Snowboarding Lessons

I could answer this in a word (’goggles’ in case you’re busy) but I know you good people expect more of us at Snowboarding Lessons, so allow me to explain.

Glasses

They’ll do the job most of the time and will do it fine.  The attraction of glasses is that they’re more lightweight than goggles and you’re less likely to get the infamous ‘panda eyes’ that goggles are infamous for.  Some people just prefer how they look in glasses.  Other than that I don’t see too much to recommend them.  In a tumble they’re more dangerous (imagine falling face first onto a little, unpadded bundle of metal/plastic and small lenses) and easier to lose because they’re not tied so closely to your head.  If the weather’s fine then all’s well and good but as soon as any snow or rain starts falling you’ll be wishing you had some all-round eye protection.

Goggles

For all the reasons that glasses are bad, goggles are the solution.  If you can afford glasses and goggles then good for you.  For many people goggles are the all-rounder to buy, love and cherish.  There’s a couple of features to look out for when buying so allow me to present a mini buyers guide:

• Single or multi lenses.  Multi lenses are more expensive but are a lot less likely to fog up than single lenses.  Putting your money on the lenses is a smart move because without visibility on the slopes you’re less than useless.  Go for double at least, triple if you’ve got the cash.  Only go for single lenses if you’re seriously short of funds.

• Range of vision - should be as large as possible.  There’s no excuse for goggle makers to be selling something that makes you feel like you’re forever riding though a tunnel.  At best it’s irritating, at worst it’s dangerous.

• Comfort - the last of the ‘big 3′ important considerations.  You’ll be wearing these for hours at a time so get some that fit properly.  There should be a consistent seal around the face and equal pressure all the way round.  If you wear a helmet then make sure that they’ll fit properly with it.  Some goggle straps even have a grippy pad at the back to give some hold on helmets.

• Venting - compare the venting on a pair of top-of-the-line goggles and the thin layer of sponge on the cheapest.  You get what you pay for and the difference is quite big.  Poor venting shouldn’t be a dealer-breaker but it’s something to look out for.

• Replaceable lenses - again, not esssential but a nice addition.  Especially because the last couple of times I bust my goggles it was by cracking the lenses in spectacular face plants.  Some goggles give you the option of changing the lenses depending on the light levels but this is a luxury option really.  I’ve got friends who love to have the option and are trying to convert me but I just see it as another piece of gear to lose.

So there you have it.  I’d recommend goggles for anyone who rides but for those taking snowboarding lessons I think goggles are even more important because they’re better in a fall.  Once you’ve reached a certain level you can maybe think about glasses but personally (and people are welcome to disagree with me) I’d stick with the goggles.

Just because it’s out of season doesn’t mean you have to forget about getting some practice in - you’ve still got a few choices when it comes to where to get snowboarding lessons.

Dry slopes

I’m not a fan of these, but when there’s no alternative I suppose they do have their place.  I’ve always thought these are more suited to skis than snowboards, and they’re not great for skis.  For the uninitiated, there are two sorts - one is a type of matting with long bristles in a hexagonal pattern.  The other is the newer SnowFlex which is a continuous mat of shorter bristles on a soft, foam-like material.  SnowFlex is becoming more  and more popular.  Both are uncomfortable to fall on.

Indoor artificial snow

These are cropping up all over the place now.  They’re not cheap, but for an occasional hit of snow underfoot it’s the nearest you’re going to get.  Some places even have beginners ramp nights so you can practice getting some air.  This takes advantage of the main weakness of these places - the relatively small size - so whilst runs take a matter of seconds, so does the short trip back to the top, meaning you can get plenty of jumps in.

Reading/watching

There’s plenty of guides, websites and DVDs that you can study to keep on top of the newest styles and techniques.  Just don’t stay inside watching DVDs or surfing the net all day, please.  You’re better than that.  Of the DVD’s, Mack Dawg’s ‘Jumping With Jussi’ and ‘Jibbing With Jeremy’ feature pro-riders teaching you their tricks.  As far as all-round guides go I’m a fan of Matt & Nev’s Snowboard Academy, which has plenty to learn from before the season even starts.

Cross-training

Ok, so it’s not direct practice, but do you think those muscles are going to train themselves?  Run, cycle, row, even hit the gym if you have to but remember there’s a big, wide world out there.  Get involved in another sport - skateboarding, surfing and water-skiing are best but why not broaden your horizons, anything’s going to help.

So, just because you’re looking forward to your next trip to the mountains, it doesn’t mean you can’t get into your snowboarding lessons now.

Actually, this is kind of a funny one. Mike’s been around for a couple of decades and his influence is huge. He earned the titles earlier on and is now one of the most respected dudes out there because he does his own thing - putting his own spin on what’s going on. He has his own clothing company (Area 241), he’s a great photographer and these things bring an extra dimension to what he does.

But when he goes and does something like this it makes me wonder… do I really wanna be like Mike?

You know something? You really don’t need to pay for expensive snowboarding lessons to learn how to ride.

Want to know how I know this?

Well I’ll tell you, but a word of warning - this isn’t some ‘what I did on my holidays’ rubbish. This could save you a lot of time, effort and bruises.

Anyway, when I was 16 I went on holiday with a couple of buddies - Chris and Silky (I think he calls himself Mike these days). Chris was a great skier, I’d skied a little and Silky was completely new to the whole thing. To level the playing field we decided we’d all get boards and learn something together.

Now, we were 16 and this was our first holiday away with friends - no parents, no teachers. Just us. I’d moved up from my paper round to a job at the local supermarket and had scraped together as much money as possible to afford the holiday. We were going budget so we picked out a holiday to a little hotel in Pas De La Casa, Andorra. Not the most snowsure place but it was cheap and duty-free so we’d be saving on the alcohol too. Excellent.

So what else could we do to keep the cost down. These holidays aren’t cheap - board and boot hire and a lift pass are essentials. How about lessons? We decided we could do without them. Chris and I had skied before and surely the same principles applied. Nah, we’d save the lessons and work it out as we went along, it’d be fine.

And it was! Ok, so the first couple of days were tough. On the first morning we strapped our boards on, rode the nearest chair lift, fell off the end and began the painful process of trial and error learning. With the help of a couple of passers-by we figured out what we were supposed to be doing and had a good time.

Stick with me though. I was pretty pleased at this point but that’s because there was something I didn’t know.

I went back the next year with the same guys and we had a blast. Then I went a couple of years later in a group with some other friends who were just beginners - by that time we had jobs and they could afford lessons. I carried on doing my own thing but something irritating started happening.

My friends who started later were getting better than me. And quickly!

They were pointing out what I was doing wrong!

They made me notice that I’d got into bad habits!

Basically I had to try to ‘unlearn’ my riding style and almost (luckily not quite) start again from scratch. It was annoying, it was heartbreaking and it was hard, but now I’m riding better, I’m hitting jumps better and I’m nailing rails. My style’s improved and I’m still improving. I went from being stuck in a rut to unlocking the potential left in me.

If only I’d learnt it properly the first time round I’d be winning Olympic medals by now! Ok, maybe not!

So my advice if you’re starting off is not to go off and do your own thing like me and my friends did. We were young, broke and stupid. Looking back I’d swap a few of those duty-free beers for some quality instruction.

Now the lessons in the resort are expensive, that’s true, but in the 10 years since I first strapped on a board the whole sport of boarding has grown and gotten more exposure. You can watch TV and see how the pro riders do their thing. What’s more we’re now getting people like Anthony Crute giving away their tips and their valuable experience for just a few bucks.

Sure, so I spent nothing on lessons to start with and by the end of my first week I could turn the board and make it down a slope. I was ok, but I learnt slowly and made it difficult for myself to progress. If you want to avoid my mistakes then I’d recommend getting yourself prepared. Invest a few dollars in a detailed course of snowboarding lessons like this one.

Don’t cut corners like I did because you’ll stop yourself being a better rider.