Keeping the culture war alive at Crystal

gonna take more than shaun whites tight attire to save snobording.
b

Things must be much different at the bottom of the Sound.  Up here snowboarding is still more fun than skiing. 

A month or so ago I was high up on Shuksan breaking trail up the White Salmon glacier with two other friends of mine when we ran into the one and only Russman of Karakoram binding fame.  He caught up to us about the same time as a certain Dan H.  It was good to see that there was at least one skier on Shuksan that day enjoying (very quickly!) the skin track that had been set by several split boarders ahead of him.  He was freakishly fast on his extremely efficient skis. If I were to switch to skiing for the efficiency I would not have survived trying to ski off that mountain that day.  Either way, it's good to see that AT skiing is still surviving up here.

More recently I was looking down one of my favorite chutes at my home ski area with my room mate and a friend of ours.  I wiggled up to the edge of the chute (probably would have been easier and more efficient if I had poles) and hung onto a tree to look down into the chute (maybe harder with poles?).  Just ahead of us was a long time friend and one of the best skiers on the mountain.  I was truly shocked at how much harder it was for him to get into the chute on his 180-somethings than it is for me on my 161.5.  I also appreciated having my hands free to hang onto tree branches.  Again, it's good to see that skiers still have that adventurous spirit.

As long as I've been snowboarding (a short 23 years now) Crystal has had a reputation as a skiers mountain and despite that some of the best snowboard freeriders in the PNW have grown up riding there.

In the end it doesn't really matter how people enjoy the mountains (but somebody should tell the snowshoers to stay out of the skin track).  It's the attitude that counts and fun people are fun.

PS What's with the skiers in the "tall tees" and the short poles? I don't get it, must be getting old.

stunt ditch poser of course.
b

Another possible reason for the decline in popularity of snowboarding could be related to current state of less-than-attractive snowboarding outfits.  Is the next generation of young self-conscious boarders making the switch to skiing to simply look better?  Maybe. 

Designing attractive, closer fitting apparel just might save an industry.

I love it when people criticize other people for wearing what they want to wear. Whats worse?

The person who enjoys wearing the clothes or the person who takes time out of their life to focus and be negative about what other people are wearing. The latter if you ask me, kind of pathetic really.

Laughing w/you.  Your post and Jim Oker's made think of the sometimes cluster at the top of chair 2.  Imagining 10-15 dazed looking boarders all fumbling with gear at the end (or middle) of the ramp.

Where's the easy way down?
Can I borrow some matches?
Have you seen my buddy?  He has baggy pants and a hoody.

Thats funny - you too bf

I have been equally shocked at the visceral, vehement, and vituperative (that's V cubed) responses from snowboarders! 

That seems to be the response that "Bad Kim" was trying to elicit. Why Bad Kim? Why?

A few more things that could be contributing to a decline in snowboarder visits:
-The economy.
-Splitboarding=less resort visits.
-Marketing strategies that exclude e.g. "Crystal is a skiers mountain."