Snowboarding for the first time

Pain’s the name of the game

By Sonam Kaloti, Arts Editor

Most importantly, do what I should have done: learn how to fall properly before you hit the slopes.

Occasionally we’re hit with big news that sucks so bad we just want to drop everything, spend all of our money on purchasing an entire island, and go skydiving in Greece.

However, sometimes you do the spontaneous activity before getting the bad news, and then boy, good thing you had some fun, huh?

Vague hypothesis aside, I went snowboarding for the first time the day before my doctor told me I have to get a gastroscopy to check for stomach cancer. Here’s hoping that pans out well.

Though what you may or may not be surprised to know is that my body didn’t fare too well post-snowboarding, but we’ll get to that.

To start, no, you do not need your own snowboarding equipment to go snowboarding. At pretty much any mountain (from Grouse through Whistler) you can find rentals from the same website you purchase mountain/gondola tickets from. These tickets include skis, snowboards, boots, and helmets. Rent a locker to put your shoes in, and be prepared to wait a while for the gondola.

Snowboarding is hard. There are ridges everywhere so one wrong move (and one missed stop) and bam! You’ve fallen off a cliff.

To avoid this fate, watch some videos on how to snowboard before you go (just going with friends who know how might not be enough—take it from me). Most importantly, do what I should have done: learn how to fall properly before you hit the slopes. If you don’t, two days later you will regret it.

When you fall forward, fall on your forearms, not your wrists. When you fall backwards, fall on as much of your body as you can but keep your head up (snow or no snow—hitting your head on impact hurts bad). Remember that your first run is probably going to be terrible.

There are two stances for snowboarding called “regular” (left foot forward) or “goofy” (right foot forward). Apparently, I’m goofy (a little degrading but I didn’t make up those names) and you can generally tell which you are by which foot you use to take the first step going up stairs. I used to skateboard, so I went with my skateboarding stance. You may have to input this information when you rent equipment.

Bring goggles or buy them if it’s sunny out, but I didn’t need them for the cloudy day I went. Better safe than sorry, though.

Overall, don’t get scared. Trying new things is amazing and getting good at them is a whole ‘nother level of exciting. You never know when it’s your last day to live—could be this very moment—so ask a friend to go snowboarding for the first time. Even better, get spontaneous about it and ask to go the next day! There’s so much fun to have if you let yourself.