Here are some helpful hints....

1.) As with any other sport, wearing the proper gear helps! Violator Pro's are not the proper glove for this sport.

2.) If you're feeling sick, don't get on the lift. You might throw up, and it's not very good for brownie points while sitting next to the girl you're trying to hook up with.

3.) Ankle's have limited side to side movement.

4.) Knee's are not supposed to bend to the side(at all). Backwards is the preferred motion in most cases.


That is all...Enjoy!

how many times did you wish you had a pillow strapped to your ass to cushion the fall?

I skied for almost 20 years before switching to snowboarding two years ago. The first three days were BRUTAL! But then it clicked, and I will NEVER go back to skiing. It's the best. ALMOST as great as cornering on the 'Blade.

I prefer being able to get rid of my board before I bust my ass...which is why I skateboard. It scares me to have a board or wheels connected to me

Another hint - if you are going to slide down the slope on your @ss, and use your snowboard as a snowplow to take all the fresh powder from the top of the run and move it to the bottom.. Fer farks sake, do it on the green runs! The ski resorts employ groomers to do this for us.

If I catch you doing it on a black or higher I will peg rocks at you from the chair lift. Big ones.
Z...

Also, take a lesson! I skied for several years before giving snowboarding a go about 8 or so years ago. Lessons helped! I snowboarded almost exclusively for 6 years before clicking skis on again. I gotta go this year! I haven't skied or boarded in 2 years. I hope I haven't forgotten how to do either.

I switch from skiing to snowboarding 2 years ago. I actually got the hang of it very quickly. The only problem was I got too comfortable and was flying down the trails which leads to real hard crashes. I never really landed on my butt, I always fell forward and smacked my head. I need a damn helmet!

Yeah, a helmet is a must. Seems like a 20 foot fall at 60 Mph on ski is the equivalent of a 2 foot fall at 6 Mph on snowboard. But carving on a snowboard as nothing to do with carving on ski. I need new gloves cause I keep dragging them when carving! Big time fun!!!

Only once, actually. The snow wasn't too packed down, and I tried to fall flat so I can spread the blow through my back and arms as well.

I'll give it another go again, but I doubt it'll be this season. It'll take my knee a while to recoup.

only 31 days 'till I fly out for Banff

Z...

I've always wanted to try snowboarding is it anything like skateboarding? If not, is it fairly easy to learn? I would think skiing is harder because you have two slick boards to deal with.

My one buddy that I went with has never been on a snowboard, but he's skateboarded before and he was doing heaps better right off the bat than I was at the end of the day. So my guess is skateboarding probably helps

Cool, now if I can only get my wife to come along.

It did me too. At first it is bad bad news. But you learn very quickly how to fall on the board, and to keep the edges from digging in.

After my first day I swore I'd never, EVER do it again. I went up on a night ski day. First mistake there, frozen snow does not feel good, and it's hard to get your edge to bite. I crashed so much I actually wore holes through my ski gloves anywhere in the palm there wasn't leather.

After my second day, I was totally hooked. I seriously considered taking a year off college and moving to Tahoe.

If you have bad knees, get knee braces. Helmets are also an excellent idea. I also advise people to use wrist braces like you use for in-line skating for the first couple of days because you fall so much.

skateboarding helps, except that instead of placing your weight rearward, you place it forward, over the front of the snowboard,weight on your front foot. In that respect, knowing how to ski and understanding edges helps, as you keep your weight over the front of your skis, too. I never skateboarded much, but steering on a snowboard has the same priniciple as skiing....the up/down motion, weighting/unweighting as you go into turns. I think it's harder to get the basics down on a snowboard as compared to skis. But, once you have the basics down, your progression to the next levels are quicker than on skis. Most everyone I know, myself included, have observed this.