Snowboarding - tell me all about it!

[Cassandra_Cain]

Hey, so while I'm still riding regularly (outside & inside), I wanted to have a go at something new when I'm off the bike.

Enter snowboarding!

I went skiing for a day, some years ago, however I want to do something different. Call it eccentric or whatever but I'd like to try a totally novel sport.

So what is it like? What should I keep in mind? Any tips, tricks, advice...or warnings?

All I've read is that the first few days, well, rather suck! But that it gets better and you can supposedly learn quickly afterwards. I'm totally new to it so I have no idea how true (or not) that is.

Would love to hear your stories and suggestions

[colby]

My advice: take lessons!!! Around here, they have a 1-2-3 program, and after 3 lessons you are pretty much functional on most terrain (essentially everything green and blue, I'd say). Take at LEAST one lesson to get yourself oriented and get the basics down, it will help a lot. It's really frustrating to learn on your own. Even after learning and being capable of navigating a lot of terrain on my own, I still take lessons to get me to the next step.

Once you get it, it's quite fun, but expect to spend a lot of time on your butt that first couple of days. There are a lot of things that just "click" once you get the hang of it. I think it's great fun. Like you, I set out to just do something different and have fun. Wish I'd have started with a lesson, though.

Core strength will really help, the quad/calf building from the bike will definitely work to your advantage, and the best thing to do is be mindful of your body (your body goes where your eyes go, be careful how you shift your weight, good balance helps). It's easy to get discouraged, which is where the lesson fits in. Sometimes you have to trust yourself more than you might be ready for to get to the next step, but once you master it you feel great.

My dad is a ski instructor, my brother and I both snowboard, and my sister joins us to snowboard when she can. We're up on the hill almost every weekend now that it's winter. Happy riding!!

[Cassandra_Cain]

Hi Colby

I was definitely planning on taking lessons. Oh, and, also, spending a lot of time on my backside for the first few days

It really looks like a blast and I just thought, what have I got to lose? Having gone skiing a grand total of ONCE in my life, lol, it isn't as if I'm particularly attached to being a 2-planker

Thank you for sharing that and for the advice. Very much appreciated

[Kimmyt]

I am a skiier, but I will dabble in boarding once in awhile, particularly at the small hills that aren't challenging enough for me in SEPA. The Boy rides, however, and seems to like it.

Some ups I have found:

Way more comfy boots!
I have heard it's easier to 'get good' faster...
I think it's easier to do jumps and tricks on a board because you don't have the added difficulty of two feet doing two different things at once
Boarding in powder is supposed to be an amazing thing
I have heard it is much easier on your knees than skiing

Some downs:

It's attached to a 'hip culture' which i'm not really into
Since it's easier to get passably decent at quickly, I find that lots of boarders put themselves on slopes that are too difficult for them and end up riding down on their butts (the snowboarder slide) and taking all the snow with them!
It's easier to break a wrist (when you fall forwards you tend to put your arms out and I've heard of a lot of beginners hurting themselves this way)... but then skiing is easier to break a thumb, so whatever...


Some things to keep in mind. When you fall, and are sitting on your butt in the middle of the trail, ikeep in mind that that's probably not the best place to be, especially if you are near a jump or a significant change in pitch.

The reason most skiiers dislike snowboarders is because of this reason... if you've ever seen a group of teenage boarders sitting at the top of a run and strapping in while blocking the entire thing, you'll understand.

That, and the fact that they can utterly destroy moguls.

But seriously, most skiiers don't just 'hate' snowboarders, they just get pissed off at the inconsiderate ones. A really good carving snowboarder is such an amazing thing to watch...

I'm sure you'll be great at it! Have fun!

[Cassandra_Cain]

Kimmy - thank you!

Good to hear about things from your angle. One I really can't say I have, since I have so, so little experience with skiing.

What you said about injuries, saw that mentioned in an article....they said supposedly you have more knee injuries in skiing, but more wrist and arm injuries in boarding. Guess it evens out in the long wrong.

I'm a little bit of a hipster so hip snowboarding culture is alright by me

You know, I was talking to a friend who, has never boarded but is a great skier, and she mentioned some of the same things you did about boarders. Specifically, about sitting in the middle of the slope, or rather, to try not to do that, as it is difficult for others to avoid you. Last thing I want is some kind of accident up on the mountain, so I'm taking that advice seriously!

Again, thanks

[Kano]

Some downs:

Some things to keep in mind. When you fall, and are sitting on your butt in the middle of the trail, ikeep in mind that that's probably not the best place to be, especially if you are near a jump or a significant change in pitch.

We skiers gotta get outta the way too -- those boarders, though, they do seem to be able to bounce up faster than us!

The reason most skiiers dislike snowboarders is because of this reason... if you've ever seen a group of teenage boarders sitting at the top of a run and strapping in while blocking the entire thing, you'll understand.

OOOOH the traffic jams at the tops of the lifts today!

That, and the fact that they can utterly destroy moguls.

Yes! Something to like about snowboarders, at last!

But seriously, most skiiers don't just 'hate' snowboarders, they just get pissed off at the inconsiderate ones. A really good carving snowboarder is such an amazing thing to watch...

True -- they tend to startle the heck out of me as they cruise by -- FAST and loud, kinda like a harley rider!-- but when they're not scaring the bejeezus out of me, or using my skis as board rests -- I got these short legs -- they can be pretty amazing to watch!

Karen in Boise

[Kimmyt]

It's true, the sitting down thing after falling should be kept in mind by everyone... I guess the most important thing to remember is that no matter how disoriented you are from your fall, always pay attention to what is upslope of you. If you are invisible to an oncoming person until it's too late, then you can get hurt even worse!

And hey, don't knock the moguls! I aspire to be one of those old crusty dudes zipperlining down a mogul field!



K.

[Kimmyt]

(except for the dude part! hahah)

[7rider]

So what is it like? What should I keep in mind? Any tips, tricks, advice...or warnings?

From MY experience (as an intermediate skier) - One word on 'bording: painful.

I took one lesson, just to see what all the hub-bub was about. I found that when you catch an edge - you don't fall down, you get THROWN into the side of the mountain. Ouch! So, with that in mind.....WEAR A HELMET! (I think wrist guards would probably be okay, too! )

I got okay at what they term 'falling leaf' - essentially gliding back and forth facing downhill or facing uphill. The biggest challenge for me was linking my turns..creating an "S" on the hill. I've heard once you can link your turns, you've gotten over the biggest arc in the learning curve. I was way too sore after my one attempt to try again. I'll stick to skis.

[tygab]

I am a pretty good skier, have been skiing for 15 years on and off. I am comfortable with almost every skiing condition except moguls and true powder. Since I ski mostly in New England, any moguls tend to be very hard and icy and we don't get much powder - even on a big storm day it is skied off, compacted or groomed pretty quickly. I have skied a few places out west also, under a variety of conditions.

I ski on both 'regular' long skis, and also on skiboards. I tend to be happiest on my skiboards, as I can do little jumps etc and goof off on them more. But I like the variety of both.

I have tried snowboarding twice. Once probably a decade ago at Stowe in VT. I remember falling and hitting my head/butt a lot. It was not fun, and I gave up after a day (was supposed to do a 3 day graduated program) to go back to skiing. Conditions were not bad for EC, no ice, but snow was compacted.

About a week ago, I tried it at a little mountain outside of Vancouver called Cypress. I'd skied Blackcomb the day before, and my sibs took their little ones (ages 3-6) for a ski lesson, and I was the driver. So I decided to take my own lesson.

I don't know if this is normal, but they had better snow on a very early season day than I would hope for mid season at a NE area. I love skiing out East, don't get me wrong, but it is just a very different kind of experience. I took the "never ever" lesson since I didn't think I'd recall anything from 10+ years ago.

Wow, it was a lot of fun! First of all falling didn't hurt (of course these were all low speed), but I fell a lot. I had trouble facing uphill (i.e. eyes could look to top of mtn) and doing the maple leaf (think of this as a sideways W across the hill), but facing forward seemed surprisingly familiar from years ago. I was able to stay upright and in control for that. Skating also seemed a little strange. And finally, getting back up facing forward requires some good core strength, which I guess I need work on. I found the technique of grabbing the board edge the only way I could stand back up, and it took a little while to be able to do it. I am a little embarassed to admit that my abdominals are still sore (actually more like strained) and it's a week later. I was sore all over day one, but everything's gone back to normal except my stomach (which was very important for the getting up). But I had a lot of fun, and definitely want to take more lessons. However, I think I'll reserve those for places/days where the snow is fresh and quite soft. I enjoyed it enough that I am thinking about picking up a used beginner board just to have in the fleet, so I don't have to rent if the opportunity presents itself on a local snowstorm day (I think we have some very good sledding type hills that might be amenable to me learning a bit on my own).

Regina mentioned the 'S' being the hard part - and this is where the maple leaf eyes facing uphill is important. You're naturally shifting from a facing downhill body to facing uphill body. I didn't get that far in the lesson, so I can't really comment, but I know I have to master that before I can think of S curving.

Re helmets & wrist guards & injury... Well I now always wear both when skiboarding, and just helmet when skiing. I didn't have either for my recent lesson and was a little nervous about it. I would recommend them both as basic gear though. Just keep in mind that hitting your helmet on snow can still hurt - whiplash or concussions not being terribly uncommon), but I'd take those side effects over a direct impact any day. And wrist guards do protect against falling with arms out, as one is quite likely to do when boarding (or skiboarding).

If you are amenable to new things, you might try skiboarding. I think it'd be fairly easy to pick up (can't say for sure since I came from years of skiing already). My husband and I both skiboard, and we think it's perfect for carving packed/groomed terrain. We've been on boards since 1999-2000 season. I tried it for the first time at Breckenridge and couldn't believe how freeing it felt. It is sort of looked down on tho - to put it into words I'd say this: the young guy twin tip skiers think they are the cool free riders, and the young guy snowboarders think they are the cool park riders, so... a variant with a small following that can do both is beaten up on by both groups. I guess skiboarders are a common enemy to their versions of hipster culture. But me, I love it for what it is. I do care about having fun. Not being a young teenaged male, what the teen & 20something boys think isn't all that interesting to me (but I am aware of it as noted here).

Put another way, there are some days you want to go for the mtn/trail ride and some days you want to go for the road ride. Variety is what makes it all fun!

Ok, sorry for the longwinded response.

[Cassandra_Cain]

Responses whether long-winded, short-winded, middle-aged, or whatever, are welcome

A helmet and wrist guards sound fairly simple and obvious ways to give yourself at least some protection. I'll be opting for both.

Sounds like the surface you are on makes a difference - is there one that is better - Powder? What about man-made or packed powder?

I almost went today but opted to wait till next week since I need to get some proper gear (decent pants, helmet, etc).

I understand those of you who have skied a bit found snowboarding different and probably a step backward initially.

My case is different since i"m really not a skier (unless skiing 1x like 10 years ago makes me a skier ). So I'm going in totally new and without any experience or habits or expectations from skiing.

Well actually my expectations are along the lines of:

day 1 - 5 hours on backside, 5 minutes upright(during lunch probably!)
day 2 - 5 hours on backside, 5 minutes upright
day 3 - at least 10 minutes upright

[colby]

Learning to link your turns is a huge leap of faith, just one of many. It's actually easier on your body to do it "right" but you really have to trust yourself that speed isn't always a bad thing.

As for falling, snowboarding is how I injured my shoulder last winter. Thankfully, I had taken some karate, which taught me to never fall on my hands and to get out of a fall with my sensitive parts (extremities, head) protected. I tucked my arms in as I felt myself falling, and fell hard on my shoulder/back. Had I fallen with my arms out and my weight falling on one of them, I at least would have broken my wrist, if not my arm.

It's definitely going to happen. Keep your arms in, keep your head up, and stop yourself when you can from sliding (or rolling) all the way down the hill. It's so easy to catch an edge when you're not going fast enough to get over the terrain, or when you're in crappy conditions, or when you hesitate, or any number of other things, and when you catch you're probably going down.

I don't wear a helmet, but if I was doing big features in the park or it was a seriously icy day and I was doing steep faces, a helmet would be a good idea. This weekend was really the first time in the 3 seasons I've been riding that I went off anything in the park, and it was the mini-jumps. My friends wear helmets and the only thing they've knocked into so far is each other. You can generally rent helmets where you rent a snowboard, too, so if you want to try one out, you might be able to do that.

You know, the first big leap of faith is getting off the damn lift. Some ski areas have "carpets" which are faster than rope tows and let you ride the carpet (kind of like an moving walkway in an airport, or an escalator with no stairs) up the hill. Those are a good way to learn general control skills. Some just have a regular lift for their bunny slope, which dumps you in a little faster but at least you get practice! Those first few times are definitely an adventure.

[SJCzar]

I took up snowboarding at the end of last season and LOVED it !!! I had gotten back into skiing about three seasons before that and wanted to try something different. It also helped that I had all the hand-me-down equipment after my daughter upgraded hers.

I highly recommend RED (a Burton brand) Impact shorts. They have seperate areas that have padded plastic in them. As you progress, you can take out the areas that you don't think you're going to need anymore. The tailbone area is a definite must for at least the first few times out. Besides they add extra butt warmth.

Absolutely plan on taking a lesson....and don't give up after the first time or two out. Don't forget to bend your knees. I thought I'd never be able to make it down a whole run without falling the first two days. Once you somewhat get it, you'll really be enjoying yourself. I still get a bit nervous getting off the lifts, especially when I'm with a stranger. I don't want to take them down with me.

I wear my biking tights and arm warmers under my other gear. I get year round use out of quite a few of my cycling clothes just by using them for base layers. You want good water-proof pants...as you'll be falling on them alot in the beginning. It also helps if you have gloves that are warm, but not so bulky that you can't work the bindings.

Have fun and let us know how it goes.

[colby]

I highly recommend RED (a Burton brand) Impact shorts. They have seperate areas that have padded plastic in them. As you progress, you can take out the areas that you don't think you're going to need anymore. The tailbone area is a definite must for at least the first few times out. Besides they add extra butt warmth.

Wow, that stuff looks cool! An extra layer of protection. My favorite is the kidney belt.

Here's a link from the Burton store (though I'm sure you can get it cheaper elsewhere): http://store.burton.com/Red/BodyProt...=1165261500043

[Cassandra_Cain]

Thank you for all the encouraging and helpful comments, so nice to see and read

SJCzar - that is a fabulous suggestion about the padded shorts. After you mentioned it, I thought, darn why hadn't I considered that!

Colby - I'll check out the belt you mentioned also on that link.

I got some decent pants today, I already have gloves, but am looking into some good base layers, and possibly those wrist guards mentioned at the beginning of the thread.

The plan is to go this coming weekend, so I'll be sure to let everyone know how much time (in seconds) that I managed to stay upright on the 1st day