After being hassled by some of my mates for the last couple of years, I’ve finally gone snowboarding for the first time. Not wanting to do things by halves, I’m in Whistler, near Vancouver, for a fortnight. Whistler is (apparently) one of the best snow resorts in the world – I’ve got nothing to compare it with since I’ve never been skiing either. The weather’s been great and the views are stunning.
I’ve just finished 3 days taking the Burton Learn to Ride course. Its a little pricey but was definitely worth it. The instructors were all knowledgable and friendly, and I was linking turns on my second day. The LTR board mentioned on the website didn’t make an appearance – I started out straight on a Burton Cruzer but that seemed friendly enough.
The problem with the learner board though happened to me at the end of day 2. My instructor that day was so impressed with our improvements (well, that’s what he said anyway) that we rode down the hill from the learning area. Just as I got into a blue run, my left foot ‘stepped-out’ of its binding. This left me accelerating down the hill on my back with my right foot flailing behind me still attached to the board. It was probably a comedy sight to behold but somewhat disconcerting for my 2nd day. Day 3 started with me ditching the step-in board and upgrading to a Burton Custom (with strap-in bindings) – a lot less forgiving but at least I felt more confident that both feet were going to going to remain in close proximity to the board.
Its been fun so far – I don’t think I’m going to be pulling off 540’s before I leave but you never know. đŸ˜‰
Mike Roberts