Ah yes, the beautiful sounds of February. The trees glisten with the beautiful snow-covered branches and the cool winter air lights up your morning. Okay, so maybe February isn’t as glorious as my previous description may seem, especially not in Ithaca. However, the winter wonderland we live in does allow us to take advantage of one of winter’s newest and most exciting past-times — snowboarding. Every day hundreds of students make the trek to the mountain of all mountains — Greek Peak — to partake in both skiing and snowboarding. Snowboarders have very different styles on the slopes: some like to gently go down the slope, while others are more partial to 180 degree flips and other tricks that can be seen on ESPN2. However, one thing does unite these boarders — a passion for equipment. What follows is, from what I can deduce, some of the better equipment on the market this winter.
I Can See!
Goggles are very particular to the person wearing them. Some people don’t mind heavy, less-expensive goggles while others want small frames that don’t make them look like something from the X-Files. However, the perfect amalgam of both utility and panache are the Oakley A-frame Snow goggles ($120). These puppies come in many different colors, and although there are smaller goggles to be found, none allow as much peripheral vision as this eyewear. In addition, the goggles block the UV light, which can render permanent damage to your eyes on the reflective slope.
Board
Everyone on the slope needs a basic board. The Burton Dragon Snowboard is not a basic board ($550). The Dragon is made of the lightest wood available on a snowboard, which means faster acceleration and increased ability to perform difficult maneuvers. In addition the board includes “self-cooling iridium,” which according to Burton means the snowboard will accelerate faster than the competition. And the look of the board just screams ‘kick-ass’ as you straddle one of three zombie-like images. Although each style boarder requires their own type of board — I don’t think anyone would begrudge someone coming down the slopes on one of these babies.
The Game
So not everyone likes the cold — but that shouldn’t keep you from enjoying the sport of snowboarding. The next best thing to real-life is of course a video game. SSX for the Playstation 2 console is the next best thing to actually being on the slopes. The game allows you to control a boarder of your choice as you advance in skill level through many different mountain terrains. This is the most addicting game for the PS2 right now and is hands down the best snowboarding game for any console on the market today. After all, the game’s price itself and the ability to play it in your warm dorm room is a better deal than shelling out over $600 in equipment and having to deal with the bitter cold