# What to expect my first time out



## Guest (Dec 7, 2008)

I've been skiing for about 20 years now and want to make the switch to boarding. I'm a pretty active guy. I play ice hockey, ski, and study Tae Kwon Do. So I am more than good with the physical aspect of it. I ended up buying gear rather than renting because it was fairly cheap. I'm not a one and done type of guy so the expense was justified. I plan on taking a lesson my first day out.

I'll admit, my biggest fear is on and off the lift. I'm not looking to dominate the park and pipe. My goal is to be able to ride anywhere I can ski.

So as a total newb, I'm curious what can expect my first time out?


----------



## Jenzo (Oct 14, 2008)

What level skiier were you?
Overall you can expect it to feel pretty weird if this is your first board sport. You'll probably feel unnatural like you want to turn the board sideways. I'd say take a lesson at least once just to get the foundation down.
One nice thing is snowboarding is a lot easier on the knees then skiing. It generally takes longer to learn to snowboard decently because theres more balance involved.

This is a really good post on skiing-snowboarding experience
Ditching the Planks: Switching From Skiing to Riding - Glide Magazine


----------



## Guest (Dec 7, 2008)

just don't break your tailbone like I did on my second day. I landed on a patch of ice, fuck that shit hurt. 



I agree take a lesson so you get the foundation of the sport.


----------



## Guest (Dec 7, 2008)

Simply^Ride said:


> just don't break your tailbone like I did on my second day. I landed on a patch of ice, fuck that shit hurt.
> 
> 
> 
> I agree take a lesson so you get the foundation of the sport.


you're scaring him!!!!
you'll do fine , just take a lesson or 2 don' get angry if it doesn't work instant
be tchill , be cool , be a snowboarder (i'm poetic today!!!)


----------



## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

Jenzo said:


> It generally takes longer to learn to snowboard decently because theres more balance involved.


I agree with the advice you gave, but this is backwards. Some outside skills transfer over to learning one sport easier than the other but generally snowboarding is easier to learn.

It's common for a first timer to try snowboarding in the fall and by mid winter be riding down advanced level terrain. It is very rare to see the same with a first time skier. 

It's because snowboarding is a less complicated sport. No poles, 2 edges to focus on instead of 4, and fixed foot placement all add up to less variables making it easier to learn.

Why is there more balance involved with balancing on one object than two? Your first try in pow will be the proof.

K2 telemark summed it up best, but it's a good thing.


----------



## Guest (Dec 7, 2008)

Your ass WILL be raw hamburger meat.
My entire first few weeks was pain in the ass and knees.
It will hook you though.


----------



## Guest (Dec 7, 2008)

i didnt have too many problems until i started doing tricks. that's when it actually hurts. just remember when ur gonna fall back on ur butt, make ur hands into fists to prevent breaking ur wrists.


----------



## Jenzo (Oct 14, 2008)

Grizz said:


> I agree with the advice you gave, but this is backwards. Some outside skills transfer over to learning one sport easier than the other but generally snowboarding is easier to learn.
> 
> It's common for a first timer to try snowboarding in the fall and by mid winter be riding down advanced level terrain. It is very rare to see the same with a first time skier.
> 
> ...



I don't agree from what I've seen, I would say snowboarding is more complicated due to the finer motor skills needed when learning. I used to ski and skiing is like, really easy to do out of the gate whereas snowboarding tends to be more difficult...to get GOOD at skiing is another story, but just to do it, is like really simple. Everyone is different though some people take to it quicker. I know my significant other switched to boarding and had a lot of trouble getting the balancing down.


----------



## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

Jenzo said:


> I would say snowboarding is more complicated due to the finer motor skills needed when learning. I used to ski and skiing is like, really easy to do out of the gate whereas snowboarding tends to be more difficult...to get GOOD at skiing is another story, but just to do it, is like really simple.


I think I see what you're getting at. If you are talking specifically about the first time out, the skier will have an easier time making turns, stopping and will be much less likely to fall. Totally agree if this is what you mean by "decently". 

If you are talking about anything past basic turns or long term, a snowboarder in general will progress faster than a skier for the reasons I gave previously. This is what I was thinking of as "decently".

Both sports use fine motor skills so it doesn't make one more difficult than the other.


----------



## Guest (Dec 7, 2008)

kylekilljoy said:


> Your ass WILL be raw hamburger meat.
> My entire first few weeks was pain in the ass and knees.
> It will hook you though.


i couldn't sit for a week after a heavy butsmack...
remember , no pain no gain


----------



## 1stTrack (Dec 7, 2008)

Whatever happens don't give up after the first day.. It took me three days to really start to use my edges and feel the love.. 

Saying this, there's two things I'd do for sure.

1) Buy one of those cheap butt pads. It might save a really sore ass and it keeps your butt warm when your sitting in the snow.
2) Buy a good helmet. When you catch a downhill edge while toe side (facing the mountain), you'll thank me.

Have fun and like I said, don't give up if you have a rough day. But then again, you might just take to riding right away? By the way it's my opinion that snowboarding makes skiers better as it really teaches you to use your edges.

Good Luck


----------



## Flick Montana (Jul 9, 2007)

Your triceps will probably very sore if you're like me. I was pushing myself up off the hill all night. I didn't even think about how many pushups I'd been doing, but it must have been ridiculous. Abs will hurt if you're as tense as I was. Butt and knees will be sore from falling. Pretty much every muscle will hurt. Of course, my first day lasted 10 hours so it was a bit extreme. I also had a board the size of a racing canoe thanks to the idiot at the rental counter so I spent most of my time face down in the snow. And by snow I mean ice and mud.


----------



## Guest (Dec 8, 2008)

Thanks for the response.

Jenzo - I'd say advanced intermediate. I can handle double blacks, but not entirely comfortable on them. I was hoping it would be easier on my knees, so that's good to hear. 

Snowolf - I took some time and checked out your videos, good stuff. Hopefully I retain some of it once I hit the mountain. 

I know there will be some learning pains, that is to be expected. I can handle a few bumps and bruises. Some would say I welcome it. 

Oh yeah, helmet is already on the way. The wife took care of that right quick. She wasn't keen on my idea of wearing my hockey helmet. LOL


----------



## Guest (Dec 8, 2008)

I took my gf for her first time the other day. We went to a small place and just hoofed it up and down the bunny hill a dozen or so times. She has ZERO experience with boarding or skiing or skating or anything. I got her falling leaf down the trail and starting to make heel side turns. Mt Sunapee has free lessons in December, so next weekend we are going to head up there and she can give that a go and I can go mess around on my own for 2 hours. She still wants to go and had fun, so I figure the first time out to be a success.


----------



## Guest (Dec 8, 2008)

Well you already have your equipment so I assume you got the right size board for you weight and size. I recommend you put your bindings at a 15 to -15 position. What I mean is, put your front foot at +15 degrees and your back foot at -15 degrees (you will find this degree setting on the plate that is just beneth the bindings. Just loosen the screws on the bindings a bit and you can simply turn them. This will put in a duck footed stance. The first time riding you will want to focus on riding in one direction only. So if your left foot is your front foot then focus on riding in that direction until you get the hang of it. After you get the hang on riding in your natural position (regular or goofy footed), learn to ride in the opposite direction (aka: switch). Since your in the learning phase, learn the right way from the get go, which is to ride in both directions. Learn to ride in both direction early on and you will much happier in the end. 

You can expect to be sore, because you are going to use muscles in a way that you don't normally use them. You will also be very tired. I'm 35 and I get most tired trying to put my fricking back foot in the binding every time at the top of the hill. I board in Michigan most of the time so I have to strap my back foot in and out tons of times because the runs here are so short and quick. Stay with it, take your time and don't rush and it will come. If you have the money you may want to get some crash pads to protect your tailbone. Trust me, as other here have stated here, unless you want to sit on a donut pillow for weeks or months, protect that tailbone. You just never know when some odd fall is going to come and here in Michigan the hills at night are total ice and are of course hard as a rock. So unless you have nice soft hills out west get some pads. Good Luck!


----------



## Guest (Dec 8, 2008)

Interesting, I was told to +15 front foot and 0 for back foot.


----------



## Guest (Dec 8, 2008)

Grizz said:


> I agree with the advice you gave, but this is backwards. Some outside skills transfer over to learning one sport easier than the other but generally snowboarding is easier to learn.
> 
> It's common for a first timer to try snowboarding in the fall and by mid winter be riding down advanced level terrain. It is very rare to see the same with a first time skier.


i disagree with what you're saying here but i suspect it's down to your definition of 'learn'.

if we agree that 'learning' is getting to the point where the student is able to glide in a straight line, stop in control, ride a chair and control their speed with linked turns on easy (green) terrain, then (generally speaking of course) most would agree that skiing is easier to learn than snowboarding.

however, after reaching this level (nominally, level 3) then (again very generally speaking) snowboarders find it easier to advance their skills.

perhaps it's fair to say that skiing is easier to learn but harder to master. if you drew a learning curve for each, one would be convex, the other concave (generally speaking).

as others have said, i would recommend taking a snowboard lesson first time out.

alasdair


----------



## Guest (Dec 8, 2008)

haha let's confuse the hell out of him on what he's supposed to do and see how far he gets! good idea guys!!


----------



## Guest (Dec 8, 2008)

NErider said:


> Interesting, I was told to +15 front foot and 0 for back foot.


Well if you think about it, in your normal stance you agreed that your down hill foot (front foot) should be at +15 degrees. So now let's talk about switch. It should be the same, so now your back foot has been reversed and is now the downhill foot and it too should face slightly towards the (now) front of the board at -15 degrees. That is the logic behind +15 for your front foot and -15 for you back foot so that no matter what direction you’re riding; your front foot is always at a 15 degree angle pointing towards the base of the hill. Duck Footed.


----------



## Guest (Dec 8, 2008)

thenightmare said:


> haha let's confuse the hell out of him on what he's supposed to do and see how far he gets! good idea guys!!


so if we see something with which we disagree, we should just let it go? that makes very little sense to me. better to potentially mislead somebody than confuse them? that doesn't make a whole lot of sense either...

one man's "_confuse_" is another's "_present more information to allow somebody to make a more informed decision_". ymmv.

regards

alasdair


----------



## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

alasdairm said:


> i disagree with what you're saying here but i suspect it's down to your definition of 'learn'.
> 
> if we agree that 'learning' is getting to the point where the student is able to glide in a straight line, stop in control, ride a chair and control their speed with linked turns on easy (green) terrain, then (generally speaking of course) most would agree that skiing is easier to learn than snowboarding.
> 
> ...


Right. I think what your saying is close to how I summed it up in my second post. The initial problem was were using different standards of what "decently" is.


----------



## Guest (Dec 8, 2008)

^ hi. on rereading, i think we agree 

regards

alasdair


----------

