My names is James Coddington. I am an undergrad student at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) studying Information Technology, which is why I am writing the webpage. I have been skiing since the age of three and went to the dark side
when I was nine. I got tired of doing the same thing so I thought I would give snowboarding a shot, fell in love with it! The obsession only got worse from there. I got my first job at Gunstock Mountain Resort when I was 16 teaching young kids how to ski and snowboard. I was really supprised about how much the basics can help even experienced riders perform better with things like riding switch or rails. After working at Gunstock for two years in the winter, I realized how much I missed skiing, the two are so different that you just can't compare them. I will soon pick up a pair of twin tips so I won't need to get rentals for work every day and I'll have my own pair to switch it up on some days. Hope you all enjoy my site, it'll be my first.
Some of you looking in to snowboarding want to know what kind of board, bindings, boots to get. Before you start to look, just keep in mind that you get what you pay for. So naturally, if you're a beginner you won't want to spend very much. Your first full kit will probably be anywhere from $150 to $300. Usually, a well executed google search will get you in the right place for that. For those of us more experience looking for better quality gear, it's a little more complicated. Things to consider first is what type of board are you looking for? If you're just going to ride the mountain and want some nicer wood under your feet, shop for freeride boards. These will carve nice and give you a smooth ride. If you want to get in the terrain park and ride some elements, shop around for freestyle boards. These will flex well for landing and hitting rails and not catch an edge as easily. A more special type of board, wide boards are for people with bigger feet who's boots hang over regular boards too much. Wide boards will eliminate this problem and dig your edges into the snow instead of your boot. You can get either freeride or freestyle boards in wide editions. As far as the length of your board it should be somehwere between your nose and chin ideally. But for freestyle boards, you will want it on the shorter side of that, and visa-versa for freeride boards. Bindings aren't as complicated. If you want softer landings, go for plastic bindings. For firmer landings and better control, get metal bindings. Finally, for boots, the best thing is to try them on at a store. The things to look for are how soft or firm do you want them. The people at the store can easily figure out your personal preferences and hook you up with the right boots.
To me, it's about getting better every time and doing the best I can every run no matter where I am. The Olympics are going to be huge, but I don't think the Olympics are going to make or break any rider. At the end of the day, it's just another contest with just a little bit more riding on it.
Here is a picture of a butterfly because I need to have it for my professor!
Or click here to visit our professor, Mike Gildersleeve's site.
