MANCATION

Here are a few shots from the four days I lurked at Waterville. Ted Lavoie, Chris Carr, Luke , Jamie, Nick Julius, some of Bill Enos crew, the Commander and some around the valley pics. Hopefully E. Millars walking around better now too. Thanks for the floor space. Deb thanks again.

EB TEAM SIGHTING

Jacques Beriau chilling on the couch after a hard shred day.





OK so it's not actually Jacques...Commander here..looking like a brother from another mother. I thought my knees stuffed in my boots might have given it away but I guess it was overlooked. I should have kept the mustache.

WINTER SKATE

Leo local Josh Lambert finds a place to hide out from winter. Luke gets shot by Tudor in Fitchburg two days ago while Hardy follow cams. Streets not a total wash even though there's snow out there. Tilt shifting by Spada ( Mr. Edits )

WINTERS BACK UP NORTH



This was yesterday morning at Waterville and they got another 6" last night to fluff it up even more. It's time to take a day off. Come in and get a new pair of Oakley sunglasses, Crowbar or A-Frame goggles and you'll get a free coupon for a ticket to WV too. That'll save you a few bucks riding and you'll be looking tight all in one purchase.

BRACE JAM IS AWESOME AND UPON US

You'll need a good excuse to not be at Brace Jam. This annual event in support of our good friend Justin is a gathering of skate and BMX rulers! ...and some that just rule for supporting such a great guy. Rye Airfield is the place to be this Sunday night. Their new skate plaza and BMX sections are amazing. Get your friends together and roll up.

EVENTS O RAMA

Look out for a few snowboard events in the works. Ladies get to Waterville and FLAUNT IT March 1st ( click the flyer). Nashoba Valley hucker with Red Bull and EB..March 6th starts at 7pm. Have a ticket and plop $5 in the can for a purse winner take all. We'll have some prizes too for standout huckers. Back to the Bone Yard with Pat Moore at Waterville Valley March 24th.
EB's Annual LAST CALL at LOON March 25th with K2 and Oakley is always a blow out. Start planning where you'll couch camp now because NH is going to burn like hot hot fire this March...Don't miss out. Keep an eye on the shop blogs and the EB news and events section. We try and streamline it all but new things are added all the time so poke around the site more often for updates.

NO PASS ? SPEND NOW SAVE LATER

Spring riding is FUN. Soft snow, warm sunshine and it's just around the corner. If you never got yourself a pass to Wachusett you can buy NEXT YEARS now and get the remainder of this year included! When you go to their site to sign up enter EASTERN BOARDER LEOMINSTER as your group and save save save...

WATERVILLE VALLEY

It's vacation week and WV is in great shape. I've been here since Monday and right now as I type it's DUMPING OUT. Hopefully 8-16" by morning and with any luck all stays dry. Chris Carr..Ted Lavoie ..Luke and a crew have all been here for a couple days and the session tomorrow will be heated for sure. Make it if you can...no lift lines and the past three days have been bluebird. What are you waiting for..get up here!

JOUBERT EVENT AT WAWA

Thanks to the riders that came out to Wachusett for the Annual Ryan Joubert Slopestyle event. Decent temps, slightly overcast and fun all around. When the dust settled top three money winners were 3rd Jeremy Cannato, 2nd Brandon Honeycutt, and 1st Switch Rich. Best trick was Jay Giannunzios stomped front 720 rodeo but he fell short for top three. Nicole Fitzgerald and Melissa Witala rode well and stand out grom was Travis Cullison. Nashoba Valleys Zach Normandin is stepping his game up this year too.

JUST IN

Aliens MIND FIELD DVD. Analog jeans t-s and hoodies. Nike Harbor black and sunset. Nike Low Dunk chutney abyss.

EVENT THIS SATURDAY

Don't forget to go to Wachusett this Saturday for the Ryan Joubert Slopestyle event with EB. Win a few hundred bucks and prizes, have fun and pizza during awards....and of course remember Ryan. Be on time to register please. Thanks and see you there.

DEMO DAZE

Stratton Mtn may not exactly be the birthplace of snowboarding but it sure has deep roots in it. This was the big week where all the retailers in New England converged on the quiet little Vermont town to demo all of the latest boards, boots, bindings, goggles, and more, that you'll be seeing in shops next winter. Stratton has been host to the demo days many times over and it's always nice to go back to where I learned to ride when I was a kid again.
The big hype of course is usually the boards and this year was no exception. It seems everyone is on a tear to reinvent the snowboard again since the success of Libs Skate Banana a few years back. Change is good. Not that snowboards were really missing the main ingredients like good wood cores, edges, and p-tex, but they were however in a little rut when it came to truly reshaping the board profiles and just spicing things up. Not to disappoint, every company has offered their version of banana, rocker, reverse camber, flat base, whatever they wish to call it ...and still offer "reverse rocker" boards as Mark Wakeling claims will be the new rage again soon (aka cambered boards). If we go back in time, flat and rocker boards were all there was with classic decks like Sims T. Kidwell, Switchblades and other boards of the past. Back then improving a board meant the addition of "camber." Camber made a board come to life, gave you ollie power, edge grip, and helped you accelerate out of a turn. Just like disco and classic rock the past becomes the future once again and rocker is hot. For how long though? Other old and odd fashions have been chewed up and spit out again and again to hype the market like baseless bindings, low backs, canted plates and pads, channel systems, highback wings ...the list goes on and on. After testing multiple boards and having the blogging power to offer a personal opinion which you may think is word or complete verbal diarrhea, I am actually somewhat stuck in the middle. Left sitting here scratching my head and torn between the past and present....to banana or not banana? I demo boards and bindings with a very open mind. I found some rocker boards to be way more responsive than one might expect, and found some that might have been better off on the cutting room floor. Same goes for more traditional boards too. The evolution of snowboard equipment is at a full on frenzy. Boots with laces, speed laces, BOA's, combos of all of the above. Bindings of plastic, metal, carbon fiber, rubber, wire mesh, denim and leather, rear entry, straps..blah blah blah....ahhhh! Every rider has their own personal opinion and expresses themselves in a different way on the slope. Now more than ever riders need choices and they sure as hell have them. Nobody is going to reinvent the wheel here but companies are sure experimenting again and that's refreshing.
Next winter more than ever before, we'll be making critical decisions on how to spend our money as a shop, and you of course will as a consumer too. We had a huge crew up at Stratton this year and will be gathering input from everyone and trying to narrow down what we feel might be some of the best new equipment for your dollar at all levels. We'll have some board reviews and photos up at some point too. Stay tuned.

1986

I wish I could remember who this was. Either way I have posted so much snow stuff for obvious reasons ( it's winter ) that I figured I'd sneak this oldie in. Red Chucks..gotta love it. I shot a bunch of pics during this session back in April of 86. You'll get more later.

DISCOUNTED LIFT PASSES / EVENTS

When it comes to New England ski areas Boyne has three of my honest all time favorites. Loon, Sunday River, and Sugarloaf all fall under the Boyne pass, and right now we have stacks of 2 for 1 lift passes to give out when you make a "snow purchase" from EB. When a lift ticket costs anywhere from $65-$85 bucks at most resorts this is a great time to get the hook up right here before you go up North. We have all snow jackets, pants , and base layers 20% off and we still have a great selection of 2009 boards here to pick from. The snow has been great everywhere this winter so if you still haven't made it out there's no better time to gear up and get discounted passes at the same time. CLICK ON THE EVENT FLYERS AND CHECK THE DATES.