WORDS FROM A NEW RIDER
by Patricia Keilbach


Admittedly, I'm brand new to this sport but it seems the learning curve is not too steep, and the skills I developed from years of surfing, skiing, skating and snowboarding are translating over to my mountainboard pretty well. Needless to say, I'm having a blast on dirt and pavement alike, and I'm already starting to get a taste of the rushes from the sport. It was really exhilarating to do my first powerslide in the dirt, and a rush to experience a good, carving turn through a slalom course.

So stoked on the sport (and given that I live in Colorado), last weekend I decided to check out the boardercross event at the 2008 US Open in  Snowmass. In boardercross, 4 racers compete head-to-head for the fastest time down the course. It was really exciting to stand right on the edge of the course and see the racers fly down the mountain. I watched all the divisions of racers, from the juniors to the women to the masters to the pros, and that in itself was rewarding. I appreciated seeing racers at various stages of mastery, but felt particularly inspired by the female racers (of course!).

Boardercross is exciting to watch because it is such a challenging event. In fact, since there are so many "unknowns", boardercross is arguably the most challenging of all the mountainboarding events. This year's competition proved no exception. Unlike freestyle where it's truly up to the individual mountainboarder to perform the premeditated skills and tricks, there are many variables in the boardercross event completely out of the control of the racer.

For example, while it's clearly optimal to get the fastest start, it's unknown whether or not a rider will be first out of the gate and far enough ahead to grab a chosen line. The start proved critical in a couple races: riders who got the lead at the start won the race. Secondly, depending on how close the riders are at given points along the course, it's not all guaranteed that a rider will be able to clear a bump (jump two) and save time. More often the mountainboarders had to ride up and over bumps they had cleared in practice. Perhaps most importantly, racers cannot be guaranteed that others will not crash into them, or directly in front of them. This happened in each and every one of the races I watched. In the end, several riders who were able to avoid multi-racer crashes went on to win the race.

But at the end of the day, while only some would stand on the podium, all seemed to be winners in the fun. I'm truly impressed by the genuine camaraderie among mountainboarders, the strong sense of community within this sport, and the humble attitude of some of the world's best. It's refreshing to see such accomplished athletes share their passion and inspire so many others to take part in the fun. They are down-to-earth group of individuals.

Now it feels like I'm getting hooked on mountainboarding! I really like the versatility, low key style and atmosphere, yet adrenaline rushing feel of this cool sport! Also, the ease of entry into the sport is really appealing too. All of the sports I love add up to a lot of $$ when it comes to getting good equipment, lift tickets, transportation, lodging etc. This sport makes you feel like camping somewhere cool, and chilling, and going anywhere and everywhere to find slopes, hills and fun. There are uncharted territories everywhere! I'm off to go find some...

Patricia, Mountainboarder
Colorado Springs