Any snowboarders/skiers out there?

[megumic]

HELMET. Beyond necessary.

 

[canuk-gal]

HELMET. Beyond necessary.

Yup.

 

[D&T]

make sure your boots are not loose, if you can wiggle in them (they are too big) they should fit snug, as throughout the day, your boots will actually give a little. If you start with it loose, then it will give a lot more. If you are renting, there may only be one or two options with boards so you can't really be picky ie: All mountain or free rider, freestyle etc. If you had your own boards, depending on how you want to ride: ie: powder day, fat boards are a nice options, if icy you want a stiffer board (I'm not sure how the MT mountains are compared to UT mountains) ( i would think it similar) I find that Lamar boards are really nice for women all around (specially petite ladies) it has nice weight, flex and feel and cheaper than the popular brands (personally for me) but I've only tried a couple other brands renting and they were the K2 and Burton (didn't like them too much), and gave that up, Once I had my own board, I got better fast. If you are renting, I'm sure they will recommend the correct length of board, sometimes I would even go slightly a couple of cm less especially for beginners to have more control (yes a couple of cm does make a difference). I buy girls snowboarding pants, that way you don't have it too long. I always have to adjust the waist though and sew them in a bit. But they are cheaper and length is perfect for my 5' height. Your jacket shouldn't be too tight especially in your hip area as with snowboarding you are constantly up and down unstrapping and strapping into your bindings, yes, have a powder skirt is very important if you want to stay dry, but it wouldn't matter too much if you have a bib instead.

Have fun, Don't get frustrated because you maybe spending a lot of time on your butt the first day. It is a blast, I'm excited for you! it'll be a fun time, I just got my hubby and myself a new snowboarding package for this season my other one was 10 years old . We actually alternate, in the morning we love to hit it hard with snowboarding, then switch off on skis after lunch.

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

I've snowboarded twice in my life in the Colorado mountains so I am a TOTAL novice (& far from a 'natural)... but there are a few things that made my riding experiences better:

1) Making sure your rental boots are comfortable. They'll feel strange, of course, but if you notice any pain before you start to ride, you will definitely be hurting a few hours into a lesson. Don't feel guilty for trying on 3 or more pairs of boots at the rental place- it's totally worth the time. Sore feet and ankles will ruin your day.

2) Keep your a$$ covered. As many have said, you'll fall more than you'll stand the first few times down the mountainside & a wet booty is cold and uncomfortable. Keep yourself dry!

3) Get an instructor for at least the first time out. It's easy to become frustrated with a friend-teacher, and though friends mean well, they don't always know how to best motivate and help total beginners. It's also easy to give up or throw tantrums (not that I've done that ) when the going-gets-rough and you're just out with friends/family.

4) Make sure you have access to a hot tub, wine and Advil for later on in the evening

 

[calibali]

I just skimmed through this thread and it seems like you've gotten tons of great advice. I saw this briefly mentioned, but if you are someone that is usually cold I highly recommend Hot Chillys or Under Armour for under your jacket and pants. I can never be warm enough (I even wear two sets of gloves when I ski) and these do an amazing job of keeping out the cold from the neck down.

Definitely wear goggles and a helmet, and with all the other advice on here you should be good to go. Good luck learning to snowboard, I'm too big of a wimp so I stick to skiing.

 

[portia]

I'm a skier and DH is a boarder. Not much I can add. You've gotten some great advice. Big ditto to the helmet, plus it keeps your head warm. Make sure you invest in some good eye protection (goggles or glasses). Vision is super important, especially in flat light. I prefer to wear goggles instead of glasses - it keeps the wind from making my eyes water. I like to use the little heater packets in my gloves and boots. I can't make it through a day without them otherwise my fingers and toes go numb. If you can swing it, I highly recommend taking lessons. That can really accelerate your learning curve so you can get out there and enjoy it faster. Have fun, BEG!! I'm jealous so that you can go any weekend! Sometimes I wonder why I live in the midwest when everything I love is out west.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

David - Thanks! I was going to go to the sports store today but I am "kind of" snowed in (i.e. it's not that bad, but the roads are too iffy for my tiny old car and I do not want to skid again like yesterday!). I'll go tomorrow and corral someone into finding me these ski socks.

Megumic, Sharon - Oh no worries! I will definitely make sure I have a helmet on at all times. The worst cheerleading accident I had years ago was me falling backwards from a stunt onto the gym floor, no spotter - my elbows broke the fall somewhat but I got a good knock to my head - do NOT want to go through that again!

D&T- Thanks for all the great advice! I'll make sure about the boots. When I went on an all-day glacier hike, I had boots that were about half a size too big and my ankles and heels were KILLING me 8 hours later (well more like one hour later but too late to do anything by then!). I'm assuming it's kind of like fitting ice skates - pretty snug, good support? I think MT and UT are fairly similar but I could just be talking out my ass right now I've heard the snow is very powdery, great views and terrain and a LOT less people than CO or UT (not surprising - it is a PITA to fly into MT - I am SO happy I don't have to deal with Thanksgiving travel here this year!). How did getting your own board help you improve? Was it that it was just a better fit for your height, skills, etc. - more customized/flexible than a rental? That's definitely something to consider if so! I am definitely buying girls' pants - the length seemed perfect when I took a quick look - I just need to try some on to get the right size. Oh shortness....

So a powder skirt or bib will help with staying dry? Will my butt be pretty wet if I just stick with snow pants and not get a skirt or bib, especially if I'm falling a lot? That's awesome that you and your husband do both! I'd love to be able to, but my coordination and muscles have only so much they can handle at once so I have to choose - and since my BFF wants to get into snowboarding, and I have no preference - voila!

Pilsn - I LIKE #4 I won't forget that one - no worries! I'm definitely getting an instructor - I think it'll be easier being guided through by a pro, step by step!

Cali - I think I definitely need to get some pocket warmers too. Ugh, I don't know if I just have terrible circulation in my hands and feet, but they're constantly cold. I really need to move somewhere hot. But then, no snowboarding! Trade-offs

Portia - Is there any good skiing in the midwest? Despite all the cold snowy weather in Chicago the last three years, no one (at least those in law school) seemed to go skiing or snowboarding in the area (well one girl did but she went to Vail, so that doesn't count ). Definitely getting those heater packets....Come visit Portia, and bring your cats with you! We'll have a Bengal/Savannah playdate!

 

[D&T]

Hey B.E.G-
having bought waaaaayyy tooo many coats/jackets/shells, snowpants. You kind of have to take a step back and think what/how you use these items. I chose not to buy the bib snowpants, as I don't like anymore items to sit on my top half body, plus I want to be able to access restrooms fairly quickly without having to take off my jackets/coats. I chose to buy snowpants that have good insulation with gaiters or powder skirts for the pants especially for powdery days, keeps the snow out. I have had coats/ and jackets with and w/o powderskirt. When I first started learning to snowboard, I was on my bottom A Lot and I fell in powder A Lot so naturally the powder creeps up my back, without the powderskirts, it was a very wet and not fun day for me. Powderskirts in jackets help keep it out, not all the time, but better than not having a jacket without powder skirt. The only thing I wear under my snowpants are thermals. I find that comfortable for me and not super bulky plus warm enough withough weighing me down. I have either Googles or these really cool sunglass/googles hybrids that have foam padding around the lens (like googles) to keep snow and other elements out plus straps, but less bulky than googles and I feel that they are safer than normal sunglass -I can't remember what brand and I dont have access to them right now as they are all up in UT- but I'm sure any sporting goods store may carry something similar. Having your own board is really nice, as you get them fitted to you exactly on your performance level, plus you KNOW how your board rides, but you should first make sure you really like this sport before investing in boards/boots/bindings and all the accessories.

Hope that helps!
Have fun!!!!

 

[D&T]

good grief sorry about all the spelling errors and I meant "goggles" instead of google...lol

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

good grief sorry about all the spelling errors and I meant "goggles" instead of google...lol

LOL D&T. I was actually reading "goggles" as "googles" in earlier posts

Thanks for the great advice! Ok, so I got back from the local store. Ended up buying youth black snow pants (they were on sale too, and they fit perfectly!). I also got the North Face Boundary jacket in white. I have to say, the white jacket, black pants, paired with my black gloves and scarf and I look pretty darn cute - don't worry, I'm not letting my ego take over TOO much - I know I'll be anything BUT cute once I hit the snow (or really, when my butt hits the snow )

Still need to go get ski socks, goggles and a hat (since apparently I GAVE ALL OF THEM AWAY - gosh, I'm an idiot, I had like three of them and now none).

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

So a long overdue update! (It's not my fault - we tried THREE separate times to go - first time, my friends had to back out due to IL problems, the second time, my friend got strep, the third time the roads were really icy). We finally went last weekend and my friend K and I took private lessons. She has some serious knee problems and had to bow out halfway through (she only took it up for her husband - she's a skier) and I stuck it out. It wasn't bad. The instructor told me I stand well on the board and have great balance - I did wipe out a couple times because the way you move and turn (the toe and heel edge stuff) is super counterintuitive to me (I'm a former cheerleader and I was a flyer in stunting - you shift your weight to toes or heels in a stunt and you are on the ground hurting). It wasn't bad, but my left calf was hurting by the end (I'm right-footed). So I think I'm going to switch to skiing.

My friend K and I did something bad though. We both bought skis (she sold her old crappy set and currently has a snowboard).

I got lucky - got all of it for $400 (2009 Elan Gold Magic skis 146 cm, bindings, Dalbello boots - youth size woot!, and poles). Unfortunately the skis are not with me as they're getting the bindings mounted but I am super excited to go out and try them out - hoping to go this weekend after Christmas!

 

[ForteKitty]

Ooh those look pretty... and i'm jealous. i wanna go play too!

Mammoth is the closest good mtn near here, and they got something like 13 FEET this week!! but it's 6 hrs away and i dont feel like fighting a million people for the lifts this weekend. Big Bear is about a 3 hr drive but a PITA to get to and the roads get more sketchy each year. We are going to Utah for 5 days in mid-Jan. So excited!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Ooh those look pretty... and i'm jealous. i wanna go play too!

Mammoth is the closest good mtn near here, and they got something like 13 FEET this week!! but it's 6 hrs away and i dont feel like fighting a million people for the lifts this weekend. Big Bear is about a 3 hr drive but a PITA to get to and the roads get more sketchy each year. We are going to Utah for 5 days in mid-Jan. So excited!

Haha K and I bought our skis based on 1) the sales guy's rec; and 2) aesthetics. And then I had HUGE buyer's remorse because I am one of those people who obsessively research before buying anything, and I totally this at the spur of the moment. Turns out the skis are really good for my non-existent skill level, the manufacturer is really good, and I saved a bundle by going with 2009s. I spent HOURS reading about skis and hoping that in a few years I'll be good enough to upgrade to the Elan Wave Magic or the Volkl Fuego. I'm hooked already!

I am thrilled I got a great deal on boots though by going with youth sizes!

Come to Montana and ski!!!!! We have tons of mountains and resorts here

 

[mrscushion]

HELMET. Beyond necessary.

I've been skiing since I was three (mostly in Austria) and I've never worn a helmet, but this year I'll probably get one. It's a good idea. I was wondering -- does anyone here wear a back/spine protector when skiing? Like what motorcyclists wear? I just spoke with my colleagues at work and he has one -- it's a safety thing, but he says it gets hot as h*** under that thing. Anyone has any experience or product recos?

ETA: Nice skis, B.E.G.!!!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Ok it's a few days delayed, but my review!

So to recap - we stopped by the sporting goods store and got our skis, since we had left them there for the bindings to be mounted. Had a bit of an issue as they had accidentally given away/sold my friend's boots (oops!). No wonder we couldn't find it. They ended up giving her a pair of boots that were actually more expensive (by about $100) for the same price as her first pair. I also found Transpack XTW bags! I wanted one but wasn't sure if the store carried it. Got one in purple and black and I am SO happy - it holds all my stuff - boots, helmet, gloves, snow pants, scarf, little stuff, etc. etc. I opted to keep my super long ski bag - I can buckle it down and with my skis in them they're actually fine. I might invest in a hard case in the future whenever I fly with them though.

So anyway, we got to the hill and I did my lesson. There was another mix-up and they put me with a snowboarding instructor, who, thankfully, also skied. So she got me started on getting down in a wedge and snow plowing to a stop, and then we worked on wedge turns. That hour was HARD. It was weird, my muscles didn't like it, and honestly, my boots were fastened way too tight so my calves were cramping like crazy. Finished the lesson, totally not ready to try a real run, and went to lunch.

Came back and I was on my own for an hour, and I just went for it and decided to work on what I had learned. By the end of the hour, I was zipping down the bunny hill and dodging around all the little kids - could totally link my wedge turns, snow plow and at slower speeds, I could do a hockey stop - yay! I realized that I LOVE speed but every so often I get a mini panic attack, like holy cow, this is fast!! and I slow myself down. So by then, my instructor who was still around told me I was ready to go on a run. My friends came back and we went on the easiest green run. Did it three times - LOVED it. The first time was a bit iffy since I didn't know where I was going, what to expect, and was wearing goggles for the first time which screwed up my depth perception a bit. Fell once, got back up, put the goggles away, and no problem. The second and third times I was flying down the hill - I skied in a wedge, but I tried to straighten out my turns so that they were more parallel. I realized that if I skied slower in a wedge, I could straighten out my turns and do parallel turns, but if I tried to ski parallel I would pick up so much speed that I would end up snow plowing. I also realized (or my friend who was watching and going down the runs with me did) that I tend to both lean forward and stand lower (more bent knees) and I think I'm picking up a lot of speed from it.

Anyway, finally, my last run of the day was the harder green run that starts a LOT steeper, but then links up at the end with the easy green run. That was a bit nervewracking - gorgeous view though! I did have a bit of a "oh my goodness can I do this" moment but got myself down - it was steep enough that I was a bit tense in my turns rather than loose and relaxed so by the end, my legs were definitely feeling a bit of an ache. I decided to stop while I was ahead.

Honestly, I absolutely LOVED it. Picking up speed was so exhilarating, and I tend to do the weight changes pretty naturally - my friend was watching me do my turns from behind and she said I was doing it perfectly except I need to stop snow plowing!

So my goals for my next lesson (because I am definitely taking another lesson when I go to a different hill later this week for New Years Eve and New Years) are:

1) Work up to parallel runs/turns rather than wedges;
2) Stop snow plowing/work on hockey stops;
3) Work on slowing my speed down without snow plowing - my friend said that I can do this by shifting my weight - I keep snow plowing because it lets me slow down without stopping and then I can transition to the next turn. I want to be able to do this without SP; and finally
4) Learn how to use my ski poles! I didn't use them at all on my first day.

Oh! And I love my skis! They felt a bit long in the very beginning, but I wasn't noticing it at all later when I was doing the runs. Obviously I am totally NOT qualified to really evaluate skis, but they turned well and was responsive to me and I felt stable on them. The only thing is I'm wondering if they're also part of the reason I speed up like nothing other - or if it's just the fact that I lean forward and crouch lower that makes me pick up speed.

Here a pic from my ski hill - view from the top of the last run I did - the steeper green, taken with my Canon G11 which is fabulous!

 

[ForteKitty]

Pretty!!!!

and you're a brave, brave girl for bringing your new camera on the first day of skiing!

 

[kittybean]

B.E.G., I'm so excited that you are loving skiing! You will learn to love going fast once you improve a little more. There is nothing like flying down a run on skis. It's exhilarating and so much fun! Being on skis also makes it easier to get around since you can skate or pole your way through any flats or traverses without having to "unstrap."

Enjoy this season!

 

[D&T]

Beautiful scene!!! awww I miss the mountain... soon hopefully we'll be back near it again.

I'm glad you are liking skiing. Its hard to start up on Snowboards if imo haven't had the "fun" of staying upright like you would on skis. For me it was easier to learn on skis and stay upright the first day, although must admit that mastering techniques on skis with advance levels takes longer than on boards. Snowboarding seems to take longer to learn, but you get good pretty quickly.

Enjoy! What fun times!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Pretty!!!!

and you're a brave, brave girl for bringing your new camera on the first day of skiing!

Haha it fits in my pocket! I just have to make sure I don't fall to my right A couple times during my lesson I fell on the bunny hill and I was doing this awesome skid down in table top position (from yoga). For some reason I just did NOT want my butt to touch the ground - now if only I had the ab strength to pop myself up from that position!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

B.E.G., I'm so excited that you are loving skiing! You will learn to love going fast once you improve a little more. There is nothing like flying down a run on skis. It's exhilarating and so much fun! Being on skis also makes it easier to get around since you can skate or pole your way through any flats or traverses without having to "unstrap."

Enjoy this season!

Thanks Kittybean! I can't wait to learn how to use my poles. The hardest part after the first hour was actually get myself up to the chairlift. It's a slight uphill rise and I can duckfoot it up normally, but not when I'm also standing next to my friend and it's narrow. Poles would be REALLY helpful in that case.

I love the feeling of zipping down the gentle slopes on the easy green runs - now to control the speed (and do it on harder runs)

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Beautiful scene!!! awww I miss the mountain... soon hopefully we'll be back near it again.

I'm glad you are liking skiing. Its hard to start up on Snowboards if imo haven't had the "fun" of staying upright like you would on skis. For me it was easier to learn on skis and stay upright the first day, although must admit that mastering techniques on skis with advance levels takes longer than on boards. Snowboarding seems to take longer to learn, but you get good pretty quickly.

Enjoy! What fun times!

I think you're totally right about snowboarding. I knew at the end of the first lesson on snowboarding that I was not going to be ready to tackle a run that day, whereas with skiing I feel like the learning curve initially is much better. I really really want to learn to carve my turns Ok, I'm ambitious I know

 

[meresal]

BEG- So glad to hear that you enjoyed it! I took my DH skiing for the first time a few weeks ago, and he loved it too (Thank goodness!!)

As for the ski length, from what I know, it is a definite factor in speed on the hill. I ski with rented 165's when I go. I don't own my own, since I am lucky to get to the mountains every other year. (Hopefully more often now that DH can do it!) However, my dad, who used to be an avid skier, owned a pair of something like 190's. He would literally fly down the mountian.

Love the picture! I love taking photos from on the mountian.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

BEG- So glad to hear that you enjoyed it! I took my DH skiing for the first time a few weeks ago, and he loved it too (Thank goodness!!)

As for the ski length, from what I know, it is a definite factor in speed on the hill. I ski with rented 165's when I go. I don't own my own, since I am lucky to get to the mountains every other year. (Hopefully more often now that DH can do it!) However, my dad, who used to be an avid skier, owned a pair of something like 190's. He would literally fly down the mountian.

Love the picture! I love taking photos from on the mountian.

Hey Mer! That's awesome that your DH loves skiing - more motivation to go now! My friend K was saying she'll be more eager to get to the slopes now that she's switched back to skiing and isn't in pain, reluctant, frustrated, etc. from trying to snowboard. Did he take a lesson? My friend is actually really great about pointers and tips, but we both agree I'm better off starting with lessons. I'm taking another one tomorrow (in subzero temps! eek - good thing I love this so much).

I think ski length is a big factor - you're totally right. I got 146s and I'm 5'1" and 96 lbs. I was reading that ski length rests more on weight than height - I was reading on EpicSki and it says for my weight, height and level, I should really be starting at 140. I don't mind the longer skis too much though and eventually I'll have to move up to a longer one anyway, so I'm kind of glad I'm starting longer (especially since I plan to keep these for a while). Is it bad though that I'm already lusting after a pair of Volkl Auras??? I'm in Montana with lots of powder, and I plan to move to CA where I can ski Mammoth or Tahoe......