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#21
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Our snowboarding misadventure at Seven Springs
"toddjb" wrote in message
m... "Joe Ramirez" wrote in message ... Joe, sorry your first experience was a bad one. The best takeaways from everyone here is 1) don't go on a weekend and 2) don't go when its icy (which is tough to call since the condition reports always lie). I go to 7Springs a lot and its a nice hill. Particularly the North Face area once you've gotten the hang of basic skills. So, don't discount the resort. I think it's a pretty nice resort for people who don't need hand-holding. But it may be too big and hectic to provide a satisfying, productive experience for beginners. Regarding your $130, I'd contact the resort or write a letter and pretty much spell out all the negatives from your post here. It is to the resorts advantage to teach you correctly because then you'll come back and spend more $ with them on lifts, food and rentals. If you get the right person on the phone or send a letter to the owner, I would be very surprised if you did not get 2 free lesson/rental vouchers for you to give it another try. As I mentioned previously, I've sent Seven Springs an e-mail, but I doubt that there will be much in the way of a response. You're right about the incentive to provide good teaching, but the resort (resorts?) may not understand that, or it may not care. Or go to a small mountain. I have been thinking about trying Boyce Park here in Allegheny County. It's not a full-fledged resort, just a "ski hill" with five or so trails. But's it's much closer to home than Seven Springs, and it's supposed to be a good place for beginners because it's small and gentle. The park offers lessons and rentals for skiers and snowboarders, though if we went there we'd probably follow the advice of this group and rent from a shop in advance, or even purchase some stuff. Thanks, Joe Ramirez |
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#22
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Our snowboarding misadventure at Seven Springs
"Jürgen Schmadlak" wrote in message
... Maybe look for good shop to rent the equipment. If you know another boarder ask him for help you with the equipment. For a beginner a 2 day curse is a good idea. In 90 minutes you learn nothing. I don't know any snowboarders, but I suppose if we rented in advance from a shop, we would have plenty of time to discuss our needs there. It's difficult to do that a resort with a huge line of other people waiting to get their own rental boots and boards. Thanks, Joe Ramirez |
#23
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Our snowboarding misadventure at Seven Springs
"Han Solo (D)" wrote in message . 8...
(toddjb) wrote: It's similar with education... Understand? Martin, I wasn't disagreeing with you, its one of those "to each his own" things. Most people I've taught or have learned on their own through a few good tips and some perseverance are linking turns at the end of a day. Sure, they're tired, sore and don't want to sit down on anything hard for a week, but they have the basic skills to do it again next time out and they've also figured out how to ride a lift. After fearing that lift ramp each time up, maybe the slope doesn't seem so bad! I find a lot of people who take the beginner lesson don't get that far. I still recommend people to TAKE A LESSON, but don't think that what worked for you is the best for everyone. As you have heard here, there are good and bad instructors and good and bad tips from non-instructors. From my experience, they're about equal. Sure some boarders can't tell you "how to turn" but many others remember clear enough how they got through it and they can pass on the info...its not rocket science, just muscle memory you learn through trial and error. Just different ways to learn... |
#24
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Our snowboarding misadventure at Seven Springs
"Johnny K" wrote in message ... sorry to hear that.. I just started snowboarding a few weeks ago, but didn't bother with lessons or anything.. What i did was go to my local ski hill (wiht a massive 200foot vertical drop), and brought my friend (who, as chance would have it, is a snowboard instructor there).. He just showed me some basics (after watching me fly down the hill straight the first time).. He err, held my hands, with my board perpendicular to the slope, and had me put my weight on the front, and watch how it starts to go straight down the hill. It seems to me that hand holding is an obviously useful tool that could help all beginners. At least some instructors apparently use it: http://atearl.com/ski/snowboard_lesson4.html But I suppose it might be hard to use in a group lesson. Joe Ramirez |
#25
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Our snowboarding misadventure at Seven Springs
"Baka Dasai" wrote in message
news:slrnc0nabe.4pl.idontreadthis@yahoobb220004112 021.bbtec.net... Yeah, this is a pretty common experience at rental shops. I see many people in rental gear that is so low quality and/or poor fitting that I know they're gonna struggle to learn to turn. You can get better results if you don't mind making the rental dude/dudette muck about giving you various different boot sizes, and adjusting your bindings for preferred stance angle etc. But first-time beginners don't usually know what they want, and are often intimidated by the whole experience. Right. I didn't really know what we wanted, except that I wanted it to work. But there really isn't much that the clerks can do for one person, because they always have to worry about the long line of people waiting for service. I don't know if the instructor was doing a good job or not, but what you've described sounds fairly common to me. Your first time out on the slope involves lots of falling over and very little control. It's a steep learning curve, by which I mean it seems impossibly daunting at first, but after about two days (often earlier) some basic skills "click" and you're off to explore the rest of the mountain. Perhaps you're shaking your head while reading this, firm in the belief that you'll never be able to learn to snowboard, but unless you're spectacularly uncoordinated you'll pick it up quicker than you think. The skills seemed to be hard to learn, but that wasn't the real problem. The problem was that the environment -- the particular equipment we had been issued, which was OK by rental standards but not quite right, the instructor's rote procedures, and most of all the impossibly crowded beginners' hill -- made learning impossible, at least for me. I just refuse to do anything that risks smacking into other people. I suppose my first day of ice skating (also as an adult) was worse, because my finger got run over by a skate blade, I bled all over the ice and had to go the emergency room for stitches. I persevered, however, because I could tell, even from the first day, that I would eventually be able to learn the activity. I could hold the wall when I needed to, and when I fell on open ice, I was falling while actually skating, not while I was just learning to stand up. Buying my own equipment was easy to manage because a pair of good skates is a lot less than a board, boots and bindings. And a key factor was that we did a lot of skating indoors in the summer, when the rinks were usually empty or close to it. It's great to learn with a big open spaces at your disposal. I wish there were a snowboarding equivalent. Thanks, Joe Ramirez |
#26
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Our snowboarding misadventure at Seven Springs
"Playdreamer" wrote in message ... Consider going to a smaller ski hill to learn where it will be less crowded - you are not going to need extensive trails just yet. Try and rent equipment the afternoon before you need it when everyone else is out on the slope and the staff have time to advise you properly, try a specialist snowboard shop for rentals rather than the general ski/snowboard rental desk at the mountain lodge. Book a private lesson and invest in some protective clothing: padded skating or hockey shorts (snowboard specific ones are very expensive), skate wrist guards and knee pads. You may have to spend a little bit more money but you will not regret it. There's a ski hill in a nearby public park, Boyce Park, that is supposed to be good for beginners (perhaps because it's too tame for experienced snow sliders). We may try that place if I can persuade my son to give snowboarding another shot. Boyce Park is closer and cheaper than Seven Springs, so we may even be able to go there on weekday nights. If we go, we will definitely get a private lesson if available. Thanks, Joe Ramirez |
#27
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Our snowboarding misadventure at Seven Springs
"David Brown )" wrote in message
... Are there any dry slopes near you? They are much more difficult to board on but a lot slower, and with decent lessons (which by the sounds of, you definately didn't have) you'll pick it up in a safe controlled manner. What are dry slopes? Are they those artificial turf hills with slippery pellets? At your standard you should not be travelling forward at all IMHO, as you noted you will soon become a fast moving uncontrolled projectile. You say that you couldn't get an edge at all, but you should be on an edge at all times, flat running at your level (and mine for that matter is lethal). Yes, that was my problem. The board was flat and I was going much too fast. Side slipe on both heal and toes edges untill you are in complete control of speed and the board. Then try falling leaf (side slip going side to side) on both heal and toe edges. Then try the same but turning a little more into the fall line and back to perpendicular to the slope again. Many people have mentioned this "falling leaf" technique. Is it a standard lesson for beginners? If so, why didn't we use it?! Thanks, Joe Ramirez |
#28
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Our snowboarding misadventure at Seven Springs
"Edward Arata" wrote in message ... Your absolutely right about the "kids" running the rental place just handing you the equipment and saying go for it. This is also true with lessons from what I have heard. Other than what has been said before, like renting from a small shop the day before, I would suggest taking a person that knows how to board. I don't know anyone who knows how to snowboard. (My brother and brother-in-law ski.) I'm in the wrong generation. Snowboarding did not exist as a mass participation sport when I was growing up. As I'm discovering, relatively few people seem to take it up as adults. I understand that you don't want to hit people as a human projectile. I have this issue as well being 6'5" and 200 lbs. So less crowed day would help, not to mention non-icy conditions. The snow conditions also have a huge impact on learning. Don't learn on ice or deep powder, neither will be much fun. The best I think to learn on is machine packed powder that fell within the last 3 or 4 days, so its not too too hard. That's the snow we would have had if we had gone last Sunday, as I originally planned. But my son was ill, so we started yesterday instead. I didn't feel like waiting for ideal conditions that might never arrive, even assuming I could recognize them. Joe Ramirez |
#29
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Our snowboarding misadventure at Seven Springs
"Joe Ramirez" wrote in message ... I don't know any snowboarders, I bet your son does. Bob |
#30
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Our snowboarding misadventure at Seven Springs
For something different, try Wisp in western Maryland. It's not far
from Seven Springs, and can be a lot less crowded. That's where I learned to ride in my 40s. Ended up on the ski patrol there, or should I say Boarder Patrol? Rent from High Mountain Sports (you'll drive right past it on the way to Wisp) for better gear than at the area. As nearly everyone else has said, take a lesson, and don't let them keep you on the most basic bunney slope. You need some slope. Jump on the chairlift and go. Just remember--the steeper the slope, the farther you are from an edge-catching slam! JG, now riding year round on Mt Hood. |
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