Carrick to Calgary

Spring has definitely sprung here, with longer evenings, warmer sunshine and no snow in the city. Having said that, the winter's not quite done as the ski resorts are still open. Lake Louise is open until May 8, and Sunshine (at Banff) is open right through to May 23, so there's still the chance to do some snowboarding for the next month. Sunshine stays open so long as it's at 7000ft elevation, so it's still subzero up there and the snow is still falling.

I seem to have been bitten by the snowboarding bug, having had a lesson at the C.O.P. and I've gone back twice since to practice on the bunny slopes and later on the Big Hill. I suppose all together I've spent about 8 hours on the board and I'm definitely starting to get the hang of it. I managed to pick up a board and all the gear I need in the spring sales for about 200 dollars (80 quid or so). This should quickly pay for itself, as board hire costs 30 dollars a day, and the board should last me all through next season too.


The Board

I went for a 163cm 'Peak' snowboard from the Limited company. It's long enough for my height and weight, and is of medium stiffness (you can bend it fairly easily but it's got a lot of spring and bounces back into shape right away). The bottom of the board is made of one solid piece of material called P-Tex, which has very low friction and allows you to glide on the snow. The top has a number of holes drilled into it to allow you to screw bindings on to the board (where your feet go).


The Binding

The binding goes across the board and can be adjusted to change the angle between the foot and the axis of the board. You stand on the baseplate and your leg is supported by the 'high-back' which goes behind your heel and calf. Once they're both on the board looks like this, with a front and back, and a heelside and a toeside:


Anatomy of a Snowboard (modelled by the invisible man)

In my case, I ride with my left foot at the front end, so I have 'regular' stance (if I rode right foot first, I'd be a 'goofy-foot'). If you lean back, you're on the heelside of the board, and if you lean forward you're going on the toeside.


The Boots

Snowboarding boots are softer than skiing boots and allow your ankle to move a little, so they're much easier to walk in. They need to be a size or so smaller than your normal shoe size, as they have to be pretty snug to let you control the board without your feet wiggling around in the boots.

When you're all strapped in, your foot looks like this:



And once the binding angles are adjusted to give you about 20 degrees between the feet and a bit of a bias to shift some weight to the tip of the board, your feet look like this:



Of course, you don't have the board strapped to both feet all the time. If you're on the flat, or on the chairlift, you can use the snowboard the same as a skateboard and leave your front foot bound while your back foot pushes off the ground and keeps you moving. When you get off the chairlift, you put your free back foot just in front of its binding and glide off to a safe stop. You can add a 'stomp pad' to give your back foot extra grip here, or a series of 'stomp dots', as I have done.


Stomp Dots

You also need something to stop you from going snowblind and something to protect your bonce in case of falls, so I also have a trendy helmet (military style, olive drab) and a pair of goggles:


Up


Down

The goggle strap also clips on to the back of the helmet to stop them getting tangled up or separated.

So there we have it, my very own snowboard:



I'm also able to do some practicing at home, tinkering with the binding set-up (it's all adjustable, so you can adjust the stance, the binding angles, the straps, etc.) and practicing my jumps (you can hop up and swing the board around by 90 or 180 degrees).


Practice makes perfect

I'm hoping to take a day off later this week and head up the Sunshine with the HERBs to get a day's boarding in. It'll be my first time at a proper resort, as all my experience has been at the C.O.P. so far:


The Beginner's Hill


Two Magic Carpets


On the Magic Carpet

The 'magic carpet' is like a little escalator in the snow - you just drive your board to the bottom, stand on the moving bit and it carries you up to the top - all you have to do is stand there. At C.O.P. the beginners' area has two, and I've been up both more time than I can count!

It's a bit difficult at first to get the board strapped on both feet without heading madly off down the slopes, so usually you start off sitting on your bum, strapping both feet in, and then struggling to your feet. I've found this a bit awkward, so I've started to do the 'standing strap-in' where you don't sit down at all, and once you're strapped in you're ready to head off!




Cruisin' on the bunny slopes

I've also been up and down the Big Hill at C.O.P. a few times - it's a bit scarier than the bunny slope, but the views are fantastic and the speeds you get up to on the way down are quite impressive.


The Big Hill

Of course, I've been doing a lot of falling over, but less and less each time I've been out. Having said that, I had a bad bruise on my knee last time I was out, which has taken a few weeks to heal up:


Ouch!

Even so, I'm still keen to get back on the slopes and carve up the snow!


Never say die!

I've been doing my homework, however, and I've found this great book which covers the principles and practices of snowboarding from the very beginning, to intermediate skills and up to advanced stuff. It's absolutely great, worth every penny:


The Snowboarding Bible

So there you go - who would have thought it? I've come to Canada and become a snowboarder (as well as an ice-skater!) Tell Stephen McAlister that he'll have to come out here next year and give it a go! Roll on next winter!

J