Snowboarding for First Timers

I went snowboarding for the first time EVER recently and it was so much fun, but also painful! I went to The Summit at Snoqualmie and booked a 1 Day Beginner lesson that was just shy of two-hours for $139. It may seem kind of a steep price to pay, but what was nice is that after your lesson is over you can still use your gear and snowboard up until the resort closes. If you’re like me and have never been snowboarding here are a few things I learned and some tips:

1. Be sure to wear WATERPROOF snow pants, you’ll be falling a lot and the last thing you’ll want is a wet, soggy behind. I got my pants from Amazon and they were super inexpensive.
2. Gloves, don’t forget to take a pair! I was told to buy waterproof ones as well, but my cloth ones were just fine.
3. You can snowboard with or without snow goggles. When I went it was a pretty clear and sunny day, so I didn’t need to wear the actual goggles I took with me. I imagine if it’s windy and snowing you’ll want to use them. Keep in mind the resort doesn’t rent these out, so you’ll need your own.
4. The first thing our instructor showed us was how to fall properly. When we are about to fall our usual response is to catch ourselves by placing our hands down, but that could cause us to hurt our wrist. Instead you are shown how to fall forward and land on your knees. If you’re falling backwards, you’re told to kick up your feet and keep your arms crossed in front of you so you don’t hurt your head.
5. You’ll be taught how to stop the board whether forward or back, and how to turn.  
6. Make sure that your feet are securely snugged onto the snowboard. The majority of your movement on the board comes from your legs.
7. When going down a small hill it’s ok to lean forward a bit, but when you’re going down a larger hill make sure you’re leaning back or else you’re going to eat it, hard.
8. Be prepared to feel sore for next couple of days, depending on how long you board for and how many times gravity fails you. I recommend taking a nice hot shower after and some IcyHot to help with the soreness.
9. Snowboarding is harder than it looks.

So, if this sounds like something you want to try check out The Summit, they are open until April. It’s only an hour away and the ride over is super nice as you enter the snow-covered mountains. They also offer skiing lessons, snow tubing and snowshoeing. Lastly, did I mention there’s a Pancake House and Lounge less than a mile away serving up some good banana pancakes!

• snowboarding