Airboarding:
New winter sport craze
Take one crazed powder junkie, one blow up lilo with handles and one very large snow-capped mountain – what are you left with?
Airboarding.
Still not clear? Well crudely put airboarding is to body-boarding what snowboarding was to surfing. Created in Switzerland by Joe Steiner this new craze has been on the scene for only a few years – although it has been more than 10 years in the making. Steiner was bored (snigger snigger) with all the mainstream extreme sports on offer and actively set out to come up with his own unique style of getting around the slopes. Having had a rather serious snowboarding incident himself Steiner was looking for a contraption that was fast and fun that wouldn’t add any pressure to his now busted knee. The airboard was his answer and his brain child finally materialised - after 16 different prototypes - in 2001. Mainstream success quickly ensued.
Unlike snowboarding airboarding is easy to learn and doesn’t require lugging lots of equipment up and down chair lifts. Simply jump on this inflatable triangular device, launch yourself down a mountain and you’ll find yourself achieving speeds of up to 60 miles per hour (or 88 if you are crazy Swiss record-holder Laurent Matthey). Still in its infancy there are currently no official tricks for this sport - although there are whisperings of reported half pipe action. Watch this space. Or better still get involved now while there’s still a chance to get a move named after you.
So how do I join this inflatable lunacy I hear you cry. Europe really is the place to be – France and Switzerland are the big boys but you can also airboard in Sweden, Spain, Germany and Italy. Not wanting to miss a piece of the action the sport is catching on further afield and there are now five US resorts that offer airboarding. These include The Resort at Keystone Colorado, right in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, this is the place to start if you like to throw caution to the wind and want to jump in at the deep end. Definitely not for the faint hearted. Alternatively try Hoodoo in Oregon which offers up to 20 runs for budding boarders or Loon Mountain in New Hampshire which despite being one of the smaller resorts homes a 2,100 vertical foot drop reserved for airboarders – longer than many of the larger resorts. Canaan Valley in West Virginia and Sugar Bowl Resort in California also offer equipment and slopes to airboarding wannabes.
As far as equipment goes, despite it’s somewhat basic appearance, the airboard is really rather technical. It has moulded runners which create friction (rather like skis) and these can be used to steer and brake. The airboard measures approximately 115cm and weights about 2.5 kg – it’s feather like weight ensures you sail down the mountain at skin stretching speeds whilst its durability lets you glide over even the toughest slope debris without even a scratch to it’s under-belly. (I thought I better point out that it is actually more than a lilo with handles). And prices? All this fun and durability can be purchased for less than £100 – not bad considering your average snowboard will set you back approximately £400 or more. Although if anyone is planning on giving Mr Matthey a run for his money they may want to look into buying a helmet too. And maybe some crutches.
For more information visit www.airboarders.com
