• Overall Rating 1
• Family Friendly 1
• All Mtn. Terrain 1
• Terrain Park 1
• Nightlife 1

Pros: Close


Cons: No safe beginner areas. Rude, crude management.


Recommended For: Single/Newlyweds, Family Friendly


Date Visited: Jan 1, 2012

Full review

Thunder Ridge is dangerous and its management disrespects and patronizes its customers. I brought my 3 year old daughter there for her first time, last weekend. She needed help getting on/off the conveyor belt, so I took my board off and helped her and then I held her hands on the ride down, since there’s no safety run-out area at the bottom.

She was having a great time until a manager in a tan jacket yelled at me from 20 feet away for not having my board on. I kindly explained that I was giving a lesson and had nowhere to put the board once I got to the top and he yelled, “That’s not MY problem.” So my baby girl’s first exposure to snowboarding is some lowbrow jerk yelling at her daddy with a crowd looking on.

Then the manager yelled, “This ain’t a carnival ride!” I know; I’m an AASI certified instructor. I’ve taught thousands of lessons and ridden learner lifts with and without my equipment on. On a conveyor belt that's only wide enough for one person, it's safer to hold up a small child who can’t get on/off by themselves if you can put two feet down, instead of balancing on the edge of a snowboard.

Worst snowboarding experience ever!

I had posted this concern on Thunder Ridge's Facebook page but they took it down instead of being responsive. So I’m reposting it here.