Forums › Advice Q&A › Switching to snowboard
- This topic has 14 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 5 months ago by Frosty.
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March 5, 2012 at 8:22 pm #1007I've been skiing for about 32 years and decided I want to give boarding a go. I was a skater in my younger days and to this day I still wakeboard. Since I live in desert we don't really have many people to talk with about set up, so I just want to make sure I'm on track before hitting the mountain this weekend. I'm 5'-10″210lbs (I'm also a body builder and this is my cut weight, during bulk I'll go to 240lbs)Size 11 bootK2 Fuse 163WK2 Mach bindingsK2 Range bootsI set my bindings with my forward foot at +15 and rear at -9 and with the boots in the bindings I have a little less than 1/2″ overhang.I usually ride my wakeboard goofy foot forward with a duckfoot stance and riding fakie is no problem, I don't know how that tranlates to snowboarding but I figured it was a good starting point.All I want to do is cruise the mountain wI've been skiing for about 32 years and decided I want to give boarding a go. I was a skater in my younger days and to this day I still wakeboard. Since I live in desert we don't really have many people to talk with about set up, so I just want to make sure I'm on track before hitting the mountain this weekend. I'm 5'-10″210lbs (I'm also a body builder and this is my cut weight, during bulk I'll go to 240lbs)Size 11 bootK2 Fuse 163WK2 Mach bindingsK2 Range bootsI set my bindings with my forward foot at +15 and rear at -9 and with the boots in the bindings I have a little less than 1/2″ overhang.I usually ride my wakeboard goofy foot forward with a duckfoot stance and riding fakie is no problem, I don't know how that tranlates to snowboarding but I figured it was a good starting point.All I want to do is cruise the mountain with my wife and my younger neices & nephews (and grandkids in a few years) Thanks for any input.March 5, 2012 at 8:35 pm #3860
Hey AXcrazy1,Seems like you know what you are doing. That is VERY similar to the angles I am currently using. I think I have a tad bit more angle on the front foot. If it is comfortable for you then go with it!
March 5, 2012 at 8:58 pm #3861Thanks for the quick response Frosty. I'll bring some tools with me this weekend and tweak it if I need to.
March 6, 2012 at 12:26 am #3862Sure thing. Have fun up there and let us know if you need any more help or anything. 😀
March 11, 2012 at 12:03 am #3863My first snowboard experience was a little rough the first half of the day. The mountain got a couple inches of fresh powder yesterday and was snowing off and on today. The snowboard is nothing like a wakeboard except they both hurt when you catch an edge, and I had my fair share of that. The second half of the day was much better after I moved the bindings back a little for the powder and widened my stance by one set of holes. Heelside turns weren't too bad but toeside I kept going too far and would end up with my backside pointing downhill. Im gonna give it another go next weekend.
March 11, 2012 at 11:11 pm #3864Not too bad man. I think EVERYBODY remembers their first day snowboarding and will never forget it! For your progression to getting better toeside turns and getting into s-turns, these links may help:
March 23, 2012 at 12:04 am #3865Alright, I finally got to hit the mountain again. The top half of the mountain was powder and the lower half was groomed. I was loving the powder, I could link my turns heelside and toeside. Every once in awhile I would submarine the board but for the most part it was great. I was having difficulty on the groomed portions and really struggled with my turns. All I could really do to turn was to slide the board a little sideways and kinda drift where I wanted to go and toe side I kept over rotating the board. (I know practice will fix that)My brother left his 155cm board in my truck so I “borrowed” it to see how a shorter board acted on the groomed stuff. It was a lot easier to control but still had issues turing on the hard stuff. We have about 1 or 2 more days of decent snow left for the season so I'm going to see what I can improve on these next few days.AgaAlright, I finally got to hit the mountain again. The top half of the mountain was powder and the lower half was groomed. I was loving the powder, I could link my turns heelside and toeside. Every once in awhile I would submarine the board but for the most part it was great. I was having difficulty on the groomed portions and really struggled with my turns. All I could really do to turn was to slide the board a little sideways and kinda drift where I wanted to go and toe side I kept over rotating the board. (I know practice will fix that)My brother left his 155cm board in my truck so I “borrowed” it to see how a shorter board acted on the groomed stuff. It was a lot easier to control but still had issues turing on the hard stuff. We have about 1 or 2 more days of decent snow left for the season so I'm going to see what I can improve on these next few days.Again, thanks for the help and instruction.March 23, 2012 at 5:29 pm #3866That's awesome man. Yeah, I like shorter boards on groomers and steeps and longer boards for powder. I was out a couple weeks ago in over two feet for nice powder on a 159 (my all-around and groomer size) and anywhere but black diamond slopes, it was REALLY hard to keep the nose up. Total leg burner. Good thing I ride both regular and goofy so I can get that burn (workout) on both sides!
March 25, 2012 at 3:39 am #3867Had a great day of boarding today. I moved the hi-backs so they leaned more forward and that made a world of difference. Hitting the icy stuff was a lot better and I had more confidence in holding the edge through the turn. On the last run my nephew was screwing around and stabbed his ski pole in front of my board and I ate it bad. Ended up twisting my knee with along with a loud pop. At least I have some time to heal before next season.
March 25, 2012 at 6:08 pm #3868As an instructor I would “give the gift of forward lean” (increase the binding highback angle) to my guests. They would get better instantly. It is amazing what a pocket screwdriver and 2 minutes can do.RE: Your knee…Oh no! Hope it wasn't anything serious. Definitely want to let it heal up completely before doing anything physically demanding. So many times I hear of people who slightly injure their knee then in a week or two later decide to go back out boarding/skiing or play basketball or whatever then completely blow out the knee (complete acl or mcl tear).
March 26, 2012 at 8:50 pm #3869Well, the Dr says best case is a torn medial meniscus and worse case is a torn ACL but I won't know until the MRI results are in.
March 27, 2012 at 1:35 am #3870Oh no. Bummer! 😯 Hopefully it is something not too serious that will heal itself over time.
April 3, 2012 at 10:15 pm #3873Found out that it is a torn ACL :angry: I'm meeting with my surgeon Friday to go over the particulars. One good thing is since I am a body builder my legs are in great shape which will help with the recovery time. I have a list of leg exercises that I can do up to the day of surgery, then afterwords I'll have about 8 weeks of agressive physical therapy. The Dr. said I should be able to ski / snowboard when the season rolls around again. I'll let you know how it goes.
April 5, 2012 at 5:45 pm #3874Well, I know they have gotten much better at ACL repairs in the last few years. I got mine done (hamstring graft method) over 12 years ago and it has been holding up remarkably well!Do you feel any slipping in the knee? I actually went for a couple years without an ACL and it was really sketchy. Sometimes it would hold strong, and other times it would buckle from the simplest movements, usually sudden twisting.TO the defense of snowboarding, ACL injuries are less common than in other sports like skiing, football and basketball. My knee initially blew out while playing basketball, but only a few weeks after slightly injuring it while snowboarding. I was getting off a lift and a buddy jokingly pushed me over. With one foot only strapped in my bodyWell, I know they have gotten much better at ACL repairs in the last few years. I got mine done (hamstring graft method) over 12 years ago and it has been holding up remarkably well!Do you feel any slipping in the knee? I actually went for a couple years without an ACL and it was really sketchy. Sometimes it would hold strong, and other times it would buckle from the simplest movements, usually sudden twisting.TO the defense of snowboarding, ACL injuries are less common than in other sports like skiing, football and basketball. My knee initially blew out while playing basketball, but only a few weeks after slightly injuring it while snowboarding. I was getting off a lift and a buddy jokingly pushed me over. With one foot only strapped in my body fell and rolled while my lead foot remained stationary strapped to the board. (Seems like with snowboarding there is always a secondary culprit!)As I type this I remember that hurting like hell, but I was not wise enough to evaluate and let heal.June 22, 2012 at 5:47 am #3785Thought I would check in and let you know that my knee is healing great. My doctor released me a few weeks ago to start back in the gym with my weight lifting. They fitted me with a custom brace that prevents hyper extension and excessive twisting in the joint and it takes a lot of pressure off when walking. Boarding this winter shouldnt be an issue, but he wants me to wear the brace for safety. As much as I love the summer I can't wait for the snow!
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