THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2003
FITNESS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5
Skiers jump on board for extreme winter sport
By Marissa Stephenson mstephenson@kansan.com Jayplaywriter
While the Kansas plains may lend themselves to a variety of winter sports, snowboarding will never top that list. But that hasn't stopped a dedicated group of students from making snowboarding their hobby of choice.
Niel McCune, Kingman senior, started snowboarding at 14 and now calls himself an addict.
"When I was younger, I'd ski or skateboard, but since I started snowboarding, I only do that whenever I can," McCune said. "It just looks cooler."
McCune boards with best friend, Jon Messenger, Kingman senior, who also switched from skiing to snowboarding.
"Skiing's fun, but snowboarding is so much better," he said. "I haven't skied since the first time I tried boarding. The tricks are easier. You can go on rails and bigger jumps, pipes and gaps. Why would anyone want to ski after that?"
Both men agreed the lack of elevation in Kansas posed a challenge.
"I try to get up to the Colorado slopes as
much as I can, but in between Niel and I go to Snow Creek in Weston, Mo.," Messenger said. "It's kind of like one big bunny slope. Definitely no comparison to Colorado, but we have fun there."
Mamie Schutte, Pretty Prairie freshman, said finding a place to snowboard wasn't the only obstacle — buying the necessary equipment can add up quickly, too.
"Finding a hobby you enjoy can be a great thing," she said. "Mine just happened to cost me $800."
Schutte said when looking for her board, boots and bindings, she only bought the best.
"It's a big investment no matter what you buy," she said. "If I'm going to put that much money into gear, I want the best quality that I can get."
All three boarders said that when buying equipment, they went to Let It Ride, 15 E. Seventh St., a local snowboarding and skateboarding retailer.
John Niswonger, Let It Ride owner, said his store was the only local location offering snowboarding gear. He said a steady stream of students came into the store, in addition to customers from the Kansas City metropolitan area.
As far as prices go, Niswonger said geography affected price.
"Being in Kansas, you almost have to lower your prices to sell," he said. "Here, we have package deals and annual discounts on last year's models."
Niswonger agreed that snowboarding could cause many skiers to switch their favorite sports.
"I'd say that 95 percent of people that try snowboarding never go back to skiing," he said.
Brent Fry, Lenexa junior, doesn't consider himself one of the 95 percent.
"Snowboarding may be for some people but not me," he said. "The times I've gone I fall on my ass and think 'Why am I doing this?' I hate this.' I'll stick with skiing, thank you."
For snowboarders and skiers, Snow Creek is open seven days a week until March 16. Weekday hours are noon to 9 p.m.; 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays; and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays. Snow Creek also has special 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. hours on Fridays and Saturdays for late-night boarding and skiing.
"You know, Snow Creek does pretty well — it's a nice effort for trying to turn a
Dan Nelson/Kansan
John Niswonger is the owner of Let It Ride, 15 E. Seventh St. His customers use their snowboards to board at places like Snow Creek in Weston, Mo., and ski resorts in Colorado.
hill into a mountain," Schutte said. "But then again, what do you expect? This is Kansas."
Edited by Jason Elliott
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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