 Poster: A snowHead
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the ski hire guy at the Southampton ski slope, faced with a whole class of kids for their first snowboarding lesson, gave them a couple of sweeping brushes and asked them to sweep the floor. The bottom hand is your front foot. Are you a goofy shoveller? I wonder if that system really works. I have two grandchildren - a 4 year old girl who is definitely regular, and a two year old, who can't really ride his sister's scooter, but when he tries is most definitely goofy; the tendency must be inbuilt in our brain.
However, some people don't seem to have a very clear "lead foot". A nephew of my husband's a former top level squash player and very athletic, felt awkward both ways. Then somebody strapped him on his board "duck" and he never looked back. To him, there's no such thing as riding switch. When he played squash he often used to throw his racket from hand to hand and hit both sides on the forehand. He's also dyslexic. Mixed dominance?
My daughter is goofy, but not very strongly so - and she has some joint problems and prefers to use her body symetrically so she decided to ride duck from the start, and go both ways. Her very first time up the nursery button lift she went goofy, and didn't fall off. The second time she went regular and didn't fall off. She tries to ride both ways, which maybe means her progress is a bit slower, but has to be a good thing. She had some beginner surfing lessons and rode regular, but has discovered she is much happier goofy, so is more or less starting again. My son is a pretty good boarder after two seasons in Val D'Isere but he looks very much less confident and fluent riding switch. It's obviously something which is much harder wired in some brains than others
Glad you liked McNab. I did - I now know exactly what to do. Can't do it though....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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pam w, if I use a sweeping brush my left hand is nearer to the bottom of the brush and my right hand nearer to the top of the handle, so that doesn't seem to follow or I'd be regular! How strange. Oh well, I'll stick to goofy anyway as it feels right.
The rental boards at the dry slope were set up Duck. I was going to set mine up the same thinking it made sense? What stances do you guys set up on your boards out of interest?
Right, further to my earlier post I've sorted out a Level 3 Snowboard lesson at Tamworth Snowdome for Sunday night 3rd Aug after I've finished my shadowing hour. It's for an hour and recaps on Falling Leaf both sides and doing Garlands both sides. Good thing is, they have a 2 hour Snowboard Finisher lesson after that one for making toe side and heel side turns then linking them together so if I'm up to it I can do that lesson and then hopefully if all is well I will be recreational standard at the end of it.
That way I can practice each night on my board after my shadowing hours are done and hook up with david@mediacopy plus whoever else wants to join us for a board.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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VolklAttivaS5, I'm very right footed but ride goofy, like others say it's not an exact science.
pam w, I wish I'd done what your daughter's doing, I'm pretty bad at switch although I spent a day with a beginner this season so rode switch the whole time to try and improve.
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VolklAttivaS5, Evening is fine.
Swirly, pam w, I've started down the 'Duck' stance too, but need to find the best angles....
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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david@mediacopy, ok I will be contact by PM/email nearer the time, will have my laptop with me anyway.
I am probably going to set my board up duck too when I get it. Seems like the most comfortable way to have it anyway as far as I can see.
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VolklAttivaS5, how was it then?
wrt the stance I learnt with +15/+12, the guys that set the boards up thought I must be really good to have this stance as it's practically alpine tbh I found it made carving easier. This season I completely changes and now have it +15/-9 I find that I normally can't be bothered to carve properly and having got a wider board and getting more into little jumps and spins going quack would improve my lack of switch ability. It definitely did although that's not saying much 
When are you planning on being at Manchester?
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Swirly, hiya, thanks for asking. Well-in short-a disaster!  
Remember I'd booked in for a Level 3 lesson based on me telling the woman that I'd done diagonal toe and diagonal heel edge side slips on the dry slope and had 2 hours lessons so far? First of I got there late, because it's quite a way from my house (100 miles) I got stuck in flippin traffic which was my own fault and so by time I got there, queued up, got the boots etc then I missed the first 1/4 hour 20 minutes! Putting the board on on "snow" was loads more difficult than on the dry slope, and basically I couldn't do the diagonal heel and toe edge side slips at all! It was horrendous because the lesson is meant to be getting people nearly on turning. Anyway, another girl was in the same boat and at the end of the lesson I still couldn't do the toe edge side slip but had one brief try at the heel edge slip and got that ok! The instructor said that I shouldn't have been booked on the Level 3 because it was too high a level and I needed to go on a Level 2. I left feeling my confidence had been completely lost! I could well have imagined it because I was so disappointed/upset, but I felt the instructor wasn't the most sympathetic person.
Last night's experience really brought it home to me how vitally important it is as a Snowsports Instructor to do/say/act in a certain way and it made me a better teacher today when I taught some people myself (with supervision of course) within my shadowing hours. These things happen for a reason I suppose.
Sooooo they didn't have a Level 2 available tonight, only a combi Level 1/2 2 hour lesson with a lady instructor so it would be starting from scratch. That is a good thing though rather than a hindrance, although I won't need the boots and bindings tutorial. I will explain to te lady that my confidence has been shot and need a bit of TLC and starting over.
Shame though is that I won't be recreational standard even after tonight's lesson, because I'll have to do Levels 3 and 4 again before I can board without lessons. Oh well! I have emailed david@mediacopy to let him know and he is still going to bring his board but me ski.
Anyway, in response to your question, I will be at Chill Factore and surely recreational standard by then, on the Sunday at the very end of August, in the afternoon/early evening.
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david@mediacopy, Swirly, right change of plan! We're on for tomorrow night after all! I've just got back from my 2 hour Level 1/2 combi lesson and the instructor says I don't need to do Level 3 again and the Snowboard Finisher, I've done it all, can make safe turns both sides from the top and am now recreational standard! Hurrah! At last!
Ok, so I'm not perfect in all aspects of it like but who is I suppose after 4 hours tuition (discounting the nightmare 1/2 hours session last night that sent it all pear shaped) but I'm well chuffed that I've got it.
By the way I saw the guy that taught me last night and he was most pleasant this evening, so I could well have imagined he was not as sympathetic as I would have liked having had a bad start by being late etc etc.
Have to say though, the lady that taught me tonight, called Karen Larkin, was absolutely brilliant, and it goes to show that someone who was kind, patient, that took me right back through the basics makes a huge difference. When I started the toe side slips just down the slope first thing tonight, I was as stiff as a board (no pun intended) and I never thought I'd get to making turns right from the top of the travelator by the end of the lesson! It was just me and another chap starting from scratch which made things easier.
So I'm happy.
David! See you tomorrow night bout 8.30pm complete with board in hand! 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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VolklAttivaS5, Yep, I managed to dig the board out at the weekend and retrieve my boots from the dry slope.
I popped a message via facebook to one of the guys I did my L1 boarding with with so maybe someone else too 
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Tue 5-08-08 10:42; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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david@mediacopy, great!
Swirly, yes have been on the drag lift at Tamworth a few times now-it's a rope tow and I did find it very difficult! You will have to show me how to get on a button lift at Chill Factore then! It will be good to meet you if you can get over.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Swirly, went boarding tonight with a friend and got on really well, was making some nice big S-shaped turns. Thing is, bit of a prob now with our meet at Chill Factore, I fell over tonight on the flat of all places(!) backwards over my heel edge and reactively put my arm out and fell down on it. I knew as soon as it happened I'd done something serious. You know the rest-broken wrist I'm afraid and have just got back from A&E having an x-ray and plaster cast putting on upto my elbow.
No more boarding for driving for me for at least 6 weeks now! Could be longer as might need an operation they said. My radius is split down through the end of it if that makes sense rather than a clean break across one of the bones. Perhaps someone is trying to tell me boarding is not for me after all!
Short message tonight as typing with right hand (dominant one thank goodness!)
Bye for now
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You know it makes sense.
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VolklAttivaS5, very, very, bad luck.  Wrists are tricky, hope it goes well for you.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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VolklAttivaS5, bad luck that's a real shame as it seems like it had really clicked too. Hope it mends quickly, at least it should be fine for the start of the season small consolation though. Don't let it put you off boarding though.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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VolklAttivaS5, better breaking a wrist rather than a leg though !!!, keep up the boarding when you are mended and ... err .... try not to put your hand out when you fall  I presume you can still risk skiing ?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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VolklAttivaS5, oh what lousy luck. Hope it heals up quickly and well.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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VolklAttivaS5, sorry to hear that - you were looking good the other night
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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rayscoops,
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I presume you can still risk skiing ?
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Yeah, I wouldn't pack that in. I guess with skiing any falls tend to be to the side rather than to the front or back because the skis don't allow it.
I will probably try it again but will wait until my arm is fully mended (i.e not as soon as the plaster is off)
It's easier said that done not putting your arm out on backwards falls, on front falls I was falling correctly on my forearms, and on this backward one last night it was just reflex I suppose.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hurtle, Swirly, david@mediacopy, thanks. I'm alright. These things happen.
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Hope you got home okay today?
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roga, hi mate. Yep just got home after my dad and brother in law came up to get me and the car back home. Then went to Hereford A&E to sort out my treatment for this wrist. Got an appointment for fracture clinic on Monday morning where the orthopaedic doctors will take a look at my x-ray disc and decide if I need an operation on it or not. Hopefully not but we'll see. Thanks for asking and the help with getting the car back earlier and well done for passing your course.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Sorry to hear this VolklAttivaS5, I hope it doesn't keep you out of action for too long
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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VolklAttivaS5, just thinking here: if you fell on the flat you've probably let the board go completely flat and then caught an edge. Even on the flat it's important to keep one edge in not only does it prevent this but it's quicker on long flats to.
Hope the injury isn't being too much of a hindrance.
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Swirly, I finished my turn on my toe edge on the flat and then I think someone spoke to me, I looked over to my right and then the board went flat, and then onto my heel edge and over I went. So you're probably right about catching an edge. Just a shame I was stopped at the time or I could have rescued it perhaps. I'm not sure if I want to go boarding again because I'll be afraid of doing the same again. How can you fall backwards without putting your arms out instinctively? Surely if you do that aren't you afraid of whacking your head on the floor?
Been to fracture clinic this morning-don't need an operation after all so that's good! Got new cast on-lovely and comfortable and no itchy thing covered by plaster of paris this time that looks grotty within a couple of days-it's a nice light blue coloured cast that goes hard when it is taken out of the packet and wrapped around the arm and reacts with water to set. I'm much more comfortable now because my wrist was moving within the last cast and it was itchy and horrible. My hand would not stop itching because it was next to the fluffy bit. I have to wear this one for 4 weeks (might need a new one if this one gets loose in 2 weeks time) and then I'll have another type of "thing" to keep my wrist still but increase it's mobility. I don't have to wear the sling either now. They were very good at Hereford Hospital, it's all nice and modern there and also it looked nice and fresh and clean too, it didn't smell funny (dirty?) or anything like some hospitals I've visited before. Plus I got in at the right time for my appointment. I was very pleased and my new cast looks nice and smart.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Lizzard, well yes, something to consider for the future perhaps although because I was at Tamworth for the whole week shadowing last week and learned how to board from scratch on the Monday night I didn't have a lot of time or thought to go out and buy wrist guards straight away. The doctor did tell me when he looked at my x-rays mind you that he doubted very much wearing a wirst guard would have made any difference this time judging on where the impact was but I don't know why that is.
We were talking about wrist guards earlier on in the week funnily enough and a couple of people were saying that they won't wear them because apparently they can dissipate the energy from the impact further up the arm resulting in a broken forearm or broken futher up by the bicep, or even into the shoulder itself. Again I'm not sure if this is right or not.
I think I will have a look into getting some armour of some kind though before my holiday in December because my knee caps are black and blue with lumps on them from a couple of boarding sessions last week. Sayng that, the surface at Tamworth is that flipping hard it's no surprising. It's like concrete with just a little sprinkling of crumbled ice on the top!
Lizzard, do you wear the stuff featured in your link or not an has it saved you any breaks so far?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Swirly, the falls forward I'm ok with letting my forearms go flat on the floor and that was fine for some toe edge falls. I probably will go again because I've bought some boots now anyway but I will wait until my arm is fully healed rather than as soon as the cast is off.
What armour do you wear Swirly? I need something for my knees certainly even just for when I'm resting (at the side of the piste not on a brow of a hill of course!). I would be interested to hear what make stuff you have and what you wear armour on for a week's boarding in resort. Is the surface at Chill Factore just as hard as the one at Tamworth? I expect so!
Thanks for the good wishes.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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VolklAttivaS5, I do have a pair of Flexmeter gloves and I like them a lot - tough, warm and much more comfortable than wearing the usual skate-style guards under gloves. Hard to say whether or not they have been instrumental in my not having broken a wrist though - all I can say is that it hasn't happened yet (touches wood furiously). I do end up with a permanently semi-sprained little finger on my left hand, result of a peculiarity of the plastic trim round the outside of the glove - once I'd worked out what was causing it I started stuffing the little finger up the next bit along with my ring finger.
I don't rate that guards-make-the-break-worse argument - if you fall with enough force to break bigger bones further up the arm, surely you were going to trash your wrist anyway.
Don't know how much of an authority this chappie actually is, but the page makes interesting reading: http://www.ski-injury.com/prevention/wrist_guards
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Lizzard,
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I do have a pair of Flexmeter gloves and I like them a lot - tough, warm and much more comfortable than wearing the usual skate-style guards under gloves.
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Good idea that as I don't think I could get a lot under my gloves to be honest-they're quite close fitting.
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I don't rate that guards-make-the-break-worse argument - if you fall with enough force to break bigger bones further up the arm, surely you were going to trash your wrist anyway.
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Yes, that's true. Not sure where they've got that from or why they think that it might be the case.
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Hard to say whether or not they have been instrumental in my not having broken a wrist though - all I can say is that it hasn't happened yet (touches wood furiously).
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Yes I'm touching wood for you too. Sounds like they do work then. I've posted a thread on armour thoughts/recommendations so I can find out what stuff other people use and if they feel it has stopped a break before. I'm keen to get the armour sorted before I go to Tignes I don't want to go through this again. It's nice and comy now kept still in the cast but when it fist happened, it was extremely painful. Never broken anything before so didn't know what real pain was like!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Lizzard, just read that article and it made a lot of sense. Wish I had read it before I went to Tamworth last week although common sense should have nudged me and said "What if you get injured?" of course you don't think about that do you?! The few falls I'd had on the dry slope before taking lessons at the Snowdome were onto a soft surface although it is rough on the skin if it catches you. The snow surface in the Snowdome is like concrete in comparison.
I think the chap who wrote the artice is spot on when he says that wrist guards should be standard equipment hired when learning to board. Helmets are compulsory at Tamworth but they ought to have perhpas knee pads as well and wrist guards too. It would be interesting to see if the serious injury rate there would decrease if they supplied wrist guards for beginners, it probably would I bet. I think the paramedics are used to going up there from what I gathered on Thursday night.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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VolklAttivaS5, as far as wrist guards go I agree with Lizzard about any fall that breaks another bone by force transferral would completely destroy the wrist and also I'd rather break a forearm than a wrist as I think it would heal easier (any docs want to confirm?) I have gloves with fairly flexible wrist guards built in and I think they've taken enough force out of a slam on at least one occasion to prevent a break, it still hurt but only for a couple of days, Tbh that's all I have atm, I'd like some shorts but they're expensive and I'll get a helmet for this season as I'm doing things where I think there's now a need for one.
I imagine a wrist is a pretty painful break so far I've been lucky snowboarding I've only broke my nose which hurt a lot when it happened but then only hurt to touch for a few weeks so I didn't touch it 
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His practice is based in Aviemore and I believe is viewed as being about as expert as you get in the UK given he's frequently dealing with injuries straight off the mountain in the winter season and is a skier himself. Apparently he's currently "a board member and UK National Secretary for both the International Society for Skiing Safety and SITEMSH (The International Society for Skiing Traumatology and Winter Sports Medicine)."
There's a page about him and the site here.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Mon 11-08-08 14:20; edited 1 time in total
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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roga, cheers. What was the name of that shop you mentioned to me the other day which is in Scotland who might sell Garmont boots by the way?
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FAQ
it'd be a shame to quit now as you seem to have got the hang of it.
I didn't ask at the time because it wasn't relevant.
