The Stereotypes Of Snowboarding

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, stereotype is defined as, “something conforming to a fixed or general pattern; especially: a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment.” With any community stereotypes is sure to follow. Undoubtedly, snowboarding is no different, the stereotypes that snowboarders are recognized by are, we are all rich, we are all stoners, and we are all reckless skiing down the mountain. As far as stereotypes are received, there is some truth but not the whole truth. Snowboarding can be quite pricy but not nearly as expensive as many people would assume. A bright colorful snowboard where the colors bounce off one another like fireworks on the 4th of July, is beautiful to have, but it is not a necessity. Consequently, the board or jacket with the brightest colors or the boldest patterns will cost a fortune. For an example, when I started snowboarding about ten years ago, my father picked me a lifeless grey snowboard from the ancient pawn store directly down the street. I was grateful nonetheless, I made the snowboard “pop” using simple stickers that were

With steeper slopes comes more experienced riders, which also comes higher speeds. When zooming down a steep slope momentum carries snowboarders. If a snowboarder loses speed their balance follows suit. Consequently, we may look reckless but, we have complete control. From a bystander’s view at the base of the mountain it looks like we are going left and right with no sense of direction with poofs of snow every time we change direction. In reality, when we change direction, the momentum shift slows us down and keeps us in control. While it looks like we are going to zoom off and hit the nearby tree, we change our course to restrict the speed of our