Beginner Advice and

Going to the snow!

I will be taking a 14 year old who skis well (in the intermediate range),
but still a little intimidated, mostly by other reckless
skiiers/snowboarders.
I will also be taking a 14 year old who has a 5 to 10 days over the past 2
years snowboarding experience.

These 2 best buddies are going to spend a couple of days snowboarding. The
skiier wants to learn how to snowboard (yeah, I'm crying, there goes my
skiing buddy).

I'm thinking of putting them both into a 3 hour private le$$on on day one.
What can I expect for the young skiier? Will he be up and having fun
quickly or will it be 2 days of nothing but hard work for him?

I actually don't really know what questions to ask, so I'm open to your
ideas ...

Thanks,

Bryan

I will be taking a 14 year old who skis well (in the intermediate range),
but still a little intimidated, mostly by other reckless
skiiers/snowboarders.

-snip-

I'm thinking of putting them both into a 3 hour private le$$on on day one.
What can I expect for the young skiier? Will he be up and having fun
quickly or will it be 2 days of nothing but hard work for him?

It depends on several factors...

-level of natural athletic ability
-level of fitness
-additude/determination
-how well he understands skiing skills that are shared with snowboarding -
getting on edge, etc.
-other

A private lesson is generally going to be your best bet in terms of making
quick progress, the only caveat is that the fellow who has already
snowboarded may not get as much out of it. You might consider splitting
them up for lessons.

The first couple of days of snowboarding usually involve sore muscles but
can be a total blast. I had a rough first day because it was a total sheet
of ice, but I remember loving my 2nd and 3rd days 100%. That was 9 years
and over 400 riding days ago





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imo the basics of snowboarding are so elementary that a private lesson
is a waste of money. You're better off with a package that includes
lift ticket, equipment and lesson.

"Mike T" wrote in message ...
I will be taking a 14 year old who skis well (in the intermediate range),
but still a little intimidated, mostly by other reckless
skiiers/snowboarders.

-snip-

I'm thinking of putting them both into a 3 hour private le$$on on day one.
What can I expect for the young skiier? Will he be up and having fun
quickly or will it be 2 days of nothing but hard work for him?

It depends on several factors...

-level of natural athletic ability
-level of fitness
-additude/determination
-how well he understands skiing skills that are shared with snowboarding -
getting on edge, etc.
-other

A private lesson is generally going to be your best bet in terms of making
quick progress, the only caveat is that the fellow who has already
snowboarded may not get as much out of it. You might consider splitting
them up for lessons.

The chances are that they would both benefit. The kid that has ridden will be
bored, but he will might learn some essential basics that will make a
huge difference in his future riding. This would be the case if he learned like
many do, from his friends who never had a lesson.

The better option would be to put them in separate lessons.

Bob

"og" wrote in message
oups.com...
imo the basics of snowboarding are so elementary that a private lesson
is a waste of money. You're better off with a package that includes
lift ticket, equipment and lesson.


I appreciate your comment about the package vs private lesson and I'll look
into it. My experience, though, is that the packages limit access to the
mountain.

"Bob" wrote in message
. ..

"Mike T" wrote in message
...
I will be taking a 14 year old who skis well (in the intermediate
range),
but still a little intimidated, mostly by other reckless
skiiers/snowboarders.

-snip-

I'm thinking of putting them both into a 3 hour private le$$on on day
one.
What can I expect for the young skiier? Will he be up and having fun
quickly or will it be 2 days of nothing but hard work for him?

It depends on several factors...

-level of natural athletic ability
-level of fitness
-additude/determination
-how well he understands skiing skills that are shared with
snowboarding -
getting on edge, etc.
-other

A private lesson is generally going to be your best bet in terms of
making
quick progress, the only caveat is that the fellow who has already
snowboarded may not get as much out of it. You might consider splitting
them up for lessons.

The chances are that they would both benefit. The kid that has ridden will
be
bored, but he will might learn some essential basics that will make a
huge difference in his future riding. This would be the case if he learned
like
many do, from his friends who never had a lesson.

The better option would be to put them in separate lessons.

Bob


I expect the instructor to deal with each kid individually; it's only 2
kids. Mostly, I expect the more experienced kid to get a few tips and ride
at will catching up to the beginner as often as he'd like to. The skiier
(sp?) hates group lessons.

What do you think about the 3 hours? Does the beginner need a 3 hour lesson
on day one?

"Mike T" wrote in message
...
I will be taking a 14 year old who skis well (in the intermediate range),
but still a little intimidated, mostly by other reckless
skiiers/snowboarders.

-snip-

I'm thinking of putting them both into a 3 hour private le$$on on day
one. What can I expect for the young skiier? Will he be up and having
fun quickly or will it be 2 days of nothing but hard work for him?

It depends on several factors...

-level of natural athletic ability
-level of fitness
-additude/determination
-how well he understands skiing skills that are shared with snowboarding -
getting on edge, etc.
-other

A private lesson is generally going to be your best bet in terms of making
quick progress, the only caveat is that the fellow who has already
snowboarded may not get as much out of it. You might consider splitting
them up for lessons.

I'm not too worried about the experienced rider; the real goal is to get
these two buddies at the same level, or close, as quickly as possible so
they can start catching the bus trips together (something they're looking
forward to).

I learned at the same age (actually a bit younger 13 I tihink) and I
had 4years of two -three days /year skiing Tahoe under my feet already.
I was up and "ripping" in 1/2 hour. I took a regular lesson though
and it was in a blizzard. THere were three others in the lesson as
well. I have always had above average athletic ability and have and
can do a bunch of different activities with decent competency. Jack of
all sports, master of none...sort of guy. Not touting my abilities but
just realtime evaluation of what can be expected of your youngster.
Regardless of the lesson type, the two will be stoked that they can now
talk boarding aspirations and techniques realisticaly. Private
lesson vs. group lesson as far as restrictions go vary from resort to
resort. Normally the restrictions are more of a common sense thing.
Ex. If you are in a beginner lesson you obviously won't be riding on
black diamonds. It's been a long time since I've been able to purchase
a kids ticket but if they are on the cusp you can get young adult
ticket if that will affect mountain access.

I took a private lesson three years later to refine some technique
issues and it was well worth the money. Your boarder will be bored in
a group lesson and the new boarder will be able to deal with either
(personal idiosyncracies aside) ...go with a private unless the group
lesson isn't filled up.
Good luck
J

My sister learned two years after I did...the best thing for her was to
try to follow me around...when you can follow someone who is better
than you you can pick up cues by watching them even if they can
verbalize what they are doing. Your better boarder will be challenging
your new boarder (not a bad thing) when they ride together...and at
some point, they will learn from eachother. My sister now rides as
good as or better than most other females (though she doesn't do park
tricks but just freeride) mostly from following me into harder slopes
than she would think she could handle...it's inevitable to get better,
unless the person is a borderline weenie and just doesn't want to learn
in the first place.

J

"Jrobb" wrote in message
oups.com...
My sister learned two years after I did...the best thing for her was to
try to follow me around...when you can follow someone who is better
than you you can pick up cues by watching them even if they can
verbalize what they are doing. Your better boarder will be challenging
your new boarder (not a bad thing) when they ride together...and at
some point, they will learn from eachother. My sister now rides as
good as or better than most other females (though she doesn't do park
tricks but just freeride) mostly from following me into harder slopes
than she would think she could handle...it's inevitable to get better,
unless the person is a borderline weenie and just doesn't want to learn
in the first place.

J


I can second Jrobb.. I posted in another thread that I didn't take a lesson
when I first started snowboarding. My friends had all rode before me and
were willing to teach me and because I didn't want to slow them down, I
pushed myself even when I was dead tired and catching edges left and right.
Like they say, "it's not the number of times you fall down, it's the number
of times you get back up." I think a lesson is a good idea and having two
of them so they can keep each other company is even better.

-Bruce