Dave Ray - Backflip Indy

I just got back from a trip to Les Deux Alpes, France. We went summer shredding for the weekend. It was my first taste of summer shredding.

In this post I’m going to give you a taste of what it’s like to snowboard on a glacier during the summer, and tell you about the park in Les Deux Alpes.

Lowdown

Here are my costs:

• Return Flight to Stuttgart from London Heathrow (to meet friend, then drive) = £171
• Petrol = 60 Euros
• Accommodation = 70 Euros (35 per night half board) in Hotel Le Cairn
• Lift ticket = 66 Euros (with insurance)

Around £300 total (not including spending money). For 2 days snowboarding?… am I crazy? er, yeah.

Times

The lifts run from 8am – 1pm. It closes early to retain the shape of the features. This is more than enough time to get tired if you get up early.

The great thing is that you can ride in the morning, and then you get the rest of the afternoon to swim, hike, skateboard etc.

Doesn’t make sense

Waking on Saturday morning to clear skies in the valley with a temperature of about 10 degrees C, doesn’t make you think that it’s even possible to go snowboarding – let alone be only twenty minutes away from one of the best parks I’ve ever ridden.

Up at 7am, breakfast, head to the gondola station – in what seems like impossibly warm temperatures for snowboarding. The excitement and expectation had me behaving like a 6 year old child on Christmas morning. 3 months without riding is far too long.

A long way up

The gondola ride up to the glacier at 3200m is long, especially when you’re as excited as I am. It takes about 20mins. Mountain peaks lay as far as the eye can see. I feel like a child again.

Below the lift the main focus is mountain bike tracks that slither like angry snakes across the hillside. Some of them look far too steep to be rideable.

The sun is shining and my excitement building.

First impressions

The second stop that the gondola makes is its final one. You get your first view of the glacier and my first view of real snow in 3 months. It seems far too warm for snowboarding.

T-Bar

The melee of people waiting for the first T-bar is a mixture of ski racers in speed suits and “I’m far too cool to talk to you” snowboarders and skiers. I actually feel quite intimidated by the level of “cool”.

The T-bar ride up is icy and fast, which would be extremely difficult for a beginner. The run up is rutted and some of it is pure ice, not such a great intro for snowboard starved legs.

Note: They can’t put chair lifts on the glacier because the ice is constantly moving – making it impossible to lay foundations.

The park

I had one destination in mind: Jumps.

When I reached the top I headed straight for the “advanced” jumps (which to be honest aren’t that advanced). I strapped in and the session began.

Sunshine, sick park, good snow, life is good…

Beginners

The “beginner” section is quite limited. You only have four very small jumps and a couple of small rails. These are serviced by their own T-bar, which requires you to carry lots of speed to make it to the entry point. Beginners will find themselves walking or skating around the bottom of the lift. The good thing about the T-bar is that you can jump off half way, meaning that you can make quick laps. The other downside is that the “expert” section is serviced by the same lift, which means that people are far too “cool” to have to wait in line.

Intermediates

The park is absolutely perfect for intermediates. You should already have a good grasp of riding T-bars and there is a wide variety of features that aren’t too “balls to the wall”.

The “advanced” section is actually “intermediate”. You have a great selection of rails, boxes, bonks and jibs. It’s a veritable playground. The jumps are set up in two lines of four jumps in a row. The right hand line is smaller than the left. The right ones are around 5-10 feet, the right ones about 10-15 feet. I had a lot of fun riding these, and they are perfect for practicing inverts (if that’s what you want to try).

Advanced

You’re not going to be disappointed. The intermediate section is also interspersed with more difficult features. Some of them look a little scary for my liking. You’d have to have good motivation to hit those features (e.g. filming a video or training hard).

The advanced jumps have really long steep run-ins – which are a good thing – for when the snow gets soft towards lunch time.

The verdict

Super sickness. Well worth the trek and the cash. I would go for longer than a couple of days though (if you can). It’s an expensive trip, but if you love riding park then it’s perfect for learning new tricks when the snow softens. I landed my first ever backside rodeo 540! So stoked (story coming soon).

Author of this post: (click to befriend me on facebook)

Related posts:

1. 5 Tips To Snowboarding With Control In Spring Slush
2. How To Improve Your Switch Snowboarding During The Summer
3. The Seasonal Life – Dream Or A Nightmare

Maybe you’re a snow-bi-curious skier that wants to try snowboarding, or maybe you’ve never tried snowboarding, well this is the post for you.

I’m going to show you:

• Why you should go snowboarding
• What equipment you will need
• The different places that you can learn
• The different types of lessons
• How much it will cost

Why you should go snowboarding

Maybe you’re looking to try a completely new sport, or you’re a skier who fancies “turning to the darkside”. Well snowboarding is an excellent choice to make.

• It’s fun
• It keeps you fit
• It makes you look cool (sometimes)
• Members of the opposite sex (or maybe the same sex) will instantly become more attracted to you.

Sliding on frozen water – with your feet strapped to a piece of wood – can be one of the most exhilarating things that you will ever do, but be warned, it’s extremely addictive.

Yes, it can be dangerous, but driving is quite dangerous, walking down a city street at night is quite dangerous, hell, crossing the street is quite dangerous. But with the right equipment, and the right instruction you can minimise the risk to just a fraction + the risk is part of what makes it so exciting.

What equipment you will need

Compared to many sports, snowboarding involves quite a lot of equipment. You don’t need to have your own equipment to learn, in fact, it’s advisable not to buy equipment until you:

A: know that you like snowboarding

B: have some understanding of what you’re buying.

When I first started I spent a lot of money on equipment that was completely wrong for me. I bought the most expensive stuff and assumed that would be the best. It’s much more important to select equipment that’s the correct size and fit for you. As an absolute beginner you are likely to spend a lot of money and regret it later. So avoid doing that.

You can hire or borrow most equipment for your first lesson/s, or first trip to the mountains. You can also pick up really cheap clothes at outlet stores.

Here is a list of all the equipment needed to snowboard (in order of importance):

• Boots (the correct fit makes a big difference)
• Snowboard
• Bindings
• Helmet (highly advisable)
• Goggles (eye protection is super important in the mountains)
• Gloves
• Pants
• Jacket
• Hat (you lose a lot of heat through your head)

Here is some stuff that will help make it a less painful experience:

• Butt pads
• Wrist guards (highly advisable)
• Knee guards

Because your feet are strapped to the board, when you fall, you will either land on your butt, your knees, or your wrists. Wearing protective gear helps minimise the risk of injury.

Will you get hurt

Snowboarding does involve some risk, you could potentially get hurt. But as I said above, the right equipment and good instruction greatly reduces the risk. The most common injuries are broken wrists and bruised tail bones. This can be easily avoided by wearing wrist guards and butt pads.

Note: wearing wrist guards and butt pads is highly advisable when learning to snowboard!

Places to learn

Depending on where you live, you have a choice of places to learn:

• Dryslope – This is the cheapest way to learn. It is a carpet slope that can be ridden on all year. They are usually built in countries that have few (or no) mountains (e.g. England). Dryslopes create far more friction than real snow, so it is therefore harder to learn on, and hurts more to fall on. If you do learn on dryslope however (like I did), the switch to real snow will be easy.
• Indoor slope – This is the second most expensive way to learn. It is essentially a big refrigerator where they make real snow (using pressurised water jets). The slopes are relatively short (around 100-200metres) compared to the real thing. The snow is virtually the same as real snow, the plus side being that the environment is a little more controlled. This can make it easier as a beginner, because the slopes are generally less crowded.
• Mountain resort – This is the most expensive way to learn. The cost of Lift tickets, parking, flights (if you need to travel) etc. can add up. If you are going to travel to a mountain resort as a beginner, it is advisable to get some lessons on an indoor slope or dryslope before you go. This will maximise the value that you will get out of your holiday.

Types of lessons

There are a few different types of lesson that you can take as a beginner, some cost much more than others. Here is a list:

• Big group lesson (up to 15 people) – I would try to avoid big group lessons if you can. You get very little value as a student. Classes should be maximum of 6 students (in my opinion). But it is the cheapest way if you just want a taste of the sport. Note: this type of class isn’t likely to give you a good experience. You can get these lessons for as little as $40 (approx) in the US. They can be around 60 Euros in Europe, but they tend to not offer single day lessons, whereas in the US it is very common to have 2-3 hour beginner lessons.
• Small group lesson (2-6 people) – This is the type of lesson that provides the best value. You get more personal tuition, but without the high price of private tuition. A 3 day small group lesson in Europe costs around 130 Euros for 3 days. Equipment hire will be a little more. In the US it will cost around $100 for the day, but this can include equipment and lift ticket.
• Private tuition (one on one coaching or a private group of your choosing) – You’re basically hiring an instructor for a specified amount of time. This is the most expensive option. In the US a private lesson for 3 hours may cost around $300 just for the instructor. You will then need to hire equipment and buy lift tickets. In Europe it will cost around 200 Euros. This type of lesson isn’t worth the price in my opinion, unless money isn’t an issue for you.

How much will a snowboard trip cost?

This is quite a difficult question to answer. The short answer is that snowboarding isn’t cheap. It does however provide a massive amount of value (i.e. it’s **** loads of fun).

Costs will vary greatly depending on:

• How far you have to travel (e.g. flights, transfers, car journey, lift tickets)
• Which type of slope you will learn on (i.e. dryslope, indoor, mountain resort)
• Will you need accommodation etc.

If you live in country close to mountains, then hats off to you, you lucky buggers. It will keep the cost down dramatically. You can just hop into the car and drive to a mountain in a couple of hours (you Americans make me sick!). If, like the rest of us mere mortals, you live in country with no mountains (c’mon all you brits), you may have to fly to another country, which will obviously cost a lot more.

Here are some examples of costs:

1 day lift ticket at a mountain resort:

• USA = $60+
• Europe = 40+ Euros

Lesson at a mountain resort (group lesson)

• USA = $20+ (equipment rental will be more)
• Europe = 60+ Euros (equipment rental will be more)

How difficult is learning to snowboard?

Difficulty depends on how much balancing you have done in your life. If you’re not sporty and have never balanced on anything, it will be harder than it will for someone who plays a lot of sport and has well developed balance muscles.

As a general rule – to learn the basics – it will take:

• 1-2 days – someone who has well developed balance muscles.
• 2-5 days – someone who needs to learn to balance.

Harder or easier than skiing?

Here is a quote that I have been told throughout my teaching career:

“Snowboarding is harder to learn, but easier to master. Skiing is easier to learn, but harder to master”

I won’t get into the how or why of it, but just trust me that the above statement is true in 99% of cases.

The verdict

Lesson ­- Definitely take lessons, unless you want to learn lots of bad habits. In my experience 2 hour beginner lessons are useless, not worth the effort. Private lessons are massively overpriced. Small group lessons provide the best value, although not many ski schools offer this option.

Equipment – Hire equipment for your first few trips, unless you have knowledgeable friends who can help you buy the right stuff.

Costs (for lessons, equipment and lift tickets) – Budget for around $60-100 per day in US, 50-80 Euros per day in Europe.

Time – give yourself 3-5 days to learn. You won’t get the full experience unless you get over the initial hump.

Remember:

“Snowboarding is harder to learn, but easier to master. Skiing is easier to learn, but harder to master”

And don’t forget to have fun.

Author of this post: (click to befriend me on facebook)

Related posts:

1. Making the Switch from Surfing to Snowboarding
2. Steal Your Share Of The Pot: 3 Steps For Snowboard Instructors To Get More Request Private Lessons
3. Fresh Meat – 10 Tips For Your First Season Instructing

This article will give you a greater understanding of how a snowboard turns and why the sidecut is such an important advancement.

When you look at snowboard stats you will see two measurements: sidecut depth and sidecut radius.

I’m going to show you:

• Why the sidecut is so important
• What it does to assist the rider in turning
• What the sidecut measurements (depth and radius) actually mean.

What is the sidecut?

Snowboard edges aren’t just straight pieces of metal. They bend inwards towards the centre of the board and this is what gives the snowboard an “hour glass” shape (see diagram below).

Sidecut

What does the sidecut do?

The sidecut is what gives the board the ability to turn quickly when the edge contacts the snow. Without the sidecut, the board would barely turn at all.

Two important measurements

As I explained above, the two most important measurements you will see on board stats are sidecut depth and sidecut radius.

1.      Sidecut depth

The sidecut depth is measured in millimetres. It measures the amount that the edges bend inwards towards the centre of the board (the “hour glass” shape).

To illustrate (see diagram below):

• The Rome Riff 155cm has a nose and tail that are 301.6mm wide.
• The sidecut depth is 20.8mm.
• 20.8mm (sidecut depth) multiplied by two = 41.6mm (total sidecut depth of both edges).
• You then take this 41.6mm away from the 301.6mm and you get the waist width (width at the centre of the board) of 260mm.

Sidecut Depth

2.      Sidecut radius (also referred to as turn radius)

The sidecut radius is a measurement of the radius of an imaginary circle that the edge would draw in the snow. It is measured in metres. It is also referred to as turn radius.

To illustrate (see diagram below):

• The Rome Riff 155cm has a sidecut radius of 7.96 metres
• This means that the radius of the imaginary circle the edge would draw in the snow is 7.96m

Sidecut Radius

Sidecut radius (or turn radius) Vs sidecut depth???

So, you should be quite confused by now, but bear with me. I will now explain how the two measurements interrelate.

• The greater the sidecut depth, the shorter the sidecut radius, which means that the board will make shorter, tight turns.
• The shallower the sidecut depth, the longer the sidecut radius, which means that the board will make longer, wider turns.

Sidecut Depth Vs Sidecut Radius

Freestyle boards have a deeper sidecut than racing boards. This is because you need to make more short turns in the park, whereas you make longer fast turns whilst racing.

Sidecut radius (turn radius) Vs board length

The sidecut radius increases as the board length increases. If two boards have the same sidecut depth, but one is longer than the other, the longer board will have a longer radius.

To put it simply: the longer the board, the longer the turn radius.

What does this all mean when choosing a board?

I wouldn’t worry so much about how this affects choosing a board to buy. The measurements of length and width, and the style of the board are far more important.

You can also affect the turn radius

The sidecut isn’t the only thing that makes a snowboard turn, it merely assists the turn. The rider can also affect the turn radius by the movements that he/she makes.
Author of this post: (click to befriend me on facebook)

Related posts:

1. How To Choose The Right Length Snowboard
2. Which Style Of Snowboard Should You Choose?
3. How To Choose The Right Width Snowboard

I got an email from a reader recently that wanted to know how difficult it is to transition was from surfing to snowboarding. I thought that it would make a good subject for a post. I’ve not been writing much recently so it’s also a good opportunity to get my fingers typing again.

I’m going to show you the differences in technique and some important considerations when making the switch.

I’ve taught a lot of people to snowboard that surf and I’ve also tried surfing. I’m pretty bad at surfing though, It’s hard!

Different sports

Let’s jump straight into the differences between the two sports. Obviously snowboarding is on the snow and surfing is in the sea.

I personally think that surfing is much harder to learn than snowboarding. Not so much the basics of standing up on a surfboard, but due to the fact that you have to paddle out, find a break point, navigate through the traffic, paddle for a wave, not drop in on someone else, get the right position, paddle paddle, snap, stand, fall… Well, at least that’s my experience of surfing anyway. It’s quite easy in the white wash when there isn’t much pressure to stand up quickly, but on proper waves it’s a whole different ball game.

The snow is relatively consistent compared to the sea and there is usually a lot less traffic to avoid. It seems that surfers are very territorial and surf spots crowded, at least all the places I’ve seen are. This makes surfing very intimidating for the beginner. Snowboarding is a lot friendlier for the newbie and beginner terrain (generally) less crowded.

Harder or easier?

You’ll be pleased to know that making the jump to snowboarding should feel relatively easy. I think that saying that it’s harder or easier overall doesn’t really matter, there are a few differences to consider listed below.

Here are 5 things that you will find easier about snowboarding:

1. The snow is relatively consistent
2. The board is strapped to you
3. You can catch a lift to the top
4. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to stand up
5. It’s much less physically demanding

Here are 5 things that you will find harder about snowboarding:

1. Falling hurts a lot more as a beginner
2. You can definitely break bones on your first day
3. You can’t jump off a snowboard
4. It can be extremely cold
5. Equipment is more complicated to set up

Back foot vs front foot

In surfing, the tail of the surfboard is the main part of the board that stays in contact with the water. A snowboard has lots more points of contact with the snow. This means that when you are surfing you will turn by pivoting around your back foot by using your shoulders. This technique doesn’t work so well on a snowboard. The correct technique is to shift your weight to the front foot at the start of a turn and make the edge grip the snow, this causes you to turn. Most surfers struggle at the beginning to get over this difference in technique, but having said that, they find it a lot easier than someone who has never participated in a board sport. Wakeboarders also encounter the same issue.

Balance

It takes a lot of balance to be able to surf. This means that you will have well developed balance muscles. These will help you find your balance on a snowboard relatively quickly compared to someone who hasn’t done any balancing sports.

Co-ordination

It takes a lot of co-ordination to be able to surf. This co-ordination is going to steepen your learning curve on a snowboard.

Strength

Surfing is incredibly physically demanding. It develops your legs probably about the same amount as snowboarding, although maybe slightly less. Surfing will develop your upper body considerably more than snowboarding. The only thing you use your arms for in snowboarding is grabs, standing up, and hand plants (obviously not as a complete beginner).  When I get back from a winter season my arms are puny.

Making the switch

I would advise getting some lessons when you first learn to snowboard. It will make your learning curve steeper and less painful. I have seen surfers that learn to turn in a couple of hours, whereas it may take most people 1-3 days. Every person I’ve ever taught that surfs (and not just says that they surf) has learnt to turn within a day, much much faster than the average Joe.

If you are a surfer that fancies giving snowboarding a go then go for it. You can spend the winters shredding the snow and summers shredding the surf.

One more thing

The good news is that snowboarding in powder requires you to keep the nose of the board out of the snow, which is where snowboarding becomes most like surfing (at least as a beginner powder rider).  Riding powder is arguably the most fun thing about snowboarding.

Author of this post: (click to befriend me on facebook)

Related posts:

1. 10 Ways To Improve Your Snowboarding When There Is No Snow
2. How To Improve Your Switch Snowboarding During The Summer
3. How To Choose The Right Length Snowboard