Zachary FenellSeekExtreme hits the Mountains.
January 15th 2009 20:12
Seeking the Extreme Life
Stratton Mountain Vermont
No, this SeekExtreme writer did not take a fatal wipeout while skydiving or get chomped up by a 40 foot barrel in Teahupoo. His prolonged absence is NOT due to a disastrous spill attempting to skate some ludicrous mountain road. The reason for not feeding all you stunt hungry animals with information about all things extreme sports related is a life changing journey.
A voyage that launched in Sydney, Australia and slid to a stylin’ stop at the base of the legendary Stratton Mountain in Vermont U.S.A. That’s right, yours truly is now a permanent resident in the birth place of Snowboarding. Hell, Burton built his first board within 20 minutes of my home. The earliest days, during the design and development stage of the sport were spent test “Snurfing” on the local golf course.
From vtliving.com -
...“Jake Burton Carpenter began developing safe and manageable snowboards in earnest. Working out of his garage in Manchester, VT, Burton had a vision of bringing snowboarding to the world. In the mid-70's he began shaping snowboards out of wood and attaching rubber foot straps to them as primitive bindings. This vision apparently succeeded, because Burton Snowboards has been one of the leading forerunners in the snowboard industry for the last 30 years. The vision of Jake Burton in the 1970's has directly influenced today's modern sport of snowboarding.”
The sign of my success
Aside from the important historical significance of the area, Stratton hosts the US Open which is the largest boarding comp in North America. Spawning generations of top level riders, many of the local boys and girls are prominent names or on the cusp of greatness.
Why has this post turned into a “Dear Diary session? Well the punchline is that I now work in a ski and snowboard rental repair store. I was recently certified as a fitter and tuner or all things that can take you down a snow covered mountain at rapid speeds.
As the technical knowledge grows and being ensconced in the world inserts boarding as part of my daily routine, I hope to take it up a notch with the content. Expect more exclusive reports and quality information with a more first hand approach.
So for now, I’m off to carve some trails in the mountain. Stay gnarly and return soon.
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