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Like2Ski tries to snowboard

Like2Ski

Angel Diva
So after two years of extreme curiosity, I finally decided to try snowboarding. I signed up for group lessons on 3/13 and 3/14 and rented a board for the weekend with the agreement that, if I liked it, I could turn it into a seasonal rental.

Day 1
I skied the morning of 3/13 and then ate lunch and changed for snowboarding. I got ALL the protective gear. I already had some gear from rollerblading, like knee pads and elbow pads. My gloves wouldn’t fit over the wrist pads, so I bought gloves with wrist guards. I also had crash pants. I was ready. :smile:

I headed over to the learning center and was sent to my group. One other woman and two couples. Everyone was very nice and supportive of each other. We started out at the bottom of the magic carpet learning to strap in and gliding a bit. I did ok at this. Next we headed for the magic carpet. The instructor told us what to do but not to worry because if anyone slipped he would hit the emergency button and stop the whole thing. I managed to make it onto the carpet successfully.

Once at the top we started to practice J heel turns, still with just our lead foot strapped in. Here’s where the problems started. I had a tough time with this, was sometimes successful, sometimes not. Lots of falls. We practiced this for the duration of the lesson. I could not get up without assistance so had to roll over, which the instructor said not to do, but there was no other way.

I fell hard several times. If I didn’t have that gear, I am pretty sure I would have broken something. A beginner skier hit me once, but she was going very slowly, so no harm done.

At the end we parted ways but I had no idea how to get out of the bindings! Now I know it’s pretty easy, but I literally sat there for five minutes trying to figure it out by myself. I finally freed myself and it was just after three o’clock. I was so frustrated and needed to feel good about myself so I put my skis back on and took two runs!

Day 2

After a rocky start, I thought, maybe I am meant to be a skier and this just isn’t for me. Maybe I won’t even go to the lesson today. But I knew I couldn’t judge it after one day, so off I went. None of the same people were there; they mentioned Saturday that they’d be practicing on their own. I thought I was going to be with these people who were all from the same family/friends group and not too friendly. I tried to make small talk but they really weren’t interested. Then the instructor came over and we started walking away, just the two of us. I asked if it was just us and she said yes. That other group must have been at capacity. Yay! Private lesson for the group price!

I explained what we worked on the previous day and that I was a skier. She thought it would be harder for me to learn since I already had skiing ingrained in me. We worked on body position, heel turns, and toe turns and she was hoping I could link some turns. Of course, I got a lot more attention in this lesson since it was private. We made many trips up the magic carpet and she worked me hard! Traversing was tiring and I constantly felt like I was going to fall over. In fact, I fell right twice before getting onto the magic carpet, taking out some of the lift line markers.

My biggest issue is that I was putting too much weight on my back leg, causing me to spin around. I did make a few turns and save a few near falls, but the body position felt weird (almost like a cowgirl the instructor said) and I just couldn’t get the weight on the front foot.

Eventually I linked a few turns and told the instructor I was actually smiling through that. She said they make minimum wage and her friends don’t know why she bothers teaching but she said it’s because of moments like that (minimum wage is so crazy to me for what they do - please tip your instructors!). I ended the day on a high note and instead of putting my skis back on, I stayed in the learning area to practice.

This was the end of my lesson taking although this instructor gave me her card and we did click. I considered it but with scheduling and the season coming to a close it just didn’t happen.

Day 3

After skiing in the morning on 3/26 I decided to practice on my own in the learning center. I skied on 3/20 and it was so much fun that I never switched to snowboarding. So on the 26th I was able to make it down to the bottom of the magic carpet area without falling. It seemed like I was making some progress, so I decided to attempt the quad in the beginner area. The snowboard felt so strange as I was riding up, just very heavy. I was scared to get off and was really not in the right position so I kind of slid off. I don’t even think the liftie noticed. It was the end of the day and he seemed to be looking down and not paying attention. After collecting myself and strapping in, I got ready to make some turns. That green trail looked STEEP to me. I have a new respect for beginners. I started to go down and fell, almost flat on my face, like, I felt it in my ribcage and my nose felt about an inch from the snow. Not good. I got down but had to remove the board and recenter myself on the slope. I tend to keep making toe turns until I’m at the edge of the trail. After that, I decided to stay on the magic carpet. I had some more minor falls but mostly could make it to the bottom of the carpet area while remaining upright.

Day 4

Rain was in the forecast for 3/27 but I decided to go out and keep practicing. There was almost no one on the mountain and the summit lift was on wind hold (not at that my snowboard and me would be anywhere near the summit lift anyway!). I don’t know what happened but I started falling forward again like I had done the day before. It was kind of the last straw. It’s scary to fall like that and it gives me an instant headache. I practiced a few more times and decided to give up - for good. I think I was meant to be a skier. I put my skis on and took a few runs before calling it a day due to rain.


Snowboarding always looked so fun to me but it was really hard. I love watching great boarding from the lift, but I think that’s as close to snowboarding I will get. When I was planning to take lessons and looking up information online so many posted that their friends just took them to the top and they had to figure it out. I cannot imagine! That just seems so unsafe to me. It’s also difficult to go to the learning area when you know you can ski most trails on the mountain, but that was my choice. I definitely have to experience things for myself so I’m glad I tried it, and now I know! Skiing feels as natural as walking to me, so I am sure that’s where I am meant to be!
 

Iwannaski

Angel Diva
Good for you for trying!! I love trying new things that are challenging.

Fwiw, my dear friend was a skier from 3-15ish, and has been snowboarding for 30 years. She even taught. She says that learning snowboarding is MUCH harder than skiing. So... honestly, even trying is so impressive to me!
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@Like2Ski, what a great gift to the community that report was! Thanks so much for writing it all up. My understanding has always been that snowboarding is harder to learn the first few days, but easier to progress once you have the basics. Skiing is easier to learn the first few days, but harder to progress.

You gave it a royal try! Congrats on immersing yourself in the beginner world. It's emotionally tough to be any kind of beginner, don't you think?

One very good skier I know will ride his snowboard when he skis with novice skiers; it slows him down and gives him something to work on as they flounder. He flounders with them. He says it helps him empathize with their situation.
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Great job trying and great write-up!

I started snowboarding this year, too, and I know exactly what you mean about experiencing beginner anxiety all over again. It took a while to get comfortable on the board; it was just something I'd try for an hour or two here and there and it was a little scary and frustrating at first.

Big kudos for sticking with that lesson on Day 2!

Fwiw, I disagree with the instructor who said that being a skier makes it harder to learn to snowboard. In fact as a skier you understand edges and angulation, which are the same in terms of the physics of carving and control, it's just that you're in a different position relative to your equipment and on one big edge instead of two. You also understand how to control speed by widening turns, how to read and navigate snow and judge the difficulty of trails. There's a lot that transfers, in other words.

Anyway, I noodled around for a couple of weeks until I could link turns comfortably and then just as @liquidfeet says, it all came together very quickly. Now I really enjoy taking the board out when the snow is soft, and skiing when it's firmer. But the learning curve, though short, can be painful!
 

scandium

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Congratulations! It sounds like you got further than me - I have yet to link turns and mostly falling leaf/fall down.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
Congratulations! It takes a specific kind of courage to start anew like that! I too have heard that the first 3 days of snowboarding are hell, and once you get the hang of it you can ride all over the mountain. My daughter went for lessons while I skied and never reached that point (she had a couple of days in, I think). She was utterly bruised from her knees to her ankles. Badly bruised. (She didn't wear all that protective equipment.) I felt miserable for her. I mistakenly took her down a very easy trail with a lot of flat spots, and she was in tears!

So, good for you!
 

elemmac

Angel Diva
Great write up! And awesome job sticking with it for that many days, even when it wasn't love at first sight.

If you ever go back to it, or in case anyone is reading this that is starting snowboarding...food for thought....

First off...100% what @SallyCat said. I think it's easier to learn to ski or snowboard after doing the other for all of the reasons she mentions above.

I could not get up without assistance so had to roll over, which the instructor said not to do, but there was no other way.

A little validation here...It is HARD to get up on flat terrain. I remember falling over recently strapped in on a really flat spot and being really surprised on how difficult it was to get up (and I've been snowboarding for over 20 years).

My biggest issue is that I was putting too much weight on my back leg, causing me to spin around. I did make a few turns and save a few near falls, but the body position felt weird (almost like a cowgirl the instructor said) and I just couldn’t get the weight on the front foot.

To compare it to skiing...it's really hard to get too far forward, but it takes commitment to lean into the ski and drive the tip. Snowboarding is the same, you can't drive from the back seat, but it takes commitment and trust in the board to lean into your front foot. Once you get used to the balanced position, it's much easier to trust the board.

Side note: I'm not sure I really get the cowgirl reference.
 

ilovepugs

Angel Diva
Regarding rolling over and pushing up... I do that all the time on my snowboard because I have an ankle injury that makes it painful to sit up from my butt. I say, do what you need to do to have fun and be comfortable.
 

DeeSki

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Kudos for giving snowboarding a go @Like2Ski! I love watching snowboarding but I’ve never tried it. It looks like a lot of falling at the beginning and I completely lack agility. I’m convinced I’d spend the whole time struggling to get back up.
 

annieshawn

Diva in Training
I have an elbow pad that I used for skating can I use those elbow pads for mountain biking? Please guide me about it I am confused.
 

badger

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I too have always wanted to get on a board. My thought was that i would be better at it than skiing; and maybe that might be true...but I probably won't go that route.
This last season I was up in Colorado with my 11 year old granddaughter for a week-long ski trip. I started her on a snowboard when she was six. She has accompanied me on day trips to our regional mountain and I'd always put her in a full-day lesson. Then we'd ski/ride together for an hour at the end of the day. These memories are some of the best days of my life.
So, dying of curiosity I really wanted to get onto her board this last year. Since we are about the same size (she's actually bigger, but oh well ) I used her boots and strapped in with her guidance. And she put on my ski boots--a bit too small--and clicked in to ski bindings. I had her use my Renoun Earharts because they are short @ 149. Renoun 149 is the shortest 149 I have ever seen. Her board was just fine for me as far as length.
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could not manage the board for the life of me. I knew being strapped to one piece of equipment would be an adjustment, but is that ever an understatement! Turning was impossible. Granted, we were just doing this outside the condo on pretty flat terrain. But after my failure to get going on a very very slight incline I was afraid to hit the bunny slope which was within walking distance and available after lifts closed. Perhaps having a tad more slope would have been a more successful initiation, but boy was I ever surprised at how tricky snowboarding is to a newbie.
As for beginners on skis, I have never lost the visceral and psychological feelings of being on skis as a beginner, and I find myself stopping to help those out there struggling to get back up , or getting their skis back on, navigating lifts, etc. It's just so very real, as if it were only yesterday.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
I have an elbow pad that I used for skating can I use those elbow pads for mountain biking? Please guide me about it I am confused.

Hi @annieshawn ! I don't have the faintest idea of the answer to your question. If nobody wanders over here to see it, you can try posting your own thread. Probably the mountain bike Divas will spot it if you post it on this forum:

biking thread

Anyway, I wanted to tell you we are glad to have you! We love having new women join and making new ski friends.

:welcome:
 

annieshawn

Diva in Training
I have an elbow pad that I used for skating can I use those elbow pads for mountain biking? Please guide me about it I am confused.

Hi @annieshawn ! I don't have the faintest idea of the answer to your question. If nobody wanders over here to see it, you can try posting your own thread. Probably the mountain bike Divas will spot it if you post it on this forum:

biking thread

Anyway, I wanted to tell you we are glad to have you! We love having new women join and making new ski friends.

:welcome:
@newboots Thanks a lot for your reply...
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have an elbow pad that I used for skating can I use those elbow pads for mountain biking? Please guide me about it I am confused.

Welcome, @annieshawn ! You can absolutely wear whatever padding you are comfortable with on your bike. There are all kinds of MTB elbow pads out there, from pretty bulky to very low-profile. Here's a good representative selection just to give you a comparison with your pads.

I'm not sure what skating pads look like, but mtb elbow pads tend to cover the elbow along with a bit of the forearm to protect against abrasion. But as long as it's comfortable for riding, anything that keeps you from bonkin' your elbows when you fall will work.
 

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