TOP TEN

Take Away

Yes, you can use help along the way so I conclude with the top ten from the trail heads:

10) Learn to ride a ripstick skateboard http://ripstikusa.com/. (Not easy. Ouch, don't fall on the asphalt!)

9) Rent the inner-laced boots.

8) Take a 2-hour group or private lesson.

7) Lean forward to slow down.

6) Bend or lean your forward knee into the C turns.

5) Don’t let bunny slopes discourage you - they stress your muscles unlike real lifts.

4) Back-foot against binding and stay straight, maintain focus, and move slowly off the lift.

3) Stay away from narrow runs. (Even narrow greens are challenging.)

2) "Falling leaf" your way down narrow runs.

1) Adapt a failed C turn into a "falling leaf" to keep from falling.

PAIN

Pain Killers

Beyond weariness, let's get real, what was the real cost in pain? Remember my twisted ankle. Honestly, I hardly noticed it all day. If it hurt bad, I wouldn't have been able to handle half the adventures I had that day. Painkillers? I'll avoid references to well known athletes. Alright, my sister advised I take advil, and, yes, I did. I'm certain it helped. But it didn't stop my ankle from swelling up like a balloon that night; it was a small balloon. Yeah, two weeks later and I was still sleeping with a pillow under my right foot. Three weeks later and I have yet to go jogging. That's not all! Other leg muscles are telling me they got banged up during my snowboarding adventure. Besides my ankle twist nothing caused me such excruciating pain, in which I let slip #$@* out of my mouth, as falling on my tailbone - Ouuch! It's like a piercing high decibel pain. But it doesn't last, and my hind quarters were completely fine two days later. I wonder whether padded bike shorts would work? Despite all my snowboarding wounds, I'm happy to report that my old sore-hip never fully metamorphosed - good news!

The bad news! Pain in learning to snowboard is unavoidable. Also, it's tiring, so you best be in good athletic shape. Although I'm forty-one, I was fit from exercise including lifting, running, and field sports like ultimate frisbee (field sports are a great way to cross-train). So snowboarding is not for the faint of heart. You need good coordination abilities. Patience and determination also add well in the mixture. The saying C' est la vie is also always very real, so I'd say a good prayer for protection as good insurance.

SNOWBOARD DAY THREE – TROUBLED ASCENT

Falling Bad

Although my third day became my bell weather day, it almost ended before it began. My old nemesis "Overload" rose up again. As I got off the lift at the top of "Overload" I noticed a skier sitting directly where I aiming to snowboard. I don't know if this distraction caused my fall, but I fell and twisted my ankle pretty badly. I suspect I fell forward, my memory is a blur though. Falling forward appears to be more dangerous for ankle injuries as your back foot is completely free. If the board holds fast in the snow, the front ankle will be the pivot point. A twisting forward fall off the lift seems like it will seal the deal of an ankle injury as the board will not cartwheel around with your twist, because the back foot is not buckled in.

My ankle hurt bad in a way that tells you it's going to swell. I found though that I could still walk without a limp. As a veteran of many an ankle injury from playing soccer, I was able to conclude the game was still on. Not an auspicious beginning though, and I continued down "Overload" with the usual falling routine, until I came to the open intermediate slope. I successfully S turned my way down the intermediate slope, and was happy to learn I could still ride a bike, metaphorically speaking.

Lift Advice

I headed up the upper lift to the mountain ridge, intending to find a nice intermediate run, but first, would I survive the lift-off? An experienced boarder advised me to jam my back-foot against the back bindings, as I got off the lift. He told me to ignore the grated or foam pad on the board, because it's usually located too far forward. Consider the binding a wall that will make your back-foot like a tar-heel, (No, I'm not from NC; the metaphor fits) when you jam your back-foot against it. This is the best way to control the snowboard while the back-foot is unbuckled.

I add to this advice, get off the lift slower than the skiers. As the lift approaches the lift-off it speeds up, which makes the fearful beginner's heart race. Relax! Because the lift speeds up so it can proceed extra slowly at the lift-off point. At lift-off get up slowly. Grab a hold of the chair with your hands. The skiers at this point will be pushing off the chair. You, however, hold fast to the chair, jam your back-foot against the binding, and aim your snowboard as parallel (i.e. straight) as possible to the downward slope. Only then should you push off the chair with your hand. Try your best to keep your board straight and parallel to the slope as you snowboard off the lift. Oh, and, don't let anyone distract you, and than you'll have more success then I did. Of course, if someone has fallen on the lift-off and is in your direct pathway, you have a real problem.

Progressing with the Falling Leaf

After a practice run down "Rainbow Ridge" beginner and "Shaft" intermediate slopes, I decided to seek a new intermediate slope adventure down "Tailings". I say "Tailings" gave me my first taste of a black-diamond because the first 100-yards were very steep. I was glad I practiced stopping because I got a little nervous when I started down "Tailings" and found it too steep and icy for my skill level. The "falling leaf" helped me down those first 100-yards, then the slope eased up and I enjoyed S turns.

My first black-diamond attempt came as I snowboarded down to the lodge for lunch. "Exhibition" was the widest of the three black-diamonds that ended at the lodge. And I chose that to be my first snow-board "black-diamond". Yes, I was a little nervous. It was my first black-diamond and in full view of the lodge. If I had an embarrassing bad fall everyone would see it. When I made it to the "Exhibition" trail head I was reluctant to go down because there were no other snowboarders on the slope, only skiers. I finally asked a boarder stopped near by if "Exhibition" was a special challenge for snowboarders, as I saw no snowboarders headed down that trail. He replied that he planned to go down "Exhibition" and that it posed no additional challenge for snowboarders. I commented that I had never been down a black-diamond, and he advised me to "feather" my way down.

"Feathering" my way down my first black-diamond does not make for exciting commentary, but it served in the progression of improvement by acclimating me to the typical steepness and terrain of black-diamonds. Yes, I "feathered" my way down, resting my quads as required. Nothing memorable, until the slope eased up as it made its final descent to the lodge. I caught this final run off a heel-to-toe-C turn and toe-edged my way all the way down to the lodge. How similar my final decent appeared to me like the run of a surfer riding a huge wave towards the beach. Yes, it was fun.

Black-Diamond Pride

Well, to clarify, the end of the run was fun. And I didn't really count my run down "Exhibition" as doing a black-diamond - no S turns. I was content to spend the rest of my last day snowboarding down my favorite intermediate run, "Miner's Delight", until my duties as Uncle Steven got in the way. After finally gaining enough snowboarding skills to make a run down "Miner's Delight" with my sister, bro-in-law, and nieces (all good skiers) I found myself suddenly on Uncle duty. Mom wanted an opportunity to ski by herself, so the little ones were split up between dad and uncle. Uncle Steven thought he was safe, as he was given the less competitive niece. But she very soon informed Uncle Steven that she wanted to go down a black-diamond. There's was no way my pride would let me refuse the request. So I found myself heading down the black-diamond "Gilbert's Gulch" - three times we went down "Gilbert's Gulch. And to my amazement, I was able to S turn my way down, one time without falling - until arriving at the lift. Victory! Now I always remember "Gilbert's Gulch" as my first real success on a black-diamond.

I say that both "Gilbert's Gulch" and "Miner's Delight" were great fun to snowboard down. And I really like the versatility of the snowboard. We adventured to other black-diamonds that were too steep and icy, but the adaptable snowboard helped me save face. On the crazy black-diamond "Dutch Treat" a time or two my C turn failed because I hit a snow mound or ski rut. I saved face by aborting the C turn and adjusting into a "falling leaf". From my ski experience, if my turn failed, my face would end up plastered with snow after sliding 50-yards down the icy slope. Yeah, the adaptable snowboard is really cool. After a run down "Ego Alley" (too steep and icy) and "Spillway" black-diamonds I had my fill of black-diamonds. The day was done.

Yeah, I was ready for a warm fire, a hearty meal, and a good nights rest. But I felt less tired at the end of my third ski-day than on the previous days snowboarding. This despite spending the day on intermediate slopes and challenging black-diamonds and also snowboarding much farther. How could I be less tired? The answer to this mystery, I say, is the S turn. I managed many more S turns on the third day. The S turn allows the muscle tension to shift back and forth between the quads and the calfs. No more heel-edge quad-muscle-tension exercises for 50-yards. Now the S turn would take me from the more controllable and quad busting heel-edge to the less controllable but muscle relaxing toe-edge. In three ski-days I had managed to break through the snowboard learning curve barrier (o.k., the allusion to Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier is a bit too much), and was now snowboarding in a less strenuous and more controlled way.

SNOWBOARD DAY TWO – SETBACKS AND HEADWAY

My Nemesis

Find your way to "Rainbow Ridge", there's plenty of room for beginners to move around. This was sage advice from my sister and even more so for the beginner snowboarder. This was my second snowboarding day and I had hopes of making good progress. And I did, but not with out set backs. To find my way to "Rainbow Ridge" I first had to find my way to the upper lift, which meant boarding down a narrow green slope called "Overload". "Overload" became my nemesis. Why? It was narrow, which gave me no room for S turns. The trail also ran down to the left that meant for a goofy boarder like myself, I had to remain on my weaker toe edge to stay on the trail. Last, the run was not steep enough to create enough speed for the boarder to have any control. Too much speed is bad. A little speed is good for control. Yes, I fell and fell down “Overload” until there was no slope, then I had to unclamp my back boot and walk like a duck until the slope came back. "Overload" widened out for a small section where an intermediate slope merged into it. I managed o.k. on the wide section, but then it narrowed again and I resumed falling down-down-down-resting, falling into deep snow. Uuuugh! A snowboarder fallen in deep snow is like a fish out of water because your feet are essentially tied together. Ladies you’ll be like a mermaid in distress. All you can do is flop-flop-flop or admit defeat and take off your boots. Pride kept me from taking my boots off, so I kept flopping till I reached thinner snow, then I was fine down to the upper lift. Despite my recovery I decided it best to delay my ascent to the higher ridge until after lunch.

Stop-Stop Practice Stopping

After lunch I made my second attempt to the mountain top. "Overload" was still a problem, but I decided to walk down the really slow portion of the slope. At the merge I took my first intermediate run to the lift and found I did rather well, as the intermediate slope was wide enough to allow wide S turns. Up top of Homewood, elevation 7880-ft, I made my way to "Rainbow Ridge". The start of "Rainbow Ridge" was the exact same story as "Overload", until it opened up into a wide section that seemed to last forever. Finally, I had made it to the beginner snow boarder's paradise. S turns came easily for me on this run, and my confidence was up. My S turns down "Rainbow Ridge" were equivalent to the skier parallel skiing down the slope. I zig zagged my way down using the entire width of the run. Knowing that I would have to ski down an intermediate slope to get to the lift, I thought it wise to practice stopping on my toe-edge as well as my heel-edge. I practiced boarding across the run on my toe-edge, coming to a complete stop - well shy of the trees, proceeding into a toe-to-heel-C turn, boarding across the run on my heel-edge, coming to a complete stop, proceeding into a heel-to-toe-C turn, then repeating the process. Confidence in stopping is absolutely essential for snowboarding the steeper intermediate and black-diamond slopes. Yeah, practice and practice stopping – complete stops.

Rescued by the Falling Leaf

My critical error here was to snowboard to the very bottom of rainbow ridge, passing a wide intermediate, leaving my only intermediate option the very narrow and icy "Shaft" slope. I managed a C turn entering the run, but on the run I fell, fell, fell, and fell until I realized there was no way I was going to manage S turns down this narrow slope. At this point of discouragement I attempted a "falling leaf" or "feather" and found that I could successfully navigate down this steep narrow icy slope by heel-edge feathering my way down. But my quads were not happy. I tried a toe-edge feather to rest my quads, but it was impractical as I couldn't see where I was going. So I continued with a heel-edge "falling leaf", stopping every fifty-yards to rest my quads least they cramp up.

Progress Report

After riding "Rainbow Ridge" again and unintentionally repeating the narrow "Shaft" intermediate run, I got the courage to head down the much longer but wider "Bonanza" intermediate slope. "Bonanza" had a really steep part that I had to use the "falling leaf" to get down. After that the slope eased up, and I managed a few S turns. I fell less and when I did fall it was partly from being tired. A few more runs, and my quads began telling me it's time to go home. This required me to go down the rather long narrow steep and icy "Ore Car". Yes, I had to use the "falling leaf" the whole way down, taking rests every fifty yards. At one point, I called out to a boarder behind me "I need to rest" to warn him that I was slowing down to a complete stop. He passed me and stopped at 30 yards beyond me, and I was surprised to be greeted by my instructor, Yetz. I updated him on my progress. I told him how I managed "Last Resort" intermediate falling about four times and how useful the "falling leaf" was for narrow or steep slopes. And that the one drawback of the "falling leaf" is that its a quad buster and that my quads are telling me - "it's over. It's time to go home." And home I went to end my second day.

If you progress as I did, at the end of your first day on the real slopes you should be able to S turn down wide intermediate slopes without too many falls. And you should be able to feather down narrow intermediate slopes, stopping simply to rest your quads. Again, make sure you practice stopping to prepare yourself for the steeper slopes on day three.

SNOWBOARD DAY ONE - LESSONS

The No-Go Mystery

The biggest obstacle to learning to snowboard for some is the bunny slope. Yes, the bunny slope presents a particular challenge to some advanced skiers that are too cool to be seen on the humble bunny slope. But there is no way around this simple, albeit unfashionable, first step. The steep snowboard learning curve demands it. And of this the advanced skiers are well informed. Although the bunny slope may be kryptonite to your image, it’s the best place to learn how to turn. And, unless you’re a movie star, there won’t be any paparazzi photographing you. I’m not a mind reader, so I have no idea how the two words “bunny slope” makes your decision to snowboard – a no go. I say, head for the bunny slope and complete your fashion faux pas by taking group lessons.

Luck, the Basics, and the Haunting

Well, yes, I admit that I got lucky. I signed up to take group snowboarding lessons and no one else showed up; it was a rather cold and snowy day. My instructor Yetz was also a good teacher. He talked about riding the board on my heels and then my toes. He explained that snowboarders ride the board either on the board's heel edge or on the toe edge. He taught me the toe-to-heel-C turn, the heel-to-toe-C turn, the S turn (combine the aforementioned turns in series) and the "falling leaf" (others call it the "feather"), which is the equivalent of snow plowing for skiers. As a former skier, albeit over ten years ago, my lessons progressed well from step to step until I found my self doing S turns down the bunny slope on one run. The major problems were (1) that this was all very exhausting and (2) My hip began to feel like my old hip injury might come back to haunt me. The reason for the weariness I contend is those bunny slope lifts that pull you up the hill. For snowboarders this means that your quads, in particular, your front leg quads, are continuously stressed all the way up the lift. I had to take a five minute break after each bunny lift ride. As for my hip, I surmise that I didn't buckle my back boot tight enough before my last run, which irritated my tenuous hip muscles. So make certain to keep your back boot buckled tight or you’ll have problems.

My S turn Moment

S turns on the bunny slope after a 2-hour lesson? Back up a moment, that's good progress and Yetz commented that achieving S turns that quickly is unusual. So what did I focus on to help me reach this point? Yetz's constant refrain was lean forward more. When you lean back you increase your speed. Lean forward to increase pressure on your front foot and decrease pressure on your back; the effect is twofold (1) you slow yourself down and (2) you allow your back foot to move like a rudder, which is important for turning the snowboard. Yetz also recommended I focus on leaning and turning my front knee into the turn. All this is good advice you should embrace, but my first S turn moment came when I thought back to the ripstick. I recalled seeing all the kids in my nephew’s neighborhood controlling their ripsticks by moving their back-foot back and forth like the tail of a fish. This helped some of them propel themselves up small hills. When I focused on trying to whip my back foot around, like on a ripstick, to enter a C turn, I had my first success combining two C turns into an S turn. So, yes, my ripstick experience led to my first S turn on a bunny slope. This is the reason for my advice to learn the ripstick before the snowboard.

An Arrow for Your Quiver

One last lesson my instruction taught me, the "falling leaf" or "feather". I didn't think much this of at first, but by the third day, I realized the ability to perform this move really brings out the adaptability of the snowboard. Its equivalent for the skier is the "snowplow". The snowboarder "feathers" by riding the heel edge of the board front-foot first than back-foot first. Yes, the snowboarder can ride the board either way: front-foot first or back-foot first. However, the board is stiffer on the front-foot board section, so riding the board back-foot first is the exception. On the second and third ski day I used the "falling leaf" to get me down many a slope that was too steep for me as a beginner. On the third day, I came to realize that if my weaker heel-to-toe-C turn failed because I hit snow or a ski track I could easily adapt into a heel-edge "falling leaf", and save face. If a skier’s turn fails, he's going to fall down, the snowboarder, however, has options. The one issue for the heel-edge "falling leaf" is that it is a quad buster. Too much heel-edge "falling leafs" down the slope and your quads will start shaking like they are about to tear. On some slopes, where a heel-edge "falling leaf" was my only way to get down I had to stop every fifty yards to rest my quad muscles less they cramp up. One could also use a toe-edge "falling leaf", but it's much harder to see where you are going.

Cautious Progress

My two hour lesson ended with very positive progress. But I decided not to attempt more difficult slopes, as I was concerned for my weak hip and my snowboarding was really wearing on my quads. I also was exhausted. I for-go the afternoon group lesson and decided to simply practice S turns by myself on the bunny slope for the rest of the day. At the end of the day I was confidently performing S turns on the bunny slope. I found, as you most likely will, that riding the heel-edge comes naturally and toe-to-heel-C turns are much easier than heel-to-toe-C turns. I found that cutting the edge of my board in the snow while riding on the toe-edge gave me more control on my weaker edge.

Action Plan

So there you have the snowboarding basics and a mouth full of lingo: heel-edge, toe-edge, C turn, heel-to-toe-C turn, toe-to-heel-C turn, S turns, and the "falling leaf" or "feather". A half day lesson to learn the turns and a half day to practice, and you’ll be ready to ascend to the real slopes on day-two. If you progress as I did, although tired at days end you’ll be able to S turn down the bunny slope.

RENTAL SHOP

Rental Shop Quandary

"Are you standard or goofy?" Goofy? What’s that, I must be standard. Wouldn't you expect goofy to be for advanced snowboarders like a hip guitarist that tunes in the key of D instead of C? So I marked my rental form “standard” and handed it to the technician. He glanced it over and asked… “Are you standard? Or goofy?” He must have read my ignorance. I hadn’t a clue what he was asking. …”How do you ride your snowboard? left foot first or right foot first?” A pensive pause – before I stated the obvious, “I’ve never ridden a snowboard before.” …”o.k., what foot do you put forward when you shovel snow? …or when you ride a skateboard?” Simulating snow shoveling didn't help. But skateboarding - I thought back to my 45-second ripstick ride - I envisioned myself riding a ripstick, coasting along the street, and trying to stay straight so I wouldn't land in a ditch. It became clear to me – “I'm right foot forward and goofy!” Apparently, it really matters so he asked me if I was sure. …”is that your final answer?” Well, not quite like Regis. But, yes, ‘goofy’ was my definitive answer, for better or for worse. And, yes, I feel rather special to be non-standard and goofy just like a person with an unusual blood type. I was also happy to learn that my intuition was right: my ripstick efforts were already being helpful, and I hadn’t even gotten out of the rental shop.

The Debate

Alright, I sense you are not with me. Most people (right handed/footed) I tell this to do a double take, think a moment then reply, don’t you want to be left foot forward so you can steer with your right foot? Yes, steering is important. But I contend that you want your stronger leg forward as most of the stress will be on the forward leg. Playing soccer, my power kick was always my right foot, my right leg also felt a little more coordinated than my left leg. I am a novice, but I say you might also find that the front leg has the more coordination intensive role in starting the turn. Since we are discussing the legs and not the arms, my end thought is that the choice you make is not nearly as important as making a decision, and getting out of the rental shop.

Decisive Decision

Are you and innie or an outy? No, we’re not discussing ones navel. So are you an innie or an outy? Your answer I contend is the most important equipment decision you have to make. Do you prefer inner laced boots or outer laced boots? Actually, your answer should not be a matter of preference. The correct answer is innie! Just like everyone’s navel should be an innie (No offense to anyone.). You will find that it is absolutely essential to have boots that fit tightly around your shins in order to have any control while snowboarding. I discovered that only the inner laced boots get the tight shin-fit that’s required. I’ve had both. I was miserable with the outer laced boots. They didn’t feel snug in the shop. While on the slopes I couldn’t get the board to turn to save my life. I tried everything to turn the board, nothing worked. I even went to the extreme of whipping my shoulders around to try to get some turning action, nothing. No turning action - I had no success. Finally, I aborted the slopes, returned to the rental shop, and politely asked for the inner laced boots. All went well from then on. Inner laced boots are the way to go. Be obstinate but polite with the shop personnel when they attempt to press you with an outer laced boot because it’s readily available – politely say “No thank you, I prefer the inner laced boots.” … “but these boots have more padding” – “No thank you, I prefer the inner laced boots” (End of discussion). It matters! Inner laced boots are essential.

The Board

What about the board itself? I’ll state the obvious. A sharper board is better. How sharp? You’ll have to ask one of your fellow snowboarders to inspect your board while on the slopes. Now, how about a nice wax job? If you can peel the wax off like I could, not good. An off-resort rental shop will have an absolutely better wax job. I recommend off-resort rental shops once you’ve mastered the beginner slopes and are making good headway on the intermediates. What size board? You can trust the rental shop to size your board up right for a beginner.

Snowboard Mathematics

You have to love snowboarding equipment compared to skiing equipment. Instead of six pieces of cumbersome equipment to worry about (two skis, two boots, and two poles) you only have three (two boots and one board). Snowboarders - the math is on your side, one-half the equipment. Snowboarding is more fun and less hassle. Yeah, it’s that cool. So cross-over to the cool side, and learn to snowboard.

INSPIRATION

A little Inspiration

Inspiration has a way of taking you on adventures you’ve never imagined yourself traveling. My snowboarding inspiration came when my nephew got caught up in the ripstick craze sweeping the neighborhoods. The ripstick http://www.ripstikusa.com/ – a two rollerblade wheeled skateboard with two platforms connected by a rotating pipe – had quite an impressive design. And riding one seemed quite the stunt. But the ripstick provides surprising control, allowing sharp turns and even propulsion up small hills (for the more advanced rider). Of course, I wanted to have a go at riding one. Also, it seemed to me that some of the skills required to ride this unusual skateboard had to translate in some way to assist the snowboarder. Turns out they do translate. And thanks to my nephew’s ripstick, I could have a go at gaining these skills.

The ripstick, however, was not an easy stepping stone - my longest ride was 45-seconds. My main struggles w/ the ripstick were (1) getting my nieces and nephews to give me a turn at the skateboard and (2) stopping myself from a fall on the unforgiving asphalt (after asphalt you'll appreciate any kind of snow or ice). My adventure toward snowboarding black-diamonds was all about stepping stones, and the peaked interest that kept me looking for more stones. My first step onto the ripstick I saw as a training session to learn the balancing skills comparable to snowboarding. If you want to snowboard? I say first learn to ride the ripstick.

LEARN HOW TO SNOWBOARD

You ought to learn to snowboard. It’s cool. It’s fun and sometimes feels like surfing. Yeah, it’s that cool. But learning to snowboard is a steep learning curve. First attempts can wear you down and discourage you. Take heart though, I managed to scale this learning curve in three snowboarding days, and I had setbacks and found my first efforts rather draining. I was diligent, however, and managed to go from bunny slope to black-diamond in three snowboarding days (includes two rest days) at Lake Tahoe, Homewood resort. On the third day I entered into the fun that only the versatile snowboard can offer. So let my experience give you a taste of the challenges you’ll face as you make your attempt to scale that steep upward slope, and learn to ride the snowboard. What follows are several blogs describing each stage of my progression to the black-diamonds. And you’ll see the challenges I overcame as can only be fully appreciated and described from the perspective of a novice.