# Starting off advice for someone err... wiser



## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

My son is 9, it's his first year. I've skied all my life. Took a bit of a hiatus so all my gear is ~10 years old, so it's time for new. Or I can jump into boarding for less money.

I'm 43, so when I started off all there really was was skiing and I stuck with it. Now I'm thinking of changing over. But I don't know, at my age it all seems a bit daunting. At 5'9 ~155lb i'm still in somewhat decent shape, my center of gravity isn't all over the place like some my age . But I don't know, it just seems like such a huge learning curve in front of me.

I know you all are going to say 'jump into it', so I'm really just looking for some real life experience from some people who have seen or gone through the same thing.


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## the grouch (Feb 18, 2014)

I'm 37 and my 9 and 7 year old kids convinced me to try snowboarding this year. So the three of us are learning together. After a couple trips I was able to comfortably do greens. It took me a bit more to really get comfortable with toe side turns, but I'm there now. 

I would recommend you swallow your pride and spend some time on the bunny hill/magic carpet before you try the lifts. And still expect quite a bit of falling the first few trips. After that it sort of clicks and you start cruising. Payong for a lesson will probably save you a few hard crashes the first couple of days.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

the grouch said:


> I'm 37 and my 9 and 7 year old kids convinced me to try snowboarding this year. So the three of us are learning together. After a couple trips I was able to comfortably do greens. It took me a bit more to really get comfortable with toe side turns, but I'm there now.
> 
> I would recommend you swallow your pride and spend some time on the bunny hill/magic carpet before you try the lifts. And still expect quite a bit of falling the first few trips. After that it sort of clicks and you start cruising. Payong for a lesson will probably save you a few hard crashes the first couple of days.


It's actually just me this weekend so maybe I'll take a trip to the mountain and see how it goes. Maybe even surprise him out of the blue next weekend when we go depending on how things work out.


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## Martyc (Sep 8, 2013)

I was 51 when I started and way out of shape, if you want it go do it, simples.


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## Lamps (Sep 3, 2011)

I started at 40, excluding a couple times dabbling in college. My wife switched from skis to snowboarding at 43 when our kids aged 6 and 9 took it up. 

Go for it, tons of fun. 

Watch a few how to videos, rent some gear and book a lesson the very first time out, and some more lessons after that. 

If you do lessons right away you'll learn quick and save yourself a lot of wasted time and hassle. You'll still fall down lots and have a sore butt of course but lessons really help. 

If you're thinking of getting your own gear right away buy some new mid flex boots that fit really well after trying on lots of them, and the board and bindings don't matter much. Suggest you rent the board/bindings a couple times, get something 5 cms shorter than what the online calculators recommend for your weight, then buy something the proper size later, a shorter board is easier to learn on. 

Post your questions here, folks are knowledgeable and helpful. 

Snowboarding is harder to learn for the first few days than skiing but after that it's easier to progress, you will most likely move from green to blue to black faster than you did on skiis.


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## Naturesabre (Jan 11, 2014)

just don't stop trying or decide you don't like it for at least the first three days. I spent a lot of time on the ground like many others did during those first few attempts. It's worth the effort.


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## ridinbend (Aug 2, 2012)

Practice on a skateboard, just to get the feeling of riding sideways.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

practice on the smallest slope first to get the basics down before you go fast.
give it 3 days also.
watch snowprofessor on youtube. they have very detailed videos to teach you how to do it properly.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

f00bar said:


> My son is 9, it's his first year. I've skied all my life. Took a bit of a hiatus so all my gear is ~10 years old, so it's time for new. Or I can jump into boarding for less money.
> 
> I'm 43, so when I started off all there really was was skiing and I stuck with it. Now I'm thinking of changing over. But I don't know, at my age it all seems a bit daunting. At 5'9 ~155lb i'm still in somewhat decent shape, my center of gravity isn't all over the place like some my age . But I don't know, it just seems like such a huge learning curve in front of me.
> 
> I know you all are going to say 'jump into it', so I'm really just looking for some real life experience from some people who have seen or gone through the same thing.


I started at 51. Had skied in my teens and 20's, but couldn't keep it up financially at the time (had to make some choices, and motorcycles won).

Having skied, you have an advantage in that you already know about snow, edges, lifts, etc. Having not skied in a while, you have an advantage in that you won't have too much trouble unlearning old habits.

One piece of good advice: take a lesson. Private if you can, group otherwise, but don't just rent the equipment and go out there and flop around like a fish for a couple of hours. Too painful.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

Having gone through my sons first season I definitely see the need for the lessons. I started him off with them so it's not a big deal. I guess the real thing is getting past the whole 'starting at the back of the pack' again when I'm so used to being at the front. My daughter is coming home for the weekend from college. Maybe I'll see if she wants to go with me.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

f00bar said:


> Having gone through my sons first season I definitely see the need for the lessons. I started him off with them so it's not a big deal. I guess the real thing is getting past the whole 'starting at the back of the pack' again when I'm so used to being at the front. My daughter is coming home for the weekend from college. Maybe I'll see if she wants to go with me.


there is no such thing as "starting at the back of the pack". there is only how much you are progressing.:dunno:
same thing for doing pretty much everything in life.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

speedjason said:


> there is no such thing as "starting at the back of the pack". there is only how much you are progressing.:dunno:
> same thing for doing pretty much everything in life.


Just meant I'm so used to not even having to think about getting down the mountain. The advantage to that is the place we typically go is really pretty unchallenging, so it may add a bit to that aspect of things and make it more interesting.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

I was 50 when I tried snowboarding for the first time. I was a failed skier 36 years ago and never tried that again. (...seriously! I sucked ASS on skis!)

I have heard from a number of skiers who tried boarding and said it was just way too hard. I have also heard from boarders who used to ski who say snowboarding was harder at first than skiing, but the progression after getting the basics of linking a turn is far quicker. 

I suspect the "It's too hard" types quit cuz their ego's couldn't handle being a NooB, with all that falling again. The former skiers who stuck with it, most seem to have given up on skiing entirely in favor of snowboarding. 

If your ego can handle being a NooB all over again and not get as bruised as your butt surely will? It really depends then how badly you want it. 

I believe I picked it up fairly quickly judging by some of the stories I've heard here and on the lifts. Even so, my first two times out ended with bad falls, lots of pain, massive swelling and bruising. I never got hurt 1/10th that bad trying to learn to ski, but I gave up on that right away. 

Learning to Snowboard? Before those crashes? It was sooo much freaking fun. No way I wasn't coming back to keep doing this!


-edit-
I stepped on a board for the first time on Jan. 30th 2011. IIR That season ended first week of April. In that 8-9 weeks I got in 25-28 days riding. So you can see, I was hooked from day one!


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Just found out I was super noob...even after 11 seasons :icon_scratch:. Also a late bloomer started at 44 never skied, kids talked me into it. So last year went out a couple of times BC with daughter and her bf (yet another dam thing the kids talk me in to doing)...thought ok I'm a cool kid now k:. Fuck no, on Monday went out with Killz and Ale for a lil ol Steven's BC tour...shit they raped my cherry and handed me my ass...one of the harder spankings I can remember...it was damm fun when it was over...but ready for more please :icon_scratch:.

So just saying there is always noob status and Chomps is right its just an ego thing.


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## Lamps (Sep 3, 2011)

f00bar said:


> Just meant I'm so used to not even having to think about getting down the mountain. The advantage to that is the place we typically go is really pretty unchallenging, so it may add a bit to that aspect of things and make it more interesting.


And then once you're an intermediate snowboarder ride with the other foot forward (called riding switch), and even the tinest hill will fell like a giant mountain.

Actually if you can learn ride some switch as you learn to ride you'll be better off later, a lot of us wish we'd started to learn switch earlier in our riding.


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## CassMT (Mar 14, 2013)

in my limited teaching back in the day there was one group who stood out as the quickest learners: experienced skiers. some of em i could get linking turns in a couple runs. theres 'less' fear of falling and you understand how snow, edges and fall-lines work...no worries, get out there


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

The other question I have is stance. I'm one of those lefties who does everything but write and eat righty. I consider myself somewhat ambidextrous, not so much that I'd actually ever bat lefty in a game but I'm better than most, so I think I'll be ok with whichever. However, my left knee is somewhat injured, as a result I don't hit the moguls anymore. It doesn't really hurt unless I work it hard all day, but it is definitely weaker than the right so I tend to favor right in most things. So this in mind should I try one stance over the other?


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## CassMT (Mar 14, 2013)

f00bar said:


> The other question I have is stance. I'm one of those lefties who does everything but write and eat righty. I consider myself somewhat ambidextrous, not so much that I'd actually ever bat lefty in a game but I'm better than most, so I think I'll be ok with whichever.



same here, try goofy first


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## Ocho (Mar 13, 2011)

f00bar said:


> Now I'm thinking of changing over.


Hehe! Sensed from your other thread this was percolating in your mind 

Do it. If even just to have an idea of your son's experience learning to snowboard, and the fact he will likely think you are super awesome for trying. Love the idea of surprising him the next time you ride together!

Give it a few days out on a board if you can. I _hated_ snowboarding my first day out, but being taken to icy blues with no lesson, no ski experience, nor sight of bunny hill/greens will do that ha. These days, I want to ride everyday. 

You can always switch back to skis if you prefer (note: saw the post about your knees; snowboarding is kinder to the knees). Although as you mentioned, you can upgrade to snowboard gear for far less expense than ski gear so that's another plus.

Like Donutz mentioned, you already have the concept of snow sliding, edges, lifts. That's a huge advantage right there. 

Have fun! And don't be too hard on yourself in the learning process. We've all been there.


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

I started at 41,this is my fourth season.I skied for 7 years and i'm glad i had the ballz to try out snowboarding. Probably the intimidating about snowboarding is getting off the chairlift:laugh: now you'd be on the other side of the coin so to speak. One thing though,when you crash it would not be like a yardsale
Goodluck and enjoy shredding!


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

f00bar said:


> Just meant I'm so used to not even having to think about getting down the mountain. The advantage to that is the place we typically go is really pretty unchallenging, so it may add a bit to that aspect of things and make it more interesting.


having some experience skiing you should pick it up quick. the concept is identical cept skiing you shifting weight left/right of your body where snowboarding is front and back.


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## behi (Feb 27, 2013)

Armor up. You get insured more easily and heal slower than someone younger. IMO, crash pants, wrist / knee / elbow guards, helmet and back protector are really nice to have and will make falls on hard pack a lot less unpleasant.


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## tannersdad (Jan 9, 2013)

I also picked it up again recently at 45 yrs. old. I learned to ski in the late 80's. On the water and the snow. Then all my buddies switched to wake boarding and snow boarding. I never got real good at snowboarding. (I could only afford a few trips a year) Give it at least 3 trips before you give up, I'm betting by then you won't want to!


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

Daughter is home from college this weekend and is willing to take the plunge with me. Unfortunately, she's booked sat so will have to wait until Sunday. Which means the 'what's a good board to buy because I hate renting' will have to wait until Sunday night.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

f00bar said:


> Daughter is home from college this weekend and is willing to take the plunge with me. Unfortunately, she's booked sat so will have to wait until Sunday. Which means the 'what's a good board to buy because I hate renting' will have to wait until Sunday night.


whats your weight and boot size?


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

speedjason said:


> whats your weight and boot size?


155, size 9.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

f00bar said:


> 155, size 9.


I would say get a medium flex hybrid at 150-153cm within your budget is gonna be good.
I ride a Salomon Villain with camber between the bindings and rocker on nose and tail. 150cm and I weight 145lbs. its pretty good for my kind of riding.


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## Kenai (Dec 15, 2013)

Where are you going to go?


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

Kenai said:


> Where are you going to go?


Butternut, an hours drive on the nose.


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## grego818 (Mar 22, 2014)

I started last year at 41. Never been on a ski lift before, but on a lift a half dozen times on my DH bike. I am starting to hit the terrain parks now after just over a year of boarding. Progression is quick once you get addicted. 

Best advise is to take a lesson. They will teach you how to get up off the ground (need this!) and get on lift etc.. Learn to fall right. Your hands and wrists will thank you.

GET CRASH SHORTS. I have a few pairs from my DH riding. Saves your ass -literally! I wear them every time. note: somewhat ineffective though when falling on a steel rail...

Butternut is great place to learn and for $25 on weekends in the spring it a hell of a deal! Spring riding when the snow is softer builds confidence too. Get a season pass to the closest place and ride often and all day. Its the hours spent on the trail that count, not the number of years riding.

last is stick it out. I fell every time I went multiple times. Most due to others on the trail i could not avoid.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

grego818 said:


> I started last year at 41. Never been on a ski lift before, but on a lift a half dozen times on my DH bike. I am starting to hit the terrain parks now after just over a year of boarding. Progression is quick once you get addicted.
> 
> Best advise is to take a lesson. They will teach you how to get up off the ground (need this!) and get on lift etc.. Learn to fall right. Your hands and wrists will thank you.
> 
> ...


Me and my son have season passes. He actually learned at Blandford was is a smidge cheaper and closer but smaller and much older facility wise. Last month we bought the season passes which are good through next year for $500, which is a steal.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

Off to the mountain tomorrow. Anyone want to guess the vegas odds on my having a new setup by next Saturday? You can guess what I've been driving around doing most of the day today, no ski shop left unturned getting ballpark guestimates.


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## Ocho (Mar 13, 2011)

f00bar said:


> Off to the mountain tomorrow. Anyone want to guess the vegas odds on my having a new setup by next Saturday? You can guess what I've been driving around doing most of the day today, no *ski shop* left unturned getting ballpark guestimates.


Excellent! Have fun.

Are you trying to throw us off with the above?


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

f00bar said:


> Me and my son have season passes. He actually learned at Blandford was is a smidge cheaper and closer but smaller and much older facility wise. Last month we bought the season passes which are good through next year for $500, which is a steal.





EatRideSleep said:


> Excellent! Have fun.
> 
> Are you trying to throw us off with the above?


Actually, I thought about it but didn't know what else to call them! Winter Recreational Sport an Summer Bike Supplier seems so long winded.


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## jtg (Dec 11, 2012)

Determine which foot you want forward by doing a dominant eye test. You will feel less blind, and less inclined to over-rotate your shoulders to face forward going down the hill if you choose correctly.


If you feel very sore for several days after the first day, it's not because you're old. Everyone gets that, until about the third time out.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

jtg said:


> Determine which foot you want forward by doing a dominant eye test. You will feel less blind, and less inclined to over-rotate your shoulders to face forward going down the hill if you choose correctly.
> 
> 
> If you feel very sore for several days after the first day, it's not because you're old. Everyone gets that, until about the third time out.


Hmm... according to that I'm goofy, which is what i was leaning towards trying. I know my son was pretty sore the next day, so I can only imagine what I'll be. I'm sure I'll hear about it from my daughter when she has to walk to classes on Monday. Though she's in better shape than I am and has been doing one of those crazy high energy suicide workout things for the past 6 months.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

sore...pre-dope with ibuprofen...to prevent the swelling


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

Welp, we're back. In the end I'm actually pretty pleased. No broken bones. Of course you never do as well as you visualize yourself doing, but I'm happy.

My take.

First off, rental boots suck. They were K2 and apparently form to your foot over time. Which were crippling as the previous person had a huge arch and the result was my toes were screaming the first hour. Oh and the pull string things sucked and I couldn't get the left tight to save my life. So anyway, bitching done.

Once again we showed up on a day that barely reached freezing the day after a 50F day. So it was pretty hard and my knees felt it on one good fall. The lessons got us started and be the end all 3 of us were doing fairly well on toe and heel C turns with some pseudo linking by the end. Instructor said we were doing good and if we got to the point where we were making it down consistently we may be ready to move off the bunny.

At around 2 we decided to test that theory. All I can say is ouch! This slope was at a different angle so didnt get the sun to soften things up. About halfway down I had one of those inner organ jarring crashes. It was bad, and I took the worst so said 'back to the bunny?' at the bottom. To my surprise they said 'nah, we'll give it another go here'. I was floored and scooted back to bunny slope with my tail between my legs. 

So while I could nail the bunny almost every time, I just wasn't ready for the next step. Maybe next time.

But I may have created a monster in my daughter. Josh at a 20 year old dude I expected, but she was great. Great posture, excellent turns. Not real aggressive but she handled it all. Now she's talking about wanting gear and how as the head of the group at college that organizes things for the people live on campus organizing trips next year, etc.

So anyway, next week I will be trying again, though I'll pack my skis as well as my son isn't going to want to bunny around all day so maybe for the afternoon. And I need to try to fix this rental situation ASAP of course 

Anyway, here's some really crappy video of my daughter, blame the camera man who can't do two things at once yet. These were taken around one which was when things really start to take form. By 4 we were much better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUm1pQH0UmY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg5WhU0qfos


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

Day after update.

To my surprise I'm a little bit stiff, but not bad at all. Legs are fine, a few small bruises that I'm finding when I lean on my elbows, etc.

My big issue is my left knee. It doesn't hurt, it's just a little looser than my right. Goofy I couldn't really push off with it well for skating around. It just felt really awkward. Regular I do much better but find myself putting a little more weight on my right which is putting my weight back a bit. So for example when I'm just gliding over to where I want to strap in off the lift I find the board wanting to rotate 180 because my normal stance is a little back heavy and not being strapped in my weight probably isn't centered either.

Regular off the lift and then goofy for riding for whatever reason was confusing me. Just too much to process given my skill and experience. So I think I stick with regular and work on building some strength in the knee over the off season.

Even with a chance of snow on weds temps are getting up there and rain setting in so where I was hoping for another 2-5 times out I may actually be done for the year unless I go up north and the ticket prices get kinda steep for me to learn on.

So now I'm off looking for a board and boots. Not just for me, but my daughter also. Didn't see that happening! I guess my summer hobby will need to take a pruning. No new carb, headers and exhaust for the MG this year.


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## tannersdad (Jan 9, 2013)

It looks like you are off to a good start. It just keeps getting better the more you ride! Good luck.


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## Ocho (Mar 13, 2011)

Great update, glad to hear you and your daughter are stoked!


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

So yesterday I picked up my new gear. 2012 carbon credit and some burton bindings and boots.

I must have eaten something bad last night because I felt horrid in the morning so had to call in sick. Then I got better and thought the fresh air was needed in my recovery.

Hit the bunny slope, went pretty good. One bad spill that I will be feeling for a few days in my oblique. Getting off the lift was horrid without a stomp pad, I think that did more damage than anything.

So in the afternoon I sign up for a lesson. Did the wait until the last minute thing to show up and low and behold they've all left already and it turns into an hour private for $40. Given my ability I think it would have been anyway.

I tell her second day and on the first I ran from the big slope because I wasn't ready. Explain the conditions were much harder than today and she says that lift is closed anyway, lets go to the top and see what you can do.

So up we go, she goes down a bit and has me come down. And then the list of things wrong starts.... And what a list. The hilights:

1. Way too tense and i look like I'm fearing for my life. 
2. shoulders are the typical like a skier.
3. looking down at the board not where i want to go.
4. legs and ankles are chattering all over.
5. leaning back at times.

Kinda like the typical 'how am i doing thread on here'  She did say I had a pretty good heel to toe transition. Maybe that was just pitty tho.

Anyway, so off we go doing S turns that traverse the entire width and almost immediately with her direction I feel myself getting better and more confident. The biggy was when she explained the exact movements of toe and heel of each foot as i transition toe/heel and vice versa. Towards the end she worked on stance going through the turns.

Towards the bottom she could tell I was getting tired and said I still had 15 minutes but it was up to me. Said I was going to quit on a high note and my expectations were WAY exceeded, which they were.

Of course in the lodge after 15 minutes I headed up one more time. A little steeper slope (never seemed that way following my son on skis), but I totally handled it for the most part. Again, my legs were burning the last part. But I was happy.

So now I'm thinking I may not even bring my skis if the weather holds out for Sat. Was going to do a split day so I son didn't get bored with me. I think I may be able to put the skis away


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

sometimes being relaxed is actually easier.
good job.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

speedjason said:


> sometimes being relaxed is actually easier.
> good job.


Nobody wants to walk around like they can shit diamonds 

I think it was a combination of not sure I was ready and the fact that I knew someone was critiquing me. More so the latter.

Oh, and the strange thing, my left knee hasn't felt this good in years :dunno:

No idea what is wrong with it, it just creaks sometimes and while doesnt usually hurt it just kinda lets me know it's there all the time. Just figured I'm getting old. But now, nada. Feels great. Maybe the forced exercise on it did some good.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Not a doc or rn...but in geriatrics....here is an idea as we get older, we basically dry up and that if we don't use our joints, we don't push out or flush the old joint juices. Thus using our joints and drinking water helps to get new juice in the joints.


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## tannersdad (Jan 9, 2013)

f00bar said:


> So now I'm thinking I may not even bring my skis if the weather holds out for Sat. Was going to do a split day so I son didn't get bored with me. I think I may be able to put the skis away


LOL! Ditch the skis and work on your boarding. Your son can wait for you at the bottom of the hill. (Remind him that you had to wait on him once upon a time). Sounds like you are getting more pumped. It only gets better. Keep the reports coming and good luck!!

Make sure to take little breaks from time to time. When your brain tells your legs to do something and they don't listen, bad things start to happen.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

Third time in 7 days, first with my son who didnt know I had gone the other two days. He took me to the bunny hill looking to teach me and then persisted to yell at me that I was going to hurt myself if I kept going down the hill rather than do his C turns and stopping lessons. I fessed up and we hezded to the rest of the mountain.

Day was slushy, in the high 40s following a solid day of rain. Definitely harder on my legs, but also way softer on the fall side. The big thing today really was that my son saw that I was doing heel to toe turns. As mentioned in a previous he has a bad habit of falling leafing his whole way down. Today he practiced his toe turns all day long. Was a huge improvement. Just took the old man risking life and limb to get it, not to mention a wad of cash 

Things to note. I think I hate my boots. They are Burton Rulers. My right foot aches, my left one has some strange thing going on where all of a sudden it seems to lose all toe response. It's almost like if I stand on heel edge too long it goes all out of shape in the toe and won't respond as normal. shrug. strange.

Also, speed scares the shit out of me. I know it's only 3 days of riding, so I'm not worried. But I totally fear getting speed, catching an edge and driving my face into the ground


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## tannersdad (Jan 9, 2013)

You are right, it's only the third day. When you get more comfortable, the speeds will increase. Sounds like you are doing great and having fun! Thanks for the report.


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## Lamps (Sep 3, 2011)

f00bar said:


> Also, speed scares the shit out of me. I know it's only 3 days of riding, so I'm not worried. But I totally fear getting speed, catching an edge and driving my face into the ground


take your time, let the speed come naturally as your confidence builds. 

also be afraid of hooking your heel edge and falling backwards down the hill, those also hurt.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

Ya, it's not a matter of wishing 'gotta go faster gotta go faster', it's more an issue of 'oh shit, too fast, this is gonna hurt'


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