Learn to Snowboard
Terje Haakonsen boycotted the Nagano Olympics because he thought the judging was unfair and that the snowboarded who did participate had “sold out” to the establishment. Nagano is responsible for the wave of interest in the new sport. Snowboarding’s addition to the Olympic lineup has helped make a silk purse out of sow’s ear and clean up ‘boarders defiant reputation without harming their edgy flair. If you are interested in how to snowboard take a look.
Firstly, read. Get all the information your can about safety. Snowboarding especially snowboard tricks leads in outdoor sporting injuries. This statistic is heavily debated but no matter, everyone agrees that the sport is hard on the body. You should also consider your own fitness level and whether or not you feel your body can take the abuse. Approach the sport with an eye for safety and you can minimize injuries. Look into a certified snowboarding instructor. It is well worth the money to capitalize on a certified instructor’s knowledge of the sport and his or her experience.
Secondly, consider your budget for equipment. Spend a goodly part of your budget on the safety equipment. Boards can cost upwards $600 so don’t blow your wad there and not leave money for a helmet and set of pads. You will always look at new boards but you will depend on a good helmet and set of hip and knee pads to lessen the abuse on your body. You will need a leash for your board as well. And, I cannot stress this enough, a large bottle of ibuprofen and I am sure I do not have to tell you what that is for. If you don’t know then you shouldn’t attempt learning this extreme sport
Where you live is a consideration for this sport. If you live in the Mohave then it is going to be more difficult for you to get slope time since you will have to travel for snowy parts to take advantage of snowboarding. You could think about sand boarding instead. Any extra travel time will only reduce the amount of time and money you get to spend on doing what you really want to do so seriously evaluate your local weather. This sport, like all others, requires practice and your weather should not be an impediment to getting as much practice as you can.
Freeride, freestyle and freecarve are three methods that are offered in snowboarding. Make a decision on which you want to start out with and stay with it until you are good then go onto the others.
Have a friend take videos of your progress and you can do the same for him/her. Who knows! Maybe you can be the next Youtube star. It is also a fun way to catalogue your personal progress. It can also be a gift for mom on Mother’s Day. Show her what she has been spending all that money on. At first you videos will be very funny since it chronicles more foibles than anything else.
Read about snowboard lessons and camps in “Future Snowboarding”. They may hold many in your area and give plenty of snowboarding tips. These magazines can be very helpful. Getting instruction from a variety of trainers is useful as well as learning from other like minded students.
Gearup and hit the slopes. Hope to see you careening by. Be a snowboarding maniac. The sport is here to stay.
