The snow covered winters here in Alaska usually force me to put my mountainboard away for a few months, and turn to snowboarding as an alternative. I’ve found that there’s much to learn from snowboarding that carries over nicely to mountain boarding. This makes my in the mountains with my snowboard, in a way, valuable mountainboard training time.

While this training is valuable, and snowboarding is a great sport, I never loose that urge to mountainboard. I find myself missing the more agressive nature of mountain boarding, the bond between board and rider that is only obtained after the most brutal, dirt-tossing wrecks.

Mountainboarding is fast and often times unforgiving. Decisions must be made quickly and carefull observation of the underlying terrain is essential. As I remember the feel of the dirt sliding under my tires, and of rocks rattling under my board I realize that there is much to miss about mountainboarding.

Some of you might have read my last post, “Defy Winter” Check it out if you missed it. “Defy Winter” was an official invite to pull out the mountainboards and ride this month. Mountainboard.net wants to post your slush slashing photos in a future article. You’ll need to hurry because the deadline for submission is the end of this month (February). The article will post at the beginning of March.

Just send your photos to Editor@Mountainboard.net. Make sure to include your name.

Have fun and be careful on your powerslides. I found out the hard way that you slide a long ways, let’s just say, “watch out for trees, no matter how far away they might seem.”

Mountainboard.net needs your winter photos!

For some of us, winter is a time where snow covers the ground and cold fills the air. The mountainboard is often tucked away into hibernation until spring and mountainboarding drifts away like as a memory. It is indeed a sad time for countless dirt shredders. Many turn to snowboarding for relief; a sport that helped inspire mountainboarding in the beginning. Unfortunately, snowboarding just isn’t the same.

So the question is, what do we do? I have a suggestion, I say we ride! I say we grab our mountainboards out of storage, pump the tires back up, and hit the trails. Snowboarding is great, but its just not mountain boarding.

This is an aggressive, no rules, anything goes kind of sport and here we are letting winter tell us what to do. Not anymore! I, on behalf of Mountainboard.net and the sport of mountainboarding, challenge all riders who live in cold winter parts of the world to get out and ride. Defy winter, get out and slash some slush!

While your at it take lots of pictures and help inspire other riders by sending them to me at Editor@Mountainboard.net before February 28th (THAT’S THE END OF THIS MONTH). I’ll post them along with an update on the winter slush slashing.

Good luck!

Note: Don’t forget to do your post ride maintenance, your board might be a little more wet than normal.

There’s something beautiful about a long day of mountainboarding on dirt. One can’t help but notice how the dust in the air from an aggressive powerslide appears to dance in the light of a setting sun. Even the sound of your wheels rolling over the dry crumbling earth has an almost musical effect. Is all this real or is it simply the result of too many wrecks. You decide.

There are many of us who have developed a strange kind of love for the dirt we ride. It seems odd as most humans seek to avoid dirt. The mountainboarding dirt lover, on the other hand, searches for it. Hard packed and sun-dried, soft and crumbly, or wet and muddy, all its varieties are welcomed and equally embraced.

Dirt provides a ride like no other substance can offer. It moves and shifts under your wheels almost as if it has waited its whole existence for the sport of mountainboarding to grace its surface. Its sensitivity to weather make it ever changing and often unpredictable. Sun, wind, and rain gradually mold our playground in order to provide us with new riding opportunities.

Let us not forget our good friend Dirt. As we mountainboard its dusty surfaces, let us not consider it to be simply another peice of earth to ride. Surley it is more. It is Dirt. Let your apreciation reflect in your ride as you carve your tracks into its surface. If you wreck, take a moment to enjoy the cloud of dust that applauds your efforts.

Perhaps these thoughts really are brought on by a few too many wrecks. Whatever the case, to those who share similar feelings, for us the ride is all the more enjoyable. So grab your mountainboard and your gear and go out to thank your local dirt.

Most of us have a favorite spot that we ride at again and again. While this is perfectly fine, there is a whole new sensation to be experienced by mountainboarding a new place. It’s all about the element of surprise.

We all know that the more you ride a specific spot, the better you get at it. You get to know every turn and drop. You know what sections have good run-off and which sections don’t. You can almost ride it with your eyes closed.

Well it’s time to shatter your comfort zone. It’s time to ride somewhere you’ve never ridden before. It’s time to face the unknown.

There’s something almost eerie about strapping in at the top of an unknown drop. Find a nice long stretch to really get that mystery factor flowing.

Even if you mapped it out in your head as you hiked up, you still don’t know exactly how the terrain will effect your ride or how the ground will respond. Excitement and uncertainty twist themselves into a knot of adrenaline that seems to lodge itself in your chest. The mind is anxiously awaiting answers to its many questions.

This flood of emotions won’t discourage you however, from strapping in and making the drop. For the mountainboarder, these feelings are soon converted into an intensely enthusiastic energy, better known as “a wicked stoke.”

Riding the unknown is an adventure in itself regardless of the outcome of the ride. You might go right back to your old spot for your next session, but you’ll take a piece of your adventure with you. You’ll be more open to new things. You’ll think more outside the box, keeping your riding far from stale.

Face the unknown. The wicked stoke awaits.