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I am going to Breckenridge, Colorado in January. I have never been skiing or snowboarding before, but I was an avid skateboarder/surfer/wakeboarder in my youth. I have scheduled a single day class and will be renting my gear from a local supplier. What should I know/look out for/be terrified of? Is there anything I should be doing in the months before hand to make my learning curve/injury level easier? I want to be more like this..  and less like this.. 
Canned Ham Radio fucked around with this message at 21:55 on Jun 3, 2015 |
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Nov 11, 2014 23:01
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you will fall on your rear end and look like an idiot in front of 8 year olds on the beginners slope. Embrace it. In all honesty though, remember to bend your knees and lean forward more think. Don't neglect your non-preferred stance either, as being proficient in both will make things 100% easier on more difficult runs where the turns will be working against you (you can leave this for later but keep it in mind) Basically just relax, your instructor will know what they're doing and you skateboarding/surfing will go a long way in making the initial stages easier. You'll fall over a bunch and maybe even lose control a few times but who cares your a beginner and stacking it in the snow is usually painless.
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Nov 12, 2014 02:29
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ColtMcAsskick posted:you will fall on your rear end and look like an idiot in front of 8 year olds on the beginners slope. Embrace it. Counterpoint: even with years of experience with me every once in a while my edge catches on a bad ice patch, one particular incident had it in a real nasty area. My (poorly sharpened) edge hooked the ice hard, bit it and basically threw all my forward motion into a 90º pivot where my ribs landed right on a rock. after about 30 minutes of dry heaving and snot everywhere i managed to ride down and after dinner I had it looked at – 2 broken ribs. poo poo happens, but fear is more likely to get you hurt since you'll get real stiff in your motions and overthink things. so, relax and just accept that you're going to be terrible at first and probably get your rear end kicked by the slope – it's happened to everyone who does it. don't even worry about riding goofy until you can ride in your preferred stance well enough to go down an easy slope at-speed. remember that your back foot is your rudder, but basically as long as you listen to your instructor you'll be fine. no one is good at snowboarding when they start. no one. oh, and  wear a loving helmet, all the cool kids do it and it's stupid not to outside of a few very limited circumstances.for reference, I was taught to snowboard years after learning to ice skate and ski (which I started at around ~2-3), and my sister taught me by having me try to chase her down a black diamond. don't learn that way.
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Nov 12, 2014 13:36
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Skateboarding experience will help, but yeah, be prepared to spend a day sliding down a mountain on your rear end. Also you will more than likely make a fool of yourself getting off the chairlift. And yeah, wear a helmet. I never did, which meant that after a few bad falls I got the fear and was afraid of going fast or trying new things.
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Nov 12, 2014 17:53
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Definitely wear a fuckin helmet. I've skied for most of my life and the leaning thing is definitely super important for that. Looking down a steep slope can be scary but the more you lean the more control you have. The more you lean back the more likely it is that you're going to fall over. The way you want to control your turns is by leaning into them as well, don't try to force the snowboard into doing what you want by using your legs or whatever (I don't know how that would work, but on skis it's a bad idea). What I do is when I'm on the lift I watch the guys going past who look really good, and basically I just try to physically emulate that with my body when I ski. It's probably easier after having a lot of experience because your muscles already have an idea of what to do, but really your form is a very important part of going fast and not loving up.
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Nov 12, 2014 18:00
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Being a good skier did literally nothing for me when learning to snowboard, they have practically nothing in common except for snow
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Nov 12, 2014 18:21
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Excellent info so far!! Many thanks everyone.. I will be renting a helmet then to go with the rest of my gear. I am going with someone who knows the area and is an excellent skier, so hopefully that will help too. I am a big believer in safety gear, and I want to enjoy myself enough to come back. I have been watching every "learn to snowboard" video on Youtube and it gives me hope. I'm thinking I should be able to handle the basics after a full day of class. ColtMcAsskick posted:you will fall on your rear end and look like an idiot in front of 8 year olds on the beginners slope. Embrace it. This doesn't bother me. I have many years of experience looking like an idiot in front of other people. wheez the roux posted:poo poo happens, but fear is more likely to get you hurt since you'll get real stiff in your motions and overthink things. so, relax and just accept that you're going to be terrible at first and probably get your rear end kicked by the slope – it's happened to everyone who does it. This is going to be the kicker. I am an avid "Mountain Biker" though in Florida so I guess that makes me a "quarry biker"..LOL And I tend to be a bit hesitant in some occasions and complete stupid in others.. Oh well.. injuries heal, and scars are just tattoos with better stories.. Thanks again for all of the info!! Canned Ham Radio fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Jun 2, 2015 |
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Nov 12, 2014 18:53
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If you're a terrible snowboarded stay the gently caress off any black diamonds. Nothing ruins the hill faster than snowboarder who scrape the whole hill down to ice on the side of their boards.
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Nov 13, 2014 09:26
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Rule of thumb with learning to snowboard is that you will fall down again and again your first time. You'll still probably make it far enough down a hill at least once that you'll be pretty hooked. Once you start getting the muscle memory for balancing and steering you'll have a blast. Second day you'll still fall quite a bit, but you'll probably make it down an easier slope without falling. Third day you'll only fall a few times all day. It's like learning to ride a bike in that you never lose it. You might be rusty after a year or two break, but after one run you'll pretty much be back where you were. Also there's like a 90% chance you'll dream you are snowboarding the night after. Skiing and snowboarding dreams are fun as hell. Oh yeah, snowboarding safety is pretty simple: Don't run into anyone. Keep an eye on whats going on upslope. If you're going too fast, turn so you're going up the hill. If you're out of control and heading towards the trees, just fall down. Helmets are definitely a good idea, though I haven't worn one in years and years and years. Herstory Begins Now fucked around with this message at 18:25 on Nov 13, 2014 |
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Nov 13, 2014 18:13
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Wear a helmet, don't wear jeans, bring a spare set of clothes with you in the car or whatever (you will be soaked). Expect to fall down a lot, but focus on having fun and learning how to turn/carve and how to stop. Take your time, don't rush into it, and don't go sideways down the slope like a oval office. You know the people that stand up and see saw back and forth down the run? Yeah those. Don't be one of those. All you're doing is loving up the trail for everyone else. Falling down is fine, that poo poo scrapes snow off and makes it hard to play on. Also, rent. Rent until you know that you either a) want to continue doing this or b) don't want to. When doing your rental stuff, don't skimp out on boots. Get something that fits, and is comfortable. If you don't, your legs will hate you for it.
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Nov 13, 2014 22:22
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The tighter the boot the better control you'll have in both skiing and snowboarding. And when i say tight i mean TIGHT.
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Nov 14, 2014 01:55
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Abu Dave posted:The tighter the boot the better control you'll have in both skiing and snowboarding. And when i say tight i mean TIGHT. Don't cut off circulation either though. (Wearing two pairs of socks to try to keep warm does the opposite too.) http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDxVetiIKvZ9t56VvytI27RH50qTwxeaA I thought these were decent to get an idea of what the instructor is going to be talking about. There is a skiing/snowboarding thread here! Someday there might even be a snowboarding information post, but since the op is getting tons of snow right now they haven't bothered writing any  yet.http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3672898 I will say, comfortable clothing can make or break your day on the mountain, avoid cotton like the plague, wool is great, it keeps you warm even if it gets wet. (this is especially nice for wool socks, your feet are going to sweat, a single pair of good wool socks are amazing) and try to get a decent waterproof top layer, like everyone has mentioned, you will spend a significant portion of your first day on your butt in the snow.
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Nov 14, 2014 03:17
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If you fall forward make sure you fall on your forearms and elbows, not your outstretched hands. Also don't go on too baby of a hill. You need some speed to stay up. If you go down a hill and 0.5km/h you will fall down so many more times than if you actually have some decent speed going down. Momentum is your friend.
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Nov 14, 2014 04:25
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I did not know there was a thread!! Many thanks, I will be browsing it today instead of doing anything productive here at work!
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Nov 14, 2014 16:27
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Yep, you will fall a lot. The one thing I have noticed is that when we've taken people out the brand new skiers have a worse time. But if you only have 1 day to go, then you should ski because I think its easy to not fall at first. But if you are going to learn and go out a lot you will pick up snowboarding a lot faster.
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Nov 15, 2014 03:18
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Keeping your weight even on the board is a great knack to learn, and it applies in jumping and jibbing too. If you get into spinning i've found that it's better to throw it around after you leave the ground, or wind it up a little bit. If you spin before you get up there you'll probably end up pretty tangled. Also don't tuck your pants into your boots, they go around the boots. And butter's are an easy trick to get the hang of if you want to have some fun.
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Nov 15, 2014 07:36
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In case you haven't seen Snow Professor videos I can recommend them: http://snowprofessor.com/ Someone above mentioned bending your knees. The crucial part is to be flexible and not rigid, though that's easier said than done when learning. I was taught about applying pressure on the heel/toe/etc but that becomes much easier when you are flexible and your legs are not locked out (easily done). I started kettlebell lifting about a year after I learned to snowboard which, surprisingly at the time, improved my riding. It's the movement of the hips back and forward that helps you shift weight easier, so you can put more pressure on an edge and ultimately turn better 
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Nov 15, 2014 17:02
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wheez the roux posted:Being a good skier did literally nothing for me when learning to snowboard, they have practically nothing in common except for snow I am going to have to disagree on this one, only anecdotally. Once the shaped skis came out it was more obvious. Skier? Two of these shaped skis, bend them and have fun in the turns. Boarder? Take one shaped ski. The ski shapes came from alpine and Giant Slalom snowboard shapes. Want to stand on 2 skis or 1? I started on a Snurfer in the late 70s. Total piece of poo poo, but one of the best you could get for the task. We used bicycle tubes nailed to the Snurfer, voila a crude set of bindings. Then I skied for about 8 years since I could actually ride a mountain. Bumps n Jumps at Crested Butte level of stuff. My first real snowboard was a Burton Performer 140, IIRC. No metal edges, still wore sorrels for boots and had to climb Telegraph Hill in NJ each time I wanted to ride. And THEN... In the mid to late 1980's the mountains started allowing us everywhere (Stratton was the first). I came home drunk from a party, stared at my snowboard n said... Let's do it. In 5 hours I was cat nappin in Killingtons parking lot . I took the lift to the top of Kilington, and in about 40 minutes I collapsed at the base with steam venting from by body. Folks were following me, I was apologizing for taking up their time, but this was so new that they just wanted to watch it. My advice for the OP is to TAKE A LESSON, HELL TAKE TWO. BEND YOUR KNEES!!!!!! Wear a helmet!!! Folks will run into you. No MATTER WHAT, you are going to SLAM. Big slams are usually being caught locked leg standing up straight and catching an edge going 20 miles an hour. Learn how to carve deep turns. I have an early 1990s Burton Factory Prime 174(?) still in my basement. If I tuned it and took it up it would still carve so low I could lick snow. Shame I threw out an asymmetric alpine board I broke on a jump. Snowboarding is a blast, been at it off n on for about 25 years. On a good day in my prime I could get the lift riders to shout their approval. Those days are long gone. I still have a Burton ALP, the Factory Prime, but I ride a pristine Supermodel to show you how out of date I am. BEND. YOUR. KNEES. Look how sexy a hard boot carver looks (do not attempt your first season)  Herv fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Dec 12, 2014 |
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Dec 12, 2014 05:18
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I didn't learn to snowboard until my early 30's, even though I live in Salt Lake, home of great fuckin' powder. I took a lesson but it was so basic all I learned was how to do falling leaf and walk with my board on. Went a couple of times and just kept catching edges and crashing. I knew other people were having fun, but I wasn't and was about to stop going. Then someone on the internet, on this very forum, described how to turn properly. Next time out I followed that advice and all of a sudden I went from crashing every 30 seconds to linking turns and riding blues. Then blacks. 10 years later and I've never gotten great but I can get down just about any mountain. Short version of what I was told: Can you drive stick? Congratulations, you can snowboard! Because it's just like that. When the nose of your board is pointing straight downhill, press your leading toe downward. This will initiate a turn. Then press your trailing toe downward, this will increase the turn. When you're ready to turn back, lift up your leading toe. The nose of the board will start to straighten out and when it's going downhill again lift up the trailing toe so you're riding on your heels. Then reverse this process to turn back. Think of it like working the clutch and gas on a stick. Press, press, lift, lift. As long as you only try to change directions when the nose is going downhill, you will not catch edges and are not likely to crash. Since you've skateboarded you know if you're regular or goofy, and ride the same way. Like everyone else has said, bend your knees and putting your weight on your forward foot gives you more control.
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Dec 14, 2014 19:03
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I learned how to snowboard for the first time last year and it was a blast 1) Rent your gear. Borrow the clothes if you can, otherwise you'll have to buy those. You should be able to rent boots, board, and helmet. You'll need to purchase, borrow, or already have goggles, gloves, and some sort of outerwear. 2) Get an instructor, for sure. Sounds like you've got that covered. You'll be brought to the baby slope where you'll learn how to fall on your rear end again and again. This is totally normal, or so I'm told. After instruction is over, you should keep practicing on that slope until you feel comfortable. 3) As prep, you should focus on stability exercises and leg endurance. You want stability so that you can minimize your down time (which you'll still have a lot of anyway) and you want leg endurance so that you can have more time on the slopes without getting tired. Do squats, oblique twists, calf raises, and walking lunges to increase your stability and strength. Go on 30-60 minute bike rides or use a stationary bicycle for the endurance. Get a gym membership in any case. Some people may laugh at the squat but literally one of the first things that my instructor taught us to do was basically just doing a squat while going downhill, as a means of turning.
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Dec 15, 2014 01:10
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Sylink posted:Yep, you will fall a lot. The one thing I have noticed is that when we've taken people out the brand new skiers have a worse time. I tried this, but I had way more trouble staying up on skis than on a board. Everyone's different
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Dec 15, 2014 01:12
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1) Take a lesson and give it 3 days. On day 1 you'll fall every turn. On day 2, you'll fall every other turn. On day 3, you won't fall much, but it will hurt when you do (pro tip: don't carry speed into the flat areas until you are much better). Snowboarding is easier than skiing, but the learning curve is steeper. 1.1) I'd tend to say say don't learn at a major resort. You'll be on greens for awhile 2) Wear a helmet, and maybe even wrist guards. When you catch an edge on day 3, you will get thrown down hard. 3) Wear waterproof snow pants. You'll spend lots of time sitting in the snow. 4) Wear volleyball knee-pads under your waterproof snow pants. You'll spend lots of time kneeling in the snow, too.
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Jan 22, 2015 17:02
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Commit. If you birch out while riding you'll experience more pain than when you go cautious.
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Jan 23, 2015 05:47
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Embrace the speed. The faster you go, the more stable you are, as long as you aren't in the back seat.
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Jan 24, 2015 00:04
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Did you end up going and how did it go? Did you ever part in the snowboard thread? Also there are a bunch of us from Denver who ride at the Vail resorts. Meet up and watch you fall down?
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Jan 24, 2015 19:11
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gaj70 posted:1) Take a lesson and give it 3 days. On day 1 you'll fall every turn. On day 2, you'll fall every other turn. On day 3, you won't fall much, but it will hurt when you do (pro tip: don't carry speed into the flat areas until you are much better). Snowboarding is easier than skiing, but the learning curve is steeper. What is with this three day thing? Everyone I know has gotten through to the last part there within the first six hours. It may just be that I mostly know people who have done plenty of other balance sports (like skateboarding). Day three for me was learning how to jump off of the little jump ramps my local mountain has everywhere and land the jumps without going flying, which is great fun. I have yet to work up the courage to use the rails though even now. Everything else here is good though, good waterproof pants and a helmet are essential to enjoying the experience in my opinion. Be prepared to spend a lot of time on your rear end, both intentionally and not.
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Feb 8, 2015 07:02
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GlyphGryph posted:What is with this three day thing? Everyone I know has gotten through to the last part there within the first six hours. It may just be that I mostly know people who have done plenty of other balance sports (like skateboarding). Day three for me was learning how to jump off of the little jump ramps my local mountain has everywhere and land the jumps without going flying, which is great fun. I have yet to work up the courage to use the rails though even now. Previous experience with balance sports make a really big difference. Both the balance and the muscle memory involved in skateboarding or surfing is largely the same.
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Feb 8, 2015 07:19
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I would second the three-day thing. The first day is spent being incredibly frustrated that you're on your rear end more than your feet. This is why many people say it's a bad idea to try to teach your girlfriend / best friend to snowboard, because the first day is just hard. Just thought you should know that going in.
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Feb 8, 2015 07:24
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Tailbone guard is my favorite piece of equipment. Think of them as shorts with a pillow sewn into the butt. Totally worth it, especially if it is icy.
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May 4, 2015 06:06
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As someone who taught snowboarding professionally for a while, the three day thing is spot on. It won't always take someone three days, but for someone without previous skateboard/surf experience 3 days is the amount of time you'll need to budget for them going from catching an edge every other minute to getting down runs successfully and actually enjoying it.
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May 4, 2015 13:05
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Wow how the time flies!! Yes I did go. 3 days on the slopes in Breckenridge. We stayed in an excellent condo  View from the Balcony.. And we used Peak 9 as our launching point each day. This is my first time in snow gear, wearing my board boots, and looking calm and collected even though I was a bit intimidated looking up at the amazing mountains around me.. I had purchased a proper beanie to wear on the slopes, but two days before the trip, I went to see Evil Dead the Musical and found the beanie you see here.. Perfectly warm, and the blood splatters just complete the look.. LOL   This is the view down the El Dorado TRAINING SLOPE they put us on.. to say I was nervous is a massive understatement! I did a single day class on day one and then spent the afternoon of that day tooling around and practicing what I had learned. I fell quite a bit, but I had a spectacular time. By the end of the first day, I had a solid grasp of basic carving, garlands, and s turns. We made use of the Quicksilver, Beaver run, and Mercury superchairs and by the end of the first day I was dead on my feet. Here I am lounging in my thermals in front of the fireplace.  Day two started with a hike up the mountain to The Overlook Restaurant 11,274 feet. It was an amazing view and I was completely awestruck!   And the view from where we sat to eat..    Eating a hot and flakey Turkey Pot Pie while sitting at over 11,000 feet is pretty freaking awesome. If you ever get the chance to do so, I highly recommend it. You won't forget it. After breakfast we tooled around The Village and wasted money buying stuff we didn't need just because it said "Breckenridge" on it. A picture of three Jack Asses..  Then we went back to the slopes..   Last pic is lunchtime at the Ten Mile Station. That night we ate like KINGS thanks to a local Whole Foods that we found!  A New York strip, A Porterhouse, 4 different types of sausage, and two different bacon flavors.. Last day on the slopes was a sad day, But I had my feet under me and even hit the Briar Rose and Country Boy Blue runs to see if I would die.. And I survived.   View from the Mercury Superchair  The weather had taken a bad turn for the last day, and I even had ice in my beard at one point. I have never had more fun and I am looking forward to the coming winter. We have decided to head to Smugglers Notch in Vermont this year for a full 5 days on the slopes! Big thanks to everyone who offered advice. I didn't take any of it for granted and I believe I am now hooked on snowboarding. If anyone out there actually wants to see the rest of the pics we took, just let me know and I will send you the info for the photobucket album! If you're really curious and want to subject yourself to a fat man sliding down a mountain, i can link the Youtube videos.. LOL Canned Ham Radio fucked around with this message at 22:58 on Jun 2, 2015 |
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Jun 2, 2015 22:46
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SHISHKABOB posted:Definitely wear a fuckin helmet. This! I ate poo poo at Tahoe in January and was knocked out for 2 mins or so. Came to on the mountain, but wasn't coherent until I was in the ambulance on the way to hospital. Ended up with no serious injuries, just a face laceration and a serious concussion. Who knows how it would have ended up without the helmet on. Also, if you're not American, tick the box that says "SNOW SPORTS" on your travel insurance. I didn't, and have since "enjoyed" paying back the $6k or so in medical bills I incurred! $57 for a single Zofran? gently caress that!
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Jun 10, 2015 06:37
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