Riding Stag

A couple years ago I would have never considered snowboarding solo for a few reasons. For one, there was always someone to go with living in a college environment near Vermont. With just classes and part time jobs as our highest responsibilities, it wasn’t hard to find someone to ditch the daily routine with and hit the closest trails.

However, things have definitely changed in the past few years. I moved back home, got a real job, bought a house, got married, etc etc. It’s a great life, and I wouldn’t change a thing. However I did sacrifice the “ski-bum” life so many of my friends chose, and moved an hour or two away from most of the mountains. Although my life changed, my passion for snowboarding is there all the same, so I do what is necessary sometimes and just hit the mountain like a cool kid with no date. Truth be told, I never realized how much fun it could be.

Riding solo is a unique experience that I think every boarder should try a few times. I find I ride a lot harder & faster when I’m not worrying about sticking with my friends. After all, I’m making ALL the decisions, what trail to take, when to slow down, when to take a break, etc. What that means is I usually end up burning out A LOT faster, but having a great time doing it! In fact, when riding solo I usually end up doing a half day because I get in a full days worth of runs in half the time.

Another great part to being alone, the music.
I got my Smith Holt Helmet recently, which means great music with no worry of headphone falling out of my ears, and since there’s no friends shouting out to me, I turn that shit up! hah. Snowboarding with good tunes is a great experience, and if your MP3 player supports it, definitely consider making an exclusive boarding playlist like I did.

So in the end, yes I would still rather go with a crew to the mountain, the more the merrier I say. But sometimes the snow falls and all their lame-asses are working or coming up with other excuses. Sure I could drive 2 hours to see some old friends, but sometimes it’s just easier to stay local. So give it a shot, you’ll find you meet a ton of great people riding the chair in the singles line, and when you get to the peak, it’s just you, your board and some music. What more can you ask for?