Shred Ready: To Another Winter

By Wendy Lautner

“Here’s a few things to look forward to in 2010-11.”

It’s true: every winter has its spring. This is the last Shred Ready column you’ll read for the season. I know, at first it’s a little hard to swallow, like rain on your powder day off. But you know what I mean, unless you’re busy planning that heli trip to Alaska, you’re probably just about ready to find a good place to store your snowboard, boots and winter gear for next season.

Well, since we brought up next season – let’s go there. Here’s a few things to look forward to in 2010-11.

Snowboard Style
Good style is not something you can throw together last minute. You’ll probably need just about the whole summer to prepare for this one. That’s why I consulted fashion expert Paul Raymore at Sierra Snowboard, a progressive snowboard company and online community with more than 240,000 online community members, real-deal product reviews, active forums and more, to give up his picks for 2010-11. Here’s what he had to say:

For Men: In 2011, “Less is More,” you won’t need excessive patterns, stripes or prints. Color blocking is the theme for 2011 and remember, “purple is the new black.” Throw it out: “Expensive Punk Rock.” Guys won’t want to spend $260 to look like a dirt bag in 2011.

For Women: Remember this ladies, “Powerful riders need powerful colors.” Women snowboarders are coming into their own and realizing their power, which calls for bold colors like purple, lime green and red. Also look for women to be wearing slightly longer jackets in 2011. Throw it out: “The Snow Bunny.” Women won’t be wearing nearly as much pastel pink, blue and green with faux fur hoods.

For the latest in snowboarding style or to find great deals on some of the best brands visit www.sierrasnowboard.com. Who knows, you might be the lucky winner in their free daily snowboard giveaway at 3 p.m. PST.

Jeremy Jones
The Squaw Valley-based big mountain rider, ranked the world’s best by Snowboard Magazine eight times, has been busy preparing for the 2010-11 season. And as a result, next fall we can look forward to a lot from Mr. Jones and his crew. First, there’s the new Jones Snowboard line, featuring four models including one especially anticipated split board, and the two-years-in-the-making snowboard video “Deeper,” with never-before-seen-lines that are just off the beaten path.

Of his snowboard company, Jones says that he’s “been lucky” to have had the opportunity to be involved with board development with his sponsors but the process moved too slowly because there are a lot of people who have to sign off on new ideas. Now at the head of his own company, Jones has total control and can work in a much faster way.

“What used to take two years to do what we can now do in about two months, there’s no lost energy in trying to sell innovative ideas,” he says.

Instead, he can expend his energy on putting that innovation into his boards. This has led to four new models for 2010-11 including The Flagship, a big mountain board; Hovercraft, a dream powder board; The Solution, a back country chariot (split board); and The Mountain Twin, an all-mountain, all-terrain fun board. All the models have been made from new molds, a rarity in the snowboard world. And Jones, a back-country explorer at heart, is stoked about the results.

“The opportunity to make factory split boards is really incredible and gets the whole team excited,” he says. “We were able to do three new presses and molds with innovative profiles that all have a combination of camber and rocker and an evolution of magne traction.”

Part of the anticipation of Jones’ boards is his influence as a big mountain, back-country snowboarder. And, this is the energy he has put into his boards.

“Nobody out there is totally focusing toward free-riding, combining all these aspects with flex to make a product for the snowboard market,” he says.

Nobody except Jones Snowboards, that is. And, the price? Jones says that although they weren’t trying to “win the pricing game,” the boards are “affordably priced for their level of quality.” Models will be available in the fall at local shops like Porter’s and Dave’s. Or, you can put your order in early and stay tuned for details at www.jonessnowboards.com.

But, that’s not all. Fall 2010 also will see the premiere of Jones’ two-year film project, “Deeper.” The idea for “Deeper” was to visit all the well-known places a little deeper, to get off the beaten path and expand the horizons in familiar areas. Jones was stoked that this winter’s conditions in the Tahoe area made for a lot of good shooting close to home.

“The whole process of making this movie has been an incredible experience,” he says. “There has been so much backyard discovery. Just last week we got into a face that was just a really unique grained feature. We had to put in some long days to get in there, but the place we started from is an area that I’ve ridden more than anywhere in the world. It’s cool to see what happens when you step off the beaten track in a familiar place. It’s amazing what you find.” Look forward to “Deeper” premiering in the Truckee/Tahoe area this fall.

Season Passes on the Cheap
Yep, the economy’s still registering a code blue and the resort response is to keep season pass prices low. As long as you don’t plan on riding Saturdays, you can score yourself a season’s pass next year to pretty much anywhere in the North Lake Tahoe area for under $400 as long as you buy (or at least make a down payment) soon. Add Saturdays and that just cost you about $300 from my Internet research efforts.

Here’s the deal: Squaw is again offering a slightly limited adult pass starting at $369, if you buy before May 9. Alpine Meadows is offering a slightly filtered pass (every day but Saturday) Alpine Meadows-only pass for $339, or ride seven days a week at Alpine and Homewood for $459. That offer expires May 16. Sugar Bowl is again catering to the local crowd with midweek passes starting at $299, add Sunday for a total of $399. Nightriders can really shred on the cheap with a night pass at Boreal for $139, but anytime passes are just $239. Plus, if you’re living on the west side of the Sierras, you can figure saving money on gas and time. Northstar’s Double Whammy Pass (with Sierra-at-Tahoe) excluding Saturdays is priced at $359. Diamond Peak is playing the under-$400-game for a midweek pass also, with adult passes going for $363 Monday through Friday. And at Donner Ski Ranch you can ride any day of the week in 2010-11 for only $249.

See you next year.

Wendy Lautner is a snowboarder, free heeler and freelance writer. Her first book, “Day & Section Hikes on the Pacific Crest Trail: Northern California,” will be released by Wilderness Press in May.