 Poster: A snowHead
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hey all my boys are 13 and 14 and have been asking about snowboarding lessons for a few years now. We have had 4 or 5 skiing holidays and I was thinking about taking them to a snowdome to do a few snowboarding lessons and get a taste to see if they like it. We live in Durham so I was thinking of the one in Yorkshire. we were going to do the package of 2 hours for 2 days (4 hours in total). What is the snowdome like in Yorkshire as opposed to the other ones? are they much of a muchness?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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They're all the same. It'll be great, but they shouldn't expect to "be snowboarders" after 4 hours. They should expect to be 'smashed up, groaning and bruised'.
Learn-in-a-day would be better, in my view. Combine it with a weekender to Brussels and do the learn-in-a-day at Landgraaf in Holland instead. It has a chairlift! The last thing a learner snowboarder needs is a draglift 
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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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Oh i dont expect them to learn to snowboard in a day. I just want them to give them a taster to decide if its something they would like to pursue on our next skiing holiday rather them spitting their dummy out here then when we aer on holiday lol. there is method to my madness lol is this place in holland an indoor snow dome?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Having taught a few total beginners in a dome, a 2 hour session tends to get people confident sideslipping on both edges, a 3rd hour starts people changing edges. A 4th hour, especially on a second day after relaxation, should get them confident slipping on one edge, changing edge in the fall line and regaining control on the other edge. They should also be happy with diagonal traverses. If you put all of that together then you are snowboarding, but make sure you don't stop the lessons there - lots still to learn!
No opinion on the actual snowdomes round yorkshire, but make sure that you ask what method of turning the instructors use. I've seen some instructors do some seriously weird stuff when teaching the first turns, jamming the leaners' boards at one end with their feet and swinging them round. To learn properly you need to be learning foot peddling right from the start - this is the skill they'll use throughout their lives as boarders!
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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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| polo99 wrote: |
| Oh i dont expect them to learn to snowboard in a day. I just want them to give them a taster to decide if its something they would like to pursue on our next skiing holiday rather them spitting their dummy out here then when we aer on holiday lol. there is method to my madness lol is this place in holland an indoor snow dome? |
Yeah, I learned to board there (as an existing skier). Cheap as chips, massive slope, good tuition. Really great.
To be fair though, it would be even better if they just went to snowboard school when you're next in a real mountain environment. Again, the instructors there would probably make a point of avoiding surface lifts, which would be to their advantage.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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well part of my reason for wanting to give them a taster at the snowdome rather than on their holidays is because i dont think they will like snowboarding but I want to at least let them try. Also if i was to book a weeks snowboarding tuition and they hate it on day 1, not only will they have spoiled their first day of their holidays, they will have faces like smacked backsides - just think Kevin and Perry and i dont want this to put a dampner on the holiday. If after the little taster that they love snowboarding, I will be more than hapy to book a week tuition on our next holiday.
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Look out for deals with it being summer, CFe in Manchester has some on at the moment, one of which includes unlimited lift pass for July and August with one day lessons (only for improvers tho).
http://www.chillfactore.com/offers/lesson-offers
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is it usually busy during the summer holidays? me and hubby might have a play while the kids are having their lessons. I suppose Manchester wouldnt be that far to go either
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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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polo99, I think your reasoning makes perfect sense, personally. If you want to put them off, do the "learn in a day" effort; it's seriously knackering. as youngsters they probably won't feel anything like as broken as I did but not entirely comfortable, either!
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It's been quiet whenever I've been to Manchester over summer, with the exception of freestyle evenings. There was only 4 of us on the board in a day course when I did that a couple of years ago, but then I've usually gone midweek during the day.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Actually thats a good point pam. I suppose if they like the tasters and we decide to do boarding lessons when we go to tania they might find doing a whole day rather than two hours too knackering. They are both so lazy I cant see snowboarding being for them but at least it stops them from keep asking about lessons and they will know if its something they will like. Is it just more tiring because thete is more falling 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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polo99, I know plenty who have done learn in a day courses and not been bored or tired.
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It's tiring because of the falling over, but also because drag lifts are knackering until you know how to ride them properly because you tense up so much. Also a lot of binding fiddling. It's like touching your toes and doing sit ups, repeatedly, all day long.
To be fair though, they're teenage kids at the absolute prime of their lives. They probably also have an eye on 'cool'. Lazy or not, they're going to love it, and think they look cool, and the bumps and scrapes and being knackered is all part of the appeal. pam w is totally right that learn in a day is exhausting, but 13 year olds are nutcases by and large, even the bone idle ones.
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You know it makes sense.
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Summer is good. Do it before the world + dog realize winter's coming. Ring them up and ask when their quietest time is.
Learning to snowboard is not in my experience significantly different from learning to ski. Anyone reasonably fit of any age should have no issues with it at all. It's not hard work, you won't even get out of breath.
There are minor differences between the various UK domes I've tried, but they all have precisely the conditions you need to learn.
Some domes have magic carpets, but in any case their drags are *very* slow. Lifts generally are no harder on a board than they are on skis. If your kids can already ski then they should be able to ride them first time after being taught the technique. In my view whilst a drag lift isn't quite the first thing you need, it's pretty close to it.
As far as "trying it out" .... People who successfully switch tend to *know* that they want to do it. If you're good at skiing, then you're going to have to take quite a few weeks being rubbish. If you're not sufficiently committed, or don't enjoy learning, then you're probably wasting your time.
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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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I don't know about other places, but the MK snowdome apparently will drop it's summer prices even lower in August, so it might be worth ringing around to check.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Definitely a good idea getting the first few lessons at a snowdome as its a bit rubbish going all the way to the mountains and then spending the first few days on about a 10foot stretch of the nursery slope. Or that maybe the counter argument as you dont want them to do it?
Getting used to the drags is also a good idea as they dont get any easier than in the snowdomes and theyre going to come across them sooner or later
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