TokyoGeezer

Hopefully this is the right forum for this question. I live in Japan and have been taught snowboarding mostly using upper body rotation. I am now intermediate and have hit a sort of plateau in my development from where I seem unable to advance. I am thinking of taking a trip to North America in the 2009 season to get some intensive instruction. (Would like to avoid Europe due to the euro's current strength that makes everything very expensive for the rest of us.) If anyone can make some recommendations here, I'd appreciate it. What I am looking for is a school that

- offers a clinic for intermediates; by clinic I mean a multi-day, structured intensive course not a random series of group lessons
- focusses on foot-steering as opposed to upper body rotation
- ideally includes video for feedback (I am really unaware of how exactly I ride - I simply do it)
- is on the west side of North America (ideally Aspen or Tahoe since I have friends there I can stay with, but others are also OK)
- also offers backcountry riding instruction

Thanks for any input!

Snowolf

Well, you can accomplish this with just about any ski & ride school and if you can afford to take a couple of private lessons you can get the instruction you need by taking a lesson in the morning and just going out and practicing on your own the rest of the day. The best thing if you really want to attend a mutli day clinic is when the season get`s started, check with individual resorts and their clinic schedules. We all have them and they are either free in many cases, or very inexpensive. For now, take a look at our "how to" section and you can get a basic idea about how to transition from the way you are currently riding to the correct and much more efficint way that AASI teaches.

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con3593

what does AASI stand for?

Gustov

ah, cmon. google.

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If you're bored:
www.howmanyfiveyearoldscouldyoutakeinafight.com
I got 33

Snowolf

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con3593

oh.....damn, I was expecting some cool acronym not some predictable one

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I voted buckethead asshole,

Seminole Nate

Just thought I'd throw in a quick suggestion...I believe Copper Mountain in Colorado opens their "Woodward Snowboard" program this winter. Camp Woodward has traditionally been the premier program for summer sports like skateboard, bmx, dirt bikes, etc...and the camp at Copper is their first winter program. Who know's if it will be excellent or a cash-in on winter sports...(I'll give them the benefit of the doubt till I hear otherwise)

I think they'll have programs geared for everyone from beginer to pro-ish. Anyways, it's definitely worth consideration and it sounds like it may be right up your alley.

Cheers!

Woodward at Copper :: Home

LouG

Woodward is not the first winter snowboarding camp. There are already several other successful camps... so the chance that Woodward is just jumping on the bandwagon is pretty high.

That being said, a rule of thumb when entering into a competitive business is to figure out a way to offer more value than other competitors. Woodward has done this in the form of "the barn".

Supposedly they are structuring their lessons to where you learn and become comfortable with a new trick in this dry-land training facility and then they take you out to Copper to try them out.

But the Woodward camp and other camps are not where you want to go Tokyo Geezer. On the North American side you are looking at the options SnoWolf presented above.

When you mentioned backcountry instruction I instantly thought of South American Snow Sessions. It's in South America, but I think it might have the type of riding and instruction you desire.

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Lou G. & DesertsDontSnow.com