It may seem inappropriate to begin a blog on coaching snowboarding on the last day of February. With that said, I need to inform those who are not fully entrenched in the Snowboarding Community of what riding in March really means. The looming summer months ahead force Snowboarders to step up their level of riding, therefore making March the most hyperactive month of the season. This is of course primarily a phenomena seen on the East Coast, as we know it may be mid-December before we have an opportunity to lace up our boots, strap into our bindings and explore. March is the month that will first enter our thoughts while relaxing tired legs during the blazing Summer heat. Yet we do not except that winter is behind us. We do not think on the long and lazy days ahead. We look to increase our time spent on the mountain, we hope for a late season blizzard and we make plans on how we can stretch winter to its breaking point; often riding well into April or perhaps May for the luckiest few. So I do not look at March as the end of winter but rather a jump off point for next season. The seeds of anticipation for next season are planted, and it is this that makes us as restless as hibernating bears. So do not be surprised when you see parking lots full of happy snow enthusiasts crushing PBRs, grilling food and smiling like lunatics. Because that person probably just locked in a trick that they have been working on all season. That person wearing soaked snow pants with the ankle cuffs torn and caked in mud is smiling because they know it has been a long winter season, and they cannot wait to do it all again next year; or sooner.
We may be only able to shred the east from November to April, but snowboarding remains in our hearts, souls and dreams now and forever. So this year challenge yourself to ride in a strange month. Whether you hike Tuckerman's Ravine, save your milk money for a trip to South America or use shaved ice from a local hockey rink in, remember that just because your local resort may shutdown its lifts in April, you do not have to shutdown your shred. But if you do, do not let the anticipation of that next ride drive you to insanity.
