WHAT'S UP, EVERYBODY.

Chad Rinaldi here. 22 years old, regular foot, snowboard instructor at one of the resorts on Lake Tahoe (not saying which one, my boss surfs the web too). Winters I shred and teach. Summers I wash dishes, skate, and jump off rocks into the lake. It's a pretty sweet deal, honestly. No complaints. Okay, one complaint: summer is way too long.

I teach mostly kids and first-timers. Nothing beats the look on some 8-year-old's face when he links his first turns and doesn't eat it. Stoked for that kid. Stoked for real.

THE VAN

My house has wheels. It's a 1984 Chevy van, brown, named The Burrito, because it's brown and there's a guy inside it. Futon in the back, milk crate full of wax, one working speaker, and a heater that works when it feels like it. She's got 211,000 miles and she's never let me down. Except the time in Truckee. We don't talk about Truckee.

THE QUIVER

• The 156 – my park and pipe stick. Freestyle, twin tip, stickers all over the topsheet. Sick for spins.
• The 164 – the pow gun. Longer, stiffer, rides like a Cadillac when it's deep.
• The Old Swallowtail – found it at a garage sale for twenty bucks. Beat. Delaminating. I love it more than anything I own.
• The Rock Board – for early season when it's thin and sketchy. Core shots on core shots. RIP.

BEST. DAY. EVER.

February '98. El Niño winter. It snowed for three days straight and then the sun came out on a Tuesday, and I had the day off. Waist-deep freshies in the trees, face shots every single turn, nobody around. I did one lap where I didn't stop the whole way down and I was yelling the entire time like a total kook. I think about that day like once an hour. Phat. Absolutely phat.

THE RAMEN BUDGET

Instructor money is not big money, bro. Ramen is ten for a buck on sale. Chicken flavor Monday, beef flavor Tuesday, shrimp flavor Wednesday when I'm feeling fancy. Add an egg, you're a king. Add hot sauce, you're an emperor.

A MESSAGE TO MY MOM

Hi Mom. Yes, I'm eating vegetables (there are little green flakes in the ramen, they count). Yes, I'm wearing my goggles. No, nobody wears a helmet, Mom, but I hear you. Yes, I'm still thinking about going back to school. I am! Just, you know, after the season. Love you. Stop worrying so much. It's totally mellow up here.

ABOUT MY DAD

My dad's a roofer down in Sacramento. He never really got the whole snowboard thing. For years he'd ask when I was going to get a real job. Then last March he drove up out of nowhere and said "okay, show me." So I did. He fell like forty times. He was laughing the whole time. By the end of the day he linked three turns in a row and I swear I've never been that stoked in my life, and that includes the powder day.

He hasn't asked about the real job since. I don't know. Just thought I'd put that up here.

OKAY THAT'S IT.

Thanks for checking out my page. If you're coming up to the lake this season, drop me a line and I'll tell you where the good stuff is. Maybe. If you bring ramen.

Keep it shreddy,
Chad