Group photo with the Snowboard Addiction & All Star Trips camp
I’m a solo rider. I’m quite happy lapping the terrain park by myself because it lets me work on exactly what I want to be working on. Just me, myself and my thoughts. However, I do find myself riding with friends every so often.
I ride with my friends for 3 main reasons:
1) Group goal setting
For the last 5 years, my riding group in Whistler usually ended up with the same 2-3 guys. It’s because we’re all in the same boat. We’ve all been doing seasons and we’re all focused on getting better.
There’s a sort of group mentality that comes out when you’re all working towards the same goals. When 3 of us faced the 70 foot ‘manbooter’ jump in Whistler, we all went through the same fear. Seeing one of us conquer it, gave the rest of us motivation to conquer it too.
There’s that sense of ‘if he can do it, so can I’ that comes with seeing someone overcome the same obstacles your facing. Not to mention, it’s nice to talk to someone who’s going through the exact same experiences as you.
2) Friendly competition
There’s nothing like some friendly competition to get you progressing. I know I’ve always kept note of how my riding buddies are progressing and what tricks they’re up to.
When someone in the group lands a big trick, we’re all stoked for them. It motivates us to want to go out and push yourselves too. For me, when I see my friend finally master his switch backside spins, it makes me want to go out and do the same.
It’s definitely not a jealousy thing, but rather, it’s nice to have someone ‘pacing’ you. It gives you a gauge to see how you’re progressing and what type of things you could be working on.
3) Balance and fun
Perhaps the most important reason is that friends help you to keep it fun.
I said before, balance is one of the most important things in snowboarding/skiing. You can’t be pushing yourself all day every day, that’s how you burn out. Don’t become one of those guys that never knows when to switch off and have fun.
You know all those kids with parents pushing them to progress every day from the time they can walk? Sure they become amazing snowboarders, but they also usually end up with unsocial personalities, obsessed with being sponsored and forgetting why snowboarding is so much fun.
Is there anything as fun as goofing off with friends on the slopes? If there is, I haven’t found it. Some of the most fun days I’ve had are going to the beginners park with my friends and playing on the 5 foot jumps. You need those days to break up the routine and to make sure you never forget why you love snowboarding.
Sure there’s many moments riding by myself that I enjoy, but I’ve had some ridiculously fun times on the slope with my friends. It’s those days when we’ve been doing stupid things like pub crawling through all 7 pubs on Whistler for someone’s birthday or spending the day building a small powder jump and hanging out with drinks and music.
You need those ridiculous days to help you relax and to help you remember that snowboarding is just as much about having fun with your friends as it is about seeing what new tricks you can learn.