• Women skiers, this is the place for you -- an online community without the male-orientation you'll find in conventional ski magazines and internet ski forums. At TheSkiDiva.com, you can connect with other women to talk about skiing in a way that you can relate to, about things that you find of interest. Be sure to join our community to participate (women only, please!). Registration is fast and simple. Just be sure to add [email protected] to your address book so your registration activation emails won't be routed as spam. And please give careful consideration to your user name -- it will not be changed once your registration is confirmed.

Snowboarding, anyone?

ski skuhl

Angel Diva
I've long thought about trying it and even the two days that I picked up a rental set up I ended up bagging it. Why get on the steep part of the learning curve on a snowboard when I can actually ski the steeps and have fun? I'll be hitting Jack Frost on a midday this week and it will be warmish, I'm meeting a friend who is a novice snowboarder so we didn't plan to do laps together anyway. I've skied JF a number of days already this year and have had my fun. Is this my moment to try it? Thoughts, advice, funny stories and experiences please!
 

ilovepugs

Angel Diva
It’s a lot easier than skiing after you get over the initial learning curve. That’s all I can say. LOL.

Seriously though, you at least have the advantage of knowing how to read and react to terrain. After that, it’s all the same mechanics with controlling speed using your edges, except you only have two instead of four. :rotf:
 

ski skuhl

Angel Diva
I'm so bummed my plan to snowboard tomorrow has been thwarted and I will be on my two trusty sticks. Buckman's (the local ski/snowboard shop) changed up policy this season and is only doing weeklong or weekend rentals, not daily. Too many other things calling my attention to try and sort out an alternative rental. So I'm counting on @Like2Ski to report back :-)
 

Susan L

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I was a snowboarder for many years before switching over to skis. Since then, I have only taken my board out when we get alot of snow, which wasn’t often. It will be difficult to get myself back on a snowboard now that I am so used to skiing. My husband can switch between skis and snowboard throughout the day but I need at least a day inbetween to switch from one to the other or my body gets confused...
 

ski skuhl

Angel Diva
I was a snowboarder for many years before switching over to skis. Since then, I have only taken my board out when we get alot of snow, which wasn’t often. It will be difficult to get myself back on a snowboard now that I am so used to skiing. My husband can switch between skis and snowboard throughout the day but I need at least a day inbetween to switch from one to the other or my body gets confused...
That's good intel, thanks @Susan L
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I just started snowboarding this season. As @ilovepugs says, the learning curve is pretty quick.

People talk about how you have to take a beating for a few days until you get the hang of it, but that's not at all true in my experience. You can start out on the bunny hill doing toe and heel slides, falling leafs, heel turns, toe turns, and then linking turns. In other words, learning to control the board in a low-consequence setting. If you're patient and willing to spend time on those basics, you'll be ready to start on more challenging trails pretty quickly and safely.

Also: padding is crucial. I wear a tailbone protector ("Azzpads": highly recommend), knee pads, and wrist guards every time out. The knee and tailbone protection actually helps protect your wrists, because if you know you're ok to fall on the pads you're less likely to stick your arms out to break a fall. It's very, very important to get in the habit of not falling on your outstretched arms.

We've had amazing snow over the past month or so, and I've really enjoyed boarding. If the snow is hard-packed or icy, I tend to take my skis.

If you have snowshoes and some collapsible poles, it's also really easy to hike for some moderate natural terrain, as opposed to having to get a whole AT skiing set-up. That's actually the reason I got a board: to avoid resort crowds and play around closer to home.

I've found the YouTube videos by Snowboard Pro Camp to be very helpful.
 

WaterGirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I keep thinking about this thread. I grew up skiing on and off for many years. When I met DH I started to snowboard. Back in the early 90s. Only boots were BIG WIDE green Van boots that I could fit 2 feet into. No magna traction. I did the on snow retail show/demos with DH who was in surf industry at the time, and I did a lot with Vans re: foot sizing for women's boots. My snowboard which I still have has step in bindings and seems quite short. I keep thinking maybe.... maybe I'll try again on newer more friendly equipment with boots that actually fit ..... but then I'm such a better skier .... maybe some riders of the storm powder day I'll try.....
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Only boots were BIG WIDE green Van boots that I could fit 2 feet into. No magna traction. I did the on snow retail show/demos with DH who was in surf industry at the time, and I did a lot with Vans re: foot sizing for women's boots.

I bought snowboard boots for the first time this season and (aside from being way more comfortable than ski boots) they have two features that are absolutely amazing. First, there is a sort of harness that goes around the whole ankle area of the (Intuition) liner that you can cinch tight with a quick zip of a cord with a little locking mechanism on it. It gives you incredible heel and ankle support. And second, there are little elastic pockets by the ankles where you can place extra foam padding rings if you need a closer fit. Two sets of different sizes come with the boots. No need to go to a bootfitter or mess with glue or other adhesives, and if they are too snug, you can remove them.

I don't know why both/either of these features wouldn't work in alpine ski boots.

Here's what the heel thing looks like:

Heel thing Lashed Boots.png
 

brooksnow

Angel Diva
A few weekends ago, I skied in the morning, snowboarded early afternoon, and went for a skin on the AT set-up in the late afternoon. Does that count for 1 day or 3 towards season total? :rotf:

Each counts separately towards its own total. :bounce:

Love the multi-sport days. I had a day last season when I skied, snowboarded and tried a sno-go snow bike. I have yet to hit that trifecta this season.
 

tinymoose

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm so bummed my plan to snowboard tomorrow has been thwarted and I will be on my two trusty sticks. Buckman's (the local ski/snowboard shop) changed up policy this season and is only doing weeklong or weekend rentals, not daily. Too many other things calling my attention to try and sort out an alternative rental. So I'm counting on @Like2Ski to report back :-)

Why not just rent boots and a board from Jack(son) Frost? I took a snowboarding lesson there a few years ago and found their rental gear to be adequate for my first time self. JF also offers a package deal with a beginner lesson that includes rental gear.
 

brooksnow

Angel Diva
I'll second renting from the mountain. At our hill we have special learn-to-ride boards that are soft and convex so that the edges are more forgiving for beginners. This is a similar idea to putting beginner skiers on short soft easy-to-turn skis.
 

ski skuhl

Angel Diva
What a fun, fun day! I spent most of the day skiing, just doing laps on corduroy and bumps for three+ hours. For those who have never been to Jack Frost, the parking is super convenient (as in, right next to the lifts which are at the top of the hill) and grabbing water would only have been easier if I ate snow. Temps rose, the sun was bright, the snow was soft - typical spring ski vibe.
Previous visits to JF this season with the family included tailgating complete with portable propane grill but my friend Katie and I skipped the hassle and ate bars for lunch.
Then came my snowboarding moment! (drumroll please) I could not schedule a lesson but rented boots and a board. My first thought was: the comfort of the boots alone could convince me to move over to the darkside! My second thought was: huh, snowboards are heavier than I thought. To clarify, the boards wasn't exactly HEAVY but it definitely had more weight than I expected. I picked up Katie's board and that was significantly lighter so it's probably a matter of being a rental and necessity for durability.
Given that the snow was getting really sticky and mashed potato-y (very technical term there) I wasn't expecting much momentum, in fact I was completely surprised when I buckled in (managed to get up!) and started to move. Yep, I was surprised - that is not lost on me and I'm chuckling as I type those words. Snowboarding may be the one thing in my life that has not fell victim to my propensity to overthink things. I really had not thought about the fact that I would need to SIT down to buckle into the bindings and that then, attached to the snowboard, I would need to STAND up. I am taking great pride in the fact that I was able to do this. I took two runs on the "Discovery" terrain (not even a run really), fell (not to hard, I have a lot of experience and know how to fall without sustaining injury), laughed at myself a lot, managed to shift my weight, even pivot and turn a little. I was better at going on my heels than forward on my toes. My take away was that it has a completely different feel than skiing (duh) and starting in the afternoon after days of XC skiing and a morning of downhill probably wasn't the best recipe for success (I was tired). I'm committed to doing it again - full on with morning lesson. Another take away is that it's a wonder to me how any snowboarder alights from the chairlift...I will definitely be face planting.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
26,238
Messages
497,714
Members
8,503
Latest member
MermaidKelly
Top