
Snowboarding for Geeks - lubos76
https://www.xfive.co/blog/snowboarding-ultimate-guide/
======
sudosteph
Snowboarding absolutely is as fun as it looks, but don't underestimate how
much it's going to hurt the day after. I've gone nearly a dozen times and I
still end up bruised by the end of the day. Admittedly, I'm a bit clumsier
than most, but I've never collided with another human being at least.

Also, I was surprised that the article didn't mention the one aspect that I
actually found way harder than anything else to learn do reliably: going from
sitting to standing on the board with your feet strapped in is HARD. I thought
it was something I'd be able to learn through technique since I'm mostly in
shape from a cardio perspective, but I just don't have the core strength to
get up the proper way.

While I absolutely could never once manage to get up with my heels dug into
the snow, I can easily get up from my toes. It sort of stinks though because
I'm never facing downhill when I first get up, so I can't really see great
downhill, but at least I know when people are coming behind me.

The obvious solution to the standing problem is just to fall less, but I
haven't quite figured that out. So instead I've tried to do more lunges when I
exercise. Probably won't be enough though.

~~~
H1Supreme
I skateboarded regularly for approx. 15 years before my first snowboarding
trip. I was certain that all my time on a skateboard would prepare me, and I'd
pick it up easy. How wrong I was. Fell more times than I could count that day.

~~~
fokinsean
> I skateboarded regularly for approx. 15 years before my first snowboarding
> trip.

Same! I went for the first time earlier this year. I plopped around for about
a half day, but by the end of the second day I was doing some easier blues
without too much problems.

I think the one thing skateboarding helped most with was being comfortable
riding sideways. Also backside powersliding (carving?) is one of the most
amazing feelings on a snowboard.

------
bendixso
Some of the geekiest people I know have become the best skiers/snowboarders on
the mountain. I know a guy who used to regularly show up to the terrain park
and do double frontflips over 60 foot jumps. He's got a PHD in physics now.

I know another guy who used to compete in big air competitions. Senior iOS
developer.

My friend Brian does double cork 10s. Medical doctor.

This sport is for nerds. If you're nerdy, you have an even greater chance of
being successful at it because you know how to focus on getting great at
something.

~~~
GuB-42
Senior iOS developer, medical doctor,...

The common ground is not just geekiness, it is money. Skiing is expensive, and
in order to get good, you need to practice a lot.

I am curious to know how nerdy skateboarders are. Skateboarding and
snowboarding share some similarities, but the former is much more affordable.

~~~
bendixso
I dunno. I actually don't think it's all that expensive of a sport if you can
invest in your equipment and keep it long term. Sure, you'll spend a few grand
one season for a setup that will last you three or four seasons. The season
pass will set you back another $600 per year roughly.

I've had my current setup for five seasons. Same board. Same boots. Same
jacket, helmet, pants, etc. If I do a back of the envelope calculation, my
sport probably costs me $1,000 per year on average.

There really is such a thing as competence, work ethic, and patience. These
traits tend to lead to success in other areas of life, including the
accumulation of wealth and advancement in one's career. Not everything can, or
should, be explained by privilege. Great people really do earn their
greatness.

~~~
albertgoeswoof
> It’s not that expensive

> you’ll spend a few grand ... 1000 dollars a year

Pick one

~~~
drblast
It's expensive but I did it in college when I made a spare $250 a month.

Old Volvo 240, used gear, waterproof running pants with sweats underneath that
I already owned. Total cost of entry was a few hundred dollars.

It's much better with expensive top-notch gear but so is everything else. And
it's still cheaper than skiing.

Twenty years later cheap gear is radically improved and there's a much bigger
used market. And if you live near Seattle you can hitch a ride with me to
Stevens whenever.

If you don't want to pay for lift tickets you can get used split-board and
avalanche gear and take an avalanche safety class for about a one-time $1500
expense and walk up mountains for free instead, even at resorts.

------
tribeofone
My 2 cents for beginners, most of these are covered in the article:

1\. Get a flying-v or CamRock - makes turning easier and will hold an edge
better until you figure out how to carve.

2\. Don't put your feet perpendicular to the board, you want some angle, 30°
Front, 15° Back. It will make it easier to square your shoulders down the hill
and get your weight on the front of your edge.

3\. Start on a Blue slope. Seriously. I hate seeing beginners exhausting
themselves on green slopes straining to get enough speed to get on edge and
then catching the opposite edge because there is not enough slope.

~~~
grecy
I've been snowboarding for 12 years, done many 120+ day seasons, and I'm a
certified Level 2 instructor in Canada, have done the course for Level 3, need
to take the exam. (There are only 4 levels).

I don't love all your advice.

1\. Sure, marketing gimmicks are great, and you're right, it will help a
little. Learning good technique will help a lot more. Learn how to control the
edge and how to turn the board when you want to turn the board.

2\. 30 front and 15 rear is too much of a difference, which means you'll never
learn switch, and things will feel wrong when the board accidentally goes the
wrong way (beginners get this all the time). WAAAAY better to go something
like 18 front and 12 rear. i.e. it's like 15/15 duck, but then move both of
them forward 3 degrees.

CASI (Canadian Association Of Snowboard Instructors) are fine if you want to
go "forward facing" like your 30 front foot, but you have to do it all the
time if you want to pass any exams, which gets hard. It's not a good footing
to build your snowboarding career from (excuse the pun)

3\. No. Three thousand times no. Then another thousand times. (I'm not trying
to be a jerk, but you just failed your CASI Level 1 instructor exam.)

One of the biggest parts of the level 1 instructor exams is terrain selection,
for very good reason. It depends a lot on the temperature at the time, and the
snow conditions, but more often than not you do not want a blue slope for a
never-ever. Find a green slope that does NOT go off to either side. ie. you
roll a snowball down it, the snowball goes straight down the middle, it
doesn't veer off to either side.

If you go too steep, your students will be terrified of the "dead zone" when
they are between edges and pointing down the fall line, because they will
accelerate and be afraid. That's how you teach people to go top to bottom on
one edge, which is not what we want.

You MUST pick a suitable slope so the student is not afraid to actually make
turns, otherwise they'll never progress. I see this in students all the time
who say "I can snowboard" and they go down pretty fast, all the while standing
perfectly still on their heel edge.

For what it's worth, I had been snowboarding for 5 or 6 years before I took an
instructor course. Before the course I would aggressively go down all the
double-black runs on the mountain, as fast as anyone, and fell rarely. During
the Level 1 course my mind was blown, my snowboarding was torn back to square
one and I have been building on a correct foundation ever since. It's like a
whole new sport, and I fell in love with it all over again. The title of this
post caught my attention because I'm a Geek who learns and does things very
intellectually. I highly, highly recommend taking an instructor course, even
if you never intend to teach. It's the cheapest lessons from a _very_
experienced instructor you'll ever get.

~~~
ambicapter
> If you go too steep, your students will be terrified of the "dead zone" when
> they are between edges and pointing down the fall line, because they will
> accelerate and be afraid. That's how you teach people to go top to bottom on
> one edge, which is not what we want.

100% correct on this one (obviously, you're an instructor). I find the
hardest/scariest part of people learning snowboarding OR skiing is the point
in the middle of a turn when they have to face downhill and start to pick up
speed.

~~~
grecy
Absolutely, the beginner linked turns are some of the hardest in snowboarding.

Usually the trick is to get them to point and look _across_ the hill (not down
the fall line) so a) they won't get scared and b) they'll go across and make
the turn, rather than rocketing down!

------
Yizahi
As a skier who only took a beginning level instructor and then learned by
myself for multiple seasons - take as many instructor hours as you can, even
if can already ride down black slopes. Seriously, last year I took an advanced
instructor and it was a revelation. Take instructor even when you think you
don't need him and don't listen to your friends joking about it.

~~~
Spearchucker
Interesting. Been skiing since I was 3 (so my father tells me), and learnt to
snowboard 20 years ago when I was 30. I went into a shop in the Austrian Alps
(St. Johann am Pongau), hired a board and boots, found myself an instructor
and had an hours' 1:1 lesson. Never had another instructor since but got to
teach three people to 'board on Mount Baker, WA.

But for about 2 years now I've been wondering what I don't yet know that an
instructor night teach me. So I'm going to get me an instructor when I next go
in Jan.

~~~
Yizahi
As a skier I discovered that while I could ride down red slopes and struggle
down black slopes I did almost everything wrong. Wrong upper body position,
wrong body movement in turns, wrong weight balance in turns, wrong pressure
application on the ski, etc. We did some exercises with impairments too - no
hand movement or with open boot bindings to understand certain things and it
really did help.

------
ken
I like seeing guides like this for newcomers. It's pretty funny, though, to
see Architecture Astronauts try to find similarities between any two
activities, no matter how different:

"__ can resonate with the geek inside us because it has gadgets, it requires
systematic approach to our own progress and it provides a lot of satisfaction
and fun we typically find in the creative process."

Is there any human endeavor which could _not_ fill the blank here?

------
dep_b
Riding hardboots since the 90's. Lots of gear tweakers in that scene. People
treating their clothing with certain kinds of stuff they treat sails with to
not rip them to shreds when doing continuous laid down linked turns, boots
modifications for extra flexibility _, experimenting with all kinds of shapes
and materials and hours and hours of talk about edge pressure.

_ I tried Driver X boots for example. Way to rigid compared to the forward
flex of my hardboots!

~~~
grecy
I'm a softbooter who has thought about switching over because I love carving
more than any other aspect.

This guy [1] is basically my hero, and I'm slowly working towards it. My
brother just got a custom board with 290mm waist width, I'm going to get a 320
or 330mm for my size 12 feet.

[1] [https://youtu.be/cBo9bB1cXOo?t=111](https://youtu.be/cBo9bB1cXOo?t=111)

~~~
dep_b
I like Casper Carver and the Swoard guys. Casper uses mid '90's stuff like
asyms but it fits his style.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQBXNum6l_M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQBXNum6l_M)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmfUjxM_NOQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmfUjxM_NOQ)

I can link turns laid down on a good day on a good slope but it's not even
half as nice as what they do.

~~~
grecy
Yeah, that's nice, but remember that's hard boots, on a carving board, with a
forward facing stance.

The trick is doing that with soft boots!

------
woolvalley
I've found snowboarding sucks compared to skiing if your skiing in somewhat
consistently icey conditions like we have here at Tahoe. Getting kneepads
definitely made it less painful, since it's easy to trip over your toe edge
onto your knees when you turn into a groove on ice.

~~~
acconrad
> I've found snowboarding sucks compared to skiing if your skiing in somewhat
> consistently icey conditions

You should try New England :) I'd add that skiing is superior if you're doing
a lot of backcountry traversing as well. The only remedy is to either learn to
ski or get a split board (which will set you back $800+).

~~~
Analog24
While I agree that backcountry travel, in general, is easier on skis you're
going to shell out more money for an AT ski setup then you will for a
splitboard.

------
rbreve
Wear a helmet! I had some nasty falls learning!

~~~
JeremyBanks
I was going recommend also wearing a mouthguard, because I've always felt like
they reduced the head trauma I experience if I fell, but a quick literature
search indicates that their efficacy for that purpose may not be well-
validated. :/

~~~
sudosteph
I'll need to try that next time. I've had some really hard spills, and the
sound/feeling of teeth clacking together as my head (always in a helmet) hit
the ground was definitely the most disconcerting aspect of the fall.

------
bane
Lots of great comments here about snowboarding so I figured I'd provide my two
cents. I tried skiing a couple of times and ended up just not having much fun.
Eventually decided to try out snowboarding. It felt like I had gotten hit by a
car the next day.

But there was something about it that seemed promising, so I stuck with it.
The initial learning curve is _really_ steep. I was a far better skier after
far less effort at the same point than snowboarding. But after keeping at it a
few times I finally got parts of it to "click". I'm still terrible, but I
rarely fall now and can generally make it down most blue slopes without too
much fuss, something I really struggled with on skis.

It works far more of your core muscles and your quads and hamstrings that
skiing does, so it takes some time to figure out how to control all that with
the precision.

The key for me was to really understand that the board itself wasn't something
I rode on top of, but instead of was a living vessel I was part of, and that I
could twist, rotate and otherwise manipulate using movements in my legs,
subtle shifts in center of balance and core muscles. Once that started to make
sense it became much easier and I found it far easier and more rewarding that
skiing for me.

Skiing is many moving parts you have to coordinate, snowboarding is one moving
part with many subtle means of expression. It's a bit like the difference
between playing a drumkit and playing a violin if that makes sense for any
musicians.

~~~
jammur
I mean no offence, but I think a few of these opinions are probably because of
your skill level on both a snowboard and skis.

> It works far more of your core muscles and your quads and hamstrings that
> skiing does, so it takes some time to figure out how to control all that
> with the precision.

If you're skiing hard, the core and quads are fully engaged. Especially in
deep snow. In fact, I suspect that you need more engagement on skis.

> The key for me was to really understand that the board itself wasn't
> something I rode on top of, but instead of was a living vessel I was part
> of, and that I could twist, rotate and otherwise manipulate using movements
> in my legs, subtle shifts in center of balance and core muscles. Once that
> started to make sense it became much easier and I found it far easier and
> more rewarding that skiing for me.

Everything you said here about snowboarding applies to skiing, however it
takes longer for that to click on skis because there's more to coordinate.

> Skiing is many moving parts you have to coordinate, snowboarding is one
> moving part with many subtle means of expression.

I definitely agree with the sentiment of one moving part with subtle means of
expression, but when you get good at skiing, it starts to feel more like one
moving part.

This is my experience as someone who snowboarded for 15ish years before
switching to skiing a few years ago.

~~~
bane
Your comments are totally fair and I do not take any offense at all.
Appreciate the other points of view!

------
chair6
I started skiing as a kid, switched to snowboarding as a teenager, then
started skiing again now in my mid-30s. Picking up skiing again after ~20
years was a lot of fun; nice to feel like I'm learning something new again but
still know how snow feels and mountains work.

From my own experience, and watching a number of other friends, the first 2-3
days of skiing is easier than the first 2-3 days of snowboarding.

These days I'll happily ski/board most places on most mountains (in-resort, at
least) but if I'm getting into technical terrain will vastly prefer a
snowboard.. much quicker recovery time if you fall, often you can just bounce
back up w/out fully stopping. I'd argue that snowboards are more fun in the
pow as well.. skis are great for the hard-and-fast groomer days!

If you're a nerd, and you like skiing / boarding, then check out ski touring /
splitboarding. Add backcountry travel, navigation, skin track setting, & most
importantly avalanche / snow safety, and you've got a sport that is almost
endless in terms of things to learn & keep in mind while you're out and about.
And it's excellent exercise while you're at it!

------
todd8
You will fall on your butt more times than you would like the first time you
try it. Knowing this plan accordingly. Schedule your first lessons for a day
with good, firm but not hard snow, snow that is a bit like solid styrofoam.
Falling on snow like that doesn’t hurt, but beware of a fresh dusting of
flakes over hard packed icy base beneath.

I found that once you’ve learned snowboarding that it works really well on
many conditions from icy to powder, groomed and ungroomed. The trails do make
a difference though. Skiers can manage narrow trails or catwalks easily no
matter the slope. Snowboarding these tails can be difficult because boarders
need to maintain enough speed to make it though the flat spots (no poles!)
while not having much room to burn off excess speed by traversing the fall
line, especially when there are lots of skiers traveling at a modest pace with
their poles. Also moguls aren’t much fun for me on a board. Skiers have a
tighter turning radius and the resulting mogul fields end up difficult for me
on a board (I’m sure good boarders handle them just fine, but I can’t).

~~~
beezle
First, too many boarders do not wax their boards frequently enough, if at all.
It is really easy to do and unless the snow is super sticky spring stuff you
can fly by skiiers on flats and traverses (or course, know how to hold and
edge before doing that and don't pass without being sure you have room).
Catwalks, speed just not a good idea.

You really need to get out there and learn to do moguls. It will improve your
boarding considerably. Start with a lesson or two and target days you know the
bumps aren't ice boulders. Technique varies but common is always keep moving
(you'll learn to hate the skiers who stop every four turns in front of you).

------
amelius
Note:

> Skiing and snowboarding does have a reputation of being a risky sport, but
> the overall injury rate for skiers is a little lower than you may expect
> with 3 injuries per 1000 skier days. Put another way, if you ski 20 days a
> year, on average you’ll sustain an injury every 16-17 years. Snowboarders
> have a higher injury risk with a reported 4-16 injuries per 1000 snowboarder
> days.

Source: [https://www.premax.co/au/blog/recent-statistics-on-skiing-
an...](https://www.premax.co/au/blog/recent-statistics-on-skiing-and-
snowboarding-injuries)

See also:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1303417/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1303417/)

And:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2492000/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2492000/)

------
mathnmusic
This is the kind of content I come to HN for. :)

------
acconrad
I never thought I'd see a fusion of these two, but I am so happy it's here!

Snowboarding has been my connection with nature since I was a kid. When I
finished my Eagle Scout project and moved to the city, I was left with this
hole for nature that needed to be filled.

Now as an adult living in a city, my reconnection with nature is through
snowboarding. Once I started riding deep powder in Canada, Japan, and Europe,
my life changed.

There are few things in my life more awe-inspiring than a fresh pow day and
untouched trails. And until you've experienced it, it's very difficult to
describe that feeling you get when touching nature in a way few experience.

My grandfather skied until he was 89. I hope to make it that far as well.

ALSO, my first job was working in a ski shop as a kid. And I totally geek out
about snowboarding gear, so I'm happy to make recommendations to anyone here
looking for board/boots/bindings/accessories/clothing gear/backcountry
items/etc.

If you do decide to head into the backcountry, take an AIARE level 1 avalanche
course, and be sure to buy a pole, shovel, and transponder:
[http://aiare.info/providers_list.php](http://aiare.info/providers_list.php)

FINALLY, tips after reading through the whole beginner recommendation chart:

* TAKE LESSONS. LOTS OF THEM. They may be expensive, but an immersive 2/3 day lesson plan will rapidly accelerate your learning. The less you know, the more you fall. The more days you fall, the more pain you're in. Save your ass (literally) and just take as many lessons as you can afford until you're linking turns and carving down the mountain. Then take more :)

* GEARTRADE.COM - This site looks like it was made in 2002 but they have the best deals. A lot of the Backcountry.com returns get sent here, so it's basically like-new quality for a fraction of the cost.

* For a board, get a true twin. If I could go back and learn all over again, I'd learn switch as quickly as I learned regular. A twin board helps immensely.

* Boots matter probably even more than the board and bindings. If you're gonna drop cash, drop them here and in the clothes so you stay warm/dry.

* DO NOT GET STEP-IN BINDINGS. Even the 2nd gen of Burton step-ins are improved, but people still have problems with them. The ease you get (even with the Flow bindings) doesn't make up for the lack of contact/feel you get with traditional bindings. The analogy I think of is like a Tesla - yeah you could get autonomous driving capabilities, but it's just not there yet. Save your money and wait a few more years before putting all of your faith in this system.

* It's easy to get caught up in the Burton hype. Burton is a very holistic company in that they can get you a board/boots/bindings/clothes. And they're not a bad company. It's just that there are also a lot of other great companies that make stuff as well.

* Get bib pants. Even if you aren't riding pow in the backcountry, trust me. Bibs provide more freedom of movement, you never have to worry about bringing a belt or it snapping/breaking on a ride, and even if you're on a trail and you eat it, you could still get snow up your back.

* DON'T OVERSPEND ON GLOVES. Someone will try and justify Gore Tex Hestras to you. Just pick up KINCO 901 SKI MITTENS. There's a reason every ski patrol and service person wears them. They're cheap (<$20), durable as hell, and can be waterproofed with bee's wax in about 1 hour.

* Don't wear cotton. Always prefer poly base layers and down/fleece mid layers. They can be had for very cheap at the basement outlet stores (TJMaxx, Marshalls, etc).

* On that note, YMMV but if you layer properly, you basically have 0 need for an insulated jacket. That saves you money to spend higher on outer layers that focus on waterproofing. Plus you can use that uninsulated shell as a rain jacket in the sprint/summer.

* Goggles are another thing to spend up on. The last thing you want is compromised vision. Get goggles that have interchangeable lenses (I prefer the Electric EG3 for super wide visibility and easy/cheap interchangeable lenses). GET 1 FOR CLOUDY/DARK AND 1 FOR SUNNY/BRIGHT. Don't worry about mirrored lenses; if you can afford to spend up on polarized it will help in bright conditions, but for cloudy it won't matter, though generally yellow is considered the best lens color for dark conditions (superior to amber and rose).

* I highly recommend the YouTube subscriptions mentioned. SnowboardProCamp and Snowboarding Addiction are awesome instructional videos. Ryan Knapton has the best buttering technique as I've ever seen.

* Yes, buttering is a thing. And it's awesome.

~~~
beezle
Boots are very important (certainly your feet must feel good in them) but they
can't be viewed in isolation. While I think we are past the days of Herman
Munster boots, you still need to be careful to match your boot to both the
binding and board. You'll want to be able to take full advantage of your
binding while not ending up with toe or heel drag.

Board choice is also important, especially for a beginner. Worst mistake a
novice can make is getting a board that is too stiff or (and it usually goes
hand in hand) one with too large a turning radius.

Besides don't get step-ins, I would avoid Flow bindings as well. They are
convenient until they aren't :)

When buying goggles, ALWAYS BRING YOUR HELMET. If you have only one choice of
lens color (because of $) get yellow or the lightest mirrored orange/amber.
Bluebird days will be a little bright but there are usually more cloudy days
and shadows come early in the winter. Depth perception is the key.

------
gnicholas
Playing a snowboarding video game — after having gone snowboarding once — was
very helpful for me. Seeing how the avatar lifted the edges of his board while
turning helped me understand what I’d been doing wrong and made me a much
better snowboarder the second time around.

Watching YouTube videos would probably serve a similar purpose, but the
interactivity of the game made it especially useful for me (besides, YouTube
didn’t exist when I learned in the late 90s). For the record, I played 1080
Snowboarding on the Dreamcast, may it rest in peace.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1080%C2%B0_Snowboarding](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1080%C2%B0_Snowboarding)

~~~
leoalves
Last year I bought a copy of Steep for my son (he was 7). First day in our
Christmas vacation, he thought he could to a 360, just like in the video game,
he landed on his nose. We stayed for a week in the resort watching snowboard
on youtube. :)

------
ultrasounder
+1. Always wanted to learn to Ski not having been exposed to snow early on but
was told that Snowboarding is easier than Skiing for absolute beginners.
Perhaps this time i can actually get some proper lessons. Timing couldn't be
perfect!. Thanks.

~~~
jasode
_> but was told that Snowboarding is easier than Skiing for absolute
beginners._

I think the "easier" depends on the target skill level.

Skiiing is easier to achieve a _beginner_ skill level. Absolute beginners can
point their toes inward and ski "pizza wedges" down easy hills rated as
"green" within a few hours. Indeed, many skiiers including adults never leave
this stage. But upgrading the skills to _intermediate level_ requires changing
the technique to shift the body weight to the _edges_ of the skis. This shift
can take weeks.

Snowboarding learning curve is the opposite. It's harder to get going as a
beginner because you must balance on alternating _edges_ of the board to even
make the simplest basic turns. But the payoff is that you can graduate to
intermediate and advanced slopes (the blues and black rated trails) much
faster.

~~~
PascLeRasc
Would you say knowing how to skateboard makes snowboarding easier? I'm
planning on trying one of these this winter for the first time and I'm hoping
some biking/skateboarding balance transfers over.

~~~
leejo
Yes for some things, no for others. General board control, stance, balance,
body movement for some tricks, etc: skateboarding definitely helps. There are
some things that will feel unnatural at first though if you have skateboarded
for a long time:

1) You want your weight biased towards your front foot on a snowboard, when
you get competent at riding you will be doing a lot of control with the front
foot. This is the opposite to skateboarding, where leaning on the front leg
will cause you to fall over very quickly.

2) Toeside turns on a snowboard are utterly counterintuitive because there's
no real mapping to anything on a skateboard (unlike heelside which could be
considered like a fs powerslide on a skateboard) - you have to push your shins
into your boots. Maybe it's a bit like carving on a longboard, but not so
much.

The whole turning thing is the main difference - on a snowboard you use your
front foot and your edges, on a skateboard you just pivot on the trucks.

(Source: 20 years as a skateboarder, now spend about 30 days a year on the
slopes instead).

------
danr4
If you're a snowboard romantic, I HIGHLY suggest listening to the "How I built
this" podcast episode with Jake Burton, the founder of Burton snowboards.

It's an incredibly moving and honest look at the beginnings of the sport.

~~~
Phenomenit
Jake Carpenter according to apple podcast app.

~~~
krschultz
For context his full name is Jake Burton Carpenter, the company is his middle
name.

------
kenneth
This is a great in-depth guide. I wonder if there's anything like it for
skiing. I'm a life-long skier and about the only thing that seems appealing
about snowboards to me is the more comfortable boots.

------
chrisfinne
I grew up waterskiing, so when I moved to the mountains, I thought I'd pick up
snow skiing easily.

I did o.k., but after a few years I still hadn't gotten that "flow".

After a few years of skiing, I tried boarding and got "flow" the second day
when there was 12 inches of fresh pow, even though I still sucked at it.

Immediately switched and haven't looked back. Several years later, it dawned
on me that waterskiing is done on a single ski, so it is much closer to
snowboarding. Your feet are just at a different angle. Seems obvious in
hindsight.

~~~
paulcole
> it dawned on me that waterskiing is done on a single ski

Isn't waterskiing on a single ski called wakeboarding? Where I grew up in
Florida plenty of people waterskiied on 2 skis.

~~~
chrisfinne
You learn on 2, then move to 1 aka slalom as you have far more manuverability.

Wakeboards and skurfers (if those are still around) are wider than a slalom
ski and don't have both feet facing forward. They are closer to a snowboard.

But I find the most fun behind a boat is on a regular surfboard.

------
fitzroy
After having a titanium plate surgically attached to my wrist, I heartily
recommend sitting in the lodge by the fireplace and playing Alto’s Adventure
instead.

------
yters
My main tip is to get good at falling without hurting yourself, which mostly
means don't stand up too straight. Stay a bit crouched, even when going
straight. Then, if you do catch an edge, you won't get quite the body slam,
and it'll be easier to get up and try again. The downside is this will burn
out your quads.

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chickenbane
Surprised such a comprehensive guide for geeks didn't get into bluetooth
headphones! As a rider for a few years now, I've had good luck with the
headphone inserts which fit into most helmets. Riding with your favorite music
truly feels like playing the best of games and sports combined.

~~~
NickNameNick
How many seasons do those things last? I thought about buying some, but the i
felt like the batteries would die over summer, and I'd be lucky to get more
than one season out of them.

~~~
gigantor
The Chips Helmet Audio has lasted me over 8 seasons and going strong. I don't
maintain the batteries (I believe they should be stored with a 75% charge
during off season) and still get enoigh charge for 2 full days of riding.

~~~
NickNameNick
Might have to get some. Thanks!

------
JshWright
I don't know the first thing about snowboarding (despite living in one of the
snowiest cities in the US), but this seems like a fantastic guide. Hits just
the right level of detail to get you started without being totally
overwhelming. Does anyone know of similar guides for other hobbies?

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dominotw
Is there an equivalent for skiing?

~~~
jonkiddy
If you fine one, I'm very interested. Please share.

This article has great content! But at best I'm amateur skier not a
snowboarder.

~~~
phillc73
There is so much to geek out on with skiing, probably much like anything new.

A few years ago I moved to Austria. Last year my young son wanted to start
skiing, so in my mid-40s I'm also learning.

The amount of time I researched which skis and boots to buy would easily be
above 40 hours. Then searching the Internet for the best bargains again added
more time.

Pretty much after just one season, I'm now into waxing my own skis. Another
total geek activity. So many different waxes for different conditions.

Then watching the weather and trying to figure out where the best snow will be
for next weekend, that has to qualify as geek.

------
pjmlp
I got my passion for snowboard with 26. I got to get myself busy somehow
during Winter time on the Swiss/French Alps.

However nowadays I seldom do it, as I fear to suffer a 2nd injury and recovery
from the first one wasn't that fun.

------
aaronmu
Yes! Go snowboarding! You'll never be as good as the guys in the videos but
you'll definitely be able to feel what they feel! Super fun!

------
figers
Wish they had the same article for skiing!

------
jim-greer
+1 for heat fitted boots. If you find that your feet are hurting, fit is key.

------
ratsimihah
How it is targeting geeks in particular?

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booleanbetrayal
Would be nice to be able to get my carve somewhat close to Knapton's at some
point in my existence.

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searine
I have snowboarded for 20 years.

Wear a helmet.

Seriously WEAR A HELMET.

~~~
beezle
Its funny but the way I tell western riders is they rarely wear helmets.

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calmnature1
TL;DR As a former instructor and full-time programmer:

1 Get a lesson. Keep your knees bent, lead your turns with your arm and front
knee.

2 Blues are easier to learn on then greens because the pitch helps you stay
up. I have gotten overweight / out of shape older guys from LA, that have
never even seen snow, to be confident riders in a day using this trick and the
'falling leaf' method.

3 The first two days will be painful generally, stick with it because once it
'clicks' you will have so much fun!

~~~
beezle
I'm not a certified instructor but have taken out many a novice the past 20
years. I'm not fond of the 'lead with your arm' point as I've seen way too
many beginners with arms flopping all over the place and instead prefer arms
and hands kept quietly at the sides. If they get into high speed or euro-style
carving, then yes arm positioning is more in play.

------
mixmastamyk
Snowboarding is an ass-buster. Someone needs to invent an air bag for the
rear.

~~~
kemiller2002
They have them actually. Well, not the air bag, but they have pants with
padding. My friend cracked his tailbone riding, and I said, "screw that" and
spent the money on Demon FlexForce pants. Best money I ever spent (well
outside of the helmet).

~~~
mixmastamyk
Yes! an ass-helmet.

------
dalex00
Anyone have a similar guide for skiing?

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e-m-p
This is an awesome guide!

