In the years I have been snowboarding, I have found sooo many different ways to have fun. In my opinion just going out and riding is fun! But this article is not about writing about all of my fun times—it’s to help inspire other people out there who are riding and seeking different ways to ride and have more fun doing so!

Holidays

Being alone or away from family during the holidays can be a hard thing for a lot of people. Whether you are in school, live across the country, or just don’t have any family period, these situations that may be preventing you from seeing your family are unfortunate, but one thing that I have found to help me is that it does not keep me from the snow, my snowboard, or going out with my friends and hitting the slopes.

When I am not around my family at the holidays, I am always looking for other ways to make a good time for myself—and a lot of the time, that means hitting the mountain. I have started planning trips to bigger resorts, places that get a lot of POW and I know are going to be a great time. Next I reach out to my friends that are in the same situation that are with me, and get them on board. (Keep in mind, that it doesn’t necessarily have to be a big resort!). We keep an eye on the snow reports and try to guess which day will be the most fun (and have the most snow).

I love going to big resorts on holidays for many reasons, and the main one is that usually it gets dumped on. Plus, it always seems like there’s hardly anyone there. No lines to wait in, no one cutting you off out of nowhere! It is always just a great time! And while I am out there with my group of friends hitting the slopes, I always make sure to grab some photos with them to make those memorable moments last.

My biggest piece of advice while going out after planning is to not ride alone on these days. This is your time to spend with friends, so ride close together and do some crazy things. It is always a blast watching your friends ride and EAT POW! I love going out and spending these holidays with my close friends, making memories and making new traditions. The important thing is to always make the best of the situation.

Have Fun with Friends

In recent years, around the time I decided to take some time off from riding, I noticed that I was almost always riding alone. Now riding alone isn’t a bad thing, but for me, finding a great group of people to ride with helped bring back my love of snowboarding.

The excitement didn’t just start when the snow hit for us, it started a little before! The ski swaps, going to the Warren Miller film, stoking each other up on social media by tagging each other in different things such as snow hitting resorts or different equipment dropping! Even video clips! It was all things that we needed to do to get each other stoked up for the season.

I’ve also started planning trips to resorts I’ve never been to before—or never even heard of—with these friends. Pick a day with tons of snow, call up your friends, and head on over!

Get Creative

I think history has shown that snowboarders are extremely creative in everything in life! They’re always thinking of something new, starting from Jake Burton and Tom Sims to Jeremy Jones, Danny Davis, and many more amazing pro—and not pro—athletes.

So bring some creativity to your day on the slopes. Build a new jump, even if you don’t quite know how it’ll work out for you! I never think of the potential outcome in moments like this and I ALWAYS know that it is a great idea at the time. Because the snow is good, and I am feeling like a pro rider! I know that I can make this jump and do some bad ass kicks off of it! No doubt!

Plan Your Powder Days

When I am planning my powder days, I am definitely looking at multiple weather forecasts. I don’t just watch one—I also look at which resort closest to me is going to get the most snow! (I always hope that it’s the one I have a season pass to and is just a few minutes away, but that’s not always the case.) So, no surprise, I get myself stoked on this. I watch the snow cams, I watch the weather channels, and I watch snowboarding videos on YouTube. I love getting stoked up for a POW day!

Then it’s important to decide if I am bringing friends or being selfish that day and living by the saying “No Friends on POW day.” I always think going with friends is not only a lot of fun, but also safe! So, I make sure that they are seeing what I am seeing as far as the snow is concerned so that they can get just as stoked as I am. I love sharing the moments with friends. Plus, they can help me come up with some different ideas on what shannanagens we can get ourselves into that day! It all depends on where we go and how crazy the day is going.

I will be the first one to tell you, though, that I am very selfish when it comes to picking what run that I hit next on a powder day—I like to make things challenging. Moguls, deep pow, straight shots, cliff drops, diving through trees. Whatever it may be I am making that day fun for myself because I love days like these the most!

Opportunities

I love getting my phone out in time to get a photo of someone who just went down hard! It just makes me sooo happy watching these amazing moments! They usually are not stoked to see me taking the picture, but I KNOW that they have multiple of me going down hard. So, I am definitely going to capture every opportunity that I get when they go down.

Honestly in my opinion, crashing is fun. It can hurt, but I say it’s fun because you’re learning! Especially when you are riding a halfpipe, it really hurts, it actually sucks, but you are learning some cool new things while doing it and your adrenaline is so high that you won't feel it until the next day anyway!

Regardless, taking pictures at any time is fun while being out there. Capture the moment and have fun!

Wrapping Things Up

Which brings me to my final recommendations if you are looking to have a better time while snowboarding or spice things up. There are honestly a million and one ways to make this sport more enjoyable, so it’s really up to you to find out which way is going to be best for you. I have a list of different things that I do every year to make my season enjoyable—most of it I shared above and the rest I will share now.

I have a big love for backcountry snowboarding and big mountain riding, so I do it and I do it safely. It may cost a bit more to get started, but it is a get away for me when I don’t want to be at a resort spending my days around people all day or waiting in lines for a lift. (But I do have people that I go with, because going by yourself can be dangerous.) The powder is always amazing and almost always untouched, and most of all, you get to spend the day out in nature, quiet (or listening to tunes), understanding your surroundings, and getting to know how the snow differs from one year to the next in those spots that you go to.

You have the choice of deciding how fun you want to make your season, even your year out snowboarding! It can be a last-minute decision to get set up and hit things up every day of the year, or it can be just going up a couple of times during the season with friends after planning a trip. Whatever you decide, it’s up to you and the people you bring to make that adventure!

I have a deep love for the sport and I know a lot of people do, that is why I chose to write this article. I wanted to help bring insight on how I have fun while I am out snowboarding! I hope that everyone who reads this looking to find a way back into making this sport fun again finds something that helps them see an outlet for making every season a great one! It is your season, you get to choose how to make it fun, whether it be going backcountry, going with friends, going alone, or hitting a halfpipe! You get to choose! So, go out and shred it up and have FUN this season! If you have any questions about the best gear to get you ripping, reach out to a Snowboard expert here on Curated for free, personalized advice and recommendations.