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
