December 03, 2005

• seriously, put a pillow in yr pants and have fun!
• It helps to use your tail for balance.
• I've never done it meself, but aiming for the soft snowdrifts when you fall sounds right.
• Steer away from any yellow snow (^^). The first time I tried snowboarding I found it pretty rough on my knees and ankles. Your feet need to sit at a weird angle on the board. Also take some bruise stuff with you for the inevitable ouchies.
• The first three days are going to be incredibly hard - if you're already a a skier you are going to wonder why you are going through the pain. But, damn, on day 4 and 5 when you link turns together and get some flow going it's going to feel awesome. Fitness: get some running or cycling going to improve general fitness. your legs are still going to hurt like hell, but you'll be able to go for longer before totally giving out. Crunches/sit-ups/reverse-pushups: you spend a lot of time on your back (having just fallen over) and raising your body back up to your feet each time is going to kill your abs and lats (and wrists, and triceps and most of the rest of your body). A bit of preventative training may help a little here. Knees: When I learned to snowboard I didn't mind falling on my arse - it was falling onto my knees which really shat me. If there was one thing I would do different, it would be to wear knee guards. Wrists: some people advocate wrist supports/guards, but I always just found them annoying. Pain: there's going to be a lot of creaking pain on the morning after a big day of snowboarding. I heartily recommend a couple of ibuprofen tablets with breakfast. Learning: you're going to have people yelling 17 different kinds of advice as you try to learn - stuff about "bending your knees", "shifting your weight", "pointing your shoulder to where you are going", "feeling the edge". All of it is good advice, but doesn't really mean much until after you get a feel for the board. And the only way to get a feel for your board is to follow this simple plan: * stand up on board * glide for a bit * fall down * repeat Do that every day for 3 days and you *will* learn the basics of how to snowboard. Falling down is integral to the plan, as is the repetition. I learned to snowboard at 27 and if I had the money I'd be there every holiday.
• My biggest piece of advice is: Get a helmet. When you're learning and the chances of falling are greater, a helmet's going to do you the most good. Take some ibuprofen or some other sort of anti-inflammatory before and/or afterwards to reduce any resulting pain/soreness/stiffness. Ride as often as possible, as long as you can, and build up some muscle memory. Don't push it though, when you're tired (and you'll get tired), you'll make more mistakes, increasing the likelihood of injury and shortening your season. Make sure your gear fits, and the fit of your boots is paramount. Get the gauntlet-style gloves instead of ski gloves. This reduces any chance you'll get your hands wet. Some people don't mind, but if you're like me you'll be miserable if that's the case. When you fall forwards or backwards, use your arms bent at the elbows so as not to risk breaking your wrists. Bend your knees, bend your knees, bend your knees. Most of all, have fun!
• Oh, and what lamearse said.
• Thanks, monkeys! I'm really looking forward to this, but I already know I'm gonna be hatin' life on Monday morning. C'est la vie.
• Are you going to take lessons, or are you going to let your friends teach you? Hopefully it's not the latter - the lessons are worth the money and time. They will teach you how to do it right. As with any potentially high-risk activity, professional training is a good thing; it keeps you grounded in the fundamentals and reduces by a huge factor the risk of injury. I took my first ski lessons one day early this year. The instructor got us all started on the right foot -er, ski - and showed us how to keep from getting out of control. By the end of the day, I was pretty well frozen, despite having the proper clothing. (Cold, overcast, 23 degrees, and snowing pretty hard the entire time.) I was extrememly sore. Muscles that I didn't even know I had were screaming out in agony. And I was flat out exhausted, too tired even to eat. And I also couldn't wait to get back out there and do it all over again. Your friends are right, you can easily find yourself addicted to snowboarding in a hurry.
• The single best items to have IMHO are wrist guards. In learning to snowboard you will fall early and often - much more than in learning to ski in my experience. Another difference with skiing is that it's hard to anticipate when you're going to fall. Anyway, after 10+ hard falls your wrists will be terribly bruised from catching yourself. The wrist guards will make this a lot less painful. As mentioned above, a helmet isn't at all a bad idea either. In the end, if you're going to invest one day in learning to board be sure to stick with it - the worst is already past! For me, the end of the 2nd day is when everything started to click and now I prefer boarding to skiing. Lastly, if you grew up skating you'll pick boarding up MUCH faster - well within the first day. Good luck and have fun!
• Thanks again for all the advice, fellow monkeys. I am so incredibly sore, but had a blast. And I have to second the wrist guard suggestions. I nailed the ground so hard, so many times today, I pretty much destroyed the ones I'd picked up. Without them, I'd be facing some terribly sprained wrists, I am absolutely sure.