Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums banner

First timer

1K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  Cycle4Fun 
#1 ·
Well I'm new to boarding and the board itself. From VA and headed to Breckenridge in a couple weeks for the first time ever with some family. I've taken exactly one lesson and didn't do too bad. I live about 40 minutes from Bryce Mountain here in VA. It's tiny, but was a fun place to hit the snow for the first time. Not too intimidating. Looking for advice on gear and stance. Probably renting while out there. I'll be snooping around here now that I've found this forum.
 
#2 ·
15/-15 shoulder width apart is a good start while learning your heel and toe edges and once you start linking turns and riding you can dial it to what feels good. My biggest suggestion is to go ride as many days as you can before your trip. Definitely take more lessons if you can afford it! Welcome!
 
#3 ·
Welcome! As fairly new myself my advice is to get out as often as you can before you head out west. I was comfortable hitting a 'big' mountain after probably my 4th time.

I would also advise that around your 3rd/4th time take a private lesson before you go to nail down things a little. It will seems expensive, but compared to what you are dropping on your vacation its a drop in the bucket and will open up a lot more of the mountain to you.
 
#4 ·
Would that be considered a 'duck stance'? I was riding front foot angled and rear foot 90 to the board edge. I was debating trying the duck as when I would get turned around I had a hard time righting myself. I read the duck stance helps that out a lot. As for the lessons, it was kind of a joke. Here they are very minimal. I'd have better luck taking one out there I think in Breck. I was picking it up by the end of the day, but still trying to control speed and turns. I wiped out pretty hard a few times too catching the edge. I'm sure that's pretty normal though.
 
#5 ·
When you think you can link a dozen turns in a row I'd still recommend a PRIVATE lesson. Private being key. Group lessons are tough. Someone dedicated to look at you when you go down and tell you what is wrong is a totally different story. Trust me when I say you aren't doing nearly as good as you think you are at this point.
 
#6 ·
If you have a smart phone I'd take it to your local hill fully charged and protected from the wet. Pull up begginer snowboarding lessons on YouTube and practice the basics. Take a run or two and then watch a video and try to apply what you see. But a private lesson at Breck will do mircales!
 
#7 ·
I've been watching all the videos I can find on Youtube during my lunch breaks at work and at home. I feel like I have it in my head now but just practicing is the part I have to get to. I'll be the only one snowboarding. The others will be skiing. I'm content with the green runs if that's all I can get to. The problem learning here is the terrain is super narrow and the surface was really slushy and hard because we had rain/snow the night before I went to my lesson.
 
#8 ·
All those lessons are worthless if you are not fit for bigger mtns and longer runs.

Being used (if at all) to a small hill will exhaust you and any technique will be out the window at that point, especially if you're trying to follow the most valid of advices: bend your knees!

So:
#1 work those quads out. Go ride as much as possible, plus do some squats at home.
#2 you've ridden before, what was your stance? How did it feel? were you bending the knees?
#3 Bend your knees. No, bend them some more.
#4 You'll be renting... the guys there can help you set up stance width and angles. Feel free to experiment and change anything that feels painfull.
#5 your "comfortable" stance will probably be too narrow. How tall are you? otherwise, start with reference stance on whichever board you get.
 
#9 ·
So:
#1 work those quads out. Go ride as much as possible, plus do some squats at home. --Not a lot more time to go before trip, but will try.
#2 you've ridden before, what was your stance? How did it feel? were you bending the knees? -- I'm left foot forward and it was angled forward while right foot was 90 degrees to board edge.
#3 Bend your knees. No, bend them some more. -- I was touching the snow a lot so I think they were bent.
#4 You'll be renting... the guys there can help you set up stance width and angles. Feel free to experiment and change anything that feels painfull.
#5 your "comfortable" stance will probably be too narrow. How tall are you? otherwise, start with reference stance on whichever board you get. -- I'm 6'1 weighing 165lb.
See bolded above. As for being fit for bigger mountains, there's no way of knowing that since I've not been out west at all. I know there's a learning curve, but everyone has to start somewhere.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top