"Mike T" wrote in message
...
What went wrong: Just about everything else.

There were lots of good comments from the others -

Yes, the worst is over. It gets better from here, why else would we all
be so fanatical about it? FWIW, aside from the car and laptop
accidents, my first time went pretty much the same as yours. I slammed
down on the ice so many times I could barely move for three days. I
didn't try again till the next season, and it went much better.

Actually, since just about all of my falling was more or less intentional,
as a means of stopping, it didn't really hurt. It was more like sliding.
What was frustrating about the experience was not undue physical discomfort,
but rather the sense that learning was simply not possible in that
environment. When I looked down and saw all those people standing, sitting
or skiing right where I was supposed to practice my non-existent turning
skills, I knew it was hopeless.

Yes, rent from a shop, not the mountain - try on the boots at the shop,
get into the bindings, do whatever you can to make sure your stance is
comfy.

I recall you saying on your 1st thread, weekdays were not an option.
You could rent at a shop the night before, and then get to the mountain
bright and early, before the lifts open. You want to get into the
first lesson of the day, which usually starts just after the lifts open.
The slopes will be less crowded. Beginners don't get to the mountain
early. If you do, you might get the bunny slope to yourself! Also,
group lessons will probably be less crowded early in the AM. Not to
mention, chances are the trail will be freshly groomed.

In a day of wrong things, our timing went wrong too. I had wanted to get to
Seven Springs in time for the first (10:00 AM) snowboarding lesson, but the
roads in our neighborhood hadn't been salted early in the morning, so I
thought it was better to wait. (And the drive was still much more "exciting"
than I would have liked!) However, I thought that we could make the noon
lesson by getting there shortly before 12:00, because I naively believed the
lesson began with equipment selection. Of course, 12:00 meant "on the
mountain and ready to go" at 12:00. So, we had to wait for the 2:00 PM
lesson, and it was jammed.

It sound like your lesson just plain sucked. Call the 7 springs, ask
for the ski school manager, and tell them about it. Depending on what
kind of operation 7 Springs is, you might get some freebies out of it,
like a free lesson and ticket. If you decide to go for the private
lesson, make an appointment at this time, and make it *clear* that you
want the best beginner instructor they've got!

I sent Seven Springs an e-mail with an abridged version of the report I
posted here. No response so far, and I'm really not expecting one.

Joe Ramirez