Try this: Snowboarding is a great workout and fun!

12/29/08 Posted in Cover Story Rhiannon Banda-Scott  |  0 Comments

It looked easy enough. I figured I had the balance and the agility to handle it. And besides, if I fell I had three layers of clothing and fluffy snow to protect me from injury.

I have successfully skied before, multiple times, and as an athletic individual, I pick up quickly on new endeavors. If anything, I thought snowboarding would be easier than skiing since both feet would be attached to one apparatus instead of having to worry about two skis and two poles. After all, when you’re on skis, crouching forward or sitting down is next to impossible. With a snowboard it is much easier to properly ‘wipe-out’ and sit down.

As I approached the top of the lift where I was supposed to board down the ramp, I remembered my brother’s advice— he’s an extremely talented snowboarder himself—to lean back on my behind leg when I want to propel myself forward.

My front foot, which I would have less pressure on, would be my steering wheel used to turn left and right.    I snapped my other boot into place and prepared to glide out of my seat. Except the ‘glide’ part really didn’t happen.

The biggest difference between skiing and snowboarding is remembering to angle your body sideways so that you can direct your snowboard the way you want it to go. Just as my brother had warned, leaning on your back leg and depending on your quad muscles to keep your balance, is a crucial part to successfully snowboarding.

Clearly I ignored this advice since I swung my back leg towards the front as if I were on skis. This caused my board to immediately stop in the snow. I fell into the snow, right in the path of my fellow snowboarders and skiers attempting to get off the ramp as well.

Not such a great start.

I decided to practice just standing on the board, similar to how beginner surfers practice throwing themselves up onto the boards before braving the waves—something I am now realizing I should have done prior to boarding the ski lift.  It was tough for me to balance without the broad range of motion that is possible when on skis. However, I found that using my stomach and lower leg muscles allowed me to balance while still being able to move my arms and upper body to stay stable.

The next step after perfecting my balance was going down the hill, which also proved to be quite difficult and scary since it was something new for me.

When I see snowboarders leaning so far to the side each time they zig-zag down the hill, I now realize it’s because it keeps them from toppling over.  Once I got the hang of balancing and gliding every five or six feet I was able to make it a quarter of the way down the hill. I found I was exerting a lot of energy considering the short distance I had covered. There were numerous times, I sat down just to collect myself and give my legs a break. It was hard to feel completely confident in my progression since advanced skiers and snowboarders were flying by me, but I found it helpful to stay off to one side of the hill instead of using the middle as my learning ground.

For me, I would have much rather taken a snowboarder’s beginner class or at least come back for a second day of practice to build on what I learned the first day.  I think that on my second attempt at snowboarding, I’ll be a lot less likely to snap off my board and carry it down the rest of the hill. But like I always say, practice makes perfect.

by Rhiannon Banda-Scott