Well, jeez... I knew this would challenge me. Learning a sport that has new equipment to acquire and learn about, requires new and extremely specific environments, has constrained opportunities for repetition and development and lacks available resources in the required expertise to learn or be taught about all of the above can be extremely frustrating.
On top of that, the physical conditioning to excel as a beginner is significant as are the consequences for failing. The potential for serious physical injury being the thing that weighed most on my mind.
Welcome to my first season of learning how to snowboard.
This is not going to be a full blog about my progress. I'll post 2 videos down below by way of comparison that are a few weeks apart to demonstrate what my progress looks like. You can make your own mind up. I actually just wanted to to document and share a few things about the how the process has played out. There's a few things that have preoccupied me in the lead up to my first holiday in The Alps, in the mountains on "proper snow" These 3 things by no means paralysed me but definitely played on my mind whilst considering wether to enter this new and mysterious sport!.
But first, here's now I looked at the Lecht on the last session before leaving for Italy. Admittedly I was feeling terrible and it was my first day outside after a savage 10 days or so with covid.
1: Unhelpful third party foreshadowing.
This was actually probably the worst one. Before I started I had no knowledge of the sport aside from what it looked like when people made it look easy on TV. For instance I had followed Shaun White's career since his earliest years. I'll just call it "unhelpful third party foreshadowing" (bit of a word salad I know) So on telling a few people I was doing this, (mostly) everyone just went straight to one of the following injuries: Broken coccyx, broken wrist, injured kneecaps, broken collar bones and general repeated concussions. Whilst this may be their reality and to an extent an objective reality however common or uncommon. It was extremely unhelpful to hear.
Another part of this narrative was similarly varied opinions on technique. Now in my MTB coaching life I know that there are definitely "wrong things" you can do, but all of the right things without exception are never learned the same way by every individual. Learning varies hugely from person to person. All of this aside, the list of injuries above were almost always attributed to one mistake in technique that was universally and constantly delivered in the following two sentences: "Make sure you don't catch an edge" or with a more jovial tone "Ha...! Wait till you catch an edge" My response at the time... what the f*ck is an edge? I can see the humour in some of this, the need to share ones own stories, but in my life as a coach, I never introduce consequence into a clients mind until I absolutely have to. It's unhelpful and sways focus away from the opportunities to move forward both technically and cognitively. If someone approaches you in the same context, try and engage with your positive experiences in front of any tales of caution!
And before we move on. Here is a quick reel of my first day in The Alps which brings me right round to my third snowboarding hang-up.
2: Total detachment from the culture and equipment.
I have been in mountain biking since the late 80's. I have a deep knowledge of the general and compartmentalised cultures as well as the equipment, technical requirements, and needs of people engaging in the sport at any level. I have been in the cycle industry for decades in all kinds of roles, immersed in bikes since as long as I can remember. It's easy!
I decided to take up snowboarding with zero of the above in context. Boards, boots, bindings, camber, rocker, tuning, waxing, edging, highjack angles, trousers, jackets, helmets, goggles, wrist guards, gloves, protection... Which do I need, how do I make them my own and what are they for?
As with most things, there's not much to the basics or fundamentals of kit. Some is for safely, some for comfort and come for performance. Much like my MTB bike, clothing and kit. I know about textiles and materials through MTB, so helmets, goggles, gloves etc were no mystery really.
When it came to boots and bindings I had to do a bit of research into it, but it was easy to find a reputable brand of boot with all the features I needed. I wrote a separate blog lat year along the lines of "all the gear and no idea" You can see that here if you want a bit more information on the stuff I ended up with.
3: Other People Everywhere...
It's one thing watching YouTube videos of lone boarders carving pow on YouTube and even after looking at maps and videos of all the places I've been sliding so far, nothing really prepares you for the actual proximity of other people moving at speed with limited opportunities to stop!
I did have one incident in Italy as a result of a skiers mis-judgment of my intention, but it put the fear in me and I don't think I ever really recovered from it for the duration of the holiday If I'm honest. It's really hard to let go and rely on the sense and empathy of other more experienced piste users as well as the inexperienced too.
Honestly, the speed of some of the skiers coming down these slopes is crazy. Not just that but many of them will pass within a few cm of you without warning. Some just because thats their trajectory, some because they can and some because they are trying to prove a point about you being there as a slower, more hesitant user. All after a few pints at the top bar. Seems crazy to me, but thats the culture.
Anyway, here's the highlight reel of my last day at Passo Tonale. I managed to overcome most of my fears and hit some steeper, deeper reds which brought my confidence right up to a level where I could let go a bit.
So thats it really. I can't articulate how much fun I've found in new sport so far. It's had some very low points too though. I've beat beat up pretty bad, broke a few ribs, bruised my body all over, tweaked my shoulder and had all kinds of other wee injuries along the way. I don't recover as fast as I used to, but I'd say it's been worth it all so far.
Big shout out to JP for the encouragement and being my cheerleader since the beginning. I wouldn't be this far along without your help! ❤️
If you want to know where we went snowboarding, you can find information about Ponti di Legno Tonale here.
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