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I took a snowboarding lesson!

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Don't faint.

Let me explain: Killington recently opened a new Terrain Based Learning Center, and they invited me to give it a try. And since I couldn't approach it as a first-timer on skis, they offered me a boarding lesson, instead.

No, I'm not ready to trade in my skis for a board, but really, it was a lot of fun. And despite all the dire warnings I received from this one and that (you're going to be black and blue), I didn't fall -- not even once!

I posted about it on my blog. If you're interested, you can read about it here.

Can I still be the Ski Diva?

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Jenny

Angel Diva
Fun! I can't believe you didn't fall - so you still don't know how hard it is to stand back up then, no matter how easy other people make it look!
 

MaineSkiLady

Angel Diva
:clap:
Ski(/Ride?) Diva? :becky:

See, it's not so patently horrible now, is it? :wink:

For me, the kicker was exiting chairlift, one foot out of binding. Yikes.
Down.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
I think I need to try this TBL system because this was NOT the experience I had in my one and only lesson last season.. at all!! :becky: This kind of gets me excited that I could try again and maybe have a better experience snowboarding. I left my lesson last year with no intention of ever strapping a board to my feet again.
 

TeleChica

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I had exactly the same experience as MissySki. I took two lessons, and after the second had succeeded in riding the lift and was making some little turns, when I encountered the dreaded heel side slam. Run my bell something fierce. No idea how it happened. I was up, then DOWN. My neck was so wracked that I couldn't turn my head for a couple of days.

Too few snow days to waste time learning to snowboard if it means I can't move the next day, although it really does look fun. Glad your experience was different--I might be tempted again with the TBL system.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Much to my surprise, there were features for terrain based instruction at Massanutten last weekend. Just put them in on Friday before the holiday weekend. As I watched, it was clear that it makes a huge difference for those learning to snowboard. My daughter spent a full day given boarding a try at age 11 (had met a friend who was a good boarder). She fell enough that day to stick to skis after that experience.
 

VickiK

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I tried it at Mt. Baldy. Conditions weren't that good and I fell on my butt a lot. All that scrambling about on the ground on flats...yuck. So my feeling about snowboarding was meh. Echoing @abc , I don't really want to deal with another learning curve, buy new gear for another activity, when there's so much room for improvement for me in skiing, which I adore the feeling of. But, hey, I wouldn't have come to make that determination had I not tried it.
 

veggielasagna

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Awesome write up, thanks! I think about taking a boarding lesson often, just to try it. I think I have to now, it looks like Killington will be the place for me to go :smile:
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
I tried it years ago at a CSIA women's clinic. I really had the instructor to myself as the other student just wanted help moving from a directional board to freestyle board. My boots were too big and conditions sucked big time. We had had rain overnight and then a drop in temps. So frozen. I was out of shape and could not get up off my butt. No core strength. So every time I was down, it was roll over on my knees to get up.

But the big thing it brought home to me was what a beginner skier must feel like. I was standing on a flat surface with my front foot fastened in, rear foot loose. I'm looking at the parking lot about 30 ft away. The cars are parked right up to the snow bank. I'm picturing myself as a hood ornament on the nice SUV parked in front me. On skis I wouldn't have given it a thought. But with one foot strapped in......!!!!!

We did make it up the chairlift and off. But I know it not the part of the sport for me.
 

Dianna

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Always and everywhere, for time and all eternity. You da Diva!

Sure, it just helps round out your excitement for snow sports!

I enjoy being a bi slider, gives me more options. I can't ski powder but I can board the heck out of it.
 

tinymoose

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I came back looking for this thread, given I gave myself a hairline fracture in my wrist with my 1 snowboarding attempt in early Feb.. Maybe I'll hit up Camelback next year as they have TBL... with wrist guards as well as knee and butt pads (ouch!).
 

heather matthews

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I came to skiing from boarding and still have board and boots but almost more for nostalgia than anything else.It would be maybe four years since I last boarded.Maybe this season I'll give it a go again but then maybe not.It's good for the core though all that sitting down and standing up but Im not sure I can bring myself to sit down in the middle of a trail over a blind lip whilst wearing poorly fitting pants,listening to awful music really loudly and smoking a bong!!Seriously though I did enjoy riding a race board and hard boots.It was fun.
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Im not sure I can bring myself to sit down in the middle of a trail over a blind lip whilst wearing poorly fitting pants,listening to awful music really loudly and smoking a bong!!Seriously though I did enjoy riding a race board and hard boots.It was fun.

Don't forget refusing, no matter how long the lift line is, to ride a chair with anyone over age 25.
 

CarverJill

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Like @heather matthews I also came back to skiing from snowboarding. I skied as a kid and switched to a snowboard when boards were new. I learned on the old style bindings with three straps! Back then the gear was really different and I actually used hard snowboard boots and a race board. I snowboarded from about age 13-24 or so and then slowly switched back to skiing. I still have my carving snowboard and race boots - they look a lot like ski boots but have only used them once in the past 10 years.

Its so cool you tried it @ski diva, will you do it again?
 

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