Snowboarding lessons offer a rush of slippery slope fun at any age
by Shari Bishop Bowes
I am a list maker.
So it was no surprise that, in my early 20s, I set about making a list of all the things I wanted to accomplish in my life before I departed this Earth.
I turned 40 a few months back, and soon after stumbled upon said list deep in a dusty drawer. It was more than fun to read over the ranging list of hopes and dreams, silently ticking off the items I'd achieved, and chuckling at a few others that had fallen by the wayside.
About a year before I turned 40 I vowed I would head into my fifth decade of life with a few new things on the list I now keep in my head.
Interestingly enough, one of the items - learning how to snowboard - wasn't on the list I made in my 20s. That's because - and here's the 'boy, I'm old' kicker - it hadn't even been invented yet!
Undaunted by this fact, I make contact with the Ski & Snowboard School at my favourite local ski hill, Sunshine Village, to sign up for their beginner's lesson.
Before I know it, I am heading up the Sunshine gondola on a perfect, brilliantly sunny February morning for my first kick at 'shredding' a mountain on a slippery board. I had heard from friends and colleagues that lessons are by far the way to go when learning how to 'board', as the learning curve is greatly reduced.
SolaraLife editor Shari Bishop Bowes works on her balance in the first snowboarding run from the top of Sunshine's Strawberry Chair, as instructor Karla Stewart watches her student.
After picking up my snowboard and boots from the rental shop atop Sunshine, I join a group lesson with our friendly and enthusiastic young instructor, Karla Stewart. Our group consists of a young Calgary couple in their 20s, a 57-year-old gentleman from Manchester, England, and another 40-something fellow who is hoping to join his 12-year-old son for some boarding fun after a few lessons.
Stewart tells me that all ages can be found in the beginners' lessons at Sunshine, which are grouped for children, teens and adults.
"I've had 60 year olds that are fitter than some 20 year olds," she tells me. I immediately conjure a picture of a lithe, fit 60-year-old Swede who has been climbing mountains all his life, and begin to sweat in my Gortex jacket.
Thoughts like this are quickly replaced with rapt concentration as we begin our lesson on the nearly flat slope just outside the Sunshine day lodge. I quickly learn that I am "goofy" (as if there were ever any doubt). This determination comes from deciding which foot is strapped to the forward position on your board. A right-foot-forward position means you "ride goofy", while facing the other ("port" side, with apologies for mixing my sports) way means you are "regular".
Balance appears to be everything in learning this sport, I soon learn, with quick gains to be had even on a gently sloping hill. We learn how to scoot about on our boards, sliding down the slope and carving a gentle turn at the bottom. As I pick up speed on one slide, I take my first of many wipeouts as my board shoots out from under me. This is an opportunity for the smiling Karla to advise us of an important snowboarding lesson. "Try to avoid the urge to lean back when your board starts moving," she tells the group. "You want to put the weight on your forward foot. Leaning back just shoots the board out in front of you."
I dust myself off and join the others for Part II of our lesson - strapping in our other foot on a slightly steeper slope and learning how to slip-slide down the hill and eventually stop. Always a good idea, I think to myself, recalling how my first few childhood learn-to-ski days were spent picking myself out of a tightly woven orange snow fence at the bottom of a bunny hill.
Part II proves much easier that I thought, with everyone in the group having good success at the process of scooting down the hill with the long edge of the board perpendicular to the slope, weight centred on your "heel edge". You don't move fast, but once you have your balance, there's a way to get down a slope of just about any degree, we're told. I imagine taking a wrong turn onto a black diamond run and practice extra hard at nailing this skill.
Part II also involves using the "toe edge", as we scoot in similar fashion down the hill. This time, we face the hill and place our weight on the toe-side. For some reason, this position feels more comfortable to me - likely because it switches up the muscles used in balance.
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If you're used to skiing, learning how to snowboard presents a lot more up and down, and time sitting on the ground - a necessity when fastening bindings after riding up the chairlift.
Just before lunch, we head to Sunshine's bunny hill, where the "magic carpet" conveyor belt lifts us to the top of a small, gently sloping hill.
Proving again that lessons are the way to go, Stewart uses the analogy of driving a car to demonstrate how we can stop and start the sliding process as we head, on our heel edge, down the hill. This is the part where it actually feels like we are snowboarding, actually sliding down a hill with a modicum of control. I take a few more falls, but pick myself up and carry on without too much trouble. The driving analogy really works for me, as I concentrate of shifting my weight over the portion of the board that needs to move forward. A lunch break is a welcome respite mid-lesson. We all repair to the comfort of the Sunshine Inn dining room for a group meal, and to rest from what has proven to be a very fun but quite exhausting day so far.
"After lunch we're going to head up the Strawberry Chair, where you'll practice everything we've learned," Stewart tells us. While not every group advances at the same level, she has determined that we are all sufficiently confident and progressing fast enough to tackle a green run from atop the mountain.
The second half of the day proves to be far more rewarding - and far more exhausting - than I thought possible. I am extra cautious on my first run down, taking what feels like an eternity to get to the bottom. I try both toe and heel positions, and take lots of rests to calm my shaky legs. There are more than a few spills, but none able to take away from the excitement I'm feeling at actually moving down the hill on a snowboard.
Two more runs down the hill and I am falling less and taking fewer breaks. I can imagine a second lesson where I learn how to turn, and gain greater control over my balance and speed.
The only downer for the day is recorded evidence of some not-so-stellar moments, such as falling ass-over-tea-kettle at the top of the chairlift. My friend Amanda, an accomplished snowboarder, is along for the day to take some photos for my SolaraLife story. She manages to document every spill, and threatens to make a slideshow of my antics to show to my colleagues at a later date.
She can go ahead and do that, because you have to fall a lot before you can call yourself a snowboarder. At this point in my life, I embrace the aches and pains that are the badge I get to take home at the end of an incredible day in the Canadian Rockies. Better yet, I get to tick the only item off my list that should have been there 20 years ago!
If You Go:
Sunshine Village ski area is a half-hour drive from Canmore, with regular bus service every day. See www.skibanff.com for details on how to get there, and what's available on the hill, including accommodation in the gorgeously renovated Sunshine Inn. (This is the only on-hill, ski-out accommodation in the Canadian Rockies, at 7,200 ft. and accessible only by the Sunshine Gondola. Talk about remote and peaceful.)
Choose from Sunshine's one-, two- or three-day "Discover Snowboarding" programs. Programs run for a full day, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and include lift passes, equipment, lunch and the company of an enthusiastic instructor. Sunshine is known for its highly qualified and well-trained instructors. That's probably why they offer "satisfaction guaranteed" or your money back. I'm guessing they don't have to enact this clause very often.
Dress in layers, and wear clothes that are as waterproof as possible. Snowboarding means you spend a lot of time on your bum, either by mistake or as you take a rest or fasten your bindings. If you're comfortable, you'll have a lot more fun.
Eat a healthy, hearty breakfast a couple hours before your lesson starts. This is not a day to cut back on your morning calories - you're going to need every one as you pick yourself up off the hill.
Pack your sense of humour, and your 'big picture' perspective. Snowboarding on your first time out can be tiring, and even a bit humiliating as you wipe out in front of other people. Look around you at the incredible scenery, take into account that you are not the only beginner on the hill, and give yourself full credit for having the gumption to try something new.
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