I learned to snowboard at 40 after 15 years skiing blues and blacks. I took one lesson the first year and decided that it was too hard , awkward and painful. I took one less then next year and again decided to go back to my skis. Finally on the 3rd year I took one more lesson and stayed on the snowboard for the next 2 days without retreating to the safety of my skis. I totally caught the bug after that and haven't been on skis since. Snowboarding is exciting. The boots are really comfortable, the clothes are more relaxed you can wear any wild thing with the explanation “I'm a snowboarder”. I also really appreciate the fact I can sit down off to the side somewhere without little kids coming by to ask if I need ski patrol. They just assume I'm “one of those snowboarders”.
Snowboarding has a short steep learning curve that rewards mistakes quickly and forcefully. A lot of older folks aren't sure they want to try something that looks painful while learning to link turns, stay off the down hill edge and learn how to get on and off the lift. Experienced skiers are especially reticent to go through the learning process when they have years of skiing under their belt. The learning period can be shortened with the right lessons and the discomfort can be reduced with some padding.
Basic Protection
Helmets are the most important protection. Rent one for your lessons and expect to buy one if you you stick with it. Mine is a Giro with tune-ups for my Ipod that I listen to on the lift. Kids are always embarrassed by their parents. You can enhance this while snowboarding if you wear a Monster helmet cover. I like long wild fake hair but most of them will work on middle and high schoolers. Here's my helmet without the cover.
New riders often throw their hands down when falling forward. This is hard on shoulders and wrists. Older riders income may depend on their hands so they need to protect their wrists. You can buy gloves with integrated wrist guards or you can wear wrist guard inserts. I started with the DaKine wrist guards that are available in a lot of snowboard shops. They fit under gloves or mittens and let you use any type of glove. I sized my gloves up one size to make them easier to put on. I recently moved to Level Gloves with Biomex inserts. They are a lot more comfortable than the skater type under glove wrist guards. Level gloves are nice because the wrist guard inserts can be removed when not needed. Here are my biomex gloves. Note that the guard fits over the liner which is then inserted into the glove.
Snowboarding involves a certain amount of knee on the snow contact especially in the beginning. Riding on the east coast means ice covered and cheese grater textured runs. I recommend a pair of hard shell knee pads under your snowboarding pants. I use Rollerblade street knee pads but the Burton/Red and Pro-tec snowboarding pads work well. Get knee pads for the first lesson. It makes a huge difference and no one will know you are wearing them.
Upgraded Protection
I don't ride rails or iron but I decided I wanted some tailbone protection after I got a little bold one day. I purchased a pair of Burton Red shorts. They look like a bathing suit but have tailbone, hip and thigh protection. I have never needed the hip and thigh protection so I pulled them out and just ride with the butt pad. It helps with occasional edge and has the side benefit of keeping my *** off the cold ground and and cold lift chairs.
Skiing takes its' toll on knees. Snowboarding can be hard on wrists and shoulders. I started playing around on jumps and boxes and discovered that I wanted some shoulder and back padding. I ride in a Skeletools crash vest under my coat. It has shoulder , shoulder blade, upper chest, kidney and side protection. I have a certain amount of natural front and side “padding” so I removed those pads and ride with just the shoulder and back protection. The vest is made out of a stretch nylon , like spandex, that is comfortable and breathable. The vest provides additional confidence without impeding movement.
Padding protects you and costs less than a single visit to the doctor. It makes the learning period less painful and provides protection with little inconvenience. Under clothes padding has the side benefit of making you look more fit. My wife has commented that I look “buff” when I'm wearing my shoulder pads under my coat. I've been married long enough that I'll take compliments like that any way I can get them.
Learning to snowboard after 40 is worth the effort. You can lessen the risks with lessons and some appropriate padding. Being older means you don't heal as fast but it also means you are smarter and know how to reduce risk!
Comments
Post a Comment