A new story ...

I had a little time on my hands and managed to knock out a children's story that has been kicking around in my head for a month or so. It needs illustrations to help the flow a little but here's the raw text version for you to enjoy.

It is a tad long so if you prefer, you can find the PDF version in my downloads area, or for the lazy among you, click here


Now for the story ...

The life of a Snowboard

By Shannon DuBey

Dedicated to Tristan, the youngest snowboard wizard in my life. Ride on Lil’ Man!

**************************************************************************

The sun was shining brightly through the thick glass windows along the front of the store. Timmy ducked behind Bruce to shield his eyes from the light.

“Morning Timmy!” Bruce said. He leaned forward to give Timmy a little more room.

Bruce towered above Timmy in the rack, standing a full 163cm. He was built for tall boys. Timmy was a rather short 114cm. He was built for younger riders.

Bruce looked after Timmy. He kept him out of trouble when the store was closed and he kept an eye out for just the right Little Rider while the store was open. Snowboards don’t really have brothers and sisters but that never mattered to Timmy or Bruce. Timmy thought of Bruce as his big brother and Bruce looked out for Timmy like any big brother would.

“Hey Bruce! Maybe today will be the day. Maybe today the perfect Little Rider will stop in with their mom and want ME!” Timmy excitedly jumped up and down, bouncing on his flexible tail as he talked.

Timmy was excited. He knew that today was Saturday, the busiest day in their small snowboard store. The snow started to fall last weekend and by now, Timmy could see that the ground was completely white outside the store. He was ready to find the right Little Rider and play with them in the snow all winter long.

“Might be Timmy, might be. Better keep those eyes open today and make sure you stay on the top of the stack. Out where all those Little Riders can see your slick graphics and smooth curves.”

Not long after the owner of the store turned on the ‘OPEN’ sign and unlocked the door, Timmy heard the bell chime as the door opened. It was a customer, with a small boy at her side. He stood up tall next to Bruce and waited. Would this be the Little Rider he’s been waiting to find?

“Mommy I like THIS ONE!”

Timmy felt the small fingers grab at his tip and quickly spin him around on his tail. Before he knew it he was laying flat on the floor and could feel the small feet of a Little Rider standing where bindings would one day be. Timmy was excited! He wondered if this could be his lucky day. He listened carefully as the store owner talked to the little boy’s mother about snowboarding.

“This little board is a bit big for him right now, but he’ll grow into it soon,” the owner said. “It will sure get him down the hill and be a great beginner board for your son. And he seems to like it, which counts for something.”

“Oh I DO like it Momma. Can I have it? Please!” the boy pleaded with his mother.

Timmy was crushed when he heard the boy’s mother say “Not today son. We’re just looking, remember?”

For the rest of the day Timmy was sad. He just knew he had missed his chance to play in the snow with a little boy who would love him and take care of him. Timmy was a snowboard and standing up in the rack getting dusty was just no fun. He wanted to slide down the hills as fast as they could go. He wanted to hear the giggle of a child standing firmly on top of him as they carved their way down the slopes.

“Cheer up Timmy; it’s still early in the season. We’ll get you out on those hills yet this season, I promise,” Bruce told him. He was trying to cheer Timmy up after a long day with no Little Rider taking him home to play.

Three whole days passed and not many people came into the small store at all. Each time Timmy heard the bell chime at the door, he hoped it would be the boy’s mother coming back for him. On the fourth day, a tall lady with short dark hair came into the store and walked right over to Timmy. She picked him up, twirled him around on the floor, tested how flexible he was, and walked him up to the register.

“Good luck Timmy,” Bruce whispered as she walked away from the rack with Timmy in her hands. “See you out on the slopes Little Brother!”

Timmy wasn’t happy he was leaving the small snowboard store with this strange lady. He didn’t see any children with her and he hadn’t seen her in the store before. “I wonder why she chose me, I’m way too small for her to ride,” Timmy thought to himself.

When Timmy left the small snowboard store, he was wrapped up in dark paper and placed into a large plastic bag. He couldn’t see where he was going and began to get very sleepy as he was carried along the noisy streets outside the store. When Timmy awoke, he was still wrapped up and couldn’t move at all. He heard the voices of children playing, laughter, and then paper tearing. Timmy was blinded by the sudden bright light and closed his eyes immediately to block it out.

“Mommy, it’s my snowboard!” a familiar voice exclaimed.

Timmy opened his eyes just in time to see the room around him spin in circles as the little boy twirled him around the room. When it stopped, Timmy was looking up at the ceiling and the smiling face of the same little boy who had found him in the snowboard store two weeks before. Now Timmy was excited, this was his Little Rider. Timmy had been a birthday present for him.

Not long after the birthday party, Timmy had bindings mounted where they belonged and was stored in the corner of his Little Rider’s room. They were waiting for their first lesson on the hill. Timmy could hardly wait.

On a cool Saturday morning, Timmy awoke to his Little Rider standing in front of him all dressed in a snowsuit and gloves. Timmy knew this was the big day and he was ready for it. Off to the hills they went. All the way there, Timmy was daydreaming about flying down the biggest hills as fast as he could. He wanted to feel the cold snow on his back, the weight of his Little Rider on his belly, and the wind blowing across his tip and tail.

At the top of the beginner hill, Timmy got scared. This was his first time playing outside and the hill looked a lot bigger from the top. He tried not to shiver when his Little Rider laid him in the snow and started to strap into the bindings bolted to Timmy’s tummy.

Before Timmy knew it, his Little Rider stood up tall. He and hopped in a circle until Timmy’s tip was facing down the hill. Timmy closed his eyes as his Little Rider pushed off and began to slide straight down the hill.

Their first ride down the beginner hill hurt! Timmy and his Little Rider fell many times. They ran into a soft fence at the bottom and tumbled to a stop. Timmy was relieved to be at the bottom of the hill when he opened his eyes again and felt his Little Rider undo one foot from the bindings. Timmy was not so relieved when they headed over to the lift. He knew that they were going back to the top of the hill.

That first day on the hill with his Little Rider was rough on Timmy. He needed a rest when they got back to his new house. Timmy leaned his tip into the corner and closed his eyes for a short nap as soon as they got home.

It was five more trips to the hills with his Little Rider before Timmy began to get comfortable sliding down the hill and carving into the snow. Eventually, Timmy began to enjoy the days he spent out on the hill with his Little Rider. When the sun began to melt away the snow and turn the grass green, Timmy was sad. He knew that meant summer was on its way and he would have to wait a long time before he could play in the snow with his Little Rider again.

Timmy waited patiently all through that summer and was happy to see the snow return the following November. He knew it was time to play again and this year, he wouldn’t be so nervous on the hill with his Little Rider. Timmy was right and each time they went down the hill together, both Timmy and his Little Rider got better at turning and stopping. Timmy loved playing in the snow with his Little Rider all winter and didn’t mind the long summer days that left him gathering dust in the corner over the next two summers.

It was now almost three years after Timmy had first met his Little Rider and the summer days were growing shorter and colder as each passed. Timmy was excited for winter to come back and even more excited when he heard a long forgotten voice on his left say “Hey there Little Brother! Been having fun out on those hills without me?”

Timmy’s Little Rider had an older brother who liked to snowboard too. That was why Timmy had wanted to snowboard since he could walk and had gotten his own board for his fourth birthday. Timmy jumped for joy when he saw Bruce leaned up against the wall next to him.

“Bruce! How did you get here? I’ve had the best time; my Little Rider is getting really good. He even tries to jump, but we must work on his landing more. Sometimes they hurt!” Timmy said.

“We’ll have plenty of time to work on those landings this winter Little Brother. Just when I thought I would never get a rider of my own, I managed to get the perfect one. Timmy’s older brother grew out of his snowboard last year. I’m his new one!”

“Oh Bruce, what fun we’ll have this year. I can’t wait!” Timmy exclaimed.

Timmy and Bruce didn’t have to wait much longer. By the end of the next week, they were both out on the hill with their riders. Bruce’s rider was much bigger and had more practice than Timmy’s Little Rider, but Timmy managed to keep up with Brice pretty good. They played and played on the hills with their riders in the cool winter sunshine. It was the best winter Timmy could remember.

Winter was almost over when Timmy and Bruce headed further north for a weekend of playing on some bigger hills with their riders. Both of them were excited to see the bigger hills and try new tricks with their riders in the soft snow. They went fast, and slow, and sunk into the fresh powder. They went faster and faster on the groomed trails and found jumps and turns everywhere they looked. They had lots of fun. It was the best weekend Timmy and Bruce had all winter and they were ready for a break by the end.

Since the trip home was long, Timmy and Bruce had been put on top of the car in a snowboard rack. They were locked securely in place. They had ridden this way many times before and neither of them was scared of it anymore. They felt safe up on the rack.

Timmy and Bruce were only about half way home when Timmy felt something strange on his tip. He opened his eyes and squinted in to the sun to see that the snowboard rack had come undone.

“Oh no! Bruce look!” Timmy screamed, but it was too late.

Before Timmy had finished warning Bruce about the rack, he felt the wind blow hard under his back and lift him off the top of the car. He was scared! Timmy could feel the wind flipping him end over end as he flew high above the car. He tried his best to flip over, but before he had time to turn all the way around, his tip smacked hard into the pavement and he fell on his side.

Timmy wasn’t the only one who had come off the top of the car either. Bruce was heavier but once the wind got under his back, he too flew up off the top of the car with a loud WHOOSH and began to roll over in the air. When Bruce landed, he skidded to a stop on his back and felt the rocks and rough pavement dig deep into his back. He was hurt!

Thankfully, when Bruce had been torn off the top of the car by the wind, the driver heard the noise and stopped as soon as they could. They ran back and picked up both Bruce and Timmy from the road. They quickly tucked them inside the car and continued on their way home. They new Bruce and Timmy had been hurt, but the only way to help either of them was to take them home first.

“Bruce? Bruce are you there?” Timmy called out when he managed to open his eyes again.

Timmy’s tip hurt and the room was spinning a little when he looked around for Bruce. He recognized the room, it belonged to his Little Rider, but he had never seen it from this angle before. When his Little Rider wasn’t playing in the snow with Timmy, he stood him up in the corner where Timmy could look out the window on his right, and see the door on his left. Now, Timmy could still see the door directly across the room. He could not see the window at all and he was up much higher than he had ever been before.

“Bruce? Where did my Little Rider put me this time, my tip hurts still, am I okay?”

“Hey little brother! I’m still here but you’ll have to look at your tail to see me,” Bruce said.

Timmy looked down at his tail and finally saw the side of Bruce’s tip. He was happy to see his big brother. Timmy didn’t understand why he had been moved from his corner spot with Bruce.

“Bruce, why am I not in the corner with you anymore?” Timmy asked.

“You hit you tip awful hard when you flew off the top of the car Little Brother. You can’t hit that hard without some damage,” Bruce replied.

“Damage?”

“You said you tip still hurts didn’t you?” Bruce questioned Timmy.

“Yes,” Timmy replied.

“Well, Little Brother, it hurts because it’s broken,” Bruce said sadly. “You’ve become a trophy for your Little Rider.”

“A trophy? You mean I can’t play in the snow anymore?” Timmy asked.

“That’s right. Now you get to guard the room and be the subject of many stories. You’ll always be remembered fondly by your Little Rider. They never forget their first snowboard Timmy, and you can hang on his wall to remind him of all the fun times you two had.”

“But I want to play in the snow Bruce!” Timmy cried.

“I know Timmy, but every snowboard has to stop playing outside in the snow eventually. Sometimes we are outgrown. Sometimes we’re just forgotten about. But the li=ucky ones, like you Timmy, the lucky ones go out in style!” Bruce said. “Your Little Rider will always remember you Timmy. You taught him how to ride, to jump, and to land! That’s something to be proud of Timmy!”

Timmy was sad that he could no longer play in the snow with his Little Rider but he knew that he had been a good first snowboard for his Little Rider. Timmy stretched hit tip as far as it would stretch. He surveyed parts of the room he could never see before. He was proud of himself, and of his Little Rider.

Timmy had four great winters to play with his Little Rider in the snow, to be his very first snowboard. When he was damaged and no longer suitable to play with in the snow, he had been proudly mounted on the wall above his Little Rider’s bed. It was a place of honor in any child’s room, Timmy knew that. He would always remember the fun times he had spent playing with his Little Rider in the snow, and he would enjoy getting to know all the rest of the snowboards that his Little Rider would have over the years. For Timmy, they would all be his Little Brothers, because Timmy had been his Little Rider’s first snowboard. That was something special!

I'm still here, honest!

I know I know, I promise to keep this up to date and look how long it’s been. I get it … but sometimes life just gets in the way!

Since my last post, not much has really happened in my life worth writing about, really nothing. I received my new Yakima Fat Cat 6 snowboard rack and installed it on top of the Escape, both locks work perfectly on and off the car. Imagine that! I am now on week three of six in my latest class, which is a pain in the butt theory class only because the instructor has no business teaching online. She checks her mail three times a week … yet I have to participate five days a week and often that requires getting the answer to questions I have posted in order to complete the next phase of this project. But I digress.

I turned 32, that was exciting … NOT. Really, just another birthday. More proof that I am a year older and a little closer to the eventual end. Why should birthdays be a big deal after you hit 21 anyway?

Time changed on me. I HATE Daylight Savings Time for a multitude of reasons the first of which is that it makes me more tired than normal for the first month after the change. I don’t’ deal well with mornings as it is but I was getting rather use to seeing the sun in the morning … now there is nothing but blackness as I rise and head out to work. Why do we do this to ourselves?

We started the hardwood floor project, and in typical Larry DuBey style it has morphed from a simple 3 room task out into the hall as well. Jen and I even remotely considered doing the stairs as well but the expense and pending injury to my cat as she tumbled down them ruled that out. Carpeting on the stairs will be okay, it will be the only place left in the house that has carpet. The rest will be ceramic tile and bamboo flooring. It’s a pain in the butt task but well worth the effort.

Oh and Jen, Chris, Tristan, and I are headed north for one last weekend of winter Friday. We found a replacement for Tristan’s trashed snowboard and are headed to Petoskey to pick it up Saturday morning. As long as we had to go back up there, and it will be a beautiful day on the hill, we’re taking the gear for a late season spring day on the slopes. If the weather holds out we’ll be out there in snow pants and sweatshirts rather than the heavy cold weather gear. Temps should be near 40 with sunshine … an excellent day to play in the snow and see how it goes. I would actually prefer it to be closer to 30 since the snow will be wet and sticky at 40 but sticky isn’t all bad when you’re still a beginner.

Wish me luck to close out the season injury free, well if we don’t count crunching the shoulder back in January and still having trouble with it every now and then.

The rest of the story ...

At the direction of my contact with Boyne country Sports (BCS), the three surviving snowboards have been dropped off at the repair shop for a complete tune on their dime. My board had a few extra nicks in the edges I didn’t see upon first glance, Jen’s board actually looks the best of the three, and poor Christopher’s board it getting a total makeover of the base and all edges. By the time they are done, all three boards should look almost brand new and carve turns better than they have for most of the season. That’s the good news.

The bad news, Tristan’s board, the one that suffered catastrophic damage in its high flying adventure off the top of my car, is not so easy to replace. I have surfed the web, checked every board shop I know of, and come to the conclusion that we may have to buy him a board he can grow into rather than one that fits him right now. The danger in doing that is frustration on his part when he can’t control it as well as he did his other board and the temper tantrums that will inevitable follow such a discovery. The up side to this is that we can get him on a board that, once he grows into it fully, will last him multiple seasons and allow him to do the tricks he sees the older kids perfecting in the park and pipe. I know he would love to be able to do those things and in time, probably after a lesson or two, he will be there hanging with the bigger kids at the top of the park and along the walls of the pipe all afternoon. For now though, he’s a little over 50 lbs and a little over 4 feet tall. That makes fitting a quality board difficult. Plain and simple, he’s in that hard to fit category due to his height and nothing but time will fix that.

As for Yakima and how they are handling this whole thing, so far I have to admit that it is better than I expected. I contacted their customer support center and was told that the warranty covers the rack only. However, if the failure of the rack is deemed responsible for the catastrophic damage to the snowboard and two bags, they will also cover replacing them. I think there is no doubt that their techs will determine the rack failed, it’s sort of obvious even to a non-engineer like myself that the front latch opened up while going down the road and the rest of the damage was simple a domino effect of wind and speed once the tips of the boards were no longer attached to the top of the car.

I am currently awaiting delivery of my new Fat Cat 6 Yakima rack which has a re-designed latch, hmmm wonder why they redesigned it. Once I have that in my hand I will be shipping back what is left of the original Yakima rack and its lock cores with keys in the same box. Upon their determination of the rack being at fault for the damage I will receive a check from Yakima covering the replacement of Tristan’s snowboard and the bags for both mine and Jen’s boards. What more could I ask for short of compensation for the headache caused by this fiasco?

And while Yakima has just ruffled my feathers …

So I spoke to Kevin at Boyne Country Sports (BCS) a few minutes ago and was given my options about the damage our poor snowboards suffered in their high flying adventure Sunday. Yakima’s warranty replaces the rack only. It is a limited warranty and therefore has limited options for me, the poor consumer who had the misfortune of a rack failure. However, they do have some sort of an insurance claim system I am welcome to pursue for compensation on board repair/replacement should I choose to exercise that option. That is what the manufacturer of my now totaled, but otherwise brand new, Yakima Fat Cat 6 rack can do for me.

Knowing this, and most likely sensing the frustration in my voice as Kevin relayed this news to me over the phone, BCS will be stepping up to the plate to try and make this right for me. Kevin feels awful and has never had any board rack do this let alone a Yakima one. As a result, he contacted the Novi store and gave them the details of what happened. I am to take in the three surviving boards for a little repair shop TLC, basic edge tune and base wax for mine and Jen’s and a complete edge and base make-over for Chris’s poor mangled board. This will make him happy, though I suspect a brand new board would do just the same and it may come to that in the event the scratches can’t be buffed out sufficiently in the repair shop or the mangled edge is too deeply gouged to salvage.

As for poor Tristan’s board, the bindings will be removed, the wax stripped, the edges dulled, and it will be mounted on his wall as a trophy of his first four years as a snowboarder. Hopefully we can find a board his size at one of the BCS locations where I have been informed they will offer us their best deal. Since any board below a 124 is hard to come by, particularly this late in the season, I am not optimistic that we will locate one without the use of the Internet, but we will certainly try. In any case, the replacement of Tristan’s board will be an out-of-pocket expense for Jen and I.

I have the customer service number for Yakima and will contact them about their “insurance claim” system, but I am not holding my breath that they will offer me much. I have photos, and can prove that it was their latch that failed, was not a result of carelessness or improper installation on my part or that of Kevin and BCS, and will use the threat of legal action if required but … the replacement cost of Tristan’s board, realistically, is about $100 … even the added principle of making them responsible for the damage just doesn’t seem worth it to me. In the event Chris’s board is a total loss as well, that might make it worth the legal avenue but with just one board it hardly seems worth the headache.

And to those of you wondering the obvious question, yes I will replace my Yakima Fat Cat 6 rack with another one just like it, provided that when it is mounted to my car it locks both front and back without issue. Yes I will keep my Yakima hitch mounted bike rack. And, yes I will continue to purchase and recommend Yakima to my friends and family. One catastrophic latch failure is a fluke and a forgivable one provided they are willing to compensate me even just a little for the expense of replacing Tristan’s board. If they refuse to do that, I might take a closer look at Thule as a replacement for the Fat Cat 6 rack provided I can get one from BCS who has been nothing short of EXCELLENT in dealing with all the issues I’ve had with the now totaled rack.

To be continued … (after I get Yakima on the phone and some details about their “insurance claim” system)

And what's left of my Fat Cat 6 rack ...

What was left on the car ...

The top of the rack, these should be attached to what is left on the car by the black ends ...

The back lid to the rack, notice it's still locked and attached to the latch!

The front top to the rack, clearly the point of failure

The mount points for the two lids to the rack, both ripped off their mounts

The photos ...

This is the tail and what the tip edge SHOULD look like ...

Here's the damaged tip ...

Another snowboard weekend come and gone.

So, we headed north mid day Friday 2/20 for a full day of snowboarding Saturday. This trip we were boarding, okay more like just sleeping, at my parent’s house for the weekend and would be driving further north to Boyne Mountain Saturday. This would mean an early rise Saturday in order to be on the hill for first tracks, and a late night drive home if we decided to close the runs @ 9 as well, but it was free.

As planned we were up, dressed, fed thanks to Dad making us home made waffles, and out the door at about quarter to 8 Saturday morning. Unfortunately, we were in such a rush to get on the road for the hour and fifteen minute trip up to Boyne that we forgot part of our lunch. We remembered the cooler, the really important part, but we forgot the second bag containing the snacks and bread for lunch. By the time Mom saw it and called my cell we were too far north to turn around and go back for it. Onward to Boyne without it!

At just before 9AM I pulled up to the drop off circle in front of the ticket office and half the crew was left behind with almost all of the gear. Chris and Tristan went in to claim a table in the lodge before there were none left, and Jen climbed back into the car with me for a trip to Petosky before we hit the slopes for the rest of the day. Onward to Boyne Country Sports we went in hopes of resolving our new Yakima Fat Cat 6 ski rack issues. Unfortunately, the ski rack outsmarts both Jen and I, as well as the tech from Boyne Country Sports, and since it was Saturday, no help from the manufacturer could be found. We left with his sincere apologies and a promise that he would contact Yakima first thing Monday and get in touch with me with an answer to why one wouldn't always lock when it was on the car but worked every time when it was off the car.

Jen and I headed back to Boyne Mountain after a quick stop at Glens to replace the lunch items we left on the kitchen chair at Mom and Dad’s. After a quick bite to eat with Chris and Tristan, we were on the slopes for our first runs by noon. Being a Saturday, and a nice one at that, the hills were a bit busy and both Jen and I spent more time waiting for a clear path down the hill than we did actually riding for much of the afternoon. Sometime around 5PM we headed to the Grand Lodge for dinner, surprisingly their prices were reasonable, and watched all the day skiers packing up their cars and heading out for the evening.

Tummies filled, we made our way back to the lodge for the rest of our gear and head back to the hills for as many runs as we could get in before the lifts went silent for the night. To our surprise, the lodge was virtually empty, most tables cleared out completely, and the hills were too. Jen and I spent the next three hours perfecting the linking of our turns on the bunny hill while Chris and Tristan rode wherever they could from the top of the Boyneland lift. I was mentally ready to give the bigger hill a shot, but after 10 hours of snowboarding in one day, my legs just weren’t up to it. I made one last run with Jen before calling it a night and staggering into the lodge to change out of my snow gear and back into my jeans.

Thanks to the storm front that gave us 4” of fresh powder all day at Boyne, Mom and Dad had gotten more like 10” during the time we were gone and the roads were snow covered and a little slick in spots. The hour and fifteen minute trip back to their house was closer to an hour and 45 minutes, but we made it back safe and sound by 10:30PM and were crashed for the night shortly after 11:15PM. Our snowboarding adventure was over for the weekend, or so we thought.

Sunday morning we opted to head for home a little early, leaving by 10AM due to the continuing snow accumulations and high winds. Packed and out the door we began the routine task of driving into Lake City, across M-55 to Houghton Lake, south on US-127, East on US-10, and finally, south on I-75 to the greater Flint area. Somewhere south of Harrison and north of Clare our trip became a whole lot less than routine when a thump-THUMP-WHOOSH was heard coming from the roof of the car. After the first thump, I immediately hit the brakes and looked up in my rearview mirror to see Tristan’s snowboard flipping end for end off the top of the car. By the time the second THUMP and subsequent WHOOSH was heard, the other three boards and pieces of the brand new Yakima Fat Cat 6 snowboard rack were flying in every direction. I stopped on the shoulder of the expressway as quickly as I could while Chris hopped out even before I had the car in park to go rescue the boards from traffic.

Picking up all the pieces we could find, we thanked the two gentlemen who stopped their truck in the lane of traffic within inches of running over two of the boards and then helped us retrieve the other two. With no roof rack left to clamp the boards to, we shoved them in the car the only way they would fit, right between Chris and Tristan’s heads. Water dripping from the melting snow and ice onto everything in the car, Chris included, we climbed back in the car and headed south again while I dialed the cell phone to talk to the tech at Boyne Country Sports who told me it was okay to use the rack though we were having trouble locking it.

As of right now, two boards came through the ordeal relatively unscathed. Both mine and Jen’s boards were in padded snowboard bags and came through the incident with a few small nicks to the edges that can be easily removed with a good tuning, and a little bit of minor road rash to the heel cups of the bindings from sliding across the pavement. Chris’s board was not so lucky and suffered serious damage to the edges and base that might be repairable with a trip to the repair shop for a good tuning. The last board, the one that came off the car first and had the most spectacular finale, Tristan’s snowboard died when it hit the pavement tip first. I have not yet taken pictures of his board but will surely post them when I do. It went out in style but that poor snowboard split wide open when it landed and there is no repair in the world that will make it ride-able again.

The snowboarding was GREAT, the trip north was decent, the loss of the rack and damage to the boards, just down right irritating! We’ll see if Yakima is going to make this right …