Snowboarding Break - For A Newbie...
Discussion
I was a very experienced skateboarder as a kid (rode half-pipes) found that very easy and was also a reasonable surfer, but found that neither translated to making learning to snowboard any easier for me.
I picked up skiing in a week, but boarding just seemed too much like hard work, just the sheer amount of falls. On skis you fall a lot too when learning, but tripping out of your bindings on skis makes the pain of falling considerably less in my experience, provided you exit bindings cleanly/don't twist a knee. I acknowledge that skiing is not without dangers, just my 20yrs of skiing I've seen a lot more boarders go arse over tit simply because of the physics of having something permanently attached ot their boots.
I am probably the perfect control experiment, as I have an identical twin brother, also a former skater/surfer who went down the boarding route. It took him less to master the basics on a board than me on skis, but he suffered a heck of a lot more pain. He eventually had a fairly high speed 'off' where he caught an edge on his board unexpectedly whilst riding 'backside' to the mountain, flipped him fully forward and bust his collarbone on landing awkwardly. That and the aggro of the rehab (he had a young baby at the time) really put him off boarding, he now skis and finds it a lot less effort, although his resultant trip to hospital did allow him to be undressed by a sexy French nurse in Bourg St Maurice hospital where he was able to practice his degree level French for the first time in years!
My advice: get some of those padded arse shorts, knee pads, wrist guards and helmet. Expect it to hurt quite a bit in that first week, but enjoy it once you master it. Try to do some lessons somewhere in the UK first if you have a Snowdome near you, just to get used to the sensation of sliding on snow, so you maximise learning time in resort.
And yeah, the €7-8 beer has long been a feature of many resorts wherever you go. Was bearable in the €1.6 to the £1 when I used to go a lot but am slightly dreading my first post-Brexit referendum trip
I picked up skiing in a week, but boarding just seemed too much like hard work, just the sheer amount of falls. On skis you fall a lot too when learning, but tripping out of your bindings on skis makes the pain of falling considerably less in my experience, provided you exit bindings cleanly/don't twist a knee. I acknowledge that skiing is not without dangers, just my 20yrs of skiing I've seen a lot more boarders go arse over tit simply because of the physics of having something permanently attached ot their boots.
I am probably the perfect control experiment, as I have an identical twin brother, also a former skater/surfer who went down the boarding route. It took him less to master the basics on a board than me on skis, but he suffered a heck of a lot more pain. He eventually had a fairly high speed 'off' where he caught an edge on his board unexpectedly whilst riding 'backside' to the mountain, flipped him fully forward and bust his collarbone on landing awkwardly. That and the aggro of the rehab (he had a young baby at the time) really put him off boarding, he now skis and finds it a lot less effort, although his resultant trip to hospital did allow him to be undressed by a sexy French nurse in Bourg St Maurice hospital where he was able to practice his degree level French for the first time in years!
My advice: get some of those padded arse shorts, knee pads, wrist guards and helmet. Expect it to hurt quite a bit in that first week, but enjoy it once you master it. Try to do some lessons somewhere in the UK first if you have a Snowdome near you, just to get used to the sensation of sliding on snow, so you maximise learning time in resort.
And yeah, the €7-8 beer has long been a feature of many resorts wherever you go. Was bearable in the €1.6 to the £1 when I used to go a lot but am slightly dreading my first post-Brexit referendum trip
I was/am also a surfer. Once you get off piste into powder snowboarding is more like surfing, on piste is very different as you initiate a turn with your front foot, surfers tend to turn off the back foot.
I had never skied and I reckon that it takes less time to learn to snowboard than it does to learn to ski. Yes you fall down a lot for the first few days (hence lessons in the UK help) but by day 4 you should be able to keep pace with average skiers on blue runs.
When I watch skiers that have had 3 days of lessons they are still poncing about snowploughing on the nursery slops.
With boarding as soon as you get the hang of linking turns and using the edge you are on your way
I had never skied and I reckon that it takes less time to learn to snowboard than it does to learn to ski. Yes you fall down a lot for the first few days (hence lessons in the UK help) but by day 4 you should be able to keep pace with average skiers on blue runs.
When I watch skiers that have had 3 days of lessons they are still poncing about snowploughing on the nursery slops.
With boarding as soon as you get the hang of linking turns and using the edge you are on your way
Get to your nearest snow dome - do an intensive course and see how you get on. Similar to you, me and a mate decided to start boarding a few years ago (I was 32) we both picked it up in around 6 hours.
Absolutely not the kind of snowboarding that you'd want to show off but we could get down a mountain. After a good few trips away now, I cannot stress the importance of wrist guards. It's also worth buying boots, even if you are hiring the rest.
Look up Tignes- as high as possible.
Absolutely not the kind of snowboarding that you'd want to show off but we could get down a mountain. After a good few trips away now, I cannot stress the importance of wrist guards. It's also worth buying boots, even if you are hiring the rest.
Look up Tignes- as high as possible.
Last year was my first year on a board.. I did a whole day course at MK followed by a couple of practise sessions.
Then went out to Meribel with a couple of mates, all of whom are better than me who wouldn't let me take it easy.
I did a 2hr one on one lesson out there on my second day and the difference was night and day. Tended to stick to blues but was able to navigate myself down most reds as well if I had too (/ they made me..)
Then went out to Meribel with a couple of mates, all of whom are better than me who wouldn't let me take it easy.
I did a 2hr one on one lesson out there on my second day and the difference was night and day. Tended to stick to blues but was able to navigate myself down most reds as well if I had too (/ they made me..)
I'd go to Eastern Europe - You can't go wrong for value and to be honest in week 1 you won't be far out of resort!
I personally came back from first week skiing (been snowboarding for 15 years) I found it much easier to learn than boarding, progressed out of snow plough after day one.
I don;t think I'll board on on piste again, my body just can't take the abuse! Although if its a powder day the board will be straight out the bag, skis just don't compete IMO!
You might get to point where you can skid back end out from side to side in a week on a board but highly unlikely you'll properly carving after a week on a board. Either way its a great to spend a week - Have fun!!
I personally came back from first week skiing (been snowboarding for 15 years) I found it much easier to learn than boarding, progressed out of snow plough after day one.
I don;t think I'll board on on piste again, my body just can't take the abuse! Although if its a powder day the board will be straight out the bag, skis just don't compete IMO!
You might get to point where you can skid back end out from side to side in a week on a board but highly unlikely you'll properly carving after a week on a board. Either way its a great to spend a week - Have fun!!
Agree with the guys saying skiing first, then board. Every time I've been skiing I see boarders sitting on their arse, falling over every 5 seconds... But obviously its up to you, you have to start somewhere!
I'd also look into ski in/ski out hotels! Personally, its a must. Going from walking a few hundred metres to get a bus to the lift, to stepping out of your hotel onto the slopes is a game changer!
Or I might just be lazy
I'd also look into ski in/ski out hotels! Personally, its a must. Going from walking a few hundred metres to get a bus to the lift, to stepping out of your hotel onto the slopes is a game changer!
Or I might just be lazy
Jack Mansfield said:
Agree with the guys saying skiing first, then board. Every time I've been skiing I see boarders sitting on their arse, falling over every 5 seconds... But obviously its up to you, you have to start somewhere!
I'd also look into ski in/ski out hotels! Personally, its a must. Going from walking a few hundred metres to get a bus to the lift, to stepping out of your hotel onto the slopes is a game changer!
Or I might just be lazy
Ski in/out is great. Just make sure its a blue or green to the door not a red or black, or worse for a newbie - off pisteI'd also look into ski in/ski out hotels! Personally, its a must. Going from walking a few hundred metres to get a bus to the lift, to stepping out of your hotel onto the slopes is a game changer!
Or I might just be lazy
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