I love trash

This weekend, I tossed a bunch of snowboards. It wasn't easy. I didn't merely use them for transportation, like a Norwegian person might use skis to get to school. They were used for fun in places like Utah, Washington, British Columbia, and Oregon. Mostly, Mammoth, and every time (except for one business trip) with family and friends. But I gotta make space, so out they go--relics of old technology as well as time capsules of things I was into or what certain friends were doing.


Take this Santa Cruz ASR, for example. Obviously 158 cm, and it had this assymetric sidecut, which was novel at the time. (The backside edge was sharper than the frontside.) It's circa the mid-'90s, as you can tell from the Alphanumeric clothing sticker on the top and Down By Law band sticker on the stripe. I just reconnected with Alyasha a couple months ago, but I wonder if Dave Smalley is still making music? Also, check out the second-generation GR stickers, Mad Girl style.


I popped the rail, probably on a rock in Wrightwood or someplace, so this board is not only old but useless. (Santa Cruz had its own binding system, too, so those units can't be used anymore, either.) I really loved the board, though. It had tons of pop and was super stable going fast--a huge improvement over my first board, a Sims ATV with neon green designs and bindings.


I bought this 158cm K2 during lunch break at McGraw-Hill the day before a trip. It must have been in the very late '90s. I had a feeling it was a piece of junk, but I couldn't afford a better one, I needed a new ride, and it was the most basic-looking board at the shop. I got the Swami sticker from Apollo at a RFTC show. My friend Wing gave me a bunch of Enjoi propaganda when we was working on one of the company's skate videos. Even before the top layer of the nose and tail started disintegrating, it felt like it vibrated a lot on harder surfaces. Too light, too flimsy.


This is purely cosmetic, but it's a sign of hack workmanship, too. Interestingly. my first pair of skis were some K2 rentals that my dad bought for me back in 5th grade or so. I rode those to the ground, too. I learned how to P-Tex, edge, and wax on those K2s. (I saved the bindings on the K2 snowboard for parts.)


My pal Bret got me a deal on this 162cm board sometime in the early 2000s. The Sims board was a little longer and stiffer than what I was used to, and sometimes I never touched down between moguls. But it could really haul ass on the flats. I got the Noise Conspiracy and Hives stickers after the bands played together at the Roxy. What a show. The Noise Conspiracy were great, as always, but the evening belonged to the Hives and marked their arrival in the U.S.


Another fucked-up rail. Stonehenge stood intact, but the edge could not be fixed.


Here's my last board, a 158cm Sims Custom. These are pretty much the Honda Accords on the slopes. Solid, dependable, versatile, and everywhere. The Margaret Kilgallen sticker shows that I acquired it sometime after GR37 (Summer 2005). I got a slight deal from FTC, who where the neighbors of the first GRSF shop. Kent reads GR and does a great job at FTC and SOH, and I was happy to buy some goods from one of his shops.


I wrecked the board's base about a year ago on an early-season trip to Lake Tahoe with Dan and Lisa (look back in the blogs). I tried in vain to fill the abyss, but it was too deep for P-Tex.

Finally, my old boots. I got these 32s at a Chick's outlet in Orange County. By far, they were the lightest and highest-tech boots I had worn. (Previously, I had leather Airwalks and Burtons... old, wet, stinky technology.) They were also the stiffest--almost like ski boots. I had to cut off the tips of the insoles because they were tight and never stretched out, so my toes always felt like they were hanging off. I still got black toenails! But they performed really well, so I dealt with it. Last year, I retired the leaky, crumbling boots and got a really good deal on these comfy-but-high-end Nitros. Now I wonder why I suffered so long. It didn't hurt at all to let these dogs go.