Well if my tag fits then I'm just hoping you "can" teach an old dog new tricks.
I'll turn 37 in the middle of the season this year and I've never been skiing or snowboarding. I grew up in Utah, so this is probably a punishable offense.
I moved to Northern BC this year and Shames Mountain is less than 90 minutes away. As there isn't much to do here during the winter, I figured I'd take up snowboarding. I work with a few people who board, including a former amateur sponsored rider who used to teach at a resort.
I used to skateboard when I was a kid and I hear that helps. I wasn't a pro or anything but I rode OK street.
In any event, in my typical go big or go home fashion I've never been yet I already purchased a full setup. Here's my gear and my stats, let me know what you think;
5' 10"ish (Ok, 5' 9.5")
195 (pretty solid, I strength train)
US 10 Boot
I'm pretty athletic. In addition to lifting I dragon boat, mountain bike, and I used to train Muay Thai and Brazilian Jujitsu (when I had somewhere to do it).
Based on the my boot size, weight, experience level, resort conditions (lots of pow), and the type of riding I want to do (all-mountain w/free ride focus) I purchased the following 2012 gear in the last couple of months while everything from last year was 30 - 40% off:
K2 Raygun 159cm Deck
K2 Formula Bindings
Salomon Dialouge Wide Boots
(don't really seem wide, and fit like a glove so I got 'em)
Burton Gortex Gloves
Sessions Rework Shell Jacket 20k/15k
Sessions Barricade Pants 20k/15k
Pro-Tec Vigilante Helmet
Von Zipper Feenom Goggles
So how'd I do? The goal is to get decent stuff that will last me a couple seasons and allow me room to grow. With my weight I could have gone a little longer on the board, but I hear it's easier to learn on a shorter board and I may want to try a little free style. That said, I could've gone shorter but I want to be able to ride the pow at Shames so I went with the rocker tipped Raygun in a 159. Thoughts?
Also, I've been obsessed since I decided to go for it this year and I've devoured hours of reading, videos, and talking to people about snowboarding. Maybe I'm clueless, but it looks pretty easy to get the fundamentals down. As I'm a pretty athletic guy and I take to new things pretty quickly, I expect to be linking turns down a blue/green on my first day. I plan to ride a lot this year and hope to be fairly competent and trying some basic jumps and tricks by the end of the season.
Are my expectations way out of line? It looks pretty easy to pick it up as long as you aren't afraid of leaning downhill and being confident in your turns. The whole riding an edge and carving or skidding to bleed speed looks pretty straight forward. Obviously it will take some practice and a few falls, but I really don't expect to struggle too much. Am I crazy?
Thanks,
OldDog
PS: I can't believe you read this whole novel. You deserve a cookie...
I'll turn 37 in the middle of the season this year and I've never been skiing or snowboarding. I grew up in Utah, so this is probably a punishable offense.
I moved to Northern BC this year and Shames Mountain is less than 90 minutes away. As there isn't much to do here during the winter, I figured I'd take up snowboarding. I work with a few people who board, including a former amateur sponsored rider who used to teach at a resort.
I used to skateboard when I was a kid and I hear that helps. I wasn't a pro or anything but I rode OK street.
In any event, in my typical go big or go home fashion I've never been yet I already purchased a full setup. Here's my gear and my stats, let me know what you think;
5' 10"ish (Ok, 5' 9.5")
195 (pretty solid, I strength train)
US 10 Boot
I'm pretty athletic. In addition to lifting I dragon boat, mountain bike, and I used to train Muay Thai and Brazilian Jujitsu (when I had somewhere to do it).
Based on the my boot size, weight, experience level, resort conditions (lots of pow), and the type of riding I want to do (all-mountain w/free ride focus) I purchased the following 2012 gear in the last couple of months while everything from last year was 30 - 40% off:
K2 Raygun 159cm Deck
K2 Formula Bindings
Salomon Dialouge Wide Boots
(don't really seem wide, and fit like a glove so I got 'em)
Burton Gortex Gloves
Sessions Rework Shell Jacket 20k/15k
Sessions Barricade Pants 20k/15k
Pro-Tec Vigilante Helmet
Von Zipper Feenom Goggles
So how'd I do? The goal is to get decent stuff that will last me a couple seasons and allow me room to grow. With my weight I could have gone a little longer on the board, but I hear it's easier to learn on a shorter board and I may want to try a little free style. That said, I could've gone shorter but I want to be able to ride the pow at Shames so I went with the rocker tipped Raygun in a 159. Thoughts?
Also, I've been obsessed since I decided to go for it this year and I've devoured hours of reading, videos, and talking to people about snowboarding. Maybe I'm clueless, but it looks pretty easy to get the fundamentals down. As I'm a pretty athletic guy and I take to new things pretty quickly, I expect to be linking turns down a blue/green on my first day. I plan to ride a lot this year and hope to be fairly competent and trying some basic jumps and tricks by the end of the season.
Are my expectations way out of line? It looks pretty easy to pick it up as long as you aren't afraid of leaning downhill and being confident in your turns. The whole riding an edge and carving or skidding to bleed speed looks pretty straight forward. Obviously it will take some practice and a few falls, but I really don't expect to struggle too much. Am I crazy?
Thanks,
OldDog
PS: I can't believe you read this whole novel. You deserve a cookie...