Читать книгу Complete Book Snowboarding - K.C. Althen - Страница 9

CHAPTER 1

Getting Started

Why Snowboard?

Snowboarding is the fastest-growing winter sport in the world. Its popularity has been increasing by 80 to 100 percent every year, and this phenomenal growth rate is certain to continue. Estimates of the numbers of snowboarders run in the hundreds of thousands for North America. No survey can keep pace.

So far, snowboarders represent less than 1 percent of the skiing population, but this is changing fast. Snowboarders come from the ranks of many types of outdoor recreationalists. And many skateboarders, surfboarders, and sailboarders are discovering this new way to enjoy winter. Snowboarding is comparable in many ways to the other boarding activities, and it is easier than skiing once you get the knack. And there’s another advantage: snowboarding is a “go” almost every winter day, not just when conditions permit.

If you are a life-long skier who has become a little jaded and complacent—even bored—about skiing, that is about to change. Be prepared for a fresh and rejuvenating experience. Your appreciation of snow is about to be renewed. Your attitude and love of skiing is about to be reborn.

Can I Do It?

If you have been interested (courageous) enough to read this far, you have an excellent chance. Age is no barrier to snowboarding, though snowboarding does require some high energy at times. NASTAR (National Standard Races) conducts snowboarding races for age groups ranging from the kindergarten set to those 60 and over. Like many modern sports, the percentage of women participants is growing each year.

Young adults and children may not worry about safety statistics, but adults invariably ask “Just how dangerous is this sport?” The injury rate is comparable to that for alpine skiing. Snowboarders may have slightly more injuries, but their injuries tend to be less severe. The serious and long-lasting types of knee injuries are relatively rarer among snowboarders. The injury rate for both skiers and snowboarders decreases with experience, but the injury drop-off rate seems faster for snowboarders. The sport is still too young for comprehensive or exact numbers, but because of its apparent safety, most ski areas have opened their slopes to snowboarders. This would not have happened if its safety had not been proven to ski area insurers. In just five years, the number of resorts welcoming snowboarders leaped from 7 percent to more than 90 percent. For more complete details of safety statistics, see pages 141-50.

Photo: Mistral Snowboards

Ready to go for it

What Do I Need to Get Started?

Equipment Preliminaries

The first thing you need is a board and instructions on how to use it. Borrowing a board from a friend is a possibility, but the size is apt to be wrong, and the bindings may need to be altered. You will also have to worry about beating up a friend’s equipment (though good boards are nearly indestructible).

A better bet is a rental or demo board, which can be matched exactly to your size and weight requirements by professionals. Visit several shops if possible and talk with the staff. Pick a time when they are not too busy. In many places, avoid Friday and Saturday evenings when everyone is picking up or returning rental equipment.

A good shop, with patient personnel, will give you a “ground school” and “how-to” lecture if you are renting their equipment. Many shops have videos you can watch. But do not listen to anything anyone says about snowboarding unless he or she is a snowboarder. Smile and nod, but only listen closely to people who know—other riders.

Rental shops may also give lessons, but compare their prices with those offered at the ski areas. Lessons from your destination resort may be cheaper. Renting the board from the destination resort, however, is likely to be more expensive.

Snowboards are not cheap, so know what you want before you buy. Try at least a few different brands and models before selecting your personal board.

Selecting a Rental Board

At first, you can forego the subtleties of making a perfect match between board and rider. Your size and the board’s size are the primary considerations at this time. Many other considerations are discussed in the section on boards (see pages 101-10). For now, if your weight is under 100 pounds, a 130-150 cm board is appropriate; if you are in the 100 to 150 pound range, try a 140-160 cm board; and for those over 150 pounds, a 150-170 cm board. Seventy-five percent of the models made fall into the 145-165 cm range. For starters, select one with softer flex (not too stiff) for easy turning.

Besides helping you select an appropriate board, a good rental shop will adjust the bindings for you and will make sure the board’s base is prepared and waxed. When adjusting the bindings, their first question will likely be, “which foot do you put forward?” If you’ve skateboarded or surfed, you know. If you haven’t, think about which foot you would put forward to slide across a frozen puddle. Seventy percent of riders put their left foot forward; the other 30 percent put their right foot forward. (The latter take pride in being called “goofy-footed,” courtesy of the surfers.) You will probably want your front foot angled forward 35 to 45 degrees and the back one turned forward about 20 to 25 degrees from straight across the board. Pick the intermediate positions on the bindings you are using initially. Either or both foot positions can be adjusted and refined later on to fit your style of riding. See the section on bindings (pages 123-29).

The shop will also need to know your boot size. Renting special snowboarding boots is the best way to go. If the shop does not rent boots, and yours are not suitable, you may have a problem. In years past, any old boot worked, but it is now apparent that ankle injuries are the most common non-impact injury. A soft boot, for which the majority of rental bindings are designed, can be an ankle killer. Some bindings have shin straps. These can help, but even with these (or because of them) some sort of stiffening reinforcement and padding in the boot is required. To increase your comfort and safety, solve this problem before spending too much time on the slopes. See the section on boots (pages 119-23).

There is no need to worry about poles and other paraphernalia. Snowboarders don’t use them. Back in the privacy of your home, dig out your wool socks and put your boots and board on just as though you were ready to take off down the hill. Protect the floor and the board with newspapers if necessary. Now is the time to readjust bindings that are too loose, straps that are too tight, safety straps with squirrelly mechanisms, and so forth. Some bindings have more adjustments than you can easily check out in the shop, and having to fiddle with them on the slope will make for a hot temper and cold fingers. It’s far better to figure out the bindings on this dry run before they frustrate you or cause an injury.

Now is also the time to wiggle, lean, twist, rock and roll, and generally get the feel of being strapped onto a board. Practice some deep knee bends. Try jumping. Get used to the board’s weight. Gain authority over the board. Be prepared to grin until your cheeks cramp.

Other Preparations

For Experienced Skiers. You probably have all of the accessories you need and are ready to go. A few items need to be double-checked before using them for snowboarding. Foremost, be aware that some ski goggles do not provide enough peripheral vision for snowboarding. Standing sideways requires some getting used to visually. If you are traversing a slope with your toes facing uphill and your back downhill, you have to crane your neck to see where you are going. You have to twist your head even more when you first want to turn back the other way. Goggles that block the view out of the corners of your eyes will make this more difficult. It is much easier to use wide-angle frames or sport shields.

As an experienced skier, you may be used to falling down only occasionally. That is about to end for a while. Your stocking cap, which always stayed in place before, won’t last three minutes. Gloves and down parkas, which previously stayed dry all day, will be soaked. Plan ahead for such changes.

Experienced skiers naturally do not like the idea of going back to the bunny slope. But bypassing the bunny slope is the main reason that snowboarding has earned its “slam-dunk” image in certain quarters. If you head for the top of the mountain without preparation, you’ll just make face prints all the way down. Be smart. No one is going to recognize you down at the bunny slope anyway. You can wear a balaclava or a face mask to hide your identity if you want. You can also secretively go at night at some resorts. Admit you are a newcomer for a little while. You will soon be improving at a hundred miles an hour, and being hungry for some “vertical,” you will not have to endure the bunny slope for long.

If at all possible, do not go out your first time in icy, hard-packed conditions. If you have no choice, expect to have less fun and more bruises. Also your rate of learning will be diminished—perhaps so much that you will give up without knowing what you are missing.

For Non-skiers. Dress for winter; pile on the padding. No matter how “hot” you may be as an “otherboarder,” you are about to get snow up, down, and all around. Remember how much fun it was to make angels in the snow when you were little? You will make a few more before you become proficient at snowboarding.

Use the established layered clothing method: polypropylene or other “wicking” synthetic next to the skin, wool or bulky synthetic intermediate, and an outer layer for snow and wind proofing. No cotton anywhere. Use the heaviest winter hat you own. It will double as a helmet. Heavy mittens, knee pads, and a butt pad are helpful.

Eye protection is very important. Modern sport shields (frameless goggles) give excellent ultraviolet light protection. They also will crossover for use in other outdoor sports. The same goes for good-quality sport sunglasses with retainers—but be sure they will not cut you when (not if) you fall on your face. Wide-view ski goggles are also excellent. Full ski goggles are not necessary until you reach the stage of cruising very fast or unless it is snowing heavily. However, avoid goggles that block your peripheral vision. For more details, see the section on accessories, page 129.

Lessons

It’s well worth your time and money to take lessons from a professional snowboard instructor. There is little doubt that you will learn easier and faster. Just a few hours of instruction will put you well on your way to a safe and enjoyable experience.

If you do not have the money, and if you have been skateboarding, skiing, or surfing for a long time, you can combine your experience with what can be learned from this Complete Book of Snowboarding. Those related activities involve many skills that will transfer and be extremely helpful. This is not to say that snowboarding is the same as these activities. Snowboarding is unique—deceptively so. Still, balance is balance. And banking is banking. Videos can also help provide some instruction. For those who have skied, being able to recognize bad snow conditions at a distance and knowing your way around ski areas are huge advantages.

If you do not have a good background in skateboarding, surfing, or skiing, save up some more allowance or go back to work or go into debt, but take lessons. This is the consensus of snowboarders everywhere. (Many competent snowboarders enjoy teaching their friends.)