Yeah I should post

about the things that have been going on and stuff.
But the x games are starting in a few minutes and I don't have internet in my apartment still. Sooo I'll have to post some other time.
Enjoy the games!

Review: Columbia Omni-Heat

Columbia: Women's Frosty Forest: You wouldn't even believe this heat.

What Columbia says: Omni-Heat helps maintain warmth and prevent heat loss through reflective, electric, and insulated technologies, keeping you comfortable in cold weather.

What I say: I was definitely surprised with this one. Using some sort of crazy alien magic, the little silver dots inside the omni-heat jacket used my own body heat to heat me more and keep me feeling comfortable and hot in 20 degree weather, even though I actually had nothing other than a tank top on underneath the jacket.


Specs: I tested the Women's Frosty Forest in medium in the Tidewater/Bolt color combo. I used it at Northstar on a 22 degree & cloudy day, a 24 degree and snowing day, and a 27 degree and bluebird day. I also used it at Boreal at night when it was windy and about 30 degrees. Asides from boarding I wore this jacket while lounging around in my apartment.


What I loved: I couldn't believe how warm this jacket kept me. The first day I put it on I had a few layers underneath it. Within a few minutes I realized I didn't need to wear the load of clothing I normally pack on for snowboarding. Turns out I only need a tank top when I wear Omni-Heat. Every time I wore this jacket I had nothing but a tank top on underneath it. I had the warmth of multiple layers, without the bulk. That's really what amazed me about this jacket. I never once felt cold in it. Another aspect that I liked about this jacket was that it was very breathable. While I stayed warm I didn't get sweaty. It also stayed really dry. I had a few falls that left me covered in snow but a few minutes later I'd be perfectly dry again.


Improvements: The only things that didn't thrill me about this jacket were a few elements of it's construction. Like every good jacket, the Frosty Forest has pockets inside. The problem I found though was that the jacket is made of two layers that can be separated or connected (good!) but the pockets were on the inside of the outer layer so when my layers were connected I couldn't get to those pockets. I also had some issues with the jacket bunching up in my armpits and I found myself having to pull it down many times throughout the day. It felt a little stiff but I think that it will soften up over time. I struggled to get the sleeves over my gloves. After a few days of wearing the jacket I got the hang of tucking my gloves underneath the sleeves but it still wasn't as easy as it could have been. The cut of the jacket was a little tight for me but that's just a personal thing. I like more boyish cuts and looser fits but at 5'3" and 115lbs, the medium felt a bit snug for my preferences. 


Overall: While some things about the cut bothered me, the technology involved in the jacket makes the pros outweigh the cons. I can deal with having to pull the jacket out of my armpits every once in a while in exchange for being able to wear just a tank top under the jacket while I ride. I would recommend this jacket to other snowboarders and people who spend time in cold weather because it's an awesome way to stay warm and not have to spend time or money dealing with other layers. I never had a cold moment in the Frosty Forest jacket and will now depend on it for those days when I don't know what to expect of the weather because I know I'm always a comfortable temperature in it.


Check out the jacket here.

-Big thank you to Columbia for the jacket and the opportunity to test out their Omni-Heat technology.-

Competitions, face injuries, and friends (Or "This month in pictures")

So not having internet kind of makes it difficult to make posts so I'm going to do an overview of the month with photos I've taken because a lot has happened and I don't want to make boring paragraphs of text.

Northstar, 1-1-11. Riding the Zephyr with the Sal, Jordan, and Ralph. First day of the new year, first day riding my new board, and first day taking this awesome hidden tree run I never knew existed.

Lunch. I feel like this is a significant step into my snowboard-bum future: not being able to afford resort food (apparently $2.93 doesn't get anything at the day lodge) and having to get creative with the condiment section. It wasn't so bad. Crackers and spicy mustard with parmesan cheese is actually pretty good. Crackers with salsa get old though. After I ate this I found a ten year old who was about to throw away half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I swooped in. It was crunchy peanut butter. It was delicious.

Catching the amazing view from a backside chair. I can't believe I live in this beautiful place.

About to take my first White Rabbit adventure, feeling like I'm on top of the world. Alex took this picture. I love dipping into the trees on the edge of the resort with one or two people. It seems like there's no one else in the world.

Nicola rides on the Northstar team with me. She's my first girl friend that I ride with regularly now. Trail markers make awesome poles to push through flat spots with, as well as awesome jousting swords.

Getting beat up at Boreal. I finally found the confidence to hit 35ft jumps (and also had the pressure that I'd be competing on them the next day) and once I got comfortable on them I decided to try spinning. Well. Turns out I didn't have the confidence to do that, cut too much speed out and managed to slam my head into the knuckle. This is the day after I did that. Within a few days my eye bruised up quite nicely. One week later it's starting to fade back out. The chin? Went back to just doing grabs off the jumps, waxed my board, and completely cleared the landing. Next time I speed checked, knuckled and hit my knee to my chin. This is right after it happened. I keep picking the scab off. My B.

These are the first two jumps in the competition line. For some reason I had major issues that day and had the worst time stomping anything at all. But since there was no one against me I got 1st for my two slopestyle events. The next day I had halfpipe and actually did really well. I think. There was no one against me so I don't know if my half pipe firsts were actually deserved or just defaulted. I need competition!

Waiting for results with Nicola and Richard at Boreal...

There was this big ski school employee party at Gar Woods with free food and drink. Alpine and Homewood employees were there too. This is me with some of the Argentineans from Alpine or Homewood. South Americans are crazy. That's all I have to say about that.

 My room mate Dana and I at Heavenly today. We didn't last there for very long. It was raining a bunch and half of the mountain was impossible to get to. Thought we could just lap the park. Nope. The only park we could find that was open had awesome features but was so flat it was ridiculous to try to get enough speed to hit anything.

One view from Heavenly.

And another. It's a beautiful place that I'd love to ride on a sunny day.

Well that was my unexciting post about what's been up. There's plenty that I'm leaving out but that's what happens when I go weeks without posting. Hopefully I'll be getting internet soon so I can keep up with this more. Overall though I've been having an amazing time. I'm so so so glad I made the decision to move here and follow my heart. There's nothing more I want in the world than to snowboard every day and live with my amazing friends.
Till next time,
Jenise.