Seven Springs comes through/New gear!

I mentioned to some people here that I had sent an abridged version of my
message, "Our snowboarding misadventure at Seven Springs," to the resort,
but that I wasn't expecting a response. Well, I was wrong. Today I received
an e-mail from the director of the ski and snowboard school at Seven
Springs. He said that he was disappointed that our first experience at the
resort had not been enjoyable, and to make up for it he offered me free lift
tickets, equipment rentals, and a private lesson for my son and me, which I
accepted. I'm not sure whether the moral of this tale is that the squeaky
wheel gets the grease or that a big company can sometimes be responsive and
helpful to its customers -- maybe both -- but I respect the gesture and I'm
pleased to get the complimentary private lesson.

Actually, one part of Seven Springs' offer that I did not accept was the
free rental equipment. Yesterday we bought our own. I considered the option
of renting from a shop in advance, but it just seemed to add too much
complexity to the snowboarding process. Most of the retail ski/board shops
in the city area don't rent. (As I said, the shops in the mountains near the
resorts rent, but I couldn't really rent "in advance" from them.) There is
one local rental shop, near the Boyce Park ski area. I believe they rent
either by the day, or for a longer term, but I ruled out the option of a
long-term rental because I thought it would be fairly expensive. Why not
just buy? I ruled out a series of short-term rentals as just too much
trouble. I don't want every snowboarding session to require an ancillary
trip to the rental shop both before and after. When you have your own gear,
you can engage in a sport on the spur of the moment, but when you are
renting, everything turns on the hours of the rental shop and the
availability of the equipment you want. One rental experience was plenty. I
want to be fitted and measured once, then be done with it, at least for the
season.

Also, spending the money on new equipment will provide an extra incentive to
stay with the sport until we learn it. Sometimes it's best to grit your
teeth on your pursestrings (not that I carry a purse, of course g).

So, yesterday I visited three shops. First I went to the two shops closest
to home. (Both are ski/board; I don't think there are any pure snowboard
stores in western Pennsylvania). The big shop had lots of big name gear --
Burton, Ride, Rossignol, etc. They had Burton step-in boots and bindings,
which were nicely made and seemed to operate pretty smoothly. The clerk, who
was a skier rather than a boarder, but who seemed reasonably well-informed,
suggested a board package consisting of a Ride Control board and Ride's
entry-level LS strap bindings for about $350. Not bad, I thought, but maybe
a little more than I wanted to spend, since I'd need two packages. The store
also had a nice selection of boots.

The small shop had a mix of name brand and "generic" equipment, but a
smaller selection, as you would expect. I knew the guy there because we had
previously bought gloves, goggles and a pair of pants from his shop. He
suggested a package of an entry-level board by a company called Bond, from
Austria, plus Liquid strap bindings for about $250. A good price, but the
board was ugly (plain black) and I knew my son would not be crazy about the
bindings. He's from the Velcro generation and has no great love for straps,
laces or buckles. I think the shop also carried Switch step-in bindings, but
I didn't price them. Though I found the step-in bindings we used at Seven
Springs to be very convenient, step-in boots seem clunkier. I tried on a
pair of Burton boots (regular, not step-in), size 11, which were too small.

In the evening, my son and I both went to shop number three, near Boyce
Park. This store also had a selection of well-known and less well-known
brands. The manager was very attentive and really seemed to know his stuff.
We tried on and purchased SnowJam Matrix boots that fit well and were
reasonably priced. He also recommended a SnowJam Zuma Wave board for each of
us, size 158, with basic strap bindings, for $250, but we decided to splurge
and get Flow bindings. They felt just as snug as the strap bindings and
seemed about as easy to use as the step-ins, or even easier in some ways
(e.g., the Burton step-ins required two hands to release). The manager
measured our stances (both distance between the feet and the angles of each
foot) and made sure the bindings fit the boots we'd selected. For my son's
size 10, the Flow L worked fine, but for my size 11 (although the 11 Burton
boot had been too small, the 11 SnowJam was fine, so they must run larger),
the XL was better. Price for each Zuma Wave and Flow bindings set was $325.
Is that a good deal? I hope so, because it's a done deal. g

So, we are set to continue, and will no longer have the excuse of
recalcitrant equipment if we screw up. g I would describe my son's
current attitude toward snowboarding as unenthusiatic but coaxable, which
may describe much of a 14-year-old's outlook on life, come to think of it.

Oh, and the shop we bought from is organizing a great trip to Lake Louise
and Banff in early April. It's super cheap and includes four nights at the
Chateau Lake Louise and three at the Banff Springs Hotel. We gawked at, but
did not stay in, both those resorts when we were in Alberta ten years ago.
My wife is seriously interested in joining this expedition -- this could be
the one part of the snowboarding experience that she will really enjoy!

Joe Ramirez