The Fonz would Snowboard
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The three S’s of skiing, surfing and skateboarding could be combined in several ways – a surfboard with long poles and wheels for riding long distances is probably one of the less wacky combinations I can think of – but the sleek, maneuverable snowboard on which you can perform tricks from both the surfing and skating repertoire is pure genius. The modern snowboard’s other parent is a cafeteria tray, but we’re now well beyond that stage to Olympic inclusion. Still essentially a hybrid animal, you can do a lot on a snowboard. You can ride the white terrain anywhere that skiers can (Freeriding), you can perform stylish trix in the pipe or half pipe or morph street skating moves, like riding the rails and jumping (Freestyle), or race and slalom like traditional Olympic skiing (Freecarve). Because of their association with bratty sports like skating, snowboarders had to fight for the right to some space on the slopes, but again, those were the problems of the bad old days and these days most resorts allow snowboarders to use the same slopes as skiers, some even have purpose designed snow parks with pipes and rails and you can even learn to board at many ski schools, so you don’t need to get hung up on access. The key to snowboarding is patience and remembering that snow is a pretty soft thing to fall about in. Some other useful hints are to learn without crowds or ice, find a gentle slope and to think about it like riding a bike, it’s more of a feeling than a set technique – but do get some help when you start out. Apart from that check out a resort with a designated snow park like Wanaka, Jurassik Park, Meribel or Japan’s Alts Bandai. The main thing to remember is that snowboarding is supposed to be laid back like the Fonz. In aid of that snowboarders have invented their own aspirational word, another hybrid of course: steezy, which means to have style with ease. We’re all going to fall when we’re trying something new and we’ve all got to practice to get good, but if you keep your body fairly relaxed and ride through the knees and hips with a comfy motion, you’ll attain the right look of it all being too easy when you pull off that great new trick or cruise past people on the slopes. It will be far better for you when you fall off as well, relaxed bodies crumple and you’ll be able to get right back up and try again. |
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More Great places for snowboarding » I'd like to snowboard:
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Folgaria and Jurassik Snowboarding ParkSnowboarding in Veneto-Dolomites, Italy This was one of my most recent trips and it’s recommended in the Footprints snowboarding book, as well as by some friends of mine who really know their stuff. When you first get to the resort at Folgaria, you’ll probably wondering what all the fuss is about. Folgaria is ok, but it’s pretty ordinary. But once you see Jurassik Park you’ll understand what everyone’s talking about. It’s the best park I’ve ever been too, it’s got the best set up, the best selection of obstacles, it’s got boxes, double boxes, kickers, including an 18m kicker, rails, the best pipes and the best bumps. It’s also got some nice rolling hills to practice jumps and drops. It’s all well kept and smooth and not too busy and the people I was sharing the park with were nice and encouraging, I think like me they were just happy to be there. For me the highlight was the wall ride, I’ve never seen anything like it. No scenery but for once I wasn’t looking for a distraction!
Review by Photo by flickr user cpt.spock |
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Kicking HorseSnowboarding in Kicking Horse, Canada Kicking Horse is near the little town of Golden, which is a resort, but a fairly ordinary one, but there’s a good shuttle to Kicking Horse so most people stay there. There are only a couple of good runs on Kicking Horse and one of the guys I met working recommended I come here, but when I first saw it I thought it look pretty bland, but once you see the good runs it’s worth it, they’re really way better than good. The best runs are along a couple of ridges that finish in nice rounded bowls, I found the best one was the Crystal Bowl, and you can get in to it from the Golden Eagle Express run, you’ll have to ignore the OTT names. Once it opened up to me I loved Kicking Horse, it’s a great place for freeriding and there are lots of fairly exciting cliffs and ridges to drop out of, which the locals will show you if you watch them. This is a treeline resort with lots of marked runs off piste.
Review by Photo by flickr user Matt Seppings |
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Alts Bandai BoardingSnowboarding in Tohoku, Japan Japan is very popular with Australia and New Zealand boarders and you’ll find lots of talent here ripping up the four parks. There’s good powder and wide open runs which are pretty ordinary during the day but really come alive at night under the lights. The two pipes are pretty popular here and if you want to see some great tricks this is the place to come. If you’re coming in February bear in mind you’ll see the Japanese Open Competition, which I went to a couple of years ago and it blew me away, but you probably won’t be able to get a look in on the pipes yourself. There’s only one resort to stay at here and it’s not cheap, so it’s not too busy, but it’s a really good place to come to learn some new tricks and us Antipodeans are known for our friendliness, so you’re bound to find someone to help you master your tricks. Locals like to improve their English skills and contrary to what I thought about the Japanese, they like to get up late, board late and party into the night. They’ll also tell you the snow here is pretty reliable.
Review by Photo by flickr user ulysses_powers |
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AvoriazSnowboarding in Avoriaz, Switzerland This is an obvious one to chose, but it just looks so fantastic. The futuristic looking town bit is built into the side of the mountain and the runs cover a huge selection of terrain. The lifts actually go through the town and I stayed in a block of flats I could almost board straight out of. There are a couple of good parks, I like Avoriaz Fun Park and Les Croset Park the best because they’ve got the most space, and some good moguls at The Wall. I’m told the moguls are a bit unreliable, sometimes they’re well kept sometimes they’re useless and scrappy, but they were fantastic for me. I would recommend you book early because around Christmas it’s really busy.
Review by Photo by flickr user Grayskullduggery |
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Wanaka Snowboarding ParkSnowboarding in South Island, New Zealand Purpose built for freestyle snowsports enthusiasts it’s like a skate park for snow. Snow Park has rails, half-pipes, a quarter pipe, a terrain park, fun boxes, jumps and the Superpipe (a big half pipe) but no skiing runs. Features are changed regularly. It’s supposed to have features for beginner to expert level, the plan being for newbies to get inspired from watching the old hands and to share trick tips. Stay on site and enjoy the views across the scenic Cardrona Valley or commute from Queenstown. During the summer it’s open as ‘Dirt Park” same features, just for dirt bikes instead of snowboards.
Review by Photo by flickr user gregor_y |
