Going snowboarding in a week..

[shugknight]

OK, last year I went skiing, and I had a blast. This year, my friends and I are planning on a trip to Alpine Valley to snowboard. 1 problem... we've never done it before. So I would like to know how hard it really is for rookies to try boarding. Also, I heard that it can be frustrating at first, but persistence is key. My friends and I are basically just jumping on the slopes, with no instructions and hopefully learn as we go along.

Anybody have any tips?

[VanCitySportsGuy]

Re: Going snowboarding in a week..

I had an offer to go to Whistler this weekend but I had other plans so I had to take a pass.

If nobody in your group has gone before, I recommend taking a lesson from an instructor.

Don't go on any steep hills and be prepared to fall on your ***.

[ubernoob]

Re: Going snowboarding in a week..

and fall on your face as well.

Snowboarding is a love of mine, I've been doing it for like 6 years now. Once you learn it's not too bad. Hardest part I would say is controlling your speed at first. If you can't carve back and forth (which is where you fall if you catch an edge in the snow) to control yourself, sometimes you just go bombing down the slope, forcing you to fall at the end to stop yourself.

I personally never used an instructor, but I never seem to use them. I would suggest one for a first timer though if the costs don't bother you.

[Stu]

Re: Going snowboarding in a week..

I'd suggest taking a lesson. It has a steep learning curve when you start but is much easier to get really good at than skiing is. My first time out, I didn't have a clue but then I took a lesson and it didn't take me too long to learn once I knew what I was doing.