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I've skied forever I thought, how hard can snowboarding be? After all, I surfed as a kid and skateboarded incessantly. I'm still a decent skateboarder at almost 50 years old although I rarely do it, and there are big similarities. Besides, my 9 year old son wants to take it up so I decided I'd sneak off during the week and try it first.
I snuck off to the mountain midweek and rented a board for half a day. "The bunny slope sounds about right," I thought, at least for starters. Strapping myself in was awkward, but moving by pushing with one foot while the other was strapped in sideways was more awkward. Getting on the lift was even hard, but at least I didn't fall getting off.
Snowboarding, at least initially, doesn't feel like skiing. I took me 1/2 an hour to get down that little bunny slope, most of it on my ass. One part was too steep so I slid down it after trying to stand up about 6 times. My second ride was much better, and after a dozen rides I could sort of do it, but with little control.
I returned and took a lesson later that week. Here's what I learned. You need to lean forward, and not worry about tipping over forwards; no way will this happen. You steer with the front of the board, entirely unlike skiing. Your rear boot must be tight, or you cannot steer. If it's uncomfortable, there may be snow or ice build up underneath your foot.
I can snowboard now, although I must say I suck big time. I'll do it again for sure. If you decide to try it, let me recommend lessons, and expect to spend a fair amount of time on your butt!
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