In February, Laura Rogoski, founder of the We’re All Mental support group and zine for snowboarders, teamed up with Darkside Snowboards in Killington, VT to host We Dig Dark Park. Here’s Laura in her own words about the event:

We Dig Dark Park helps attendees learn new skills, build new connections and strengthen existing friendships. We started each day by writing down a personal goal, a riding goal, and a social goal. Painters tape and a sharpie made up our name tags. Anyone who had shaping experience raised their hand. We broke into loose groups spreading out the senior diggers. Building together in the morning sets the tone. We are working together and encouraged to ask questions.

Laura Rogoski, founder of We’re All Mental. Yeah, she freakin’ shreds. Frontside boardslide at Darkside Snowboard’s Dark Park in Killington, VT. Photos: Anna Burch

This year we had an incredible turnout with 40 people on the first day, which was exclusive to women and non-binary riders. The second day was open to everyone and 22 people came to ride. Before we started riding we stood in a circle and shared our name, where we were from, and something we were grateful for. We were reminded that this event isn’t about who’s the best on their board, it’s about each of us doing our best.

Photographer Anna Burch says, We Dig Dark Park in 2022 was the first snowboard event that I had ever photographed. I was extremely hesitant to put myself out there and explore this new side of photography, but I took a leap of faith when I heard about this opportunity. To my pleasant surprise, I was met with an extremely warm welcome by the “We’re All Mental” family. This event was a pivotal moment for me as a photographer, but it had an even bigger impact on me as a snowboarder and just as a person. While I’ve always loved riding, snowboarding had become a source of anxiety and insecurity for me. That inner voice can often be the thing that changes this sport that we all love so dearly into a source of fear and inadequacy. The community and conversation I was able to partake in that day demonstrated so clearly that I wasn’t alone. It helped remove me from that isolated and anxious space and made me realize that I’m part of a really strong and compassionate community. I’ve been a part of three We Dig Dark Park events and I’m so grateful for the “We’re All Mental” family and all of the likeminded people I’ve met because of it.”

See more from We’re All Mental here.

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