Extreme Alternative

Extreme Alternative

By: Jon Bellomy

Many of you Platte Canyon Students snowboard during the winter, but with summer coming fast you don’t have anything to do. So what is an alternative that’s fun, dangerous, and looks cool? Well you could try another extreme sport: mountain boarding. It’s a great alternative to snowboarding and skateboarding.

Mountain boarding, or All Terrain Boarding (ATB) or dirt boarding, is a cross between skateboarding and snowboarding. The board itself is longer than a skateboard and about the same size as a snowboard. Your feet are securely fastened as if you were riding a snowboard, but the board has four wheels that are customized to work well on all terrains. The rider’s gear consists of a helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, and of course, the board.

ATB was invented in California in the year 1992 by two men named Patrick McConnell and Jason Lee, who both were avid skiers and snowboarders. They wanted to create a board that they could ride anywhere, and no matter what time of year it was. In 1993 they set up the company Mountain Board Sports LLC and moved to Colorado Springs . In the US more than 100,000 enthusiasts participate it camps, and mountain boarding is not only present in the US , it’s also big in Canada , and throughout the UK . Some of the US Snowboard train on Mountain Boards in the off season. In 2001, nine official Maxtrack centers were operating and since then the numbers have tripled in the UK .

So if you think you want to try mountain boarding, go online and search for mountain boards, dirt boards, or all terrain boards and look for gear that you need. Prices range from $50 to $300. So if there anything in your price range go ahead and try it.