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----How Did YOU Learn How To Snowboard AND How Long Did It Take You To Learn----

72K views 125 replies 103 participants last post by  Jason4 
#1 ·
did you learn from a family member or did you take lessons,etc.
how long did the learning process take for you?
DISCUSS!!!
 
#2 ·
i started boarding last season with my PE leadership class
i was the only one that nvr boarded b4, so it was either be a loner and learn a the bunny hill...or go up to do runs with my friends
turns out all my friends were reli good, so i was still the loner going on green and blue runs instead of double blacks

a reli nice guy decided to come with me and teach me the basics (falling leaf etc.)
but it was fun, and i learned to link turns on my third day
 
#4 ·
Tried to learn on my own but that didn't get good results. Then I found this website and it helped me tremendously. It would be right to say I learned to snowboard from Snowolf.
 
#5 ·
I learned last year, learned with my cousin. Our friend showed us the basics for about an hour on a small mountain, than we just learned on our own, by the end of the day we were stopping very well, linking turns together decently and making it down the mountain well. By the second day we were sharping up those skills, by the third day we had it down pretty darn good. It worked out well learning with someone else, and the fact that we progressed within the same amount of time helped. Still learning new things every time though, that's part of whats so fun. I taught a friend this year, he had a bit of trouble the first day, but the second day he started linking turns together and getting it down, a couple more times and he'll really have it down. I guess everyone progresses differently.
 
#6 ·
I have always been the DIY type, so I refused to take lessons and learned completely on my own. First day, I ate shit so many times I almost gave up. By the end of the second day, I learned how to stop, but was still falling a lot. The third day, I began to grasp the art of linking turns. By the fourth day, I was able to go down a blue (still relatively slowly). This was during a four day vacation in Canada.

Despite, what many people will say I believe it is possible to learn how to snowboard just as well without lessons. It may just take a little longer. Also, you HAVE to commit. It is so tempting to give up after the first day and then it suddenly just clicks. Good luck
 
#7 ·
I learned on a HS ski trip. I had skied for about 4 years before it. I actually didn't fall at all my first trip out and was hitting very small jumps the first day. But I quickly learned the pain of falling when I started teaching myself switch riding!
 
#8 ·
Took an hour lesson when I was 12 which taught me to turn heelside and stop heelside. Everything else has been self taught. I dedicated the last 3 seasons almost entirely to progressing in the terrain park and I've developed a lot of skills on my own.
 
#9 ·
The first couple of times I went with a coworker, who was also a total novice. We sucked!!!

Later I took lessons. The ski area had a deal of three lessons over three consecutive weekends and by the end I was linking turns and cruising blues mostly comfortably.

You could probably learn on your own if you are coordinated, but you'll need to "reinvent the wheel" if you do that. Lessons will cut past a lot of trial and error that people have figured out over the years and get you going sooner.
 
#10 ·
Word of advice, I wasted the first half of my first day with a group lesson (spent 10x more time on sitting watching than I did actually on my board learning) and the next day and a half after that on some noodly p.o.s. burton hero that the rental guy gave me. Get a medium stiff board that has some dampening and edge hold so your not getting bounced around and skidding out all the time. I sure with experience you can carve what ever on those noodly park boards but its hard if you're a beginner. Got a burton custom on my 3rd day and was carving up blues on my 4th, that board made a huuuge difference.
 
#11 ·
I learned by watching a ton of youtube "how to snowboard" videos prior to my 1st day on the hill. Once on the hill I just had to put into practice what I had watched.

1st day = Falling leaf
2nd day = Linking turns

By the 4th day I was bombing down some steep blues. Snowboarding has the steepest learning curve out of any sport I have tried!
 
#13 ·
I use to ride my little plastic snowboard when I was 10 all the time. Lost interest because boxing took up everyday of my life except sundays. Two years ago a few friends and I decided to give it a shot, bought used boards and watched each other roll down the steepest hills we could find. By the end of the year we were seeing who could go the fastest down my hare scramble trails in the woods and eating shit off jumps. Last year we bought new set ups and started going to the local resorts and first time there accidentally went down a double black diamond trail and made it. We then went over to a blue and for some reason my friend kept getting slammed. Second time out we were having the time of our lives at the terrain parts. This year we are going to focus more on the terrain and try and find some nice powder in the mountains.
 
#14 ·
Hey guys and gals,

First post! The first time I had stepped in snow was last year at Steamboat (Im 29). So stoked to be there, ready to board. My only prior board sport experiance was perhaps 2 waterski days worth of busting my ass.
I enrolled in lessons since the package was actually cheaper than rentals and lift tickets. If it wasn't for this, I wouldn't have took lessons. Probably a good thing I did. The first day of a group lesson, I couldn't even stand up on the board. I figured it was hopeless as I was only going to be there for 3 days.
Let me backup to say, in my awe of the mountain, I had jokingly asked the ski rental dude "What are the chances of going down a black diamond after 3 days." He looks me up and down and says "No way." Bet on!
Day 2. By then end of the day, I had mustered up the skill to do the training slopes and linking turns.
Day 3. Judgement day. The instructor says Im ready to try a gentle blue hill (if there was such a thing). Up the lift I go. Grab my balls and off I go, and made it down without falling. Oh yeah. Enough of this blue crap, lets do the damn thing.
Approach the edge of the black diamond and I knew I was done for. Gotta do it anyway....the rental dude said I couldn't right? Off I go.
While I'm not going to sit here and inflate the story to say I hit a 720 by accident, I was most definitly out of my comfort zone, probably going about 20-25 mph. My arms were probably flailing about and it looked like I needed medical attention, but I stayed up, and promptly got my ass off that slope in search of a gentler blue. By that time my thighs were on fire from trying to slow down heelside, and I forgot where I was for .00000000000001 of a second. While I was in the air reflecting on my mistake, I remembered to not catch myself with the wrists, so I took it like a man....on the forearms, punching myself in the face with a closed fist and breaking my Oakley metal sunglasses. Nasty black eye, and audible laughs from my wife for weeks.
 
#15 ·
I learnt at Keystone. I was working there any my brother had sent me there with his old board. I had skied up until that point. As I worked days I used to ride the bunny hill at night. Never had a lesson but the lifty used to give me tips. Spent a couple of nights there. Once I started riding with the guys I worked with I could either ride by myself on the greens or ride blues and blacks with them. As said above its a very steep learning curve. I'm still very grateful to those guys as I think without the push I may never have tried some of the harder stuff.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Skiied almost my entire life, starting when I was 3 years old.

When I was 12 I rented a snowboard at Alpine Valley (small hill/bump in Michigan) with no idea what I was doing.

Took the entire night but eventually figured it out, after falling probably 300 times. First day pretty much learned the "falling leaf" method where you stay on your heelside edge the whole time, then started doing the same but on the toeside edge... then linked them together. I was hooked instantly.

Went soon after that and bought my first gear: Burton A49 (A = all mountain), RED bindings (yes, they used to make bindings before they even made helmets, etc.) and some Burton Work boots.

I was still much better at skiing than I was at snowboarding at that point, and every year I would go with my Dad and his friends on ski trips out west. Mostly Colorado, but also went to Tahoe and Utah. We always rode blacks and double blacks... so I would always ski (couldn't keep up on the snowboard).

After I was about 15 or 16 I quit skiing forever. Bought a new board when I was 19 (Ride All Mountain 155) and kept the old shitty bindings, and bought Burton Hail boots in about 2003ish.

Just bought a pair of Burton Cartel's from about 04-05' on craigslist last year - light years ahead of those 15 year old RED bindings. Wow, what an upgrade haha.

Now I just bought a Banana Magic (2010) and I'm probably going to get the Rome Targas. Keeping the Hail boots.

Between the age of 12 and 26 (which is how old I am now), I've probably taught 10-20 different people to snowboard (my dad, cousins, mostly friends). Last year was the first time I really got to tear it up on my snowboard out west. 5 dudes, all pretty good riders, riding for 4 straight days line open to last call in Colorado.


I've found that the easiest way to teach them is the falling leaf method. Help them first get a hold of that heelside edge so at worst they can just slid straight down (like you would when you come to a stop on your heelside edge). Then slide to their right and come to a stop again. Then slide to the left and come to a stop again. Eventually they'll be comfortable with their heelside edge. Then start them off on their toe side edge doing the same thing: slide right, stop. Slide left, stop. link. After they master both edges... then they can start linking turns.

Sorry for the super long post... but that is how I taught myself and taught many other people. I consider myself a pretty good rider now in that I will ride any part of the mountain (any mountain, not limited to Michigan obviously) (blue, black, double black, skull & cross bones). Never was interested in the park though.
 
#18 ·
I went with a college buddy that fortunately stayed with me and taught me the basics...last season was my first full season and I can link turns and get down the mountain on not too steep blues. I want to clean this up this season and also work on riding switch as I think that will be important if I ever want to do 180s. It just takes run after run after run. Build some confidence and f*** other people who laugh, cause they were all there too. Just have some fun!
 
#19 ·
I skateboarded for a long time before I got a little plastic target snowboard. I wasn't any good at skating or snowboarding, but I knew enough to balance. The only problem was that I'm goofy, and the boards come regular(I didn't know you could switch them). But now that I'm into it, I guess it was for the better. Backyard snowboarding switch for 3+ years helps out with switch comfort in the long run.
 
#20 ·
I taught myself. Being from the southeast, I already had years of experience wakeboarding which seemed to transfer pretty easily.

1st Day - Leafing
2nd Day - Linking Turns
3rd Day - Could pretty much ride blues / greens comfortably.

Still the hardest thing for me is keeping my weight forward, I wakeboard 9 months out of the year and travel 2-3 times out West for boarding.
 
#22 ·
Better stock up on that sponsorship since loko's about to get lame.

It took me forever to learn. Actually two or three times to actually strap my other foot in!! haha then i took a set of lessons from our local club. I think its safe to say its what I needed and progressed pretty rapidly. I'm to the point now where my freeriding is where it should be.

So its time to get in the park

That said you're ALWAYS learning
 
#23 ·
Snowolf and youtube pretty much taught me. I read and watched a bunch before my first time out. The very first run I just thought back on what I learned on here and put it into action. Im 28 and only started last year, none of my friends really ride so either I go by myself or my brother in law who skis. So it kinda sucks for motivation and noone to teach you. Ill get a private lesson this year. I took a group lesson that didnt really do shit. But this old ass dude at Wilmot gave me some great advice on turning toeside, bc I could not do it for shit, I think I was scared to have my back down the hill. But yeah, even tho when Snowolf posts I have to read it 5 times cuz hes so tech it helps alot. Thanks Snowolf. Anyone else ride solo?
 
#25 · (Edited)
YOUTUBE FTW
I lived in Maryland all of my life. Im half Filipino, so that particular side of the family lives in California..I've actually been spoiled due to the fact that i havent really done any east coast (ice coast) riding and i learned on larger West Coast mountains..

Age:22 yrs
Weight: 230
Board Size: 161-164W
Riding Style: Freeride, Learning Park

1st Experience- I was roughly the age of 13 at the time, my uncle is an enthusiastic snowboarder, luckily only living 2.5 hrs away from Lake Lahoe and dragged me along to Sierra-at-Tahoe since he had an extra setup. He took me straight to the Blue run to start learning :eek: My balance was exceptional due to my background in skateboarding, cant say much for my turning ability at this point, most of my day consisted of flat riding and catching edges. I would stand, make it a decent distance down the mountain, get speed anxiety and fall to slow myself down :) At one point I accidentally veered off course onto a mogul black diamond which looked absolutely terrifying. I had no balls to even try it so i unstrapped my back binding and literally spun on my back down the entire run, it sucked. By the end of the day, i was eager to try snowboarding again and went home satisfied with my first performance and a crescent shaped gash on my back from catching on an ice patch


2nd Experience- Second experience was with my girlfriend. I believe i was roughly 19 at the time, so it had been a while since my last time on snow. She and I went to Massanuten, a shrimpy ski resort in VA. Unfortunately i had to rent equipment from the resort and it consisted of a crap Lamar board with step-on bindings. I entertained my girlfriend on the bunny slope until she got tired of falling at went back to the car after an hour. I left my girlfriend in the car for 5 hours :dunno:, she was irate, but i wasnt wasting the lift ticket. By this experience, i was 6'2 190lb, and older so i wasnt as fearless as the first time i went. I went down blue runs, trying to remember the concept of turning. I cant say that i progressed much on this trip.


3rd Experience- I would have to say this experience was my favorite experience. 6'5 230lbs, I went this past christmas at the age of 22 back to Lake Tahoe with my uncle. This time, i bought my own gear a week before the trip. I purchased an Arbor Roundhouse, Ride SPI bindings, and Ride FUL boots off of a whim. I had a feeling that having my own quality setup would benefit me, not to mention i got it all 20% off because im a college student. During the trip to tahoe, we went to Sugarbowl and back to Sierra-at-Tahoe. If anyone on this forum was in the area at this time u will recall the stacks of fresh powder that graciously fell on the mountains. Powder was AMAZING. I seemed to float on clouds. It was a completely different experience than on groomers. Things to note, my uncle set my stance back, he said i would need it, he told me to carry my speed and dont turn to hard or i would sink. Sure enough, my first run 50ft off the lift chair, i spent 10 mins digging myself out of the top 4ft layer of pow. All the youtube videos in the world didnt prepare me for it, lol. By the way, before this trip, i watched a months worth of youtube videos on carving, linking turns, etc, because this was my weakest area. I was doing awesome after i adjusted. I will say this, the elevation at Tahoe is the shit, the runs are miles long. I f you want to learn, Tahoe is a place to do it. After the first day, i realized that my turns still sucked, i was so beat by the end of the day. I was a hip swinger, more so throwing my board under me rather than using torsional flex and proper turn iniation. I couldnt grasp these things even on my second day. My noob method got me kept me on my feet, and my uncle dragged me to black diamonds. I was so nervous. That sh** looked so steep peeking over the drop. I found that turning on black diamonds was easier. The gravity seemed to make me parallel to the mountain on my heelside and toeside turns. This was awesome. I fell a LOT, but hey, 3rd trip ever and im making my way down a black diamond??? I felt accomplished, not to mention the soft pow cushioned my falls :D.


4th Experience- This is my most recent experience. 5 days ago on the ice coast, Liberty Mountain in PA. I went with my buddy and his family. The conditions were icy/ hardpack groomed. After looking into torsional flex a bit more, i decided my Arbor Roundhouse was too stiff for a noob like me, and i needed a softer board. After a lot of research i ended up grabbing a Never Summer Revolver (wide version of the Evo), Union Forces, and some new boots. With the soft flex of the board and the Rocker.Camber technology i hoped this would improve my turning and reduce my chances of catching edges, and i could also venture into the park terrain when i became more confident in my riding abilities. All i can say is WOW. It seems like my abilities increased TENFOLD. I could feel the flex of the board under my feet when i pressed my toe and heels like pedals to intitiate my turns. I effortlessly stay on edge. I honestly didnt fall more than twice. The rocker seemed to help a lot and it felt completely different than the positive camber of my arbor board.I think a soft and forgiving board was a key to my acceleration in learning. I was so excited and i called up my uncle to ask if the season was over yet in Tahoe. The second day of this trip i got the balls to try small terrain. I literally sat at the drop to the box for 25 minutes watching kids press, spin, and switch ride. I sucked it up and hit the box, except i was going to fast and i flew over the damn thing. LOL, and i landed it!!!!!! YES!!! At this point i got the balls to try rails and weird shaped boxes with kickers. I didnt do anything fancy, just 50-50s, but a lot of kids, surprisingly were supportive and told me to start slow and dont leave my comfort zone. I did bonk my ass a couple times and it hurt like hell. I went to the bunny slopes and practiced butters (I AM SHIT), im still trying to get used to edge awareness when flat ground spinning, but i can pull off mad tail presses (manual?) for at least 65ft with the nose of my board 2ft off the ground :thumbsup::thumbsup: For some reason i feel more comfortable nollieing than ollieing?? any input on that would be appreciated, but my next investments shall be asspads and a helmet!

FUTURE GOALS: On my next trip, i plan on changing up my stance a little bit, currently im 15+/-6 and i would love to learn to ride switch before i try any rotations on boxes, and jumps. I would also like to learn to butter and tail block because i think that stuff is so impressive and looks hella fun to do. SO, in conclusion, my analysis of myself was, i picked up turning and edge awareness much faster on more difficult runs (i feel that flat runs suck for beginners because u are going so slow u are more worried about balance than turning), and the only way to get better is to fall. I WILL SAY THAT YOUTUBE IS A FREAKING AWESOME INSTRUCTOR AND SNOWOLFS VIDS ALSO HELPED A LOT!! Thanks for readin my story :) MY 5TH TRIP IS IN 2 WEEKS!!!! YES!!!!
 
#26 · (Edited)
Got called up by a friend who wanted to know if I wanted to go snowboarding.. I said hell yes and I was on my way to my first snowboarding experience. She took me onto a blue, where she did a great job explaining how to stop. She didn't do a great job at telling me how to turn. She ditched me after the very first run, and I taught myself for the rest of the day. By the end of the day, I think I made it down the blue without falling once.

Second experience, another friend of mine took me onto a black and told me something to the effect of "learn now or die!!!" So.. without much of a choice, I learned and I learned very quickly. By the end of that day I was bombing down, doing pretty well.

Third experience, on my own, it all clicked. The technique just came to me and I fell in love. Bought all my own gear soon after and have only gotten way more comfortable. Still learning and gaining the testicular tenacity to try different features, jumps and tricks.

This was all about February of 2010. Right now, Feb 2011, I'm currently getting better at 180's and grabs off of jumps, riding boxes/rails, perfecting my switch riding etc.
 
#27 ·
I learned from watching all of Snowwolf's beginner and intermediate lesson videos on youtube.
I've only been riding 5 times so to say I'm stil learning is an understatement. But, I was able to link my turns the first time out (after about 2 hours or so). I can ollie, albiet going slow and actually pulled off a 180 on an embankment this weekend. Rode up the embankment on the slope, ollied and pulled a 180 and rode back down the embankment. I was pretty stoked. :D

Oh and half the time I go out I go out alone. All of my friends ski and they don't want to go as often as I do. I enjoy riding alone though.
 
#28 ·
Learned how to board back when i was 8 or so, my parents skied as did i for a little then i got into boards took lessons got pretty alright then gave up for skateboarding.

Middle of the season i went up a friends house, he had made an entire terrain park in his back yard(it is a pretty large yard in the woods) decided id give it a shot strapped into one of his brothers boards and took off toward the jumps was landing backside 180s at the end of the day and was really loving boarding so i decided to buy a cheap board knowing the season was almost over then last weekend i got a text from my friend saying he wanted to go to a resort and do some slopes/trails, i excitedly went......oh boy was i in over my head, i could keep up with my friends right up untill we got off the lift lol, they went off and did thier black diamonds and i just cruised(fell) on all the greenies. After about 3 hours of greens i went up to blues and by the end of the day had been linking the corners in the blue pretty well.

So self re taught. Now i just wanna get a park board and start killin ramps and rails, my end goal for next season is a 100 footer...or a rodeo cuzz they look cool to me. Maybe il just combine the two goals.
 
#29 ·
alright so one day just outta the blue my friend just asks if i wanna go to the local mtn. so i figure what the hell and grab my couysins stuff and go as we were walking up to get our lift tickets i asked if he was gunna ditch me and his answer was not if you can keep up. you can figure out the rest. i was scared shitless of being the loner that sucked so i learnd fast withen an houe or too i could stop and kinda keep my speed under control in like 2 hours i was keeping up with guys that have riden for years. now im hooked and go as many time i possibly can. so i guess i learend by myself trying to not be alone
 
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