Snowboarding

[Chrissy]

I tried snowboarding for the first time last night.

I have a good friend who is an instructor and my husband has been having lessons for a few months. Both of them have been nagging me for a while to have a go, but to be honest I have always been pretty scared.

Last night, I thought i'd give it a go. I am seriously glad I did. I spent most of my time on the baby slope being taught how to fall correctly, how to do toe and heel stops, I even managed to board about 15 feet down a small slope without falling over :D

I am cross with myself that I haven't tried it before, I loved it! It doesn't hurt too badly when you fall and my friend is a really great teacher. He's very patient and doesn't mind explaining things again if you don't get it the first time.

This morning, I feel like a bag of jelly. I ache in places that I didn't know I had places, but it's such a long time since I did any really 'proper' physical exersize, that I am not suprised!

My husband is actually pretty good too, I hadn't seen him snowboarding before, but he managed to get up quite a lot of speed down the slope without tumbling arse over tit down the slope, which by the way, looks infinately possible! My friend and teacher is really good, he makes it look really easy and does all sorts of flashy tricks and moves as he boards down the slopes. I wanna be like him!

I will be going back next week and hopefully taking it up as a hobby. I think next year there are tentative plans to try and get abroad to see some real snow so by that time I want to be able to be left on my own to snowboard and really enjoy it. :cool:

I whole heartedly endorsed this product and or service :D

[SOC]

Sounds like great fun - where did you do it? Stocking and I hope to skiing some time before we head back to Australia for good...

[squorbal]

Is it better than skiing?

[Chrissy]

SOC - there is a dry ski slope in the town next to us which is where we go. They have a free-boarding session on a Sunday night where they open the slope to snow-boarders only. Its good to go just to watch, some of the people are really experienced and you get to see some mad crashes as well as being able to pick up tips from people who really know what they are doing.

There is a place in Milton Keynes called The Snow Dome where they have 'real' snow. That's supposed to be really good.

squorbal - I have never been skiing so I can't comment. Snowboarding is supposed to be easier to learn than skiing, or so I have been told.

[BlueBoy]

Snowboarding is the best fun you can have outside...in the freezing snow. :p

Seriously though, I got hooked on my one time and can't wait for this year's season. :D

[durus]

snow boarding is better than skiing. I've done both.

They are about the same difficulty to learn (but I am a blader)

for an intermediate skiier (like me) there isn't a lot to do. But for an intermediate border there's a lot to do. jumps, monos (don't know the right terminology) and a lot of other stuff.

It's the same for the advanced too. So for these reasons I find boarding to be more fun and satisfying.

It's also good that boarding boots are pretty comfy and walkable as opposed to freaking uncomfortable ski boots.

[BtrFly]

Snowboarding is REALLY good - provided you can get up off your arse!

I got to try it in Virginia ( i am an intermediate skiier), and i did have a really good time, til i fell on ice (not snowboarding), and buggered up my knee AGAIN. So if i ever get the chance i will be going again.

[Chrissy]

I bought a snowboard last night and this morning I woke up to find we have 2 inches of snow on the ground...could it be a sign??

Seriously though, this board is an ex-rental board which is a bit battered, but it will do for learning on the dry slope where anything more expensive would have been a waste of money because it'd get wrecked in about 5 minutes flat.

It's about 10 times lighter then the one I rented last Sunday, I need to get some cheapish boots and bindings now, then i'll be all set :D

[ersatz]

skiied (sp?!?) from 3 to 17, haven't been to the snow since then but would definitely try snowboarding next time. Like durus said, there seems to be more to do on a snowboard, but I find the idea of travelling sideways rather than facing forward a little odd(kind of like side-talking; only skateboarded once, never surfed on a board).

I wholeheartedly endorse this event or product.

[BlueBoy]

Originally posted by ersatz
but I find the idea of travelling sideways rather than facing forward a little odd(kind of like side-talking; only skateboarded once, never surfed on a board).
You can snowboard while facing down the mountain. It's hard as fuck on your legs though. :eek:

[Salted_Chipmunk]

Im so scanning my pics from last year and posting them here.

Snowboarding is the absolute shiznit, it is so much goddamn fun its not funny. If your gonna for a weekend or a couple of days, i'd suggest going from the middle of the week, as Sun Mon Tue Wed are the busiest days (tapers off on wed though.)

Leaves you with heaps of room to board, not many people around.

Its a little daunting at first, but come the second day when you learn how to turn both ways, its insanely fun.

Smooth powder runs are awesome, so soft and nice to fall in.

Best holiday ever.

Ersatz - Teh sideways thing, you get over it after about .00000005 of a second, as when you first get on the board, your gonna be on your ass :P

You'll basically learn it from scratch. As said if you were doing it front on, you'd be very sore.

Sideways allows you to get so much more weight distribution over you feet and a shit load more control. You really need your feet pointing that way for quick flicks of the arse end of the board to stop you from taking tumbles. And tumble you will.

Me wants to go boarding again.

[Chrissy]

I got my first proper injury last night...I broke my arse :eek:

Well, not so much broke, as very badly bruised. Sitting down is very painful, getting up again and climbing stairs is 100 times worse!

Even though I had enough padding to fill a small sofa shoved down the back of my trousers, I don't have much natural padding on my arse area and I managed to bang my coccyx (sp?) on the slope :( You know that feeling that makes you inhale really fast and then you don't know whether to laugh, cry or be sick?

Despite this little set-back, last night, it all came together. Everything I had been learning over the past three weeks suddenly fell into place. My stance was good and strong, my knees stopped turning inwards, my hands and arms stayed loose and I felt like I had some control.

Towards the end of the lesson, I had mastered shifting my weight from side to side and 'falling leafed' all the way to the bottom of a 40 foot slope without falling once...woo-hoo!!

I am loving this so much it's not true. I don't even mind looking like some weird kind of insect, crawling around on the slope with my feet attached to a plank of wood when I fall over and have to try and get back up again :D

[BlueBoy]

Originally posted by Chrissy
Towards the end of the lesson, I had mastered shifting my weight from side to side and 'falling leafed' all the way to the bottom of a 40 foot slope without falling once...woo-hoo!!
Can you leaf while facing backwards yet?
I'm trying that the first day I go up. :D

[Chrissy]

BlueBoy, I can sort of.

I am better at heel-side 'leafing'

I also discovered that I ride goofy yesterday, I have had my board set up to ride fakie (sp?)so far, so I will change it next week and see if it's anymore natural for me that way.

[BlueBoy]

If you've got your board set up natural* but ride goofie, you'll notice a huge difference in how well you ride once it's corrected. :D

*left-foot forward. Going backwards is referred to as fakie.

[midg3t]

snowboarding is best. i've been for about 5 days in my life... planning on moving to live somewhere closer to snow (thinking NZ or Canada) in a few years.

I'm a left-footed right-handed natural rider. is that weird? :)

snowboarding. is. best.

[m0loch]

there never used to be fat chicks on the slopes before snowboarders came along and farked that up.

[Al]

Originally posted by Chrissy
I got my first proper injury last night...I broke my arse :eek:

Well, not so much broke, as very badly bruised. Sitting down is very painful, getting up again and climbing stairs is 100 times worse!

Yeah, I did that. It really, really hurts. My sympathy!

In adelaide all we've got is the snow dome, or the ice dome as it should be called. It's crap, but whatcha gonna do. I've only been a handful of times, but it's awesome fun.

Planning on heading to either vic or new zealand this season. Should be sweet. Apparently adelaide uni is sending about 150 people over on a trip, if I go with them, then there'll be snow and chicks...

[midg3t]

If you get a choice, go to The Remarkables. I went there while staying in Queenstown. Great snow, better than Coronet Peak and Cardrona imo.

Cardrona staff and patrons are nice though -- I lost my wallet on the slopes and they mailed it back to my Australian address.

[Chrissy]

I am bringing this thread back to life as I am finally going to get to board on the real snow!

I'm going here (http://www.natives.co.uk/resorts/mor/cams.htm) in 3 weeks time. My brother lives in Morzine and I'm going to visit him.

Best thing is though, I am leaving the husband and child at home and for the first time in 13 years, I am going on holiday on my own. I can't wait!

Pictures will follow on my return, as long as I don't get squashed under and avalance/end up in hospital with broken bones/chicken out and spend the whole time sitting in a bar at the bottom of the mountain!

[SmaSheD_CoW]

I've been skiing in Switzerland (Wengen), NZ (Mt Hutt), and Australia (Perisher and Thredbo), but only spent one day snowboarding (at Thredbo). I hafta say, aussie snow sucks.

More on topic, I found that when you're skiing, you're more likely to get injured when you're just starting (as you're not going fast enough for your skis to snap off when you fall). On the other hand, you're more likely to get injured snowboarding when you're going at a decent speed and find yourself landing on some ice.

big al - Last year I went on a uni trip to Thredbo (bout 30 of us from Qld, and another 100ish from NSW) - it was awesome fun. We had skiers and snowboarders of all different standards, the blokes running it were awesome, and there were huge pissups every night - I'm going again with the same mob next year. Uni trips are mad :)

[HAL]

I find snow boarding in Aus real boring. I spent a week down at jindabyne last season and hit the slopes a couple of times at thredbo with a friend who lives down there (knows all the good lines), my mediocre snowboard skills on thredbo's best lines still failed to excite me to any great extent. For those wondering... no, I didn't slide down on my arse regardless of it being my first time. No doubt hitting real solid powder heaven would be fantastic.

[btwong]

i lived and worked as a lift operator at Sugar Bowl, Lake Tahoe California, in the 97/98 el-nino season. It was fantastic. Having to dig out your door and car every morning to go to work was so cool (but a bitch when i was actually doing it), and not being able to see houses from the road due to a 3 metre high snowbank...again cool, or even comng home from a hard day, and then walking on our neighbours roof, strapping ourselves in to our trusty boards, and hitting the kicker at the bottom... gold.

So many fun memories.... o yes and the gondola ride before and afterwork, inwhich 4 of use would all smoke a phat bowl of delicious green... brilliant!!

Recommend anyone doing it!!!!

Do it!

[Chrissy]

3 days until I fly out! :cool:

[Kyle]

What a coincidence, I just went up to Michigan to snowboard for my first time. We picked it up SEMI fast....I mean compared to skiing it was insanely hard and as I'm writing this I'm hurting more than i've hurt in a while. (I say it was insanely hard because I picked up skiing as a child in about 20 minutes before I got up on to the expert hill, but it took a whole day for me and some friends to get to intermediate.)

We started on the bunny (learner) hill for like 3 hours just trying to figure out the physics and stopping (toe and heel stops, carving, how the fuck to put the boots on when you're on a slant), after that we graduated up to the beginner hill...which was nice since my gloves were getting tired of the rope lift (it's a fast moving rope that you basically grab onto and get jerked up an incline my gloves died and the insulation was poking out of the various holes by this point).

It was nice to actually use the lifts and all three of us did really well, we fell a few times, but overall we kicked some ass on the beginner hill. After we ate some food we got up some courage and jumped onto the intermediate hill...which was like three times as high as the beginner hill.

Although we looked like idiots the whole way down, we made it about 7 times with no serious injuries (definitely some falls). Overall it was a great time and Im gonna go again if I can...although I can name about 100 body parts of mine that hurt like hell right now.

I'll update how I feel tomorrow. probably horrible. :D

[RedMaN]

I've always wanted to try snowboarding but never got the chance. I know how to ski so that is definite advantage over not knowing anything at all but it has been along time in between drinks.
Maybe one of these days I will be able to go where the real powder is and give it a good thrashing?

[BlueBoy]

I've always wanted to try snowboarding but never got the chance. I know how to ski so that is definite advantage over not knowing anything at all but it has been along time in between drinks.
Maybe one of these days I will be able to go where the real powder is and give it a good thrashing?
Watching longtime skiers try to snowboard is one of the funniest things I've seen.
Even if they are only slightly worse than me. ;)

[Munchkin]

I can ski, but I doubt I could snowboard .... I have all the co-ordination and grace of a fat man on a pogo stick.

[Chrissy]

Well, I have been and come back. I loved it! I didn't break any bones although on my last run down the hill I fell and something in my left shoulder went 'pop'. It was stiff and very sore over the weekend, but it's pretty much better now.

The thing I couldn't get over was how pretty the mountains are when they are covered in snow (I have never been on a winter holiday before). I have also discovered it's a hell of a lot easier to snowboard on real snow as opposed to plastic on the dry slope, which is where I have been learning up until now.

I thought you might like to see some pictures...

Powder:

[Chrissy]

Cute Swedish chick (my brothers flat mate, she's cool!)

[Chrissy]

Pretty view:

[Chrissy]

Me, catching some rays. Oh ok, I fell over...again!

[haiironezumi]

I love snowboarding. It's a bit hard to do it here though. I have only been down to the snow twice in about 5 years. First time I went down was in year 11, I was the only one from school snowboarding, everyone else was skiing. That only lasted 3 days, one of which we were snowed out.

Second time I went was last year. It was great, I had a blast except for Thursday night when we were meant to go up to the snow to go to a bar. I started drinking earlier with my roomies. The only problem was that I was drinking shots of 50% strength to their bourbon and cokes and cowboys. I had about 200mL of 50% alcohol in 1.5-2 hours. I threw up at 9pm. And again at 1 am when they got back. And again at 7 am when I got up. >.<

I also sprained my ankle going along a cross country trail.

[wanderlust]

I fucking love it!

I want to go to Aspen and the Swiss Alps!

NZ has great snow and it's cheaper in the long run because the accom price makes up for the airfare. Only thing is you cant stay on the mountain like in Hotham. :(

[SmaSheD_CoW]

I'm heading back to NZ in July for some skiing/snowboarding with a few mates. It's only costing $1100-1200, compared with $900ish for a week on the shitty slopes of Thredbo. I can't wait :D