seattlelite

Maybe snowboarding/skiing isn't for me? Got a chance to hit the slope this past weekend for day 2 of my lesson. Day 1 went fairly well the previous weekend. Lesson for 1hr and then off to the bunny hill and blue run for next 6 hrs. For lesson 2 I decided to change from regular to goofy as I prefer to go down the mtn on my right foot. However when I strapped my right foot down, it all fell apart as I couldn't get to the lift. So I took board back to shop to get set to regular. Problem #2 started, I felt very tipsy/uncoordinated getting to the lift. Did 1 run and nothing felt right. Might as well just jump off the hill and tumble down. I will admit that I got a 150 size board, last week I got a 148. Dunno if that matter too much. Maybe I should have gone to the training area to get myself into the "zone" before hitting the bunny hill.

I gave up the board and tried skiing for the rest of the day. Spent 1.5 hr on lesson then off to the bunny hill. With the ski, I was able to get off the lift without falling which is a relief. I'm able to turn fairly easy with the skis. Downhill, I seem to be having the same problem as with snowboarding. When I point my ski/snowboard downhill it just blazes down the hill and I lose control. I know, your going to say what do I expect if I point the thing downhill. Spent sometime thinking about what I'm doing wrong afterwards. Help me out here:

1. I'm shifting my weight too far back and thus have no control.

2. I'm making too tight of turns. Imagine a sidewase V rather than a big C.

I can work on #2 but #1 maybe where I'm having trouble. I rollerblade during summer and have no trouble with speed. I'm wondering if I'm leaning too far back without realizing it. Might have to get some friends to watch me the next time. As snowwolf said in one of his video, your body will have a tendency to stand vertical on the mtn. Advice?

wrathfuldeity

Hey if you head up north to the holyland, give me a shout...I'm on the hill most Saturdays, we'll get you riding.

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Bkeller

Sounds to me like you took your second lesson and then got in a little over your head. I did the same thing when I started out and got very frustrated as well, just take things slowly, remember what your instructor taught you, and keep at it.

As for you not being sure if you should ride goofy or regular, it sounds like you are more comfortable goofy (I am too). So my advice would be to stick with that.

As for your turning situation,

1) you shoulnt be on a hill where you are blazing down anything at this point
2) Just go slowly, get comfortable switching from toe to heel.
3) watch snowwolfs videos, they give great advice.
4) Lose the roller blades in summer and get a longboard, it will help you with snowboarding balance too

Leo

Where to start...

First of all, why are you trying to ride a goofy setup when you were doing well with your left leg forward? This is a very common trend among beginning snowboarders. I notice that a lot of times, a naturally regular rider thinks that goofy is more comfortable and vice versa. This is mainly because of the falling leaf thing that happens when you are learning. I used to think I was more comfortable riding with my right foot forward too. This is because every other second, I would start pointing downhill with my right foot forward.

Stick to your left foot forward since you were able to ride fine that way. You can leave your stance the way it is and eventually learn switch when you get better.

Secondly, you gave up way too quickly. Believe me when I say I hated snowboarding my first day out. I constantly fell and felt like trash the next day. I kept moving on though because quitting is not an option for me. The next few days were just as bad. But you know what? Once I was able to link my turns and stop properly, I was automatically hooked.

You need to take some time out to research stance angles and widths. This plays a huge role in how you snowboard. You need to play around with your stances to find one that best suits you. This might call for multiple trips to the rental shop between runs, but it will pay big dividends.

Lastly, you really need to consider purchasing your own setup. Rentals just won't cut it. Even if they rent out good boards and bindings, the boots will be an issue. Do yourself a favor and at least purchase your own boots. There are plenty of threads in this forums that will teach you everything you need to know about buying snowboard boots.

Don't give up! Going "too fast" is 99.9% fear. I used to think I was going to fast when I was learning, but compared to now, it wasn't even half the speed I go today. Learn how to stop and make wide turns to speed check yourself when you feel sketchy.

If money isn't a major concern of yours, you might do well by investing in some padded protection as well. This will literally save your ass many times over.

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seattlelite

I think it's the mtn I'm going to. The snowbunny hill have a deep drop at the top and when you get to the middle it's nice to learn on. I watched summer sanders yesterday on snowboarding for the olympics, the utah bunny hill looks so nice with its low grade compared to where I'm doing the lesson. I love to go slow but cant!

Leo

Trust me, it is not the hill. And you can learn how to ride slow.

I'm sorry to say, but you keep jumping to conclusions and making excuses. Stick it out bro. If you are taking lessons, ask the instructor to teach you how to do speed checks. You can do this by skidding or making wider skidded turns.

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seattlelite

I think I'm goofy from experience during my 1st day. When going downhill with my right foot, I can make turns easier and with more control. That's why I wanted to try goofy during day 2. It just felt awkward, I stood there for like 5 minutes trying to get use to moving with my right foot strapped to the board and pushing with my left foot.

I'm not sure but during day 1, i was going downhill with both right and left foot just depending on how it ended up. I guess I was "switch riding" during day 1.

I think angles was a big problem during day 2 as well. It just didn't feel right with my foot on the board. I'll have to research this topic. As for buying a setup, I wanted to buy one but after day 2, I'm second guessing the investment $ if I'm not willing to go forward with the sport.

Also, I'm wondering if I should have waited longer between lessons as my body felt very stiff/soar from day 1.

Leo

Yea, I don't recommend going riding if you are very sore from the day before. A fall will always make you sore no matter what, but there are ways to decrease soreness from riding. Give yourself a good 15 minutes to stretch before and after you ride. Make sure you stretch your neck and legs especially.

You are doing exactly what I said you were. When you are snowboarding and you naturally switch from left to right, that is called the falling leaf. Every beginner does it and this is what causes the confusion about which foot to ride with. Generally speaking, normally the foot you feel most comfortable skating (this is when you have one foot out and are pushing along to the lift) with is the one that should be in the back. So if you are very uncomfortable skating with your left foot, then chances are you are not a goofy rider.

However, I could be wrong as every individual case is unique. The thing is, your situation almost exactly mirrors mine when I was learning. I too thought I was going too fast for comfort. I too thought that I should be riding goofy, but just couldn't skate with my left foot. Once you learn how to link turns, everything will come together quicker. Listen to that instructor of yours and don't give up.

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Grizz

Whistler?

Grizz

A board and ski turn for the same reason. If you tilt them on EDGE to engage the sidecut, and apply PRESSURE to bend them, they will turn. The more you tilt and the harder you press the tighter the turn. It sounds like you are not continuing to do these things as the board/skis enter the fall line and your turn stops turning. As you said it might be because you are not able to stay centered over what you are sliding on. It's hard to effectively edge and press if you are balancing over the tail/s.

Stick with it and keep trying the easiest slopes you can find. It sounds like you can make both devices turn but just need more practice on less steep terrain. It's hard committing to a turn that brings you across the hill to slow down, when you feel like you've hit your speed threshold and bail out as soon as your board reaches the fall line.