Rhett: Good to hear, i did the whole snowboarding thing in the states for 3 years, its awesome fun, you'll want to go back again next year
Buy stuff when your over there, its cheaper, just order it off the net, thats what i did, just means you'll miss out using it traveling there. Use an old discman or something if you have one on the way there... then pick up a ipod/mp3 player/minidisc or something while your there. I ordered so much shit off the net when i was there because theres so much of it! hah
riding (snowboarding) with music is good if theres no one to ride with, but most days you'll find someone to ride with. Regardless, have fun, if you need any advice, pm me, lik ei said i spent 3 years teching snowboarding at copper mountain, co.