I first tried snowboarding at the end of 1998 in Breckenridge, Colorado. The board was a brand new K2 with clickers and K2 boots with built in back plate. I was not immediately hooked as I had no one to show me the basics for more than 5 minutes before ditching me.
The first two hours were exhausting and painful; I remember falling over and over, mostly on my face. My arms, wrists, and shoulders hurt badly. But after the initial massacre, and a lunch break, I finally started to figure out how to stay on edges at all times to avoid slamming myself into the ground.
I still had to take a day off before going back out after the first day of trying. But the following day was a lot of fun. I was able to go down most of the blue runs and even some of the easiest blacks, as long as I managed to control my speed. I worked on my balance most of that day, still falling but expecting it most of the time.
By the third day at Breckenridge I was ready for the black and worked mostly on stability at high speeds. I did manage to take some very nasty spills that day but I managed to learn that snowboard becomes easier to handle at higher speeds (unless it’s edges are in bad shape).
After coming back to Washington that winter I knew that I was hooked on snowboarding and that I was going to get that gear before ski gear. I waited till the end of the season and managed to get everything for 60%-70% off.

That season I only went boarding one more time at Schweitzer, Idaho. That was the place I did most of my boarding the following season (1999-2000), mostly by myself, or with my cousin Michael that came for visit in March. I also went to Silver Mountain in Kellogg, Idaho few times because it was a bit easier to access thanks to being right next to the I-90 Interstate. I was never quite satisfied with boarding there because the conditions weren’t ever the greatest and because Schweitzer is just soo much better even with the extra ½ hour it takes to get there.

I was only able to go boarding 3 times the following season (2000-2001) because of my move to San Diego, California.

The 2001-2002 season was great for Southern California; I spent most of my boarding time at Snow Summit and Big Bear. Few of us @ Nanogen got together to organize a trip to Mammoth Mountain, the best place to go in California but also 400 miles away from San Diego. We chartered a bus from ……. , and at $165 for the bus and condos for two days it was a bargain.

The 2002-2003 season was even more exciting for me as far as snowboarding goes. I made it to Snow Summit/Big Bear 5 times before the conditions got too bad to go there (early this year, the snow got too wet and soggy around February already). Again, we had a trip to Mammoth with Nanogen, and another is planned for the weekend of March 21st.

Gear
Rosignol Wide 163 – 1999 model
K2 clicker bindings – 1999 model
K2 1999 model
Coumbia Titanium jacket
H&H outer shell pants
Columbia wicking layer thermals