Dear Mom and Dad,
Life at snowboard camp has been well
worth your expense and my turbulent air
travel time. It's a good thing I brought my
skateboard, because during our free time
we skate an asphalt bank in front of the
main chairlift at Blackcomb's Mountain
Resort. The resort manager types always
tell us to leave, so we go over to skate the
curbs in the parking lot. No, I don't wear
pads, but it's not a ramp or anything.
The daily camp routine is pretty gut
wrenching. Our wake up call beckons at
6:30a.m. Soon after we gather on the front
lawn of the lodge for a morning stretch ses
sion. The camp staff includes top pro
snowboarders Craig Kelly, Mike Jacoby,
Dan Donnelly, Kelly Jo Logaz. Damian
Saunders and Keith Wallace. Breakfast is
served in the main lodge by 7:30a.m.
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I sure do miss your home cooking, Mom;
Above: Jeff "Air Brushie kicks
out a frontal nose bone tweaker
Right: Frozen in the middle of
an elguerial, Keith Wallace ex-
tends his reputation as a rookie
pro. Above Right: Bob Klein
enjoys an afternoon slappy at
the quadchair banks.
this type of food is dealing a crucial blow
to my anatomy. Yesterday I blew chunks
all over the mountain as I rode up on the
chairlift. The total ride time from the lodge
to the halfpipe is roughly 45 minutes and
involves three separate chairlifts and a
shuttle bus, but the friendly and efficient
lift operators ease the time.
The main emphasis here is to improve
our snowboarding ability in the halfpipe..
We've been learning the basics of main-
taining control and speed on maneuvers
while cruising down the pipe's large tran-
sitions. Yesterday Mike Jacoby taught me
a trick he innovated. It's sort of a twisting
flip that he calls it the "J-Tear Air." I face
planted a couple of times, but I finally got
it right. I've really progressed a lot since
I got here and many of the other campers
have been ripping new lines down the
pipe as well. Craig Kelly and his staff are
always willing to help us out with any
tricks we want to learn.
Aside from the halfpipe, we also get to
freeboard and ride the moguls. Mike
Ranquet took a group of us out on the hill
to learn nose rolls and backwards snow-
boarding. I slammed a few times before
I finally got the gist of it, but don't worry
mom, the snow is soft. I promise I won't
break any bones.
The snow here at Blackcomb is heavily
salted during the summer to keep it from
melting while the ski and snowboard
camps are in session. Two guys in our
camp got sick from eating snow to quench
their thirsts. And guess what else I forgot
to pack extra underwear! Harsh realities
like this often plague me on brief vaca-
tions. No pun intended. I guess I'll have
to borrow underwear from other campers,
no matter how embarrassing may be.
Many pros are visiting camp since there
is a major halfpipe competition here this
weekend. Jon Boyer and Damian Saunders
have been launching hellacious airs off of
a long kicker jump that leads into a steep
snow face high above the halfpipe. Terry
Kidwell, Mike Ranquet, Tim Windell and
Jeff Brushie have been reaching the outer
aerial limits above the halfpipe with bio-
nically connected lines and maneuvers.
Our overall schedule has been packed
with plenty of activities. Besides the
snowboarding, we've gone
mountain biking, and, of
course, skateboarding.
I met top American downhill
snowboarder Andy "Dog".
Coglan last night. Besides.
being a genuinely nice dude
and a damn good snow-
boarder, he really knows how
to throw a party. Don't worry,
Mom, all I drank was Coca-
Cola with lemon.
He is seventeen, overweight, and his name
is Rodger Helgerman. Besides owning the
stinkiest pair of feet in the Western
Hemisphere he snores at high volume
when I'm trying to sleep. I've tried to deal
with it by putting pillows over my head but
I've still lost many hours of sleep. Perhaps
Snowbo
comp
6:30 Nose Thre
7.00
7:30
16:30
*VIDEOS
My appointed roommate for
one week is from Flagstaff, AZ.
I should stuff one of his socks
in his mouth to keep him quiet.
The thought of two more nights
before I leave for home is a
nightmare.
I hope all is well at home,
that you fed my iguana, and
that you've been at peace
while I've been gone. I'll be
home soon to somehow cause
trouble and clean out the
refrigerator.
Your loving son,
Todd
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