Snowboarding, Beta 1
posted on february 1, 2004, tag: me
Went snowboarding for the first time on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. I got really crappy rental equipment—the board was at least six inches shorter than it should have been, and was so narrow my boots hung over by at least two inches on both edges—but it was fun nonetheless. We went to Mountain Creek in Vernon, NJ, which is only about an hour away from Summit, where Katia's parents (and I used to) live.
Having never been skiing or anything on the east coast (I skied when I lived in Seattle), I was surprised to see that Mountain Creek looked a lot like the place I used to go in Seattle called Snoqualmie Pass. The only difference is that Mountain Creek is really just a big hill and the pass was a pass on Mt. Rainier. Either way, the snow was great and it wasn't as cold as I thought it would be.
Snowboarding itself was really hard at first. It was quite different than skiing, and I couldn't for the life of me get up leaning forward without falling. It took a long time in the beginning, but once I got past that hurdle things were much better. Katia took the old "slow but steady wins the race," and I ended up going with "I kill speed and turn successfully only half of the time usually," which ended up meaning that my falls were much, much harder. After a few hours, though, I was falling much less frequently and having quite a bit of fun.
We definitely need to buy our own equipment. After having dealt with that crap-ass board, I know that it will be a lot better with proper stuff. Granted, it's a bit of an expensive buy-in, but it will make up for itself if I don't dig my toes in when turning and have a better time.
Next time I go I must definitely take pictures.
Comments
There are 4 comments, comments are closed
Brent on 02/01/2004:
Been to Moutain Creek with rentals before too. The rental from Pelican Ski shop sucked. The boots and board were incorrect and so bad I had to rent a pair at the mountain. I recommend a more serious border travel a little bit to New York for better conditions. Even a stay in NH or VT would be better if you can afford a trip. I bought my own board and boots too and would strongly recommend it if you are serious about learning to snow board. Try the demo's before you buy. I made an "impulse" buy since we were planning a longer stay and ski trip to Mt. Sunapee in NH. In fact my bro still resides in Summit, NJ.
Garrett on 02/01/2004:
I actually rented from Pelican. I tried to re-rent from Mountain Creek when we were up there (because of my crappy stuff) but they were out of boards and had a long wait.
lolly on 02/02/2004:
Fun isn't it?
I've just got back from Courchevel (french alps) and its ace :-)
And its not that expensive. The board I want is circa £350. My mountain bike frame alone (ie no wheels/drivechain/forks etc) was £999. Therefore boarding is cheap as chips ;-)
Jonathan on 02/06/2004:
I've been snowboarding for about 10 years now. Went out and bought a board, boots, pants and jacket - then decided it was time to learn. I hated falling down so much at first. Took a few weeks of trips to the mountain before I could get the whole way down without falling. Sold that board to a friend, bought another which got stolen at the slopes, bought another board that I still have. It is an investment but a board will usually last a while. The boots are the killer. I still have the original boots and they are way too heavy. The ones they have now are half the weight. Slopes in Central Pennsylvania are not impressive at all. I could onlt imaging boarding part or Mt. Rainier!