In article , plast530
@hotmail.com says...
At the places I ride, the park and pipe are practically empty, and
all the good riders are carving up the groomers. That seems to be all
they do, and they're all doing it in soft boots, which seems so
suboptimal.
[...]
It's a strange world.

Indeed. With a couple of exceptions (Brighton Utah, Serena Finland)
I've never seen a popular half pipe/ terrain park. Yet the equipment
and magazines on sale seem to be 100% rail-oriented. Out in the real
world about 98% of snowbaorders would seem to be sideslipping even
moderately steep runs, often on their arses. And the skiiers are
blowing them away in the pipe. Perhaps it's simply easier to make a
sideslipper look good if they're in the air.

I guess I don't understand the gap between the marketing and the
actuality. If only I could figure out how to make some money out of
it.

At my closest hill, Snoqualmie Summit where I've been going after work a
few nights a week, the only place that consistently has a crowd is the
advanced terrain park & jumps. The superpipe isn't as crowded but there
are always a group of boarders and skiers lining up for the jumps with
and without rails. I never see skiers in the superpipe.

I'm usually there from 6PM to 8:30 or so on weeknights(go elsewhere on
the weekends) so the time of day probably plays a large role.

I don't see why anyone should give a damn if 99.9% of snowboarders are
sideslippers who never see a black diamond. If they are having fun and
enjoying themselves, more power to them. I hope they get to sideslip as
often as possible. Same with any other outdoor sport - most climbers
can't lead much past 5.9, most surfers can't ride much OH, etc, etc.
That doesn't negate the relative quality of their experience.

C.
--
-she ain't revved til the rods is thrown