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It’s Thanksgiving… which means one thing, tomorrow is Black Friday!  The weekend is followed by what’s now known as “Cyber Monday” - another traditionally strong day in online retail sales.  So I thought I’d point out some cool offers from some of the snowboard gear retailers I am an affiliate of.  (Yes, if you buy through one of these sites I get a commission.)  Yay!

Have a happy and safe Turkey Day! Get ready for your weekend of shopping and hopefully you can save some cash on holiday gifts for the active folks in your life with these offers.

Altrec.com: Stay at Home Coupon - 20% off - use promo code STAYHOME (this is only good through Monday 12/1) plus Free Shipping on orders of $25 or more. Great selection on this site… Altrec has about 160 different snowboarding jackets available!

REI: Free Shipping on your entire order  if you include an item from The North Face, Keen, Marmot, or Delorme, Garmin, and Tom Tom GPS.  The North Face is a dependable brand and has a great selection of warm layering clothes.  And while expensive, a GPS would make a good gift for the backcountry boarder!

The-House.com: FREE Skull Candy headphones with every snowboard purchase.  Most of their snowboards are on sale right now.  Plus, free shipping on $50 orders and no sales tax except in Minnesota.

I wrote a post about shopping for snowboarding gifts back in December ‘07 and thought I’d come forth with some new recommendations for this year.  This year, I built a handy Amazon store where you can browse through all the gift ideas at once and conveniently buy right from Amazon.

Check out the new Snowboarding-Women.com aStore now!  You can use the links at the left of the page to navigate through the product categories.  I’ll be editing and updating the products regularly. Enjoy and hope it is helpful!

Getting ready to fly to Park City, UT for a marketing conference in a few weeks and naturally I’m bringing my gear for post-conference riding!  However, will I have a rude awakening of extra baggage fees when I go to check my bags?

The  SnowSports Industries America (SIA), a snow sports trade group & resource, has helpfully compiled a list of baggage fees from the major US airlines.

Looks like Southwest, who I usually fly, allows 2 checked bags for free.   Woo-hoo, no wonder I love SWA.  Then there’s United, who I’m flying to Jackson Hole - $15 for the first bag, $25 for the second!  CRAP!

Come on United, gas prices are at two-year lows, give passengers a break!

Since I attended SkiDazzle in 2006, I have been getting hammered with promotional emails announcing this year’s show.  As always, the lure of a FREE LIFT TICKET to Bear or Snow Summit is offered as the big draw.  But when it comes down to it, the appeal for me is the abundance of great deals.  Granted, they are not the “bro discounts” that brand sales reps or workers at the shops see, but there is usually a huge selection of discounts on everything snowboarding.

I can do without the endless rows of exhibitors trying to get me to fill out sweepstakes entry forms, and the resort representatives trying to get me to book a trip on the spot.  The events are OK, I guess (come on, who doesn’t want to meet the Snow Dog?)…  But give me the football-field sized expanse of well-priced jackets, pants, boards, goggles, and every other snowboarding-related bit of gear you can imagine.

If anything, the economy is a good encouragement to find the deals on new snowboard gear wherever you can.  Just keep these tips in mind if you decide to hit SkiDazzle in LA, at the LA Convention Center:

• Admission is $17 - that is a lot!  I just read about a Colorado show that only cost $9!  GoldStar Events may have discount tix closer to the show date.
• Get there early in the day if you can, for more gear selection and better parking options.
• Speaking of parking, you can usually find cheaper lots around the LA Convention Center - don’t bother with the Center’s parking.  And carpool to save $!
• The free lift ticket to Bear comes with conditions, check ‘em out before you think it’s a great value-add.
• Wear comfy shoes and clothes that you can slip in and out of for easy try-on.  And if you’re shy, be aware, there will be communal dressing rooms.
• Be patient - it’s probably gonna be crowded.

Maybe I’ll be less jaded if I make it over there this year, but in 06 I was on a mission for a new board.  It does end up being an ok way to spend the afternoon even if you don’t buy something.

Orbitz recently published a top 10 list of their ski and snowboard vacation resorts for the 08-09 snowboarding season, as ranked by bookings on their site.  So there are mostly US resorts on this list.

I’m happy to say that I’ve been to 4 of them…

• Lake Tahoe  (#1) - They only have reviewed Heavenly out of all the resorts around Tahoe, but it’s a great resort.  I have personally been there and to Kirkwood.  The day I rode Heavenly, it was massively snowing and we had to stick to a small section of the mountain.  I like Tahoe as a destination because my friend Bucks has an annual rental house there in South Lake, Kirkwood and Heavenly are not a far drive.  The only thing is getting up to Tahoe from San Francisco, watch for the traffic.  Plus, we can always go out in classy Reno in the nighttime.  ;-)  And there’s so many resorts right there!  Lots of options.  I will have to hit up North Lake next time I go.
• Park City (#3)  I have only been to Park City once, but will soon be there again!  Park City is convenient to fly to (just 45 min. away from Salt Lake City) and there are 3 resorts very close to one another for easy mountain access.  One thing to note though is that the Deer Valley Resort is a ski-only one!  I rode the Canyons when I was there.  Will definitely check that out again on this year’s trip.  I’ll have more details after that trip, because I hit Park City about 5 years ago and don’t remember too much.
• Vail (#4)  Ah, Vail!  I need to book my annual trip there!  I have gone every winter for the past 3 years, most recently in Feb. 2008.  I love going to see James, he lives there and was a ski and snowboard instructor for a long time so we always had an “in” at the various bars etc. and he knows everybody on the mountain.  He also teaches me when we’re out there riding together, so I basically get a free professional lesson!  Vail is beautiful, huge, and easy to get around both on and off the mountain - they have a free town shuttle bus which runs till late at night.  All sorts of runs and terrain will keep you from being bored.
• Whistler (#9)  Whistler is another place that I made it to last season, so luckily my memory of the resort is fresh.  I loved Whistler in that the village is really big and there’s lots of shopping and restaurants to enjoy.  The mountain is big and amazing too, because really it’s two mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb.  We were lucky enough to enjoy two full days of new snow.  And the people are super cool and nice!  More details are in my trip recap.   It is about 2 hours outside of Vancouver and there’s a few shuttle options for you to get to Whistler from there.

It’s not surprising that 6 of the top 10 resorts are in Colorado (lucky Shay!)  I need to get to Aspen one of these day too.  Although it’s my favorite place, Mammoth is not on this top 10, probably because it’s so hard to get to - and because you don’t really need Orbitz to book a trip there, just get in the car and drive!  That said, it’s definitely not as accessible as the other resorts on this list, and has a ways to go to get as “world class” as them, but it’s on its way up with the new Village, the Gondola, and let’s face it - it’s still my favorite.

What do you think of this list?  Has anyone been to all of the destinations listed on the Orbitz Top 10?

Continuing to get psyched up for the season - I read about this contest on Transworld Business.  Nikita, one of the coolest womens’ snowboarding brands, is sponsoring a contest where you can win a new Nikita outfit.   Tell them a story about your best day on the hill, complete with pics and narrative, and you’re entered to win.  Just follow this link to get details and enter.  Hurry up - the entry deadline is Nov. 15 so bust out your photos and memories, girls!

Hmm, I wonder if the day we met Woolly counts?!?!

Did you hear?  This weekend, Mammoth had a snowfall of about 18″, which prompted the mountain to open early!  They had expected to open on Nov. 13, as I had previously mentioned, but with this winter storm, they are officially open NOW!

According to the LA Times,  they only opened Broadway, but this bodes well for the rest of the season.  Anyone buy a season pass?  Looks like an extra long season for you!