If you look beyond the knee length tee-shirts and gun shaped hand gestures, there is one particular hip-hop movement that has drastically shaped the culture of skiing for the better.  What is that trend? The mixtape.  The personal mixtape (or edit) medium has been the fertilizer for the growth of current stars and the connection to the masses for established pro’s. Yet just as rock ‘n roll hasn’t embraced the hype machine that is the mixtape, big mountain skiing continually resorts to established production practices to broadcast to the masses.  Where is the Sage Cattbriga-Alosa “If Jesus were to ski Alta” edit?  Where is the “C & E Show” with Chris Rubens and Eric Hjorliefson? Where are the “Mark Abma Recovery Files”!?!

Now being a big mountain skier myself, I understand the constricting logistics of filming lines.  Exponential amounts of effort, single attempts at lines and long weather delays cause for much fewer chances to bring about quality footage then do hot laps in the park. Yet small HD cameras exist, helmet cams are cheap, editing software is retard proof and friends can easily get to the bottom of a line and point the camera upwards.  Stop worrying about blue-bird days and film on a grey sky crud day at the resort.  You’re probably gonna still do stuff 99% of the world’s population can’t do.  Helmet cam your buddy through the trees as he backflips off natural features.  Hike a couloir and film that shit.

If you had to decide on one common theme between skiing and snowboarding, it would have to be a shared admiration for surfing. Half the snowboard industry is based in Southern California, Poor Boyz edits their ski movies on the shores of sunny Manhattan Beach, Powder Magazine is ironically based near the deserty shores of San Clemente, and pros from Travis Rice to Pep Fujas and Todd Richards to Jon Olsson have all shown their love of the sport that is hipper than a Ray Ban booth at a Wavves concert.

So if you decide to forego the Mt. Hood glacier games and head to the beach this summer take notice of these few tips before you go; surfers can be a bit harder on gaper harassment then we skiers are.

1. Learn the words. Nothing outs foreigners quicker than incorrect terminology, so when you paddle out don’t excitedly exclaim how good you think the ‘breakers’ are in front of the local pack. Use words like ‘firing’ or ‘pumping’ to say how good the waves are. And when you’re sitting on the ‘bowl’ you’re not sitting on someone’s pipe, you’re in the best spot to catch a wave.  If something is bad it’s ‘eggy’ or ‘swampy’. And finally, ‘kook’ equals ‘gaper’ .  Use these few words and you’ll blend in like fruit in a smoothie.

2. If you’re a kook, paddle out to the kook spots.  There is nothing shameful about heading out to the beginner spots where long boarders abound.  But paddling out to where the local boys are charging would most likely make you end up like that kid that overshot the Poor Boyz kicker in Mt. Bachelor last year.  Not only will you be in pain, you’ll probably be laughed at as well.

Just say no!

3.  Change your look. The tall-tees and bandanas must go.  Those guys that look like park rats in surf towns are actual gangsters.  And they’re not like the blingy ones in music videos, but more like they stab-you-quickly ones that make headlines.  Oh and it wouldn’t hurt to get a tan before you go, I still to this day have never seen an albino surfer, so don’t be the first.

4. Be respectful.  I’m actually being serious here because I care for you guys and your goggles are going to fit badly next winter if you get your nose smashed in by Johnny Boy Local.  Stay out of the way at all costs.  Don’t drop in on other people. And say you’re sorry if you do any of these things.    Have fun!