I grew up on the East Coast.  My first snowboard was a Burton Backhill and was bought in the basement of Shaw’s General Store in Stowe Vermont in 1982.  Early on I mostly rode golf courses on Cape Cod and if I was lucky the Barnstable Jail house hill.  Trips to Vermont got more and more frequent and before long Stowe became our home.  At first snowboarding was not allowed at Stowe so I would ski in the morning and then hike in my backyard in the evenings.  Over time we had little pow stashes, long straight-runs and a bunch of poorly built kickers scattered around the neighborhood.  There was no one to teach us how to ride.  We could turn in powder almost immediately but linking turns on hard snow took years.  We would swivel and track to line up the kickers.

Two defining moments stand out.  First was when I made  my first real turn on hard snow at the ski resort after the lifts were closed. I was so amped at the bottom I broke a ratchet trying to unstrap. The second was when I opened the Burton catalogue (it was 4 pages) and saw my home mountain on the list of resorts that allowed snowboarding.  The year was 1987, I was twelve years old and the ski’s went away for good.  This is when the full obsession began and for the next few years we went bell to bell every weekend regardless of conditions.  When I was 14 I hiked to the base of Tuckermans Ravine and for the first time saw a really above treeline backcountry bowl. The day after I graduated high school I went west and never came back.

This hill was a 10 minutes from my house and required a ride from my Mother. It was at the Jail House and was the biggest hill on the Cape that we new about.

This hill was a 10 minutes from my house and required a ride from my Mother. It was at the Jail House and was the biggest hill on the Cape that we new about.

One of my closest freinds growing up works on the 38th floor of this building. He is one of 800 lawyers there. We took different paths.

One of my closest freinds growing up works on the 38th floor of this building. He is one of 800 lawyers there. We took different paths.

Stowe. Coming from the Cape Stowe was a dream

Stowe. Coming from the Cape Stowe was a dream. If it snowed more and had more above treeline terrain I would have never left.

My first Snowboard Shop

My first Snowboard Shop. They would let me trade in my old boards for credit for a new one. It was great at the time but I gave away a backhill, a woody, an Elite, and an Elite Performer. I was getting 80 Bucks a board for them and wish I still had them now. When the Cruiser came out it was a lot more money so I traded my brothers boards in as well, They were away, and they did not get back on a snowboard for six years.

I have ridden this mountian more then any other mountain in the world.

I have ridden this mountain more then any other mountain in the world. With a vertical drop of 2360 accessed off of one high speed quad you can get in more vertical in a day then most resorts in Tahoe. Every few years I get back and I am always humbled by elements and the leg burn. It is the perfect place to dial in your skills and get strong. This is why when I run into a Stowe local out west they always keep up and charge. Note:Do you see the old man on the mountain. This is why they call it Mount Mansfeild. Myth says Indians use to climb the mountain to become men. An Indian without the use of his legs crawled up on his hands and died at the top and the Mountain formed his face.