The Party I Wasn't Invited To

This picture was taken by my friend Rusty Thompson. I took ten shots of him prior to this and none of them came out. I am trying to become more proficient at the manual settings, but clearly I am not there yet. As we stood together on a safe spot Rusty asked me if I'd like him to take a picture of me slashing this wall. It was a kind gesture. I switched the settings to auto, zoomed in a touch and passed over the camera. I cropped and stripped the color from the shot, but think it is a nice capture.

Snowboarding has meant a lot of different things to me over the years. I have been a college student snowboarding every spare minute I could muster and a bonafide snowboard bum working nights in a kitchen and coaching on the weekends to support my full-time shred needs. Snowboarding even provided a good living for me and my family for a time when I was coaching and teaching - and also afforded me the time to understand snowboarding from another perspective. I have had the fortune of writing for some snowboard magazines and web sites and work for the X Games. My first board was a Burton Elite 150 with a split tail, concave, and skegs. Now boards have rocker and magna-traction and the kids dress in super-expensive and super heinous gear.

I'm grateful to have been through so much of the history of snowboarding and to have shared it with a lot of good people. This season I have no season pass for the first time in 21 years. I have been getting out on the split board pretty regularly and have had very amazing turns for the amount of time I have been out there. The resort is having a banner year and some days I feel like there is a party going on right up the street that I wasn't invited to. I was invited, but declined a coaching gig this year because I need to have a greater commitment to my family and new business. Part of me feels sad, but my days are full and when I do get to ride I sure appreciate it.

When Rusty and I exchanged hoots as we passed each other leapfrogging from safe spot to safe spot, it felt as good as the first time I felt snowboarding. It is a blessing to have something as simple and fun be a part of my life.