by Tina Basich
When Squaw Valley opened to snowboarding in 1988, it was a big deal to all of us because it was like opening up a whole new world. Squaw Valley was new terrain near where we rode, but none of us had ever snowboarded there because it wasn’t allowed. We always talked about it because it was so big—it was where the Olympics had been in 1960. At the end of the season in ’87, Squaw Valley did a trial run and allowed snowboarders to ride on Wednesdays and Thursdays only. Everyone knew about this and showed up to ride the mountain. It was a blast, finding new jumps and secret runs. At the end of the day we ended up taking a big group photo of all of us “outcast” snowboarders in front of the Squaw Valley sign. People were staring at us like, What are those guys doing here? It didn’t matter though because we were there to stay.
Proudly wearing our GoSkate snowboard team sweatshirt.
Squaw opened to snowboarding full time the next season.
Our little group of snowboarders was growing. We now had people to look up to who inspired us to become better snowboarders. Guys like Damian Sanders, Chris Roach, Terry Kidwell, and Shaun Palmer were pushing the sport with new tricks and smooth style and defining a new freestyle snowboard movement. Their tricks were directly influenced by skateboarding, even carrying the same names, like Method Airs, Indy Airs, and Handplants. Damian taught me how to do his new trick, a cross rocket, a version of a Rocket Air with your hands crossed over, grabbing the top of your board. I guess not many people can say they learned how to do a cross rocket from the legendary Damian Sanders. He was always trying something new. Different variations of skateboard moves were in the works at all times and new standards were being set.
I always felt the support from the guys and included in their scene. They were impressed that I was out there trying to learn the tricks and keeping up with them on the mountain. In skateboarding, the only impressive thing I could do was an ollie on a curb, which everyone, including myself, considered pretty good for a girl. In snowboarding, I was much better—even keeping up with the guys. It was the perfect sport for me and it was something that I was good at and made me stand out from others at school. It gave me confidence. The first publication to run a picture and story about me snowboarding was my high school paper, the Del Campo Roar. I was getting recognized for doing this cool new sport. I was the snowboarder girl.
First day of snowboarding at Squaw Valley, California, 1987.
Copyright © Bud Fawcett
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how to be prepared for your first day of snowboarding
Your equipment makes or breaks your experience on your first day of snowboarding. Snowboard boots are so important! There’s nothing worse than having your feet hurt on your first day from uncomfortable boots. Working in a new pair of boots can be brutal, so it’s worth it to walk around in your snowboard boots in your house before you go riding. I have tried everything from running them over with a car to make the pliable plastic and stiff foam more flexible, to soaking them (if they’re leather) in the bathtub and then wearing them until they’re dry. In the end this wasn’t the best solution.
Make sure you have some sort of waterproof clothing, especially pants. You will spend most of your time on your butt your first day. That’s just the learning process. It’s OK to wear your old ski gear. It’s way better than wearing wet Levi’s all day long. Whatever it takes to keep you dry, wear it. Thrift store snow outfits work great, too, so go for the vintage look! It’s better to keep warm than think you’re cool with only jeans on and a light jacket. I overdress all the time with many layers. It’s easy to shed a layer if it’s too warm out, but harder to keep warm if you’re not dressed properly.
Gloves or mittens are a must. I find getting in and out of your bindings is a little bit easier with gloves, but some people prefer mittens for warmth. Sometimes ice can build up in your bindings and you need your fingers to scrape it out. I recommend goggles over sunglasses, unless you’re just “plaza surfing” (hanging out at the lodge). Glasses fall off your head more easily when you fall, and the wind in your eyes can get bad at high speeds. I always wear a hat and goggles in any condition. If it’s a snowy day I bringa neck gator. This keeps snow from falling down insideof your coat and keeps your neck warm. These are sold at any ski or snowboard shop and are worth the $10 to save your chin from chafing on your jacket zipper, too.
Sunscreen is a must and always needed. There’s a double glare from the sun on the snow, and with the altitude there’s a much higher level of sun exposure. Even with sunscreen on every day, I still get new freckles from those sun-blasting days. I always try to reapply throughout the day if I’m hiking and sweating. Don’t forget your ears and neck, and if you’re sporting braids and no hat, it might be a good idea to sunscreen your part. I know it sounds gross, but a burned, peeling scalp is much worse. I use Clinique Body SPF 25. It seems to stay on and isn’t that greasy.
And last but not least, do a fifteen-minute stretch before heading to the hill. This helps to prevent injury and sore legs and a sore neck the next day. I even do leg stretches throughout the day in the lift lines if my legs start to cramp up.
I always listen to music on my way up to the mountain. I love having a song stuck in my head for the day (as long as it’s a good one). My favorites are anything from old Madonna to Metallica, depending on what kind of mood I’m in. I’m not a fan of riding to music with earphones. It’s a blast riding to music, but it’s so unsafe to not hear what’s going on around you. One time, I was up at Mt. Hood in Oregon during the summer, cruising down the hill with my headphones on and clueless to my surroundings. I saw some friends on the lift waving to me so I started to slow down to see what they wanted and just as I stopped to take my headphones off, a 100-pound bag of salt went flying past me going about 60 miles an hour. It missed hitting me by about a foot. It freaked me out and I never rode with headphones again—that bag could have broken both of my legs. For those of you asking, What’s a 100-pound bag of salt doing flying down the hill? Well, the ski resorts use salt to harden the snow. At Mt. Hood on the glacier in the summer, they sprinkle salt on the runs and halfpipe to keep it from getting too slushy. The bag had fallen off a snowcat that was hauling it over the halfpipe.
It’s really important to have a good breakfast before you go snowboarding. It will get you through the day, and if the snow’s good, you won’t want to stop. I always bring a PowerBar in my pocket just in case I decide to skip lunch for powder turns!
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how do I choose a snowboard?
The snowboard you choose is an important decision. Ask yourself two questions: (1) What level snowboarder am I? (Beginner to expert) and (2) What type of riding am I going to be using the board for? (snowpark, halfpipe, freeriding, big-mountain riding). It’s best to get your board from a snowboard shop, not out of the newspaper or at a garage sale (unless you already know what to look for).
Normally, a snowboard standing on end next to you should come up to between your chin and the top of your head. The longer boards are better for deep powder and hauling ass down a big mountain. Shorter boards are best for halfpipes and park jumps and generally for freestyle-type riding. When you go to a shop definitely ask for help. Tell them what level you are and what type of riding you are planning on doing. Even tell them what ski resort you ride at, because this sometimes can help them figure out the right board for you.
Boards range from the plastic ones at Toys “R” Us for $100 to $600 for a real board. There are a lot of brands to choose from. Your weight will determine the stiffness of the board. The heavier you are, the stiffer the board. You want the board to hold your weight in a turn and not wash out like a noodle. Also the tip and tail shape are important. A longer tip is generally for freeriding and a shorter blunt tip shape is for halfpipe and park. The tail of the board is important as well. It should have a similar kick up from the ground. Only race boards have a flat tail like a ski to gain more edge contact. It’s great to rent a few boards first (if you can affor
d it) to get the feeling of different types of boards. Some resorts have snowboard demos where the different companies loan out boards for the day. This is a great way to test the product before you purchase.
I bought my first board at a ski shop in Sacramento for $149.99. There was only one kind at the time, the Burton Elite 140, and they only had two of them. My brother and I each bought one. I sold mine for $100 a year later to upgrade to my Sims Pocketknife. Five years later I came across the guy who bought it on the hill and I bought it back from him for $250 as a keepsake.
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how do I choose my stance?
If you already participate in skateboarding, surfing, or wakeboarding, you would most likely continue to use the same stance on a snowboard. Otherwise, try standing with both feet straight on the ground and have a friend push you from behind. The foot you step forward with is usually the foot you put forward on your snowboard. In high school when I started snowboarding, I naturally just put my right foot forward, which means I ride “goofy foot.” Right foot forward is called “goofy.” Left foot forward is called “regular.” The most common stance is a 0- to 3-degree angle on your back foot, angled toward the front of the board, and a 15-to 18-degree angle on your front foot toward the front on your binding setup. Stance widths vary according to the size of the snowboarder. A good solid stance is shoulder distance apart. I ride about a 19.5-inch stance. I’m about 5'6" and weigh 115 pounds. If you put your stance too wide (big stance), you have less control of your snowboard and you look like a dork. In the early ’90s the “big stance, fat pants” fad was the trend. It was fashion, not function, but everyone was trying it.
I think my biggest stance was around 21 inches between my front foot and my back foot at the most. Every once in a while I’ll see a beginner on the hill with an old or borrowed snowboard with a 27-inch stance. Nothing but straight legs and no edge control and they’re barely getting down the hill. If you see someone struggling, stop and give them a quick tip to go into the snowboard rental shop and have them fix their stance. You have all odds against you with the wrong equipment and setup.
When you first mount up your board, put your boots on and strap into your bindings to get the feel of the stance and make sure it feels comfortable. On the living room carpet always works best for me. The top of the mountain is the last place you want to be when you realize your stance is all wrong.
Another tip: Every time you head for the hill, it’s important to check your bindings and make sure they’re on good and tight. I’ve been up at the top of an untracked powder run with a loose binding and it sucks to have to walk back to the top of the lift to tighten it up while someone else takes your powder line. It’s too risky to ride with a loose binding. If it ripped off the board in a turn, you could get really hurt. I always try to pack a compact screwdriver in case I have a screw loose (ha ha). These days you can get these mini screwdrivers that tuck into your coat or pack without the tip sticking out. A lot of rental shops carry little portable screwdrivers for snowboard bindings.
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Charcoal drawing from high school art class, 1988.
At seventeen, all I needed was my VW and my snowboard.
CHAPTER 5
SNOWBOARDER GIRL
As far as being a pioneer in snowboarding, it was completely by default. I didn’t know that what I was doing would have an impact on other women, and that girls coming into the sport were watching what I was doing on the competition circuit. Professional snowboarding had never even existed before and I was not a rockstar aside from being in the Del Campo Roar. And that quickly faded because most people didn’t see what I did, and it wasn’t like I’d go to school on Mondays and announce the latest competition I’d placed in. I think one of the main reasons why snowboarding is so different from other sports in terms of pro athletes is because we never had any hang-ups or ideas of what things were supposed to be like. We all started from nothing, so we had nothing to lose. We shared ideas to get better because we were all in it to make the sport better. So in competitions, we were supportive at the top of the starting gate. Everyone knew what the other person was trying to accomplish and we’d be excited for one another when one of us landed a new trick because that meant the bar was raised. Unlike most competitive athletes, after the competition we often rode together for some last runs of the day. This sort of camaraderie was especially true among the women snowboarders, and it was so important because there weren’t many of us out there. We had to be there for each other and to represent.
When I first started snowboarding, I caught on pretty quickly by following the group of snowboarding guys around. Most of the time I was just trying to keep up, but in time I was setting my own pace and attempting all the tricks and jumps that the guys were doing. The guys would say, “You’re pretty good, for a girl,” and I would always respond, “Thanks!” It was a compliment to me. I did feel pretty good. On the other hand, they never said that to me in gymnastics. The “for a girl” part made me wonder if I was really accepted or one step out of their guy club. In the beginning I was so excited to hear that, because up until that point, I really didn’t need to hear more. I had never gotten more than that in skateboarding. The difference was I was a much better snowboarder than I ever was a skateboarder. I was in it from the start like they were. I went for it, too, doing new tricks, trying harder to get better. Snowboarder guys weren’t going to discourage me, because I was already trying harder than most of the guys out there. Slowly, it started to confuse me when I heard that expression. Like, “Yeah? What if I was just ‘pretty good’?” But maybe that would be too close to admitting I was as good as they were.
At my very first snowboard contest at Donner Ski Ranch, there wasn’t even a question of whether or not we were going to enter. If you snowboarded, you were obligated to be there. Everybody in the Tahoe scene who snowboarded competed. At the time, I knew how to turn on my board but had not tried to catch air yet. I was still working on linking my turns and stopping at the bottom of the hill without falling.
Still, I entered. There were two disciplines, halfpipe and slalom. The halfpipe was really small compared to the Superpipes of today, which are now built with specialized Pipe Dragon snow machines and are 12 feet deep. Our first halfpipes were made simply, with snow that we pushed up the sides shoveled by hand, forming our closest version to a skateboard ramp.
There were four girls entered in the Women’s Open division—the only division there was for women. I wasn’t nervous at all, even though this was my first contest. The simple fact that I was a snowboarder gave me confidence. I was doing something with my peers. It was a different feeling than competing in gymnastics. The pressure didn’t exist in snowboarding yet. There were no coaches telling me what to do, how to warm up, what my routine should be, or what score I had to get. This was one of the very first snowboarding contests ever. The judges were the people who worked at the resort, and they didn’t know what to do either. This was the beginning.
Most of us went down the halfpipe and just slashed the sides without getting air, but Bonnie Learey, one of the few other women snowboarders, impressed everyone by adding an ally-oop slide. Unfortunately, on my second run, I had taken the advice of Mike Jacoby (who would later go on to become a champion World Cup snowboard racer), who told me if I hit the jump that was at the very end of the pipe and caught air, I’d win. Well, I’d never successfully gone off a jump before, but the thought of a first-place trophy sent me down the pipe heading for that jump. I hit it, flew through the air, and landed flat on my back. I couldn’t move. My mom and dad rushed over with the ski patrol and I ended up taking an ambulance to the hospital to get my back checked out. I had muscle spasms, but nothing too serious. Looking back on it now, I realize that if I had been seriously injured that would have been the end of the beginning for me. But at the time, all I could think about was my third-place trophy, my first snowboarding accomplishment. I was so proud.
GoSkate sticker t
hat ended up on everything I owned.
In the late ’80s the formats for competition changed and included moguls, halfpipe, giant slalom, and dual slalom—where you’d race around what were called “gates,” or poles in the snow—similar to ski racing. I continued to compete in local contests and started to get my share of first-place finishes. Eventually there were enough girls entering contests to divide into amateur and professional divisions. That’s when I turned pro: I just checked the pro box on the entry form one day and that was it.
My first contest, Donner Ski Ranch,1986.
I was getting a lot of attention at these local contests for my aggressive riding and the few tricks I could do, like my tailgrab and ally-oop slide, and my consistent contest results. I had the support of GoSkate, who would pay my entry fees, and received my first free snowboard from Sims. Hippo clothing out of Sacramento hooked me up with a new snowboarding outfit, which replaced the windbreaker my brother and I had silkscreened with “Sac Pac” across the entire back. There’s nothing better than getting free stuff when you’re seventeen years old.
My parents would come to as many contests as possible and watch us. They weren’t really snowboarders or skiers, but often they would help out with the contest as gatekeepers and starters at the starting gate. At the end of the final California Series contest at Soda Springs, we had a Chinese Downhill competition for all the parents to see who could get down the hill fastest on their kids’ snowboards. My dad came in second to Tucker Fransen’s dad and my mom won it in the moms division. My parents were very supportive of my snowboarding because they could see how much I loved it. They also liked the fact that my brother and I were doing this together.