# 2 Lessons Down/4 to Go.....



## Alpine Duke (Jun 21, 2015)

snowboarding has a much steeper learning curve than skiing....though i think it plateaus quicker. first day is often bad and many throw in the towel right then. You seem to be doing fine.


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## jae (Nov 27, 2015)

try riding in the day time, 40degree temps should make the slopes slushy.. does the east coast get slush? 

by pendulum you mean riding down the hill just on your heels? like falling leaf? don't do that, it's detrimental to learning. try riding from one side of the slope to next like a big Z. 

if you have trouble stopping, make sure your edges are sharp, and detune your contact points. go to a shop and ask for a edge tune. be sure to have your knees bent and lower your ass. you can also try turning your board up the hill to stop/slow down.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

3-5 days is not unusual until you start to 'get it'.

I think part of the issue may be that you are gauging your progress by the fact you are getting down the hill pretty quick. What you want to do is work on doing an S that traverses across the hill at a slow speed. 

For one you'll get a ton more turns per run. But more importantly doing a an almost full 180 turn at a slower speed will really get your feet working correctly.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

one of these days u will get 6" of powder and think u went to heaven...hang in there


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

jae said:


> try riding in the day time, 40degree temps should make the slopes slushy.. does the east coast get slush?


You didnt know that freezing temp on the east coast is 40F? Ice coast is always icey.... :grin:

If you learn on and can manage ice conditions, it makes powder that much sweeter.....


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## snowangel99 (Mar 11, 2016)

The conditions WERE bad, really bad. My hill closed for two days because of that same rain which produced a sheet of ice. Terrible conditions to learn in. Just terrible! 

Don't expect so much so fast. Slow and steady wins the race. I love your eagerness but chill out, put in practice slowly and don't kill yourself! This is supposed to be fun remember.

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk


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## MMSlasher (Mar 18, 2016)

snowangel99 said:


> The conditions WERE bad, really bad. My hill closed for two days because of that same rain which produced a sheet of ice. Terrible conditions to learn in. Just terrible!
> 
> Don't expect so much so fast. Slow and steady wins the race. I love your eagerness but chill out, put in practice slowly and don't kill yourself! This is supposed to be fun remember.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk


This.^ The conditions were terrible to learn on. I have read here a few times where some people won't even board when it's icy and these are people who know how to ride. I won't. I can't even imagine learning on ice.


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## dave785 (Jan 21, 2016)

Dealing with ice is fairly advanced. I wouldn't worry about it. A controlled heel side slide on real east coast ice is virtually impossible on an incline. Only way to get through it is with some speed, and you aren't at that stage yet.


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## motleybeast (Mar 25, 2015)

As the other guys have said, keep at it. Does sound like the conditions were pretty tricky. I don't think there's many that enjoy the ice!

I think it was day 6 for me, I said to myself if it doesn't "click" today, I'm out. Had a beer at lunchtime and threw myself into it. That was 97.

Don't know what I'd do if i couldn't go snowboarding now!!


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Don't have anything to add, other than; good on you for getting lessons. Stick with it and it becomes an amazing addiction! :grin:


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## WasabiCanuck (Apr 29, 2015)

Good job learning the proper way: taking lessons. That will save you alot of pain.

I find ice extremely difficult to ride, to the point that it is almost better to stay home. I get very frustrated in bad snow conditions. I too feel like I'm terrible when I ride ice even though I can carve black diamonds. Don't let the bad conditions get you down just go out again when the snow is better.

Do you have a helmet? You mentioned hitting your head on ice. I highly recommends wearing a helmet, beginner to expert. You don't look cooler without a helmet and they only cost $80 so why not get one. Saves your brain. I hit my head on ice once, I wasn't hurt too bad but that feeling scared me into getting a helmet right away and I have worn one ever since.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Ice sucks. At some point, it will not be scary anymore and you can ride it fine, but this takes many moons - and it still sucks.

Keep at it! The first few days are the hardest. Once you get your first run in pow, all the falls on the way to get there will be long forgotten and you'll have a big smile on your face for a week .

And second Wasabi: get a helmet.


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## Winter_Lion (Nov 30, 2016)

rvittoria said:


> 39 year old Elementary Teacher learning to board. I've had two lessons so far. The first was so hard and difficult, but after it was done (1.5 hours) I remained on the slopes practicing until close. (3 more hours). I stopped falling, but did not have much control on the hill. Just downhill top to bottom. It was a blast by the end.
> 
> Going into my 2nd lesson this past weekend I hoped to learn to pendulum and S turn. The conditions were terrible. It had rained more than an inch over the two days prior and the snow was just an icy hard rock and my control of the board was terrible. I wiped out 5 minutes into the lesson and crashed my head pretty hard. Still feeling the muscle pain in my neck 3 days later, but feeling much better. I did accomplish pendulum a few times times and fell 3-4X on my way down the slope each time. I tried one more run after lesson on my own and fell 4X pretty hard. I decided that the conditions were just bad and it wasn't going to be helpful to continue to practice.
> 
> ...


Get some crash pants, it'll make falling easier to stomach with a helmet.

Sent from my VK410 using Tapatalk


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## Sons of Thunder (Mar 24, 2015)

Winter_Lion said:


> Get some crash pants, it'll make falling easier to stomach with a helmet.
> 
> Sent from my VK410 using Tapatalk


Yeah there are several threads covering the different options. Makes a world of difference for beginners. Also get some volleyball kneepads, they're super cheap and found at any local sporting goods store.


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