Snowboarding is an inherently individual pursuit. It’s you, your set-up, and the mountain. Yet, at its heart, it’s also about a vibrant and vital community. With the great, and at times overwhelming, mainstream-dom of the sport, the whole had long lost something quite special, once more accessible when we were fewer: its celebrated connectedness to one another. It’s absolutely evident and prevalent … Share a chair with another rider, and if you don’t offer a greeting, they might not either.
For some, it’s a simple enough activity, an enjoyable but otherwise mundane day on the slopes. I’d venture, though, that for many a yearning for companionship is a constant, but the barrier to entry feels intimidating or the means to engage are unknown. In a world increasingly divisive and isolative, finding your ride crew can feel challenging, yet herein lies the many opportunities.
So how do you drop in, stay tuned, and even establish your set? The answer isn’t in finding a singular, same-same group, but in leaning in and creating spaces where the spontaneous collaboration of a good “shred-together” can thrive in and on continuum.
Get Camped: The Fast-Track to Your Crew
Snowboard camps aren’t just for kids or aspiring pros. They’re intensive, immersive experiences designed to fast-track not just your riding skills, but your relationships. Summer camp vibes on Mt. Hood have forever been a rite of passage, but the model has expanded dramatically, that across winter and spring, as well. Today, you can find camps for every niche.
Park Camps: If you’re hyped and get lit by the terrain park, these camps are gonna stroke the stoke. With legendary summer hosts such as High Cascade (Oregon) and Woodward Copper (Colorado), they’re built for progression and provide an environment where you can spend a week or more lapping with fellow jib rats and jump senders. The shared experience of repeated efforts, falls, and successes—all in a dedicated space—forges bonds that last well beyond the summer session.
Backcountry & Splitboard Camps: For those drawn to the silence and challenge of the backcountry, camps dedicated to splitboarding and avalanche safety are a must. Here, the community is built on trust, shared knowledge, and the understanding that your well-being is dependent on the person next to you. Learning together in these environments, with resources like the Risk Maturity Collective which focuses on improving safety knowledge and decision-making, creates an unbreakable connection rooted in mutual respect and safety.
Women’s Camps & Ride Days: Don’t think you need to be a park or backcountry pro to sign up and join in. These are often less about technical mastery and more about creating a supportive, non-intimidating space to just ride. The sisterhood built on a shared passion for snow sliding is a powerful foundation for a lasting community. Companies such Beyond The Boundaries are a perfect example, creating a welcoming and supportive environment for women of all levels to progress their skills and form lasting friendships. Similarly, PRSNT Adventure, founded by professional riders Chanelle Sladics and Kjersti Buaas, combines snowboarding with a holistic approach to well-being, incorporating yoga and breathwork into their retreats to create a deep, community-driven experience.
The Local Shop: The Scene’s Nerve Center
While camps are keen for a burst of connection, the local snowboard shop is the true, year-round hub. This isn’t just a place to make purchase; it’s a social space where a quick stop for a wax can turn into a half-hour conversation about snow conditions or the latest board tech. The people who work there are often the core of the local riding scene, and simply by spending time there and becoming a known face, you can tap into the local network. This is where you’ll hear about unofficial meet-ups, get clued-in to the new new, and find riding partners for the season.
The Chairlift: Your Daily Connection
Seriously, there’s no better place for a spontaneous conversation than a shared chair. With a captive audience and a common purpose, you’ve a natural chance to get to know others. This is where friendships begin and where you can find out about stash spots or just have a few minutes of real, unscripted conversation. It’s an essential part of the snow day ritual and a perfect point to start framing up your crew, one ride at a time.
Friends On A Powder Day? (A Sideways Sidebar)
While we’re talking about building community, it’s essential to acknowledge a longstanding yet often debatable adage as inverse: “No friends on a powder day.” This isn’t a heartless theme or creed … It’s a deep respect and reverence for the sacredness of a fresh day. On those rare, glorious mornings when the mountain’s blanketed in untracked snow, the singular focus is on the chase. Get yours. Waiting around for some clown to pull it together before it’s chopped up, relegated to only leftovers, is a reality to be considered. This a time for solo missions in safe accordance, for selfishly approaching and poaching all the untouched lines, and for a silent, blissful communion with the mountain. Your friends will be doing the exact same thing, if they mustered, and the true ones will understand completely. The conversation and camaraderie can wait until the lift, or better yet, until aprés when the day’s epic tales can be properly relayed. It’s the one day where the lone wolf ethos is not just accepted, but expected.
No Age Limit on Stoke
Snowboarding, at its core, is a feeling, and that feeling doesn’t have an expiration date. It’s easy to get caught up in finding peeps your around age, but genuine connection on the mountain is ageless. The mountain doesn’t care if you’re 20 or 50; the joy of a fast carve or a fresh line is the same. Opening yourself up to riding with people from different generations can be a revelation. You’ll gain new perspectives, learn a different kind of wisdom, witness a certain chicanery, and realize that the stoke knows no age. In the end, a shared passion for snow is all that really matters.
Earn Your Turns (And Your Friends): Get a Job at the Resort
For a deeper dive, consider getting a part-time job. Whether it’s working in lift ops, the rental shop, the parking lot, or a restaurant, the benefits extend far beyond a paycheck. All resorts offer a season pass as a perk, giving you a full winter of access. More importantly, you’re on the front lines, figuratively and literally, constantly interacting with colleagues and guests who you share common ground. It’s a clinic in meeting a tight-knit crew and having an inside info on what’s good, what’s happening.
Lodge Life: Where Community Is an Amenity
For a truly experiential, uhh … experience, you don’t have to be on a guided trip to find your homies. Modern lodges and hotels are increasingly designed to be social hubs. Places like Evo Hotel, LOGE Camps, and Basecamp are more than just a place to rest your head. They feature communal spaces, on-site equipment rentals, and sometimes even their own coffee shops, bars, or restaurants. By staying in a place built for the action-minded, you can swap stories around a fire pit, plan the next day’s escapades in the lobby, or grab a drink with someone who’s just as frothy to rip and ride as you are.
Go Curated & Guided: Find a Ready-Made Crew
If you’re looking to combine travel with community-building, gatherings, groups, tours and backcountry retreats offer a unique pathway. These entities handle the logistics, so you can focus on riding and connecting.
Blaise Boot Camp: Hosted by legendary snowboarder Blaise Rosenthal, these gatherings are a perfect example of a community coalescing around a single, influential rider and locale. Blaise’s camps focus on freeriding and finding creative lines, fostering a close-knit crew that’s all about fun and an genuine love for snowboarding.
Mountain Connect: More than just a tour operator, Mountain Connect is a community built around adventure. They host a variety of events and trips, from local meetups to global excursions, providing a pre-built social network for like-minded riders. Their trips are less about a rigid itinerary and more about good times and good vibes.
Mint Tours: A great option for international travel, Mint Tours specializes in curated snowboard tours to destinations like Japan and New Zealand, though also across North America. They provide expert guiding and small group sizes, ensuring you’re not just seeing the world’s best terrain, but sharing it with a new group of friends. It’s a structured way to find a community near and far.
Baldface: As one of the world’s most iconic cat-skiing operations, Baldface offers a high-end, all-inclusive backcountry experience. The community here is forged in the deep snow of the Selkirk Mountains. Days are spent with the same group of riders and guides, building camaraderie through shared challenges and endless powder runs. The experience is intimate and intense, creating lasting bonds with the people you share the cat with.
Swipe Right on Snow: Digital Lifelines to Your Shred Squad
In the era of social, one of the most effective ways to find some buddies is to start where you are: online. Local Facebook groups, Reddit communities, and specialized apps are a great way to meet before you even get on the mountain. Don’t be shy; a simple post asking if anyone is heading up on a certain day can be the start of a new friendship.
Demo Days: Test-Driving Your Way to Your Tribe
One of the most valuable, and often free, ways to find your community is at a brand demo day. These events, held at resorts all season long, are your chance to test-drive next year’s set-ups before you buy it. The atmosphere is low-pressure, focused on fun, and built on a shared obsession with what’s next. It’s a perfect way to meet fellow shred-heads and get to know the brand reps who are a huge part of the scene. It’s a natural, easy way to start conversations and find those who are just as excited as you are about everything snowboarding.
Rep the Merch: Your Off-Hill Beacon
It’s a simple act, but wearing a snowboard brand’s softgoods can be one of the easiest ways to signal your passion to others. Off the hill, it’s a subtle but powerful beacon. When you see someone in a Burton hoodie at a coffee shop, there’s an immediate, unspoken connection. It’s a natural conversation starter and a clear way to identify fellow riders in your area, making it easy to strike up a conversation and potentially find a new riding bud.
Compete, Connect, or Just Chill: Community Through Events
While contest culture has its critics, it also serves as an incredible gathering point. Local events, amateur competitions, and even premieres are opportunities to meet and greet. You don’t have to be a podium contender; just showing up and being part of the energy can be plenty.
Beyond formal events, the most authentic connections are often found in what the snowboarding community does best: the casual sesh. These are not organized events with an entry fee, but rather grassroots jams. A simple post on a local social page like “Anyone lapping laps at the park tomorrow?” can be all the call it takes to inspire a new friendship. These are the spaces where sincerity is rewarded and a shared love for snowboarding is the only prerequisite.
In the end, it’s about being present and open to ever building connection. Much like that subtle, cool-as-hell, low wag between motorcyclists on the road, our own form of silent acknowledgment lives in the mutually revered and appreciated experience. With a reflection for the collective, it came to my attention the need for our own proprietary term. We’re a “binding of snowboarders”; each with a unique quality, brought to the common, hallowed substance of snow.
Propagate, congregate, conversate, and don’t isolate.
