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Snowboarding for Snow Skiers.
This article written for the benefit of those who think they are too old to put skis aside and make the change to a snowboard.
Generally, the 40 and up skiers would never think of trying a snowboard. It is also true that the young generation of snowboarders would never think of trying skis.
I am 54 years old and have a 13 year old snowboarding son takes pleasure in insulting my skis. I got tired of hearing this, and wanted a change. I took that step and bought a new $500 Elan Elan Inverse Snowboard from SnowboardsUSA.com, and a new pair of Rossignol Shaun White Snowboarding boots, Burton Snowboarding Pants, Burton Freestyle Bindings, the best of the best award winning name brands, and the 2007 good wood award. To look cool on this board, I went to a local ride shop and bought an Enties hooded sweatshirt. I had never ridden a snowboard before. After buying all this gear, my 13 year old added injury to insult by calling me a “poser”, a term used by skateboarding enthusiasts. It is a term used for someone who carries around a nice looking board but cant ride it.
I drove to a local ski resort in California to try out my new board. After 30 minutes of snowboarding on an easy hill in Kids Camp, I quit and went home thinking that it was impossible for me to learn this. The next day, I loaded my snow skis and returned to the resort the thinking I would go back to my skis. I still had snowboard gear in my SUV, so I decided to give snowboarding one last try with the help of a personal snowboarding instructor. Within 1 hour, I was doing toe turns in a “falling leaf” pattern and doing fast stops. I continued on my snowboard for another hour after my lesson and I do not regret that decision. I am hooked.
There is an advantage to learning snowboarding. One advantage is that you may win more respect with your kids by bridging that generation gap. Apart from trying to win respect, the most rewarding part of snowboarding is that once you cross that line from skis to a snowboard, strap down your snowboard bindings, and start doing it, snowboarding becomes addictive and more fun than any sport you will ever try. There is an increasing trend of people you would not expect to be in this sport. More Big and Tall men, who can barely bend down to ratchet down the bindings straps, are buying a wide snowboard and getting into the sport. More moms are buying a womens snowboard and getting into the sport with the family.
The first problem switching to snowboarding is that it is almost impossible to learn without at least one or two group lessons or a private lesson. There are too many tricks you need to know to start. Trying to go out on a snowboard the first time with no instruction will cause you frustration and exhaustion. The resolution to this problem is easy. Get a private snowboarding lesson.
The second difficult part of snowboarding is that it uses a different muscle set than snow skiing. First time snowboarders can get exhausted in the first hour and end up putting their new $500 snowboard up for sale the next day. The stamina problem is not too difficult to resolve either. Stamina can be gained by snowboarding for 1 hour, and then switching back to your skis for the remainder of the day.
When you are not on the slopes, you can join a gym and work out with a personal trainer who can help you develop the muscles you need to switch to snowboarding. When you are not in the snow, ther is another way to develop your snowboarding skills. If you are not ashamed to try a skateboard, get a skateboard with large soft wheels (retro style) and try some flow riding on easy small ramps in skateboard parks. You may be the oldest person there, but maybe not. I have seen a lot of good riders in their 50s doing ramps with the kids. This exercise will rapidly develop the balance skills you need on a snowboard. By the way, experts like Shaun White and Ryan Sheckler were skateboarders before they became the most famous snowboarders in the world today.
The priceless goal to achieve when you make the switch from snow skiing to snowboarding will be, someday, to watch your kids jaw drop in awe when you grind a rail in a snow park. Sweet. Sick. Awesome. Do this and you will officially be part of the snowboarding “in crowd“ no matter how old you are.
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