Our trip this past weekend to Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and Golden, BC was so much fun! It was our first time to the area, and there was so much to see and do… so bear with me as I separate our trip into a series of blog posts over the next week or so. These are photo posts… I will of course have a big HD snowboard video at the end of all of this

We flew out Thursday night at YVR on WestJet thanks to some buddy passes our friend Emily had given us at the beginning of this year. I’m glad we finally got to use them. We packed everything into our board bags and crossed our fingers that we would pass on the weight scale!

Thanks Emily!

We landed in Calgary an hour later and managed to somehow score a Volvo all-wheel drive despite booking the cheapest possible car with Budget. It worked out well, because having the AWD was really nice (but not necessary) for driving through the mountain passes from Calgary to Golden.

It only took us 2.5 hours to drive from Calgary to Golden… just a little more than it would have taken us to drive from Vancouver to Whistler. I’m really amazed by how accessible Kicking Horse and Golden are. It really is a whole new snowboarding destination that feels like you’re traveling far away… but it’s just a short hop from Vancouver. We arrived at Canyon Ridge Lodge, the B&B/lodge we found which was luckily just off the highway and really easy to get to!

We really lucked out with our accommodations. Kat and Paul (and little Roxy, their daughter) are the nicest people you could meet. I really envy their lifestyle… and maybe one day I’ll set up a bed and breakfast of my own somewhere in a small snowboard or surf destination town.

Their home is AMAZING… Paul actually built it himself. It has vaulted ceilings, exposed timber, and yup… even a hot tub outside. This is the lounge they have… so you can meet other guests or if you book out the whole place you can hang out with your friends here.

This is our room! The bed was super comfortable.

Our own little bathroom… really liked the stone shower walls.

Next time I think we would probably stay in their self-contained suite. It would be nice to have a kitchen and share the suite with a group of friends next time we are in Golden.

In the morning we got our timezones mixed up (Golden is actually on Mountain Time like Calgary, not on Pacific Time like we thought), so we ended up getting a bit of a late start for opening day. YES, it was Kicking Horse Mountain Resort’s Opening Day and there was about 150cm base to play with, and 40 cm of fresh to find!

Seriously, what a cool resort. I honestly didn’t know what to expect going in (except that I had heard a lot about “The Horse”) and that it was a mountain with unique terrain. We pretty much rode blue and black diamonds in pow pretty much all day, and when it got a little tracked out we found the trees and the bowls. The mountain was split pretty much 50/50 skiers and boarders.

The best part though? NO CAT TRACKS! Oh man, for those of you who snowboard… you know how annoying it is to get looped on to those super flat runs made for skiers that you can never seem to get enough speed for? Well, it’s not that Kicking Horse doesn’t have cat tracks… but the mountain is set up so you pretty much never have to run into them. Here I am looking pretty exhausted. Haven’t really gotten my snowboard legs back yet

We had lunch at the Eagle’s Eye restaurant on the top of the gondola.

The layout inside was really nice for a on-mountain lunch stop!

The food was awesome too… after two months of being EXTREMELY strict with myself on an allergy elimination diet I’ve been on, this weekend I decided I was on “vacation” and going to eat whatever! I may be a little biased, but that white wine fettuccine alfredo really hit the spot.

Allan ordered the red curry Thai chicken, which was also delicious.

He also enjoyed his beer.

We spent the rest of the day riding until the gondola closed and our legs had no more in them. First day at Kicking Horse? Pretty darn impressive. You can follow me on Twitter, and also Tourism Golden, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, and Canyon Ridge Lodge.

A great start, to a great trip! More photos coming… and of course the HD video at the end Thanks for reading!

So, it’s been 2.5 years now since I purchased my last outerwear for snowboarding… and unfortunately both my jacket and pants are completely torn up now after many days on the hill.

This year, it’s time for me to bite the bullet and get new outerwear. The only problem is… I can’t decide. There are SO many choices out there.

For the past few years, I’ve worn a pink/green combination seen here.

This year, my board is white on top with a pink to purple fade on my 2010 Burton Malolo (the board on the right). And for reference, my boots and bindings this year will be white.

SO, the question is… which outerwear combination do you like the best?

To see a bigger size, click on the image and then click on “All Sizes” and select “Original” to see a better sized version.

Thanks for your help!

Yes, November is almost upon us… and already in many parts of the continent people are starting to snowboard (Darn you, Mammoth, darn you!).

For us here in Vancouver and BC, we are patiently waiting for the temperatures to drop and more snow to fall on the mountains. Realistically it is only weeks away, but it feels like forever.

Whistler Blackcomb has announced its opening day is November 26th this year. Cypress, Grouse, and Seymour have yet to report opening dates. Hemlock is reporting an opening date of December 10th, and over on Vancouver Island, Mount Washington is slated to open December 11th. Big White and Apex are saying December 5th, and Sun Peaks is early with an opening date of November 21st.

Ugh. So far away.

So in the meantime, why not fantasize about all the new gear coming out this year? It’s no secret that I’m a little biased towards Burton, so I’m going to kickoff my gear previews with them. This post will just be snowboards, I’ll be featuring other hardgoods and softgoods in a follow-up post. I’ve posted a selection of boards here, feel free to check our their full product lineup at Burton.com.

Note: All images credited to Burton.com

2010 Burton Custom X

Definitely one of the best boards that Burton has put out this year. Not only are the graphics absolutely GORGEOUS (the snowboarder/surfer in me loves the trees and ocean design), but the tech is darn good. It’s got the Channel, which most of the new Burton boards have this year… basically allows you to configure your bindings in any stance you can possibly think of. It’s a super light board and is generally a good board for any condition. Good in pow, the park, free riding and even groomers. So sexy.

2010 Burton Fish

Ah, the Fish. A board I have lusted after for a long time. Who doesn’t dream of adding the Fish to their quiver and having a true powder board? For those of you just getting into snowboarding, you probably don’t need a Fish just yet. But for those of you who skip work on powder days, spend all day hiking for the good stuff… this is the board for you. Light, tapered with a swallow tail, and the addition of an S-Rocker really makes this board float in the powder. It’s also super fast and even has a surfboard-style rail. It’s pretty much like surfing on the snow.

2010 Burton Custom V-Rocker

A little cheaper than the Custom-X, the Custom now comes in Regular and V-Rocker. The Added V-Rocker puts a centre rocker between the feet, which brings the tip and tail off the ground… so basically it’s better in pow and let’s you jib and ollie a little easier. This is a fun, fun board if you like to pop and hop around the mountain, either in pow or park. I wouldn’t recommend this if you’re JUST going on groomers though. I really like the design this year.

2010 Burton Supermodel

This year I think the real sleeper hit is the Supermodel. Not a lot of people talk about it (the Customs are super popular), but I personally think this is the perfect board for a BC boy. This board can be used on the whole mountain, and is light and fast and has the Channel as well. I REALLY love the design on it… the reds are so vibrant (and the blues on other sizes) and they’d look great in photos… a must if you’re into snow photography or video with your friends. It’s slightly tapered so it’ll work nice in pow, and it’s got great control for groomers. It’s got a mid-range price too.

2010 Burton Joystick

I’ve been hearing a lot about the Burton Joystick this year for the park. It’s got a new Freestyle Scoop which makes it super easy to do tricks in the park, and also has a V-Rocker to put that rocker between your feet as well. It’s a pretty aggressive board for the park, but Burton says it is forgiving and fun as well. The reviews are coming in now, and it is looking like a really strong contender for a park board this year.

2010 Burton Malolo

Ah the Malolo, my board of choice for this year. It’s technically a unisex board, as I have the smallest size at 149. It goes up to 166. I actually purchased my 2010 Malolo last year at an event, and I’ve been pretty much waiting all year to ride it. I’m so excited. It’s the perfect board for me… from the surf-inspired graphics to the name.. (Malolo means “flying fish” in Hawaiian). It’s got an S-Rocker for the snow, which helps with the speed and float of the board. I love the powder and the trees, so the Malolo is going to be a significant improvement here. I’ve tried it out on groomers and it’s actually pretty good. I think for real hard-pack ice days though, I’ll bring out my old Burton Feelgood (it’s 2 years old).

Speaking of girls… I also wanted to showcase a couple women’s boards out there for all my lady readers.

2010 Burton Women’s Supermodel

An absolutely stunning board design for a girl’s board. I love it… it’s girly but also colourful and cool. This is a high performance girl’s board. Same as the men’s super model, it’s a tapered board that will ride well in powder. It’s extremely versatile… you can ride it anywhere on the mountain. It also has the Channel if you have EST bindings. No worries if you don’t, it’s got a conversion kit as well.

2010 Burton Women’s Feelgood ES

The Feelgood ES (and the Feelgood) are top-of-the-line women’s boards. This board is SUPER light. It has the Carbon Vaporskin, as well as the Channel. If you’re looking for a fast, beginner to intermediate board (I learned on a Feelgood no problem), this board can SERIOUSLY hold an edge in the groomers. It’s not skittish at all. Note: If you’re wanting to eventually ride this in powder, you may want to get a couple extra inches on the board to hold some float… I found this board wasn’t great for deep powder.

2010 Burton Women’s Lipstick

The perfect board for a girl in the park, the Lipstick is super poppy with a V-Rocker and Elliptical Kicks. It’s light and has super cute graphics… not to mention the Channel and Pressure Distribution Edges (helps you on groomers and also on landings). Unfortunately I’m not much of a park girl, because I would really love to ride this board.

——–

And that’s it for now folks! What do you think of the boards that are out this year? Any particular favourites in the Burton lineup? Anything you’d like me to cover in future posts?

Cheers!

Ah yes, the board I’ve been lusting over for the past year. The 2009/2010 Burton Malolo snowboard. Back in October I featured the 2008/2009 Burton snowboard lineup, and I was pretty sure I wanted the Malolo. But I didn’t like the board graphic.

The Malolo has everything I want in a board: built for powder, but still good on groomers. A stiff board, but soft in the nose and with the S-Rocker. It’s tapered of course, wider than an average board, set back in the stance, Burton’s ICS system, has been reviewed to have amazing float, and is turned up in the nose… ahhhh *sigh*.

I’ve been eagerly following Hoon’s blog, hoping he’d give me some more information about next year’s Malolo. So what a surprise when early this afternoon I received a lovely package in my inbox with some photos of next year’s 2009/2010 Malolo (pictured above). And the board graphics were the coolest I’ve seen yet. Colourful bases for photos, and a clean top graphic with lots of space for custom diecuts. It comes in sizes 149cm, 154cm, 158cm, 162cm, and 166cm. It’s pretty much a guy’s board but women can ride the smaller sizes.

Later today I receive a call from Allan saying his coworkers told him there was a Burton sample sale on our side of town and he was there… and there were amazing deals on everything. Of course I wanted to go. So after work we headed over there to check it out.

Let me say this in my defense: I DID NOT intend to buy anything. I just wanted to take pictures.

So imagine my surprise when the first thing I set eyes on when I walked in the door was the Malolo.

If there is any snowboard in this world that was made for me… it is the Malolo. “A soul surfer with a heart for freestyle.” Malolo means “flying fish” in Hawaiian, and features a surfy design, with surfer dudes on it, peace signs, and even a surf van on one of the boards. My board features a surfer dude in the middle of a gladed trees up to his waist in powder. YES.

But wait — it gets better. I needed a 149cm board, and the sample sale only had ONE of each board size. The sale– $400 for a retail $800 board. Brand new. Seriously. SERIOUSLY. And the guy went into the back and lo and behold… found me the only 149cm Malolo in the city. NEXT season’s board not even being sold yet.

It was fate.

I couldn’t pass it up. It was handcrafted in Canada. The perfect colour, size, and style for me.

So I brought my beautiful new board home. So much for my budgeting. But hey — I would’ve bought the board anyway in 8 months so why not save 50%?

And even my Quaatchi Twins like them! (Yes, that is our favourite hockey playing Olympic mascot on my slippers… )

Here’s my new quiver. One beat up falling apart board for groomers. And one gorgeous sleek panther of a board for powder.

I’m hoping to catch some pow on the weekend! TGIF!

For anyone who would like to go to the Burton Sample Sale, it’s still on tomorrow, and it’s the last day. The address is 236 West 7th, Suite #207. The sale is on till 8 PM and features only one of each new board for next season, and a number of softgoods too!

We hit up Mount Baker on Sunday for Opening Day. A big storm had finally given our coast the snow we needed to get back on the hills.

I tell you — Baker on Opening Day is a good, good thing. Especially when it snows 20 inches just before you arrive.

I put together a quick video of our day. It’s not great in terms of editing since I threw it together in about 45 minutes so I apologize for the quality. It’s not at all indicative of the HD snowboarding movie I’m working on, but it was fun to do. I apologize for the shaky cam and focusing. I’m still getting used to using the camera. I’m hoping after a few more sessions I’ll have the hang of it. ENJOY! Click the image above to watch it on Vimeo, or you can right-click save as here to download the original movie. (You will probably want VLC Player to watch it.)

We woke up at 6 AM and were off by 6:30. It was still snowing when we left the apartment building. It was nice not to have to deal with many slow Vancouver drivers in the snow at that time, too. A bit of a wait at the USA border (and no Nexus lines at the Sumas crossing, BOO!)… and we were on our way.

We got to Baker just shortly after the first chairs went up. Everyone in the line of cars we were in turned off at the lower parking lot, so we continued up to the upper parking lot… we had our doubts if it was open, but sure enough it was! There was no waits for the chairs, and only 1 in 4 chairs actually had anyone on them.

It was pretty much untracked when we got up there. The area under the chairlift (see picture above) had a few lines, but everywhere else we hiked it was completely untouched. Awesome!

Our first turns of the day, we hiked for about 15 minutes to a spot on the Pan Dome face. This was where we decided to drop in.

First turns in powder were a little shaky for me, but Allan tore it up pretty good. What a feeling to not ride over anyone’s tracks!

Of course, I decided to turn on the GoPro camera on that run and lost it in the powder. I was so upset. I spent about an hour climbing up the face where I had ridden, digging and searching for the camera. Allan met me at the top and we spent another couple hours looking for it. No luck. Yup. You heard me. I freaking lost my new camera! I don’t know what I’m going to do now.

Well, we still had a great time. We stopped for lunch in a half empty cafeteria and then got a few more runs in that day. Legs were burning and tired, but it was exhilarating to be out again!

Can’t wait to go back to Baker. We’ll see where we hit up next! Tomorrow, I go to Trevor Linden’s Retirement Game… *sniff*.