prior snowboards was having a demo at whitewater, so i got to test drive a prior all mountain freestyle board. 165cm. handcrafted in whistler, these boards were designed by extreme snowboard enthusiasts. i was very impressed at how the board handled in the trees and on groomed runs. i haven't had a board respond so well since i tried the ride timeless for the first time. this board had a pop to it that never stopped putting a smile on my face, and handled like a dream. the guys at prior focus on the board, and don't put much attention on graphics. you can choose from a selection of topsheets as well as bases. i wasn't impressed with the topsheet graphics (i rode the white topo), even less impressed with the prior bevelled logo *ack*...but the way the board shred the mountain reminded me that looks only go so far. these guys make solid top of the line snowboards, with subpar graphics. two thumbs way up from this snow addikt.
the snow was pretty hard packed and crusty on the silver king side, but the summit still had some great snow and powder to ride. the guy who drove me to the hill worked at whitewater and had recently completed building a rail park on the silver king side the weekend earlier. finally a park to ride, too bad the season is just about over.
but holy shit the calibre of riders out here is nutz. watching these kids just shred the park is inspiring...they get siiiick!
i ran into a guy who was czeching out how to snowboard for the first time. he was stoked that he got a prior demo board for free instead of having to rent. thing is prior wasn't renting boots, and this guy ended up wearing sneakers instead of snowboard boots.
i ended up spending the afternoon with him putting my instructor's training to use. his name was olie. he was my first student.
what a difference the instructor's course has made in me for teaching basic snowboard techniques to a beginner. i had olie doing beginner turns within an hour. balanced body position!!!
olie showed his appreciation later by buying me a beer, and offering some rum if i came down to the dancing bear inn later that evening to see him. olie was in town visiting his son, and was playing his banjo at the royal later that night.
it took me 6 minutes with my thumb out to find a ride back to town. gawd i love this place.
jim came by to hang out around dinner time. me talking about my dark dredi robe encouraged jim to bring out his cloak and staff. larping massif!
then i got a call from my friend monica. i met monica when i was in jasper visiting erin. they both work at the jasper park lodge. oh man jasper was good times, and i was excited to know that monica was here in nelson for a few daze.
monica was on a road trip with her friend erin (a different one, but ironic none the less) who was visiting from ontario. they were staying at the dancing bear inn.
jim and i met up with monica and erin at the dancing bear around 8pm and then headed towards the lake. i love how you can see the shape of the mountain tops faintly as you look up at them in the night. you can feel them.
we stopped off at the royal to see olie play his banjo. it was open mic night at the royal, and it just so happens that monica can play the guitar in addition to having a beautiful voice. she played two songs for an appreciative audience. nice one monica.
olie took the stage next and played a few tunes on his banjo.
then we were off to the rez avoir for reggae night, but not before making a stop at cottonwood falls to smoke a joint. a lit up waterfall 5minutes away from downtown *sigh*
the rez was bumpin, as it always is on a wednesday night. the koots roots allstars really do know how to throw down some slick reggae riddims. you'd never know that none of the band members are black or from the islands if you had only heard their music.
a band named zilla with michael travis of the string cheese incident were playing downstairs at the fluid lounge. we decided to pull ourselves away from the reggae riddimz and enjoy what zilla downstairs had to offer. we were not disappointed. the beatz were beautiful melodies, pumping bass, and tribal thunderstorms of percussion. like upstairs, the place was packed full of great people dancing together.
man, nelson is the place to be, especially on a wednesday night. those who know are here...those who don't are somewhere else, and that's just fine with the people who choose to be here.
a day of riding, instructing, an evening of open mic, dancing to reggae, dancing to zilla, and a mickey of southern comfort...lets just say i slept well last night.
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