first time snowboarding stories

Ron Burgundy !

i went snowboarding last year for the first time and really enjoyed it so i was wondering how did you get on on your first time snowboarding

arodabomb

First time I went was about 10 years ago. I went in France with a load of really good boarders who basically brought me up to the top of a mountain and I spent the day falling down until I reached the bottom. I woke the next day unable to move.

Looking back I have no idea why I loved it so much. I still believe the baptism of fire was much better than spending a day on the baby slopes where you don't move enough to not fall over.

Ron Burgundy !

yeah i loved it but nearly broke my wrist on my 3rd last day i guess the lesson is i should have bought wristguards

Reek_The_Meek

The first time I went it was quite boring to be honest, sitting on my ass all day watching other guys go down. Much more fun after the first time.

StormGazer.11

First time I went boarding was on a school tour, got completely bugged in a pub at the top of a black slope with a bunch of lads from the class, attempted to board down and wiped out in spectacular fashion. Dislocated my shoulder but it was all for the craic :rolleyes: and to cut a long story short I've ditched boarding and been skiing since

Sterling Archer

I went on my first snowboarding holiday this year, best holiday i've ever had,

i went with my girlfriend who on the first day fell on an ice patch and hurt her back which ment we only made the morning lesson and skipped the after lunch lesson on that day,

For the first 3 days we both did the morning lesson and she did as much of the afternoon lesson as she could with me staying on a little bit longer to pick up things i could teach her later

We ended up not going to the lessons after that and took the day at our own pace, just learning as we went and avoiding the rush of lessons and the lessons lunch rush, when ment we got some very nice quiet times on the slopes.

I had one big wipeout and spraned my ankle, luckly once back at the pension we just kept putting towels out in the snow on the balcony and kept wrapping my ankle, was boarding the next day, ended up being comfortable riding front side, not so much backside.

I'm mad to go again, there is no feeling like getting it all right and gliding across the snow, until i get caught in a rut and face plant

strotos

I love the sport.

First time I went was two years ago in Bulgaria. Paid for 3 days private lessons to get up to speed with the guys I had gone with because I wanted to learn the basics quite quickly. Friends had gone a few time before me and were pretty ok. Day 3, I decided I was good enough to go down the slopes after everyone and be part of the group. Being very hungover, I did a very poor heel turn and the front of the board dug in. My face broke my fall when I landed on ice, goggles broke my nose and for I had a helmet, I only had a concussion and not a split head.

The rest of the day was spent getting x-rays to make sure everything was ok.

Two days later I was back on the board. After I got home, I bought my first snowboard.

Best trip ever.

Ron Burgundy !

there's nothing like it love the feeling of turning on the board found out i'm going for my second time in march cant wait and i might be getting a board too so happy days even though i messed something up with my wrist it was still the best holiday ever

derv

first time was in La Plagne about 8-9 years ago.
1 very experienced skier & 4 lads (including me) who who had never been and who rented snowboards.

we did 2 hours on the green slope then the skier said 'right lads let's hit the lift, it'll be grand'
he thought it would be a good laugh to bring us down reds and blacks and off-piste.
the 4 of us had no lessons, just went at it.

unbelievable trip. loved it. but dislocated my shoulder :-(

in hindsight - i would loved to have gotten some lessons early on.

Jonnykitedude

Meribel about 9 years ago, first hour of the first day of my first trip, fell broke my wrist. Went on for the day, bought some wrist guards and went home 6 days later with a smile on my face:)

While kitesurfing a few weeks later took a bad wipeout, ended up in A&E and was told I had broken my wrist a few weeks ago as the bone had rounded itself off!!!

Ron Burgundy !

its amazing how even if you hurt yourself really badly snowboarding is still a great sport

hans aus dtschl

About 15 years ago. We arrived in a heavy snowfall: ideal conditions for learning. Hated it day 1 - I couldn't believe people WILLINGLY chose to do this... Hooked by day 3.

The few times I've borrowed my friends' ski's it's been ok, it makes sense and all, but I never got "hooked" in the same way. Not as addictive for me at all.

FortuneChip

Ah, my first time snowboarding...

I was living in Toronto, and on a whim applied for a job at Lake Louise in Alberta.
Was lucky enough to get one, so got the bus across (next time I'll spend the extra 80 dollars on a flight and save myself 2 days of travel)

On my first day off I got all my newly acquired gear ready and bolted for the chairlift. None of the guys I knew were off that day, so I figured I'd just give myself a little trial run. I remember the lift just kept going up and up and up!
Got to the top, and actually successfully scooted off the lift, "Man, this is easy".
Sat down and strapped in fully. Another guy sat down beside me, so I ventured "Hey man, never done this before, any tips for me?"
"What, not even a lesson??? Right, eh whatever side of the board is facing downhill, keep airbourne, or you're going to fall on your face/ass"
I had no idea what that meant...

About an hour and half later, I got to the bottom, feeling pain, embarrassment and pain.

Couple of months later, the same run was taking about 4/5 minutes!

Codofwar

Had my first Holiday away last Jan in Les Arcs, Had two lessons on dry slopes first before I left and thought I was ready! Dry slopes no comparison to actual powder. Speed difference was unreal. Went with a friend of mine who has been boarding for years and little did either of us know my first run down was a black run. Loved it though. Spent about 50/50 between being on the board and on my ass. Best I could describe it was I have never had so much fun falling over. After 2nd day I thought I hated it. I was way worse than first day but went out again the 3rd day and it all clicked. Its such a rush flying down the hill linking your turns for the first time without landing on your ass. Heading back to Les Arc in Jan and hitting New Zealand next Aug/Sept. Cant wait for it.
Would highly recommend taking up boarding to anyone who will listen.

Billy Mays

First time boarding was Gore Mountain, upstate New York when I lived in Queens. Always thought it looked like great craic so headed up with a mate of mine who had a spare board. Got the hang of it pretty quickly and after a few runs on the bunny slopes I was onto the lift. Couple of tumbles during the day but nothing serious until the last run of the day when I fell backwards and hit my head about halfway down a run. Got back to my mate's car and couldn't remember how I got there. 250 mile drive back to Queens with a concussion wasn't exactly a barrel of laughs.
Went back several times after that and absolutely loved it.
Moved back to Ireland in 2010 and have been to Tignes twice and will be heading again in Feb or March. Pretty much addicted at this stage.

The Clown Man

Was first introduced about 10 years ago while in Norway. A girl who had caught my attention decided to introduce me to the slopes. Got to the top of a blue slope and buckled up, told her to go on ahead and I'll get the hang of it myself. She gave me some tips and went on.

It took me about 1:30 to get to the bottom and I fractured my elbow on the last stretch to the lifts. Those damn flat stretches that are just waiting for you to drift slightly sideways and faceplant.

Second time down took me 30 mins and last time took me 10. Was absolutely hooked.

Since then I've alternated between skiing and boarding depending who I'm there with and I have to say I like the skiing, it's relaxing more so than exciting but the thrill of carving at speed is pretty intense. However, nothing beats going off piste into freshly fallen powder on a board!

Ron Burgundy !

when i went i hurt my wrist it was extremely painful but didn't swell or become discolored but now months later it still hurts from time to time did i brake it or just sprain it ? i didn't go to the doctor i just took some nurofen and put ice on it and rested it for about a week opinions ?

StormGazer.11

Possibly a hair line fracture or something along those lines, maybe a ligament but the only way to be sure is to go for an X-Ray or an MRI (I think that would show ligament damage if there is any). Either way I'd imagine there isn't much that can be done now other than physio if its ligament damage.

Ron Burgundy !

im going again in a few weeks and was wondering what pre-snowboarding exercises you would recommend ?

olaola

It was my first time on a snow holiday, and I managed to persuade everyone else to snowboard with me (they were all skiers) They all hated it after the first day, so I was left with my OWN personal snowboard instructor for a few days!

Great you think! It hurt like hell, I couldn’t sit down, I couldn’t kneel and I was black and blue. Went back the next year. Threw a pair of skis on, and wondered what in gawd's name was I doing with the board in the first place.

Haven’t boarded since.