Steve Fort

Me and a mate from work have been talking about having a go at snow boarding, first having some lessons and depending on how we get on with it, get into it properly.

Have any of you lot dabbled in a bit of snowboarding?
How easy is it to get the hang off? (am i going to break my legs first time out?!)
Did you have lessons etc?

Any comments/advice welcome, cheers

Steve

scrap

Like you, have never tried but really want to learn and have a go.

I've been told that the Tamworth snow dome is a good place to learn.

Teri

Mr.Cookie

Going down the slopes the easy bit getting back up sucks i hate button tows lol

Recomend dry slope practice and wear crappy clothes with plenty of padding and dont forget gloves, i could never get used to the buttons tows and ended up giving up

It was fun try though

TheScooby

Once you go snowboarding you never go back I snowboard every snow season, and I absolutely love it. I started two years ago, didn't have any leasons, i just taught myself.
You shouldn't break too many bones Just make sure you have wrist guards(very important) and obviously gloves, also you may want to put some padding around your a$$. It spends a lot of time on the deck while learning

Once you get the hang of it (After about 1 or 2 days on the slopes) you will love it, try to get carving both ways to increase the enjoyment factor. Cheers.

Edited because of poor speeling

TheScooby

[Edited by TheScooby - 2/17/2003 3:16:06 AM]

neilbbb

go for it. i used to ski but have been boarding for past 5 years (much more fun)

if you're learning you will have bumps and bruises for first couple of days then the fun really starts

The Blade

Get started asap. The sooner you start the better.

IMHO it is harder to start with than skiing, but once you have mastered the basics it is easier to become more proficient than at skiing.

Fortunately I moved to Switzerland last year so now I am only 40 mins away from the slopes.

This is what you can look forward to :-


at the top & then on the way down !

JackClark

Get lessons and get a pad for your butt.

LG John

I learned how to do it the hard way - trial and error! Skiing kills knees whereas snowboarding will hurt your *** and brake your bones!! Get well padded up and be very carful. Don't point and hope.....you will die!!

I personally loved snowboarding and got into the freestyle element more than anything. I used to go regularly to Hillend and eventually they built us a nice big jump. I'd just started to stick my 720s when I went too big one day and landed on the flat I buggered my foot and haven't gone back since Unfortuantly it isn't like riding a bike and if I went back now I'd suck

Fond memories though...

TopBanana

It hurts!

I got into wakeboarding instead, easier to do over here too

Fat Boy

Wrist gaurds, *** pads and no fear helps. If you have ever surfed or even skateboarded, to a lesser extent, you won't find it too hard. I grew up in ireland and wales and did a fair bit of surfing. As a result, i fell over about 4 times on my first day, whereas my friend, who is a far better skier than me, stopped counting at about 300 falls and stayed in the chalet on the second day he was hurting so much . Get lessons and go on a day when there has been fresh snow, not when it's hard packed and icy. I now alternate - ski for 3 or 4 days and then board for a couple of days - each time I go skiing - it's different muscles and can give old glass knees, like mine, a break.

Brendan Hughes

If you would normally go on a ski holiday and have five days of lessons, go and have 5 days of boarding lessons instead, you'll be hooked. TBH you only need 2 or 3 to get started, after 4 hrs of good tuition you could go down a gentle mountain. Trial and error is REALLY painful, and can put you off it for life - I still remember my mate throwing his board down the mountain in disgust when he couldn't get it. If you get to the resort and it is sheet ice, GIVE UP and go skiing for a week instead, learning to board on ice is nearly impossible. Either get waterproof trousers or a longer than usual ski jacket, you spend lots of time sitting on snow. Kneepads might be a good idea, never tried them meself. Trad ski injuries are to knees, trad boarding injuries are sprained wrists, broken coccyx and collar bones as you do not FALL over (speed of gravity) but are LEVERED over (speed you are travelling) forwards or backwards when you catch the wrong edge - it hurts but is really only the first day or two, when you should be going slowly anyway. Oh, and don't try to take one day out in the middle of a ski holiday to dabble in boarding, it's really difficult going from facing forwards (skiing) to sideways (boarding) and back again.

Have fun!

Brendan

Wilster at Work

6 yrs ago I started off with a week of lessons at Pas de la Casa in the Pyrennes - never looked back. That week I ended up with a big bruise after totalling it and landing on ice - the hole of my left side from **** cheek down the back of my leg went black - doc said it was the worst bruise she'd ever seen.

Since then been every year and gradually improved. I wouldn't recommend dry slopes or snowdome - too pricey/no room - you would learn 5 lessons worth in one day on the real stuff with loads of space and (hopefully!) something softer to fall on!

DazW

iTrader: (1)

Hi Steve,

Dont bother with lessons over here, MK is expensive & Tamworth is cack & if you value your thumbs you'll steer clear of 'dry slopes' Just get a last minute deal (m8's just paid £150 for a week in Italy!) ... & get lessons over there, they're cheaper & the Instructors are better & you get a whole mountain to play on! ...oh & dont worry about not liking it!

DazW

Fat Boy

Brendan

No, its not,been doing it for years

However, if you mean don't take just one day off to try and learn it then I agree.

I think it's more intuitive than skiing and they say that 4-5 days board learning is equivalent to 2 or 3 weeks learning ski-ing.

[Edited by Fat Boy - 2/17/2003 2:05:36 PM]

ScooBabe

Yes,

The gear is much cooler than ski wear! I had lessons on a dry slope to begin with, but you can learn out there. My partner is a part time instructor up at the ski village in Sheffield. I dont go as much now. Can't afford it as have to pay so much for rallying

Scrappy2

Ah yes, will be doing my instructor training in the summer. Agree with comments above. Learn the basics on dryslope, then head off to find some snow as soon as possible; be it over here indoor or a cheapy holiday in Andorra. You'll find you can turn much easier and will get the feeling of it better on snow, and keep at it. But most importantly of all, buy some foam and cover ya ****! Repeatedly falling on the same or both cheeks hurts like **** after a while...

JackClark

And don't go all stiff when you realise you're going faster and steeper than you ever have before, two dislocated shoulders although amusing to look at still give me jip. And the whiplash didn't help either

Wilster at Work

....but don't let that put you off! As I said I've had the **** cheek injury and a mates dislocated his shoulder for the past 3 yrs - it all started at the snowdome! I would not go near a dry slope if you paid me - OK on ski's but catch an edge on a snowboard, hands out, no ta. I now wear a helmet after getting whiplash a couple of times.

As for speed, initially it comes down to bottle, but take a big fall and it knocks yer confidence until the next day. Practice and persistence is the name of the game. Eventually you get to the stage where your technique is so good you know you're not going to fall so you start speeding up. To go really fast i.e. keep up with a pretty good skier takes time to develop - longer than achieving the same speed on skis. Eventually you get to the point where its not just technique thats holding you back its strength and fitness.

The conditions make a big difference - when I first went the resort had a big dump of snow the day b4 we arrived. This makes things much more forgiving. When the powder disappeared and we were left with a hard piste things regressed somewhat - but that forces you to get the technique right - then when it snows again, you're all the better for it and the fun really starts!

JackClark

Didn't put me off Just about to book up for some last minute riding late March.

Speeds your freind!

motomc1

THE BEST LEAVING FOR CANADA IN TWO WEELS yer ha

LG John

Its at this stage you should be well aware of the injury risks! I knocked myself out when I messed up a 540. I landed on my head when I under-rotated a front flip. Land on my back from a height when trying a misty flip (which for the record went badly wrong!!!!) I've split my elbow open and had all the usual bumps and scrapes. Worryingly I'm one of the lucky ones

However, if your interested in carving your way at reasonable speeds down nice snowy slopes then it should be a far less brutal sport. I honestly would do it all again as its that much fun

Toerag

Having done at week in Saas-fee last year I can say the following - Your **** will get completely battered, get some cycling shorts and stuff a cut up sleeping mat down the back of it for protection!
Your calves will kill from 'creeping' on the back edge, so do excercises to get them stronger.
Soft fresh snow is a godsend!
Turning a board is like turning a scoob, you have to get the weight over the nose to get the back to go round! You really have to lean forwards down the slope otherwise you understeer!
Turning from back edge to front edge is slower for me, and you _really_ accelerate before you get the front edge to catch, so be aware and leave plenty of space in front of you until you get it right everytime!
It is great fun, use soft boots as it gives you more options once you progress and don't carry anything breakable in your pockets!

Pete Croney

I love boarding and wouldn't put a pair of skis on again.

Never had lessons and taught myself enough to survive in the first morning. From then on it just gets better and better. I've got a hard boot race board and normally rent a soft boot board too.

Nothing beats ripping up a fresh powder field on a board

On piste, just keep your weight well forward, off piste is much easier and much more fun.

JamieMacdonald

Ditto the comments above. I have been skiing twice (was intermediate level II after first week) but decided to try Snowboarding when I went to Courchevel in Jan. All my other mates were skiing but I decided to learn boarding along with my novice mate who had never even been skiing! He gave up on the first day after one fall too many and tried skiing which he found much easier. I had a one hour lesson with ESF (Ecole de Ski Francais) on the first day and stuck to greens then on the 2nd day I had a 2 hour 1-on-1 lesson on the blues and was doing the red runs with my skier mates in the afternoon. TBH I would have been quite happy sticking to the blues all week as you can get some nice speed up without go too fast. I totally agree with the comments about fresh snow (effortless) as opposed to a bashed piste (hurts!) - the good thing is I can now choose between Skiing/Boarding depending on the conditions .

Will probably stick to boarding now though, it's wicked.

J

sempers

Just done my first week, and first winter holiday snowboarding.
(nearly - skiied 1 day many moons ago)

Excellent.

Went to MK snowdome about 5 times, no lessons. Started out by doing a falling leaf thing down the slope - zig-zag forwards and backwards without ever going directly down, build up to turns.

Weight needs to stay forwards as someone already said, and, you do tend to land on the same spot on your tail every time. When you go to a resort you'll find the kit has edges (not @mk), and real snow runs a lot faster.

You have to get more comfortable with speed - where ski's can be jumped round, on a board, you have to accept you will pick up speed mid turn (you can expedite the turn a little by kicking the tail round). My major mid-holiday failing on blacks etc., is trying to edge too hard and hook the turn 'cos the speed's too high - if you catch a bump, you'll spin out. Settle to the speed, soften the edge, and all is well.

Much faster progression than skiing. See attached pic for my last day experience. (before anyone says anything, I had an experienced skiier guiding, etc.)


Boards rule on powder

Traversing for long periods sucks.

Try not to put your hand out when you fall - number one way to break wrists.

You start by sweeping the back around, then graduate to carving
(start knees bent, straighten, change edge, and as the board carves around, drop back down)
As you get faster, the straighten bit becomes less pronounced, but quicker, so you simply unweight the board as you change edges - at this point, (I think) you're much less at risk of the wrong edge disaster!
Speed helps turns (to a point) 'cos it's impossible to get on the downhill edge when you're going slowly - it becomes flatten, wait until you're downslope, then change edges - at that point, changing edges is a little more difficult to time, and more prone to error.

With speed, you just edge a little harder on the uphill edge to get the board coming under you, and lean down the slope, biting the downhill edge at the beginning of the turn, then stay on it all the way through.

I think, if you're profficient, ski's are probably superior on piste. Snowboards hate moguls, and don't like running straight (unless you want to die, you make sure your weight is a little on one edge at all times) That said, I reckon it'd take me a lot longer to get sufficiently profficient with ski's to do what I did on a board.

Off piste there's no contest! Unless it's stupidly steep where ski's can jump turn (better)

Oh, and on the injury front, (touch-wood!) I've been a total nutter, even visited the snowpark, and lost it over some pretty big jumps. Multiple sommersaults, and head grinding from 4-5feet up... tuck in hands, roll and tumble.. no probs. Admittedly I'd invest in a helmet next time, but on the whole I *feel* a lot less likely to hurt myself on a board - you tumble as a unit, rather than having legs going off in all directions...

Bit of an essay - hth!
- Mark.

Wilster at Work

...good call. It can be difficult to learn the whole lean forward thing when you're practising the basic turns - especially when it gets a little steep - you just don't wanna do it! However you can trick yourself by concentrating on raising your back shoulder, rather than thinking about leaning forward all the time. This tip also makes you look cooler, rather than coming down the slope looking like a monkey, or worse, Tommy Cooper, if you get what I mean!

When you start to link your turns as described in above post, the turn starts in the upper body and the board will follow - the trick is not to rush the turns - sweep round in nice wide arcs. A French instructor from last year came up with another similar tip - as you rise up into your next turn, pretend you're 'pushing open a heavy-ish door' (like when you walk into the pub!); basically you push out with your leading arm in the direction you want to go (transferring weight onto front leg) and keep your hips in/forward (i.e. don't stick your bum out). When the turn is complete bend knees - lower yourself, before rising up again into your next turn...