beware of the snowbunnies.

Every since I taught Adam to snowboard a few years ago, our winter weekends have been spent either at Snow Trails or napping.  In an effort to drum up some more fun on the slopes we've been teaching some of our friends how to strap themselves to a board and throw themselves down a mountain without breaking a limb.  Finally feeling like we've had some success, it was time to teach my siblings...cause let's face it, any adventure with them is a hilarious one.

So off we went to Snow Trails yesterday afternoon with Megan, Chris and Amy in tow.  Our coaching began with getting the gear...I remember the first time I ever rented...they just shout questions at you - boot size!? board length!? goofy or regular!?  Here are some quick tips in case any of you end up braving the slopes at some point...

Boot size?  Pretty simple...go with your sneaker size or the boots will be too tight.  Oh and good luck getting them on, cause they are damn near impossible.  And you walk like you have a stick up your butt once they're on because you can't bend your foot.

Board length?  Depends on height, weight, skill, type of terrain...etc.  Basically just tell them how tall/weight you are and they'll figure it out for you.  Mine is 144cm, Adam's is 160cm.

Goofy or regular?  Simply put this means whether you ride down with your left foot in front or right foot (the binding is slightly tilted on the board).  Here's a simple test to figure it out:

1. Close your eyes.
2. Then from behind someone should give you a shove.
3. If you put your right foot forward then your goofy.
4. If you put your left foot forward then your regular.
5. If you fall on your face then you are a skier.

Ahh that always makes me laugh when I see that.  I've never actually tried skiing, but most people tell me it's much easier...maybe one day I'll give it a go.

Any way, once they got their gear on, we headed to the bunny hill.  Adam and I were all braced for a good hour or two of helping them stand up on their boards, learn to leaf, stop, control, not fall down, etc.  But they were naturals!  It was the easiest teaching session EVER.  Which was awesome since we were able to tackle the a couple bigger hills within an hour.  All three of them were zooming down the mountain with ease by the end of the night and we had minimal spills.  Well, we had a lot of spills, but most of those were due to our inability to properly get off the ski lift.  Seriously, it is the HARDEST thing about snowboarding!!  Oh and trying to walk to the lift with your foot strapped in to one binding?  That always takes a while to get used to.  Skiers have it so easy...

We had a blast though - I'm seriously impressed with how quickly they picked up the sport.  Naturals.  I can't wait to take them again!!!  I am bummed though that we forgot the camera - there would have been some great photos to post.  If you're in the Ohio area, Snow Trails is pretty much the best ski park around, although you can also hit up Boston Mills/Brandywine or MadRiver.

Comments

[melissa]

it was easy because i wasn't there - i'd be the one on my butt the whole time!!