he weekend before thanksgiving break I took it upon myself to do a little snowboarding at Stratton mountain in Vermont, upon my return to campus I was ask by my neighbor Mark where I had gone and I told him that I had been snowboarding. He then commented on the fact that I did not have a nose ring. This presumption is one that anyone who snowboards has to deal with, that the nose ring bit is just a fad that attracts young males who are into a certain image, of which snowboarding happens to be a part of. This is not true.
Snowboarding is a recreational activity that attracts all sorts of people. Granted some of those who take part might be 'different' but that is what makes the sport so interesting. Those who participate come from all backgrounds and do it for different reasons, and as with anything else people who are unfriendly also take part. Just because someone happens to be young and be wearing baggy boarding pants and facial jewelry does not mean that they are not a perfectly nice and/or friendly person.
Nothing seems more appalling to me than skiers who seem to think that they are taking part in an activity that carries along with it the assumption of a elevated socioeconomic state of existence. Such as the type that goes to Colorado or Vermont only wanting to sport their new rabbit fur collared jacket and those hideous fur boots. What could possibly be the contribution of these items to the sport itself? When these types do actually attempt to ski , god forbid they do a straight line. They constantly criss-cross the trail so they do not pick up any speed, why go skiing if you are afraid to fall? I don't feel that all skiers are like this, I have the utmost respect for any skier who goes about it at full bore, just stay away from the pipe.
I may be guilty of my own prejudices against skiers but this is mainly a reaction to the way that I have been treated by them. The average skier thinks that they are forced to share the mountain with snowboarders, as if the snowboarders were some lower form of life. Needless to say that this is reason for the occasional skirmishes between the two sports, hence the image of the loud, angry boarder.
Now that winter is, once again, upon us it is time for people to put their petty differences aside and enjoy the slopes. Whether you're skiing or snow boarding keep in mind the words of the snowboarding guru, Collin Lentz: "Snow is soft so there should be no excuses."
