Some adrenaline junkies see more in the falling leaves of autumn than beautiful colors. Each passing moment means they’re closer to the juice that gets them through the winter: The incomparable rush of a day strapped into a snowboard.
The powder season is quickly approaching and, as always, snowboarders will come from all over to experience Oregon’s amazing slopes. Eugene is nestled in the middle of numerous runs, and students can plan a trip or join the University Snowboarding Club on various trips throughout the season.
Still considered a cutting-edge sport, snowboarding can actually be traced back to the 1920s, when children created makeshift boards out of barrel staves, riding them sideways down snow hills.
But the modern snowboard emerged in Vermont in the 1970s. Jake Burton has been credited with shaping the board out of wood and using rubber straps for bindings. To this day, his company, Burton Snowboards, remains one of the most popular brands in the industry.
In 1994, snowboarding was accepted as an Olympic sport, solid proof it was more than just a rebel cousin to skiing.
Though the age-old recreation of skiing is here to stay, snowboarding continues to climb in popularity. University Snowboard Club Coordinator Derek Shirk said snowboarding is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.
“There’s something more graceful about taking powder on a snowboard,” Shirk said. Snowboarding offers more than simple thrills, according to Snowboarding Team coach Nate Price.
“For me, snowboarding is a way to express myself,” Price said.
Mike Hayden, head of the snowboarding department at Berg’s Ski Shop, says the 47-year-old store has seen a huge leap in snowboard sales in recent years.
“We started selling snowboards in 1987. But it really exploded about 10 years ago,” Hayden said. “Now, snowboard-related products account for about 30 percent of our sales.”
As snowboarding became more common, an apparent rivalry grew between skiers and boarders. But Price said the days of rivalry may be ending.
“I think as snowboarding has become more mainstream, skiers are becoming a lot more accepting,” Price said. “I think everyone recognizes that we’re all out there doing the same thing.”
The Snowboarding Club is open to all full-time students and includes everyone from novices to experienced riders. Those riders with the most skill can compete as part of the Snowboarding Team throughout the season. The team trains locally at Mount Hoodoo.
Hoodoo, located 83 miles northeast of Eugene, is just one of several popular ski runs near Eugene that offer terrain that is perfect for snowboarders.
Mount Bachelor is located 22 miles southwest of Bend on the Cascades Lakes Highway. This season, the park will be offering snowboarders the 400-foot superpipe, which was built last year. According to the Mount Bachelor Web site, the pipe was built to Olympic specifications, and hosted the Chevy Trucks U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix, an Olympic qualifier for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
Willamette Pass, Oregon’s third-largest ski area, will host the fifth annual Broadsports Challenge series, which includes a national snowboarding qualifying competition.
Shirk and Hayden agreed that the best snowboarding spot in Oregon is Mount Hood Meadows. Located approximately 185 miles northeast of Eugene, Mount Hood has a wide range of terrain, including numerous table tops, rails and half pipes to make snowboarders salivate.
For those itching to hit the slopes, snowboarding season usually begins right after Thanksgiving but varies depending on the weather.
Contact the senior pulse reporter
at [email protected].