Arbor: Snowboards with a touch of Treehugger
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 11.17.05
We have put our summer toys away and look out the window, hoping for snow, that we may get on our snowboard and carve some hill. We sometimes think that driving our Subaru two hours to get electrically hauled up a hill to fly down a clearcut trail on artificial snow is not exactly treehugger correct, but for excitement it beats the crap out of cross-country. Imagine how much better we would feel if we were on an Arbor plank- they build boards with topsheets out of bamboo and other sustainable materials. Their environmental policy:
*Using forest products that are sustainable and environmentally friendly.
*Being conscientious about the environment in designing our products.
*Giving back to the environment and the environmental movement.
*Developing a diverse line of wood-top boards anyone would be proud to ride.
It is sort of like turning a Hummer into a 50's woody-wagon by putting bamboo on the sides- We can't defend the sport but it sure looks like a smooth treehugger ride. ::Arbor Sports via ::Hippyshopper We wrote about Arbor last January but they have nice new boards and it is a new season, so forgive the repetition.
Hey Lloyd, cross-country skiing can be a lot more exhilirating than you think! Have you ever been backcountry skiing in the mountains out West??? You only have to drive an efficient vehicle to a trailhead, and then you're all human powered - and open to the natural surroundings and all the fresh air! But, yes, sustainable options for all products is a good thing.
Let's kick it up a notch and go backcountry (alpine) skiing. Human powered, all the fresh air you can take, and sweet freshies all the way back to your Prius. Or whatever.
Stop driving hours to an electric winch to carry you to the top of a hill covered in artificial snow.
Try Windskiing. Use that same windsurfing gear that would otherwise be put into storage. Then find any open field of snow, add some wind, (as little as 10 mph will do nicely) and you can carve fresh tracks all day long, UP HILL too. At the end of the day you can "sail" right up to your "Subaru" knowing there is no rush to beat the rest of the drivers out of the parking lot.
Think about it, take all the ski resorts in the World put them all in one place and it would still not compare to the amount of open snow covered country just in the US.
Imagine, No crowds, No noise, No traffic, No lift ticket, No lift lines, No 5 dollar beer, and you've "played" all day with little impact on the air and land around you.
As for the "excitement" factor, speeds have already been recorded in excess 40 mph, and that say Windskiers is only the beginning.
Check it out at www.windski.com
Anyone tried any of their products? I'm looking for a new snowboard this winter, and some of those look pretty sweet (like the Crossbow). Just wondering if anyone has any experience with Arbor boards, or wood/bamboo enhanced boards of any kind for that matter.
*dreams of powder*
Cheers,
~nepharis
Beats the crap out of XC?? You on crack? I live an hour from Mt. Snow, have been boarding since 1987 (when there were 2 resorts that allowed it in the N.E.) and I now spend more time back country XC by far than boarding.
Now I'm not talking kick'n-glide, I'm talking back country/touring. Get a good pair with 3-pin bindings and some mid-weight boots, get a pair of kicker-skins, and go wherever you want. You can tractor up any pitch with the skins, then yank them and drop any tree stand you can find. Western MA has hundreds of miles of single-track and jeep trails that are insane in the winter. Do it at night, in a blizzard, with a good set of mountain bike lights on a helmet, even more fun.
I find it silly to spend $60 on a lift ticket, just to wait in line half the day, fight stinky crowds in the lodge, then burn loads of fuel to boot.
Hmmmm. the windskiing is a nice idea iffin you don't have any hills, but their "best of" video did little to picque my interest. I imagine that strapping into my snowboard or tele skis and hooking myself up to a kite (a la kiteboarding) could be a lot more exciting, and probably less expensive.
On the XC scene, learning how to skate well definitely spices it up: Much faster, much more exciting, fantastic workout. All you need is a good trail system. Move to Anchorage for that.
Back to Arbor: *Sweet* boards
To all those haters out there: you don't need a diesel powered winch to haul you anywhere. You can bring your bamboo board out into the back country with a pair of snowshoes. hike it up, ride it down. And all you backcountry powderhounds, call these guys up and tell them you want a bamboo split board, so you can trek in with some skins and ride out on the downhills!
yeah thats awesome! now we can all go to the slopes cleared of trees and habitat to engage in another themepark stlye artificial entertainment. Or hey why nt go to the back country? I mean nothing can go wrong there right? You wouldn't disturb a living thing or disrupt any life process.. Right? Not every "eco friendly" product really is as friendly as you might claim.
While boarding/skiing might not be the most eco-friendly thing in the world, it's certainly not the least. And at least it gets people who would normally be sitting inside OUT and getting exercise! Because the first step to a healthy environment is a healthy person. And by the way, backwoods skiing (if it's downhill, of course) is a very good way to get yourself killed. There is a reason the trees are clear cut on the slopes.