anybody done snowboarding before?

[Neiltdi]

me and friend are thinking of going in january / february can anyone recommend a place to go for beginners?

[andrewparker]

In France I'd do Risoul or Les Arcs, or if you have a big budget Whistler Blackcomb in Canada. I ski but I've been snowboarding in all those places, all are highly recommended.

[Tortaruga]

I went for my first time to Andorra. Cheap and cheerful - not the best in the world, but for a beginner it was fine.

I wouldn't spend a fortune on your first trip - it's a love it or hate it activity. Some of the lads I went with never went again as they didn't really enjoy it, others got hooked. If you fall into the latter category you'll be annoyed about wasting a fortune on it. Remember to factor in lift pass/board hire costs too.

[gulfstream11]

Nevis range is great when it dumps... Went to Tahoe last christmas,it never snowed but the yanks are clever with the man made stuff.Nephew tried Westendorf this year,awesome he says.
As said above dont forget to factor in the xtras.

[Upperoilcan]

Take a look at Val D'Isere...

A fantastic resort with something for everybody.

The Apres ski is excellent,i have been there a good few times and will go back for another few as well.

But that said if you can afford to get to Whistler in Canada go there as the place is off the hook,simply amazing on every level.

[Eccie]

My 9 yr. old son has just done 3 days at the Chill Factor in Manchester over half term - it was a great introduction to the snow for a beginner. You might want to consider doing something similar to get the most out of your first week - it'll get you use to the basics

[Baz300]

Scotland!

Can either drive up or get a flight to Aberdeen where both the cairgorms and the lecht ski centers are a couple of hours away if you hire a car.


There is quite a few places where you can hire log cabins near the cairgorms and plenty of hotels too

[majinvash]

I have done 4 seasons snowboarding now and skied since I was 6 :)

For your first trip you just want to go somewhere REALLY cheap with snow.. You will probably spend the first 3 days on the bunny slopes and then probably not progress much pass a few blue runs ( Its goes Baby/Green,Blue,Red,Black most places in Europe ), so going to a premier resort is a waste of your money.

I would recommend Borovets in Bulgaria

http://www.bulgariaski.com/borovets/index.shtml

Or Livigno in Italy

http://www.livignoitaly.com

Both are nice cheap basic beginner resorts and usually have decent snowfall.

Your gear can also make or break the holiday, so make sure you have decent Googles and Gloves.

Get someone who knows about boots to fit yours.. They should be tight but not uncomfortably so. You should be able to feel the end of the boot with your toes when you stand up and when your bend your knees flex forwards this should go away. Most importantly, you should have little to no heel life when your flex and lean forwards.. If you do, the boots suck! And you will not be able to board properly in them.

When it comes to boards.. I would go for a shorter board than what is usually recommend for your height to start on, they are easier to turn and usually a little more forgiving. You will be a little more unstable at speed but it will most likely take you a while to get to a speed where that matters. Also setup your stance a little wider than is recommended by shops as this will make you more stable and lower your center of balance. I would start as your mean to go on with a +- 15' setup ( Duck ) and on the heels give them a tiny bit of forward lean to force you to keep your knees bent..

But most importantly get private lessons .. You only need a couple of days but group stuff is a usually a waste of time and you will waste your first holiday not progressing and getting bored.

Alternately goto Hemel or MK snowdome before hand and do a few lessons there.

Boarding is cake if you get someone to teach you, if you have a bad instructor or try to pick it up you could have a very bad time.
I have taught people who have had weeks of group lessons to board properly in a day.

Best hint I can give you is keep low and your knees bent.. When you feel a bit sketchy you will instinctively stand up, you will then catch an edge and fall.
When you feel a bit nervous or out of control.. Sink down, lean on an edge ( Your heels will feel more Natural ) and you will find the board stops quickly.. You might still fall .. but if you stand up.. YOU WILL FALL.. Every time!

Anything just shout

I have 2 snowboards, some size 9.5 and 10 boots and some bindings for Sale if your are interested. I got pretty much as new set of brown Burton bottoms in the cupboard too.

Annoying I have very few photos of me boarding.




Mat

[Neiltdi]

Thanks for all the great tips! Me and a friend are going to go to mk to get the feel for it first , i used to skateboard so hopefully that will help a little although i can imagine it will be completely different on snow.

Matt where abouts are you located? I could be interested in the boots and bindings but wouldnt want to buy them and they not fit as my shoe size can vary in different shoes let alone some boots , i would be interested in the size 10's

[majinvash]

Hi

I am Fareham Based.

Cheers

Mat

[Neiltdi]

Ooo i live on hayling island so only 15 mins ish from yours , would it be okay to try them for size ? Also how much would you like for them?

[R32UK]

I went for my first time to Andorra. Cheap and cheerful - not the best in the world, but for a beginner it was fine.

I wouldn't spend a fortune on your first trip - it's a love it or hate it activity. Some of the lads I went with never went again as they didn't really enjoy it, others got hooked. If you fall into the latter category you'll be annoyed about wasting a fortune on it. Remember to factor in lift pass/board hire costs too.

+1 first time i went was to andorra also.

great powder and lots of good runs for a beginner. try the sport hotel in soldeu (i think it was called)

[majinvash]

Hi

Yep no drama I should be around this weekend,

First set

Last years 11/12 Thirtytwo TM-Two Size 10 used for about 4 weeks and pretty much as new. £110



Year before 10/11 Thirtytwo Lashed again used for about 4 weeks £100 again pretty much like new.



Finally this board would be perfect for you. It is such a good learning board and you can still shred on it.

£200

[jedi-knight83]

Im in my 12th season now and well over 20 trips. Love it. Got a trip planned for jan already. Normally try to get away 2-3 times a season.

From my experience I'd avoid bulgaria and especially borrovets. Terrible resort, terrible runs / piste. Not fun at all unless you just want a cheap piss up all week.

I'd also not suggest going to america / canada for your first trip. I've done a bit there and compared to europe I  dont rate it at all and especially with the extra time / expense of getting there.

Andorra is a good starter place. We stayed in canillo. The whole resort is well linked and there was a good mix of runs of different abilities. Mayrhofen and st anton in austria have good learner slopes too. 3valleys is a great place.

If you've never done it before though trust me you will spend most of your first week on your arse or your knees and will feel pretty demoralised as you wont be able to get anywhere you want on the mountain

Get to a snow dome in the uk, hemel or mk are good but i think there are others dotted around. Do the board in a day lesson. It will teach you the basics and get you to the point where you can carve. Well worth it and will save you 2-3 days mucking about in the resort.

[majinvash]

Hi

Where in the US did you go?

I did my season this year in Salt Lake UTAH .. And in the 4 months I was there did 8 of the 15 resorts.. Also visited Breck for a long weekend.

I LOVE the US .. Such a huge variety of runs and very different to Europe. It was a very dry year and we still had several dumps of 6-8' in a night.. and they class that as a bad year.

One of the runs in Bird is called Rats Nest. You get to it by lowering yourself over rocks on a rope.. And that is a listed run haha .

Did a season working in Whistler ( Canada ) and did a few weeks in Banff . When they have snow.. Wow Amazing.. Whistler is super good!

The trip over is long but when you get there its totally worth it. I am actually heading back to Salt Lake for 2 weeks in December.


Europe can be very very hit and miss with snow, the last 2 years especially.

I have only ever had Powder Fun times in Burrovets and been about 3 times. ( Lucky I guess )