Joe Ramirez wrote:

To recap, I'm 42, my son is 14, and neither of us had ever snowboarded before.

My recap: I'm 48. I started boarding last winter, and got in one month of
boarding before the snow melted. I've been going out as often as possible this
winter and loving it.

You made a couple of mistakes.

1. Going on a weekend. I rarely go out on a weekend. The slopes are too crowded
with out-of-control kids on weekends. Fortunately my job allows me to take time
off in 1/2 days, and I've been going out afternoons. (One day last winter a kid,
about 10, would zoom straight down the hill and then fall at the bottom. After
watching him do that a few times I asked him why he fell at the bottom of the
hill. He said that was the only way he knew how to stop. After seeing two people
hauled away with concussions I bought a helmet.)

2. Going under poor snow conditions. Ice isn't easy for anyone.

I have no idea what the hills are like at the place you visited. They might be
too steep for a beginner.

Last winter I took lessons from a nearby resort. The "easy hill" was quite
steep. The snow was more ice than snow due to poor quality snow making. The
class really didn't help because the instructor, a 17 year old, wasn't very
good. He knew how to board, but not how to teach.

I bought a book. I do not recall the title or author. What I did was create a
"snowboard simulator" by placing my board on a carpeted floor and hanging onto
the back of the sofa. I followed the instructions in the book for turning and
linking turns and overnight I went from body slams to boarding. I also found a
gentler slope with good snow and a chair lift rather than rope tow, and avoided
weekends. My skills quickly progressed. I'm now enjoying intermediate to
difficult trails.

I think the sport needs a simulator to shorten the learning phase. Other sports
have them.

Dean