Dumb bet?

I've skiied for several years and am quite good... no expert by any
means but can have a great time and only fall when doing something
nutty.

I'm going boarding with friends next week for the first time. This
friend of mine went for his first time last year and he says that it
took him 2 full days before he could go any distance without falling.
I've made a bet with him that I could pick it up and would be able to
go down the mountain, complete with turns, falling 5 or less times
within 4 hours. We're going to Wolf Creek.

First, do you think this will be possible? Second, do you have any
tips that would help one pick up snow boarding FAST?

Many thanks in advance!!

"Robert" wrote in message
om...
I've skiied for several years and am quite good... no expert by any
means but can have a great time and only fall when doing something
nutty.

I'm going boarding with friends next week for the first time. This
friend of mine went for his first time last year and he says that it
took him 2 full days before he could go any distance without falling.
I've made a bet with him that I could pick it up and would be able to
go down the mountain, complete with turns, falling 5 or less times
within 4 hours. We're going to Wolf Creek.

First, do you think this will be possible?

Be prepared to pay up.

Second, do you have any
tips that would help one pick up snow boarding FAST?

Take a lesson from an instructor, and hope for the best.

Buy your friend lots of beer, so he's drunk and won't notice how much you're
falling. Better yet, drop several hits of acid in his beer (before riding),
then he won't even know he's on a mountain.

Dude, you are so much toast! Hope you didn't bet too much money. Or anything
humiliating or otherwise painful...


Many thanks in advance!!

You have my sympathies. Nice to see someone trying to flee the dark side, it
will be worth the pain, I promise. And there will be lots of it!

"Robert" wrote

I've made a bet with him that I could pick it up and would be able to
go down the mountain, complete with turns, falling 5 or less times
within 4 hours. We're going to Wolf Creek.

First, do you think this will be possible? Second, do you have any
tips that would help one pick up snow boarding FAST?

Take this advise with caution, I'm no expert in teaching, but went
through initial learning a year ago.

0. Wear wrist guards and a helmet.

1. Pick the right gear. Don't get a wide board unless you absolutely have to.
Don't pick the board by how tall you are, pick by how heavy you are. Look at
the manufacturer's spec for what weight rider the board is intended for, or ask
for it at the place you'll be renting it from. Ideally, for a beginner you should be
a little above the center of the weight spread on the board spec. Boots should
fit snugly and be comfortable. Set angles to about +21 +6 for your fist day out.

2. I think the key to starting riding on blue slopes is working with your knees
throughout the turn. I'll try to explain (sorry, not a native English speaker so
somewhat messy).

So let's say you start riding straight down, knees a bit bent. Usually a beginner
gets scared by speed and tries to initiate a turn ASAP to slow down. You make
a nice carve (let's say on a toe side, which will most likely be your first carve),
and now it's time to transfer to the heel side. You twist your upper torso, try
to look where you're trying to go, start going straight down gaining speed again, get
scared, that makes you want to press the back leg as hard as possible as soon
as possible to slow down. You do it too early and end up gliding on a back
third of the heel side of the board edge for some time scrubbing speed, and after
that you're effectively too messed up to continue riding so you stop trying to figure
out what did you do wrong.

What you should be doing though is squatting rather deeply between
carves. Let's say you are in that first toe side carve. Your body is fully
extended in a carve. When you get closer to completing it, SQUAT
deeply, transfer weight to the heel side while sitting down, and start
carving on your heel side while extending your body getting out of the
squat. This way, you won't be nearly as scared of speed because you're
much more stable while your center of weight is closer to the board, AND
you'll have the spring action thing going on slowing you down and helping
you to lay good carves bending the board.

I personally think this spring action is key to "getting it". Carve, contract,
transfer, extend-carve-contract-transfer-extend... You get the idea - the
vertical body action is key to hitting your 4-hour goal, IMHO. Oh yeah, and
you'll need to do it really rapid, I mean you should be aiming to have at leat one
heel-toe switch per second.

If you are really set to learning this fast, start visualising this action at least
a couple of days before hitting the slopes. You should have it "programmed"
in your mind already when you put your board to the snow for the first time.

3. If you think you have much more trouble transferring from toe to heel side
than from heel to toe (or vice versa), this may mean your bindings are not set
up properly. Say, if you have more toe overhang than heel overhang, you'll
have trouble doing toe-to-heel transfer. Or it could be that you need to adjust
the highback angles.

Hope this helps.

Robert,

I've taught a number of people over the years. I've seen some get on the
board and with the right instruction sail down the hill as if they've been
riding all their life in about 1/2 hour. Others have taken much 2 to 3 days
just to make it down the hill without falling (no grace or style). I taught
one rider last season who was linking turns and fell less than 5 times on
his 3rd run. The key was to only allow him to take 2 runs his first day
out. Your first time on snow is so fatiquing, that much more than 3 hours
on snow becomes an excercise in futility. Once you've completed a couple of
runs you're so tired you don't have the energy to utilize what you've
learned. Continuing to ride only makes you more frustrated and banged up.
Quitting before you get so exhausted you want to throw the board in the
garbage is the key. Give yourself a good night sleep and a soak in the hot
tub and day two will be a breeze.

Sean Martin
Donek Snowboards Inc.

http://www.donek.com/
phone:877-53-DONEK

"Robert" wrote in message
om...
I've skiied for several years and am quite good... no expert by any
means but can have a great time and only fall when doing something
nutty.

I'm going boarding with friends next week for the first time. This
friend of mine went for his first time last year and he says that it
took him 2 full days before he could go any distance without falling.
I've made a bet with him that I could pick it up and would be able to
go down the mountain, complete with turns, falling 5 or less times
within 4 hours. We're going to Wolf Creek.

First, do you think this will be possible? Second, do you have any
tips that would help one pick up snow boarding FAST?

Many thanks in advance!!

"I've made a bet with him that I could pick it up and would be able to
go down the mountain, complete with turns, falling 5 or less times
within 4 hours. We're going to Wolf Creek.

First, do you think this will be possible? Second, do you have any
tips that would help one pick up snow boarding FAST?"


Possible, but not very likely. In my experience, the related sports
that help in learning snowboarding are prior skateboarding or surfing,
not skiing. OF course, it also depends on what you mean by going down
the mountain. If it's a standard winding relatively narrow green
trail with lots of other people on it, it's just about impossible. If
it's a big wide straight run, then your odds are much better.

Best thing you can do is find a good instructor and unless you can do
really well on the bunny slope, just pay up, instead of injuring
yourself.

(Robert) wrote in message . com...
I've skiied for several years and am quite good... no expert by any
means but can have a great time and only fall when doing something
nutty.

I'm going boarding with friends next week for the first time. This
friend of mine went for his first time last year and he says that it
took him 2 full days before he could go any distance without falling.
I've made a bet with him that I could pick it up and would be able to
go down the mountain, complete with turns, falling 5 or less times
within 4 hours. We're going to Wolf Creek.

First, do you think this will be possible? Second, do you have any
tips that would help one pick up snow boarding FAST?

I think you've got a good chance, depending on the quality of
instruction you get. You'll have a better shot if you get a lesson
from an instructor. Unfortunately, now your buddy has no incentive to
point out any mistakes he sees...

There are some beginner tips on my web page (link below).

-Jules
--
Jules Agee
http://learning.snowboarding2.com

You'll do best if you take a lesson. The lesson should start with the
falling leaf, then do garlands, then graduate to linking turns (or a
similar progression). If the instructor knows upfront that your an
experienced skiier, that you wanna get a jumpstart and that you're
motivated to push a bit to get there, I think chances are good you
could be linking turns your first day.

From a skiier I talked to, he said one of the big problems for him was
learning to keep his body aligned with the board, instead of
constantly turning as needed to keep facing down the fall line.

Depending on how much you bet, it may be worth it to get a private 2
hour lesson. In a normal group lesson it's going to be hard for the
instructor to focus on you and give you enough feedback.

"Robert" wrote in message
om...
I've skiied for several years and am quite good... no expert by any
means but can have a great time and only fall when doing something
nutty.

.....
I've made a bet with him that I could pick it up and would be able to
go down the mountain, complete with turns, falling 5 or less times
within 4 hours.


Did you make the bet purely because you can already ski? If so, bad move.
Yes the principles are the same (weighting and unweighting edges,
controlling speed by making turns) but the body movements you need to learn
are completely different. You will probably feel how it should work fairly
quickly but you'll still have to get the hang of doing it - it is worth it
though.

Good luck with your bet!

Liz

"Dismantler" wrote in message
...
"Robert" wrote in message
om...
I've skiied for several years and am quite good... no expert by any
means but can have a great time and only fall when doing something
nutty.

I'm going boarding with friends next week for the first time. This
friend of mine went for his first time last year and he says that it
took him 2 full days before he could go any distance without falling.
I've made a bet with him that I could pick it up and would be able to
go down the mountain, complete with turns, falling 5 or less times
within 4 hours. We're going to Wolf Creek.

First, do you think this will be possible?

Be prepared to pay up.

Second, do you have any
tips that would help one pick up snow boarding FAST?

Take a lesson from an instructor, and hope for the best.

Buy your friend lots of beer, so he's drunk and won't notice how much
you're
falling. Better yet, drop several hits of acid in his beer (before
riding),
then he won't even know he's on a mountain.

Dude, you are so much toast! Hope you didn't bet too much money. Or
anything
humiliating or otherwise painful...


Many thanks in advance!!

You have my sympathies. Nice to see someone trying to flee the dark side,
it
will be worth the pain, I promise. And there will be lots of it!


Dismantler is SOOO right. You're a SUCKER. You're gonna hurt, curse, blow-up
deluxe, and then cough up the cash!

I've boarded with guys that got it straight up, but man... they are rare.
I've read the rest of the tips from other posters.. i.e. get good gear, get
lessons etc., and they all make sense, but at the end of the day, some guys
just get it, and some just don't.

Chances are, you just don't!! And you could be an OLYMPIC skier and STILL
not get it. In fact, I was an intemediate + skier, and it took me a day to
link turns. Every one of us had fantasies of being a 'natural', but few of
us are...

EITHER WAY: It's worth it. Losing this bet could be the best money you ever
spend!

My Tip: Pain is weakness leaving the body... sucker!

"RR" wrote in message
...

"Dismantler" wrote in message
...
Dismantler is SOOO right. You're a SUCKER. You're gonna hurt, curse,
blow-up
deluxe, and then cough up the cash!

I've boarded with guys that got it straight up, but man... they are rare.
I've read the rest of the tips from other posters.. i.e. get good gear,
get
lessons etc., and they all make sense, but at the end of the day, some
guys
just get it, and some just don't.

Chances are, you just don't!! And you could be an OLYMPIC skier and STILL
not get it. In fact, I was an intemediate + skier, and it took me a day to
link turns. Every one of us had fantasies of being a 'natural', but few of
us are...

EITHER WAY: It's worth it. Losing this bet could be the best money you
ever
spend!

My Tip: Pain is weakness leaving the body... sucker!



Once you can turn, work on making small, regular, tight turns. Don't let
them get long and irregular, until that is something you are doing
consciously. And don't forget, you can always just sit down if you are going
heelside. Keep the speed down until you have control of the board on both
edges...

RR has a point. Snowboarding isn't easy... I was a TERRIBLE skier, yard
sales constantly. I was so bad at it, that I almost never tried
snowboarding... When I first started boarding (in Australia - Mt. Buller,
while overseas on a work assignment), I suffered badly (no lessons, rented
gear, etc.). HOWEVER, I stuck with it. Through the pain, through the
laughter of others on the slopes. Nothing worthwhile is easy. I think I
appreciate every tiny bit of progress I've made that much more, since I've
paid for all of it with pain. I attended Jackson Hole Steep and Deep Camp a
few years back, and it was one of the best, confidence-instilling
experiences I've ever had.

I enjoy riding very much on a powder day, when it's deep and I'm alone, just
the gentle "slishing" of the board's edges in, on and through the powder,
it's indescribable. So I won't even try... Suffice to say, it's
transcendental. At least for me, I can't speak for others.

To some, it might be a way to impress their friends, look cool for girls (or
guys), or just to show off (?!). I can't understand why anyone would want to
cheapen it that way, but hey, to each his own. If that's what they enjoy,
let 'em have it.

When you reach that point (transcendence), you'll know it. It will be
difficult to wipe the smile off.

Make the slopes a better place to be with your attitude. That DOES include
riding safely and responsibly. I don't ever want my fun to result in someone
else's injury... And that's probably one of the most important things I've
learned in my short time on the slopes.

Gottago. Peace to all.