Hi Guys!So welcome to my sneaky guest post for my snowboard camp that Cheryl mentioned last week.
My adventure all started with this excellent snowboard tutorial site, Snowboard Addiction. If you ever need any tips for progressing your riding, you should 100% check them out, no matter your level — their videos taught me a ton.
Anyway, back in January I got an email from Snowboard Addiction about this snowboarding summer camp in Whistler at Treeline Camps. This snowboard summer camp is held in late June, yes, but as it is located on the Horstman Glacier at the top of Whistler/Blackcomb, there’s snow year round.
To be honest, the thought had never even crossed my mind that something like this would exist, so naturally, when it hit my inbox, I got a little excited. Getting to snowboard in summer would be amazing, and getting taught how to snowboard better by some of best coaches in the world – holy moly!
So after a chat with Cheryl (and a lucky tax return), I signed up and booked my flight to Whistler for the 3-day (half length) adult snowboard camp.
To say it was worth it would be an under statement — what a good time! My only regret was that I didn’t do the full camp. The camp directors, Lisa and Luke, were so incredible, and Lisa even lent me a piece of her bindings when one of my screws fell out, which let me finish my last day of riding on a huge high note vs. a massive bummer.
The coaches were equally awesome: Nev Lapwood (founder of Snowboard Addiction) and Duncan Mainland (a coach that regularly appears in Nev’s videos) had such an excellent way of teaching and instructing … as well as being hilarious.
After three days I certainly saw a lot of progression in my riding, but I also took away a lot of specific things to work on, as well. This is actually one of the key reasons I thought three days wasn’t quite enough — I didn’t really want to spend the time working on the areas that frustrated me, I mainly wanted to focus on having as much fun as possible, as my time was so short.
I’ll admit this was not the worst problem to have.
Some highlights:
- Bears!!! There were literally black bears everywhere.
- The drive from Vancouver to Whistler = so beautiful!
- The people. Getting to ride with some people who are as passionate, if not more passionate, than me about snowboarding was so much fun.
- The Peak to Peak Gondola (and drinking a beer on said gondola) from Blackcomb to Whistler was an amazing ride.
There is a ton of other stuff I could mention as well, but I think this guest post is definitely long enough. So in the words of my lovely wife … Bis Bald Friends!