Will she be able to board?

(stevo8290) · (stevo8290) **Join Date: Sep 2008** 12-25-2009, 9:14 AM

So i know this isn't wakeboarding but i figured i could probably get some useful feedback on snowboarding. So we are heading to colorado on monday and my girlfriend is coming with us. I have snowboarded once and picked it up fast but I think skating and wakeboarding helped a lot. She wants to snowboard but is worried that it will be too hard for her so she kinda wants to ski (she has never done either). So do you guys think a girl with not much board experience could pick snowboarding up fast enough to enjoy it as compared to skiing. By the way she wakeboards some so but not much. Well thanks for the help. MERRY CHRISTMAS

(04outback) · (04outback) **Join Date: Jul 2007** 12-25-2009, 10:45 AM

we are learning to snowboard now... not feeling much of a connection between snowboarding and wakeboarding..
only a little balance of standing in bindings on a board..
WEAR A BUTT Pad!

(benbuchholz) · (benbuchholz) **Join Date: Oct 2009** 12-26-2009, 6:12 PM

It's tough to say, if you're staying there for a week, she should be fine. it'll just take her a day or so to get the basics down. I guess it really just depends on how seriously you're gonna ride. If you're going to be hitting powder runs and stuff like that, she's gonna have a tough time keeping up. but if you're just doing some casual snowboarding, i think she'll pick it up quick enough, if you take the time and show her the ropes. If not, she can always jump on skis which are at least a bit easier. Oh and make clear, VERY clear, that she falls on her butt, not on her wrists. A broken wrist is the last thing you want on a colorado trip. I say that because i've seen it happen plenty of times. hope my advice helped a bit. have fun on your trip !

(craigjones) · (craigjones) **Join Date: Apr 2009** 12-27-2009, 10:42 AM

Ben nailed it. If you're just riding casually and she spends a day just practicing and getting used to it she should be fine. Once she learns the basics it's just a matter of it clicking. Wrist guards should be helpful, and just don't let her get too frustrated or she'll never want to learn.

(dudeman) · (dudeman) **Join Date: Mar 2005** 12-27-2009, 3:05 PM

Get her at least one lesson so she can at least learn the falling leaf, unless you feel comfortable teaching her. My son and I only took one lesson when we stared out because we didn't have anyone to teach us the first time. I'd skied for 20 years before learning and my son had never been on the snow. The instructor said wakeboarders were the hardest ones to teach. You should have seen us flying down the mountain doing the falling leaf. Peeps that saw that probably laughed for days, but once you have the basics down like Ben and Craig said, she'll be fine. Pow's another animal.

(clubmyke) · (clubmyke) **Join Date: Aug 2004** 12-29-2009, 2:08 AM

a couple of suggestions:
- get her lessons and do it with her
- spend time with her and take baby steps (ride 500 feet and then wait for her).
-take pictures
-be positive and encouraging
-MAKE IT FUN !!!

i really suggest forget about trying to get any riding in and concentrate on her progression. the whole goal is to get here self sufficent so she can enjoy herself.

(calexan) · (calexan) **Join Date: Dec 2008** 01-04-2010, 10:30 PM

I also agree with getting her a lesson. For one it gives you a full day to go out and ride without her holding you back.

Also it might stop a fight before it happens.... Ive seen even the best relationships get heated when a boyfriend is teaching a girlfriend because hes not "saying the right things". Chicks are crazy....

(benbuchholz) · (benbuchholz) **Join Date: Oct 2009** 01-04-2010, 11:48 PM

^^^ i was just on the slopes the other day, and a guy was trying to teach his girlfriend a toeside stop before she could even ride 500 feet. she didnt do it right and he goes "ITS NOT THAT HARD!" and throws his hands up in the air. A lesson's a good idea after seeing that

(hbguy) · (hbguy) **Join Date: Jun 2005** 01-05-2010, 7:17 AM

Definitely get her a lesson and basically everything else clubmyke said.

(lizzyb) · (lizzyb) **Join Date: Sep 2005** 01-07-2010, 2:38 PM

Interesting thread, as I am about to go with my husband and try snowboarding for the first time. I have no experience wakeboarding, skateboarding or anything else on a board and I'm scared to death.

I guess if I come home without any broken bones, I'll consider it a success.

(rio_sanger) · (rio_sanger) **Join Date: Apr 2007** 01-07-2010, 3:54 PM

Have you ever skied Elizabeth? My wife skied for years before she tried snowboarding. So her first time up, we took her up chair 8 at Mammoth.
A fairly easy run, but definitely more than a bunny slope.
She really didn't do all that bad, and by the time we got to the bottom of the slope, she had it down pretty good. Now if you've never skied before, I would not recommend going right up the chair like that!

(lizzyb) · (lizzyb) **Join Date: Sep 2005** 01-07-2010, 4:25 PM

Chris - My experience in the snow is restricted to being on a tube when I was a little kid. I have zero experience on skis.