My first time snowboarding

My first time snowboarding! Coming from a place like Mexico City, this snowboarding thing is completely new to me, but I knew I wanted to try it out as soon as I got to Vancouver.

First of all, it is known that winters in Canada are long and cold, so what better way to really get into the VanCity mood than doing some winter cool AF sport like snowboarding!

But where to start? Well, I saw an Instagram story of a friend of mine snowboarding so I text her and got to go with her the first time, so in the meantime I had to google everything I could and learn some other in the hard way. Here’s some piece if advice from a beginner.

 

Rent!

 

If this is your first time snowboarding ever, I totally recommend you to rent your equipment before going all crazy excited and start buying a super cool snowboard, boots and everything else.

Because if by any chance you’re not into it at all… you will have spent a lot of money, and believe me it’s not worth it.

And that way you can get a very precise idea of the size of the board you’ve got to use, try some boots that fit perfectly and check everything out.

In Grouse Mountain, which is where I went to, you can rent a snowboard, a helmet and a pair of boots on their website.

But because of stupid Covid, they are not renting any snow pants and jackets, nor googles for the moment, hopefully that’ll end soon.

For the meantime, you can check out places like Sports Junkies where you can find really cheap, used snowboarding clothing and even rent some gear in there, or if you have a friend that can lend you some of his/her gear that works too.

For your first time snowboarding, they will probably ask you if you are “Goofy” (right foot) or “Regular” (left foot).

That means what’s your lead foot, if you have no idea assume you are kicking a soccer ball, the foot you plant to the ground is the one you want in front as your leading foot.

Check this website to understand more about this topic

 

Go light

 

If you have the opportunity to get there by car, leave all unnecessary things there, it’s so much easier just to go up ready than carry all your stuff, just bring your pass, phone, and some money, all in the pockets of your jacket.

In my case, I get by bus, so, I try to be as light as possible.

Although there are lockers in the place to store your things, they are quite small (they cost around $3) so I arrive all set up prefer to just bring a small bag pack to change my shoes, and that’s it.

Watch videos

 

Even though I had never ever been in a ski resort, I had an idea of what to expect because I started watching a lot of YouTube videos and that helped me a lot to know things that might sound obvious but as a beginner they are not.

I totally recommend you to do that. I learned about my stance, how to ride the chairlift (in theory of course) or how to even wear my gear properly. In this way, I arrived more confident and had a better time, without wasting time in frustration.

Here are some YouTube channels I liked:

https://www.youtube.com/user/SnowboardProCamp

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYP5odSAk03dCUKSx8NePSQ

https://www.youtube.com/user/thetmbuck2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF2lf5RGCOw&feature=emb_logo

 

Layers

First Layer

Until you are on the mountain you really realize how cold and how much you sweat when you start this sport. That is why it is very important to know what kind of clothes to wear.

Layers are basic. For me, the most important thing was to know that the first layer should be made of polyester or merino material, never cotton, because when it gets wet it gets cold and will make you freeze.

Middle layers

Then I recommend a light jacket and finally a waterproof jacket and pants.  Both parts are equally important, I repeat, jacket and pants!

Accesories

Another vital accessory is your waterproof gloves as well, don’t skimp on this, it depends on this that you don’t have a bad time.

Oh, and last but not least, WEAR A HELMET

Googles are important, but in my experience I was so stressed the first couple of times I snowboarded that I didn’t even remember to wear them.

 

Do not leave your snowboard by itself

 

I think this is a very serious point, as I said before I watched a lot of videos and in many of them they talked about terrible accidents that happened because of people that left their snowboard unattended.

The problem is that if you leave your board in the snow, it will most likely start to slide, and if you are going downhill, it can pick up speed so fast that it can hit or injure someone else.

So, whenever you’re not using it, turn it over. Make sure the bindings are on the snow side, this way you prevent it from slipping and flying off on its own.

Bunny Slope

 

I was freaking out when I got on top of the mountain cause I wasn’t sure where to start.

Thank God my friend took me to the beginners area, which is very close to the entrance and even though on the weekends you can find a lot of children, in weekdays it’s not crowded and it is the perfect place to start learning without worrying of falling into someone, or getting super hurt.

I highly recommend it, don’t skip this point, really a few times on this slope and you’ll feel more confident to start advancing.

Well, these things worked for me, I’ll soon be having some classes to improve what I’ve learned, but if you don’t have the chance to get classes I think these tips will help you out on your first ride.

 

If you have more tips, write them in the comments below, will be really appreciated!

 

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