Snowboarding tomorrow! Need tips

[fustercluck]

Going snowboarding tomorrow. Never snowboarded, gone skiiing, or seen snow (alright I've seen snow a few times but just very light snow). This will likely be the last time I'm able to snowboard/ski for a long time so I want to get the most out of it and not spend the whole day trying to 'figure it out'. Of course I'll fall down a lot but any tips might help speed up the learning process.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Prepare yourself by watching this documentary:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1278340/

The techniques learned could save your life.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Honestly, your first day is all about learning and keeping balance. You're going to fall more than you'll be on two feet. Remember to shift your weight like you are riding a motorcycle. Use your heel edge to stop and slow down by focusing your weight on your heels and lean back. Keep your knees bent. Look in the direction you want to turn. Don't look down. Bring some ibuprofen. And most important, try to have fun despite the frustration.

 

[HappyPuppy]

Snowboarding is for the young at heart with bones of rubber.

 

[sjwaste]

Since it'll be your first and only time for a while, ski instead. And make sure to rent the helmet, its not optional.

Most people pick up skiing, at least the basics, in a couple of hours and can at least enjoy going down the mountain for most of the day. Snowboarding is basically hazing the first day.

 

[Bignate603]

Prepare to fall. Often. Everybody does, it's part of learning. As was said before, get a helmet.

I've found that the hardest part is leaning down the mountain. Your natural tendency is to want to lean on your foot higher up the mountain but if you do that you won't be able to control where you go. Put your weight on your downhill foot even though it will feel like the last thing you want to do.

 

[Matthiasa]

Hmm tip, don't fall.

 

[szechuanpork]

lean forward; put your weight on your front foot and use your back foot to make those s turns.

 

[darkxshade]

Don't be afraid to fall and you will fall less.

Don't hit the bunny slopes... go on a slope with few people and a lot of powder so you don't break your tailbone when you do fall. Unfortunately those slopes tend to be the steep black diamonds. Don't be afraid to go on them on your first trip, if you find yourself too afraid to stand, you can still brake all the way down safely.

 

[RedCOMET]

if you're gonna fall, make sure you make a fist as if you punching the ground to prevent your self from breaking your wrist; if you try to land with your hands palm open you could break your wrist. that happened to my brother when he was first learning how to snowboard.

And as mentioned before... wear a helmet. They also keep you head nice and warm. I wear a helmet when i snowboard, and luckily enough I have never taken a bad fall to date.

 

[Buttzilla]

if you're gonna fall, make sure you make a fist as if you punching the ground to prevent your self from breaking your wrist; if you try to land with your hands palm open you could break your wrist. that happened to my brother when he was first learning how to snowboard.

And as mentioned before... wear a helmet. They also keep you head nice and warm. I wear a helmet when i snowboard, and luckily enough I have never taken a bad fall to date.

this, this is sooo important. try falling on your elbows instead or get some wrist protectors since you will be falling a lot. i've seen people buy butt pads also. take lessons if you can spare the money cause the instructors are typically more patient then your friends. be prepared to be sore as hell and one thing, you are not going to have fun...

 

[Runes911]

Don't be afraid to fall and you will fall less.

Don't hit the bunny slopes... go on a slope with few people and a lot of powder so you don't break your tailbone when you do fall. Unfortunately those slopes tend to be the steep black diamonds. Don't be afraid to go on them on your first trip, if you find yourself too afraid to stand, you can still brake all the way down safely.

My advice: don't take this guy's advice.

As you've said this will be your first and last for a while. As far as snowboarding goes its take several times to even get the basics.

 

[Draftee]

Don't be afraid to fall and you will fall less.

Don't hit the bunny slopes... go on a slope with few people and a lot of powder so you don't break your tailbone when you do fall. Unfortunately those slopes tend to be the steep black diamonds. Don't be afraid to go on them on your first trip, if you find yourself too afraid to stand, you can still brake all the way down safely.

Not bad advice actually. I'd try some intermediates for the first half day, then go wild on the blacks, the stacks don't hurt!

 

[Triumph]

When you get off the lift, just kinda fall over right there, in place. Sit there for a few minutes, maybe 4 or 5, while you consider putting your boots in your bindings. Make sure you do this with about 10 or 12 of your snowboarding friends, it seems to work better in groups.

 

[Bignate603]

Don't be afraid to fall and you will fall less.

Don't hit the bunny slopes... go on a slope with few people and a lot of powder so you don't break your tailbone when you do fall. Unfortunately those slopes tend to be the steep black diamonds. Don't be afraid to go on them on your first trip, if you find yourself too afraid to stand, you can still brake all the way down safely.

I agree about not hitting the bunny slopes (that rope tow is ridiculously hard to do on a board) but black diamonds on your first day is nuts. Stay on something gradual where you can control your speed. I find it was easiest to learn on runs that were nice and wide so I had room to practice my turns without worrying about getting near the edge of the trail.

 

[RadioHead84]

this, this is sooo important. try falling on your elbows instead or get some wrist protectors since you will be falling a lot. i've seen people buy butt pads also. take lessons if you can spare the money cause the instructors are typically more patient then your friends. be prepared to be sore as hell and one thing, you are not going to have fun...

What do you mean no fun? I went snowboarding for the first time this year, and I had a BLAST. It's frustrating at first, but once you get a hang of it, and you get better and better each time you go down the mountain it's really fun and rewarding.

I think I picked it up really really fast, but I am totally addicted now. I found snowboarding 10x easier than skiing. I tried skiing when I was a kid and totally sucked at it, which led to me giving it up quickly.

Suggestions:
1. Take a lesson, it will really help.
2. Make sure you start with your front foot. I messed up a lot in the beginning because I thought snowboarding mostly involved leaning. The snowboard is flexible, and your front foot is going to be what begins to change the edge you are on.
3. Wear a helmet, it just gives you more confidence and makes sense.
4. Don't give up.

 

[KillerCharlie]

Unless you will be snowboarding a lot in the future, try skiing. Skiing is a lot easier the first 2-3 times.

When I first started snowboarding, I spent most of the time on the ground. It was painful.

 

[duragezic]

Dude you're probably gonna get owned. How old are you? I started when I was like 13... which is a good thing because you can take a pounding when you're young.

It's going to be difficult to do in one day, and likely be extremely frustrating. I'd say take a lesson but if this is only a one time thing I guess it doesn't matter.

I'd probably just go skiing instead.

The thing with turning is not to just pivot your board, but to lean up on your toes and heels. Picture your board going straight do a hill. Now you want to take a left turn to slow down. You mostly use your back foot to push down the slope, turning your board closer to perpendicular to the hill rather than parallel. But if you only do that, you're going to catch your toe edge and hit hard (just use your hands to move the board on your carpet to picture how this will happen). At the same time you bring the board away from parallel to the hill, lean on your heels so your toe edge comes completely off the slope.

Here's an exaggerated horribly done paint diagram:

The same thing with a toe side turn. If you don't lean forward on your toes up the hill, your heel edge is going to catch and you're going to go flying backwards. Honestly you're better off leaning way forward on your toes and slowing down so much you fall forward up the hill, than catching an edge and going flying.

 

[duragezic]

I don't think a bunny hill tow rope is hard to ride. Of my first day on the bunny slope, my problems were many but staying upright while holding the rope or handle wasn't a big problem (I fell sometimes but not a lot).

So I'd probably try out the bunny slope and if you totally can't get back up on the rope, then scout out the map and look for some long, gentle green marked slopes. All of the places I've been to have a group of these and they are usually very popular.

If you ever come across something so steep you can't make it down without going to fast, simply switch to your heel edge (correctly, like shown in diagram where toe edge is lifted off slope) and go down perpendicular the entire way. It's slow going but if you are afraid of going straight and too fast, use this way to "grind" down as much as needed.

 

[ed21x]

buy wrist guards with those hard inserts and wear those under your gloves. This is crucial, and you will be eternally thankful for this tip.

 

[brtspears2]

Getting off the lift, just put some weight on your lead foot, bend knees a little, and glide off, then crash. You'll make everyone happy by not having the lift stop so you can crawl away.

Work on going downhill on the heel edge for a bit. You can shift weight back and forth like a falling leaf. Get the hang of this for a while before moving on.

Once you get that, get your board pointing downhill, put some weight on the lead foot, bend knees slightly, your back foot will act like a rudder on a plane. Drive your toe into the mountain and the rear should follow. Twisting in the direction you want to carve helps a lot here for the beginner. Do same thing to get back to heel edge. Repeat until you get to bottom of hill.

 

[Runes911]

Where are you going snowboarding?

I just got back from snowboarding today.

 

[moshquerade]

Helmet. Friend of a friend just suffered a pretty severe concussion while snowboarding. She thinks (now) that a helmet is a good idea. : /

 

[0roo0roo]

dont just sit there like a speed bump.

 

[kstu]

When you get off the lift, just kinda fall over right there, in place. Sit there for a few minutes, maybe 4 or 5, while you consider putting your boots in your bindings. Make sure you do this with about 10 or 12 of your snowboarding friends, it seems to work better in groups.

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