[icebiker]

On the subject of passion....when I started boarding (softboots), it totally consumed me...i would while away summers waiting for winter, never really doing much other than boogie boarding at the beach once in a while and watching lousy ski movies (anyone remember Fire and Ice? lol) to get my "snow fix." I ordered my vanity license plate (See avatar) within a few months of my first day boarding out of this sheer passion for riding.

Then, a few years later, I tried mountain biking and that gave me some seasonal balance. I loved boarding and biking equally.

During the mid-90's I started focusing more on mountain biking to the point where snowboarding took a back seat. In fact, one season I didn't board at all. Mountain biking to this point has been my #1 passion. I ride in any conditions...snow, ice, dirt, 90 F+ heat, sub-zero F cold, rocks, roots, you name it. The rockier/more technical the better...East Coast terrain is great for this type of riding.

However, having completed my first full year of hardbooting (in a lousy winter no less), things are swinging back now! While i've always liked to carve, a proper alpine set up makes it simply the most fun to be had on the mountain, period. I freakin LOVE boarding again, with as much (if not more) passion as when I first started. I'm already jonesing for next winter (hopefully a better one than last!)

I owe most of this re-birth to all the great advice and support of you guys on BOL, and to the folks that make the niche products we depend upon to fuel our passion. Here's to Bomber, Sean Martin, Chris Prior and the rest of the select few out there that enable the rest of us!

[STP]

Cost per time
- Season Pass $289
- cost for gas per trip $5
- 33 times so far this year

$289/33 +$5 = $13.75/trip for 3-4 hours of carving. Therefore, $4 per hour!!!

This is hands down the cheapest sport that I do and by far more thrillling than any of them.

We still have 10 feet base and hope they keep the mountain open. Longboarding in the summer will not be he same!

[corey_dyck]

Haha, I'm sorry I mentioned costs. I was having a discussion with friends about the costs of car racing, my mind spilled over to snowboarding. Yes, it costs more to go riding when you don't live beside a mountain...

In the end:
I love alpine snowboarding. I don't know why everyone is not doing it.

[John E]

From everthing I've heard "inexpensive motorsport" is an oxymoron.

[Sultan Guy]

Cost of carving???

Whatever. The value of spending "down" time in a deep low high speed arc is priceless.
I can go for days with the memories of certain turns. Who cares what that costs? Life is short.

[jp1]

John E, just about anyone can make a small fortune in auto racing, IF you start out with a large one (and get out before it's ALL gone)

[slopestar]

cost of carving???

Whatever. The value of spending "down" time in a deep low high speed arc is priceless.
I can go for days with the memories of certain turns. Who cares what that costs? Life is short.

agreed!

[xy9ine]

I can go for days with the memories of certain turns. Who cares what that costs? Life is short.

so true. though i started boarding in the 80's, i had a decade+ where i'd only go a handful of times a season because i was just uninspired. carving has re-fueled the stoke, and like the op mentioned, i'm having so much fun doing it, i can't believe it's not more popular. i do however understand the barriers to entry - limited access to gear, cost, and (relatively) steep learning curve. it is what it is, and i'm ok w/ the fringe aspect of the sport. and yes, i still have vivid memories of specific runs and turns i made this season. so rad.