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Snowboarded for first time yesterday

 
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pet575
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PostPosted: Jan 18, 2008 8:24 am    Post subject: Snowboarded for first time yesterday Reply with quote

I've got a trip to Vail coming up in early February. I've skied for years, but decided I'm learning to board this year. On the majority of the advice I got here, I decided I'd get a lesson.

We got some snow here Wednesday night, so I decided I'd save myself a day at Vail and head out to our local fake mountain and get a lesson. I figured my skateboarding, hockey, rollerblading, and wakeboarding over the years would help me out. I got an hour lesson, and caught on pretty quickly. The instructor I had also wakeboards, so he could see that I understood the balance and edging concepts so he just concentrated on the few adjustments to be made when switching over. He was great and I fell hard and often for the first few hours. Then, as time wore on, I fell less often and only had a few hard falls over the next 4 hours. All in all, I got about 5 hours of boarding in, took a few hard shots, and then made my last 4-5 runs (VERY short ones on a fake mountain!!!) without falling hard or without falling at all.

Very encouraging, a lot of fun, and all after only an hour lesson. I'm not even all that sore today-mostly my shoulders and triceps from pushing myself up after falling. Makes for a great mastercard commercial:

Crappy rental equipment (mostly the bindings): $23
One hour snowboarding lesson: $15
All-day lift ticket (used from 1 to 6PM): $36
Busting out of work at noon on a Thursday to go snowboarding on 5" of fresh snow: PRICELESS

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Wakebrad
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PostPosted: Jan 18, 2008 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's awesome man. That first day is the hardest. The biggest difference between snowboarding and wakeboarding is in snowboarding:

Put your weight on your front foot and you swing your back foot to steer.

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pet575
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PostPosted: Jan 18, 2008 9:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ya, that was what I had to work on. Pretty tough to trust that, as you go down a steep incline, you have to lean forward toward the bottom of that incline. I'm not afraid of heights, but it is pretty tough to convince your brain to do that when your natural reaction is to lean back toward the top of the hill. The more convinced my brain became, the less I fell.

The other part that was hard for me was the skating. The instructor I had was trying to get me to skate with my board on the right and my rear push foot on the left (I ride goofy). But, my hips just aren't all that flexible in that direction. Eventually, I changed up and put my rear push foot behind and to the right of the board and that worked much better.

I'd heard some pretty bad stories about how hard the first day is, and how much of a beating I might take. Fortunately, I took some hard falls but feel like I picked it up quicker than most and didn't take as many hard falls. Plus, it was a blast.

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PostPosted: Jan 22, 2008 1:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

pet575, I went snowboarding for the first time back during the first week of Jan. Like you, I felt that I picked it up pretty quickly. I also took a 1 hour lesson. I took some hard falls the first day but by the 3rd day, I was able to ride all the way down without falling. It was a blast. I just pulled the trigger on my own setup (I concur, the rental gear is crap) and we're headed back up on Feb 10th. Can't wait!! Cool Cool Cool
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Wakebrad
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PostPosted: Jan 22, 2008 2:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
The instructor I had was trying to get me to skate with my board on the right and my rear push foot on the left (I ride goofy). But, my hips just aren't all that flexible in that direction. Eventually, I changed up and put my rear push foot behind and to the right of the board and that worked much better.

You'll find that which side of the board you push on will be based on which way the hill is sloped. You should be comfortable doing it both ways. It just takes practice.

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pet575
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PostPosted: Jan 22, 2008 2:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ya, I did figure that out. Also figured out that the next time I get my board set up I want my foot ducked out just a little more. It wasn't out very far.
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PostPosted: Jan 22, 2008 2:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

pet575, yeah, that'll help. I think I have mine at 21 degrees.
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PostPosted: Jan 23, 2008 12:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

pet575 wrote:
Ya, I did figure that out. Also figured out that the next time I get my board set up I want my foot ducked out just a little more. It wasn't out very far.


Yeah, the dude at the rental counter set mine up at first. It didn't take long for me to get them adjusted more like my wakeboarding setup. Definitely helped.

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PostPosted: Feb 07, 2008 5:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just rode for the first time in 8 years last saturday. I had tore up my back years ago on a nasty fall. Said to hell with it and quit. Finally a buddy convinced me to take it up again. I actually felt like I was riding better than in the past. I think it has to do with 8 years of jijitzu and wakeboarding. More flexible and better cordination. Yeah I'm hooked again. Picking up a new setup in the next few days or so.
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