Homesick 2.0: Through The Eyes of Nate Zoller

I hadn’t been back to Vermont since I was a little kid. Since my brother and I went with my dad to go visit his friend’s maple syrup farm. The moment I landed in Burlington it all came back to me. The open land, the farms, the lakes, the wildlife, the beauty of the mountains. Dennis Healy picked me up from the airport and I crashed the night at his house. The next morning we woke to bluebird skies and chilly temperatures. After packing snowboards and gear into the car, we got on Highway 100 and began making our way to Stratton Mountain. It was Friday, the first day of the Homesick event. I was in town to see with a fresh set of eyes exactly what this event was about. I was told it was a celebration of sorts, a congregation of people that continue to prop up snowboarding each season, a retrospective cultural event highlighting the radness that snowboarding down a mountain brings to all our lives. It's put on by Gary Land, Barry Dugan, and their crew that make up East Street Archives. Within minutes of arriving I was introduced to Dennis’s friends, many of whom worked at Burton since the early days, most of which are OG’s in the sport. After gearing up to ride, we joined Foxy, Tarik, Lucas, and Jonah at the Neon Wave base camp tent.

Friday was the OG Downhill gate race day. Local legend and 2002 Olympic Gold Medalist Ross Powers would win the Men’s division wearing old school gate bashing forearm guards. Neon Wave’s own Noah Avallone would take first in the under 18’s division, with both combined runs totaling just over a minute, a series of seconds faster than the rest of the pack. The downhill races were done by mid-morning, which left the rest of the day to free ride and get the feel of the mountain. Heading up the gondola with a handful of Vermont legends, having them tell me stories of the US Open days, getting the rundown on Stratton’s deep history, was super special. I found out quick that East Coast snowboarders like to ride fast. Just seconds after strapping in up top and I’m pointing it down curved, narrow groomer runs just trying to keep up with the pack. Using my rails and making clean lines at fast pace, I kept a close eye on the crew ahead of me to see where they anticipated each next turn. Having never ridden this mountain before I was sort of winging it blind. In a few hours we had covered the entire mountain's terrain.

The event is named Homesick because people bleed a nostalgia for how snowboarding was in the 90s. Grass roots, cultural experiences are hard to come by these days and this event has that in spades. The retrospective photo and snowboard exhibit at the base of the mountain highlight the dense history at Stratton Mountain and it feels good to celebrate that. Ross Powers, Jeff Brushie, Todd Richards, and Shannon Dunn are in attendance while countless other OG pro’s pepper the event.

We got 20 inches of snow overnight on Friday and it’s still snowing on Power’s Retro Pipe day. To get multiple feet of powder on my first trip riding on the East Coast feels surreal. It’s hard to describe the feeling you get before the mountain opens on a powder day. Anticipation. Excitement. The deep desire to get that first run under your belt. Riding out here is different to the west coast, but the powder feels just like home, deep and fluffy with plenty to go around. My Gentem Indy Pool Deck feels like a samurai sword slicing down each run. Around mid-morning our crew stopped at the halfpipe to check out the Under 18 runs. Noah Avallone would cut through the mini pipes powder bottom to huck himself off the lip of each wall en route to a strong victory. Callen Hwang would take out second in women’s Under 18 pipe as well with a lofty slob grab off the opening hit. There was a free ride before the Men’s pipe final, and I figured I would ride a couple walls on my way down to the lodge. After hitting a spraying surf slash on the last wall of the halfpipe I was greeted by a guy with a clipboard and an angry look on his face. “Where’s your bib?” He asked. “I’m just riding down after watching my friends compete,” I responded. The guy snapped back that I can’t be in the pipe without a bib. I said it wouldn’t happen again and continued my way to the Neon tent at basecamp. Tarik and Foxy laughed when I told them, I guess I was perpetuating a long-standing tradition from the US Open days where people would poach pipe runs while the event was happening. No wonder the guy was so upset.

The snow wouldn’t stop until late into Saturday night. The storm totaled 33 inches in Stratton, the most this season, at the end of March. The stoke was palpable among the locals, “This doesn’t happen,” was said to me multiple times as the giant snowflakes were still falling. By Sunday morning the storm had passed, and bluebird skies had returned. We had a proper powder day on our hands and while the rest of the Neon crew was setting up for the day I snuck onto the first gondola for a solo, untracked pow run. I was smiling from ear to ear as I made deep tracks, thinking how cool it was to experience this mountain with such amazing conditions. When I got to the bottom gondola I saw Dennis and his old riding buddies from years past. These guys were ex pros, and it took everything I had to keep up with the pack as we traversed all over the mountain searching out untracked powder pockets.

Sunday’s finale was the Planet Zebulon rail jam. Riders were flying at the rails, launching backflips off kinks and sending transfers like it was no big deal. The energy amongst the crowd and the riders was electric. Again, Noah Avallone and Callen Hwang were forces to be reckoned with, getting third and second in their respective divisions. By mid-day Sunday you could see from the looks on everyone’s faces that this had been a good weekend. The temperatures were climbing as the awards ceremony wrapped up a successful second annual Homesick event. The experience blew me away and I am now a firm believer in riding on the East Coast. Next stop, Stowe, where I would link up with the Neon Wave Stowe crew and get to ride with JG Shred Eye. But I’ll leave that story for another time.