This winter, consider these different options for ride sharing
November 25, 2009, 2:28 PM
By: Jesse Huffman
Mike Parzialle
For $10, the grease bus will free your conscience and take you from Portland to Meadows, roundtrip.
Winter is upon us -- and many resorts, if they haven't already, will be powering up those lifts. But as has been famously noted, getting there is half the battle. And this couldn't be more true for snowboarders looking to lessen their impact -- you can buy all the latest green-arific gear, go to a resort that only uses windpower or simply splitboard, but if you're firing up a large gasoline-powered SUV with only you at the wheel, you're missing the forest for the trees.
Hitting on the gas saving, environment-benefiting utility of shuttling many people to the mountain at once, several innovative groups have popped up to address just that need.
Mike Parzialle, a snowboarding bio-diesel guru based in Portland OR, is kicking off the second season of Grease Bus trips to Mt. Hood Meadows. Powered by waste vegetable oil, Parzialle gets groups of shredders to the hill without any pesky fossil fuels involved.
Eastward in the Rockies, Skicarpool.org, is an open forum for Colorado riders and skiers looking to get up to the hill together. For the South Lake set, Kirkwood Resort in California has their own rideshare board.
Ski Chalet Flaine
Lessen your carbon footprint and hop a train to go snowboarding.
In the UK, Snowcarbon is a recently-launched website that advocates boarders and skiers to use the train to get to their European ski destinations, offering a thorough guide and scheduling details. Seasoned Euro travelers will tell you the benefits of train travel over plane, and the same applies for getting there to go shred, plus you're taking a big slice off your carbon footprint. Fast moving and timely trains go directly to many European resorts, there's no luggage surcharge for your gigantic board bag, and overnight sleeping cars are beat a redeye any day.
And over in New Zealand, Snowpool.org.nz offers a forum for riders and skiers to share rides to over 27 ski areas and club fields.
As for the making the best out of jumping in a whip with a group of boarders and skiers you don't know for a possibly multiple hourly-long journey to the slopes, check out this slightly sarcastic take on the topic from one highly experienced winter sports lifer, Warren Miller.
Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of use. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Contributors
Liam Gallagher
Raised in the NW. Wandered for a bit. Returned with a renewed love for rain. Likes hearing people's stories.
Mary Fenton
Would rather be riding pow, sucking at skateboarding or thinking up new names for her deaf dog and fake band.
Colin Whyte
Below the Fold. Beyond the Pale. Between the Lines. Beneath the Rose. He's a Secret Society of One.
Jesse Huffman
Loves a cold a.m. shred and late day skate. Thinks green is the new black, but should really be the new normal.
Brad Farmer
Grows seasonal crops. Where there's powder and shred news, a Farmer will follow.
Blair Habenicht
A Northwest-grown snow slider with a tendency to blow off any obligations if the snow is falling.
Nate Deschenes
Blessed with the attention span of a gnat. Prefers a No. 2 Ticonderoga and Trapper Keeper to a MacBook.
Tim Brodhagen
Tim Brodhagen shreds the ice coast on the reg, speaks Portuguese and almost never eats breakfast.
