Learn to Ride, Then Improve Your Game

Learning to snowboard and improving your game is easier than ever at Alberta resorts.

It’s hard not to be envious of a snowboarder carving huge turns through dry and fluffy snow in one of Alberta’s famous powder bowls.

The effortless fans of light snow sparkling in the sun, the deep blue sky and the boarder’s ear-to-ear grin are enough to make anyone yearn for a trip to one of the province’s world class resorts.

Any experienced snowboarder knows the feeling of having the board drift into the turns, edges made redundant by the deep powder. But for those who’ve never ridden, or are just starting out and are still dreaming of creating their own art on the powder landscape, any of the province’s numerous resorts will help make your dreams a reality.

It’s simply a matter of showing up, hopping on some equipment and heading up the chairlift.

“Anyone who wants to learn needs to know to dress appropriately for the conditions, which means snow pants,” says Janet Schmidt, assistant director of Marmot Basin’s Snowsport School in Jasper National Park. “Snowboarding involves a lot of sitting on your bottom, at least while you’re learning. But that’s about it. We get people who’ve never seen snow before and they rent the gear and off they go.”

Marmot Basin makes learning even easier with its Discover program, which includes lift tickets, rentals and a two-hour lesson. Ross Jonah, who heads the mountain’s snowboard school, says a hassle free, no-stress lesson is by far the best way to learn.

“Even if you’ve ridden before, take a lesson because it breaks down the basics,” he says.

Anyone who’s a skier who is thinking of making the transition to boarding will have an even easier time learning because of familiarity with the sliding sensation, adds Schmidt. They also understand the concept of edging and turning.

Andrew Hardingham is one of Alberta’s best-known snowboarders. He’s got several film credits under his belt and numerous contest victories and continues to push the sport in new directions from his home in Banff National Park.

As a young man Hardingham worked hard and saved his money so that he could buy his first snowboard, he says. That allowed him to spend a lot of time riding the varied terrain and spectacular terrain parks at resorts around the province. He credits time spent on his board, on the snow, with learning the sport quickly.

These days it’s never been easier or cheaper to get into Snowboarding. Clothing aside, a board costs between $150 and $250, boots cost about the same as a board, and goggles, which are essential, are between $50 and $100.

How to Improve

“The best way to improve is to just get out there and do it and be passionate,” says Hardingham. “Like me, I skipped a lot of school to go snowboarding. Nowadays they’re making it easier and easier for kids to skip school and go riding, thanks to the sports schools, which is one of the things I like about the sport’s popularity.”

Ily Barnes is an up and coming snowboarder who also lives in Banff. Though he doesn’t yet make enough money to snowboard as a full-time job, his sponsors and talent got him a berth in a professional rail jam on the streets of Banff early in the 2006 season.

“In snowboarding, it’s all about being on your snowboard as often as you can and staying positive,” says Barnes. “Diversity is key when starting out. It’s about getting on your board and things will start working out for you.”

Dwayne Wiebe, another semi-professional rider who competed against Barnes in the Banff rail jam, advocates learning the basics.

Learn the Basics

“Learn your basic moves before you get too out of hand with the tricks,” he says. “Snowboarding gets a lot easier when you learn the basics. And it’s better than skiing because I think with snowboarding you have the opportunity to be a little more creative and there’s a bigger array of tricks.”

One reason that may account for the number of people taking up snowboarding is the various disciplines within the sport. There’s freeriding, freestyle, park and street jibbing.

Freeriding, Freestyling, Street Jibbing

Freeriding happens in the backcountry powder bowls, down steep chutes and in terrain that allows for the most personal expression.

Freestyling happens on the slopes and in the terrain parks and street jibbing, as the name suggests, happens in any urban setting.

“Freestyle is the most popular snowboarding discipline and I think it bailed out a large portion of the boring side of the ski industry that had hit a plateau,” says Hardingham.

“Freestyle hit the scene and caught fire like kerosene.”

An example of street jibbing is sliding on hand rails. A rail jam contest pits snowboarders against each other in a competition for the most points. Judges score the riders based on their tricks and style as they slide down an icy ramp, off a small jump and up onto a five-metre handrail.

Street jibbing is a relatively new discipline that requires very little snow and a lot of courage.

For those who have mastered the basics and are looking to expand their skills into jibbing, Guillaume Fortin has these words of advice: “With street jibbing you have to concentrate on one trick, or one item. You have one chance to do this, so it’s all about style. The best way to learn is on the ski hill because there’s snow all around the rail.”

Fortin won the amateur rail jam contest on the streets of Banff and as a result got to compete against the pros in the professional competition. He moved from Quebec to be closer to the Alberta snowboarding scene.