A ticket to ride: the rapid rise of snowboarding - Athletic Arena

"A veteran generation of snowboarders is introducing its kids to the sport, and the typical slacker stereotype is way past its prime."

IT STARTED OUT as a simple enough assignment: USA Today wanted someone to test various Burton snowboard gear. For those not in the know, Burton Snowboards is one of the world's premier manufacturers of snowboard clothing and equipment. Jake Burton, the company's founder, is widely considered to have pioneered the sport more than 25 years ago. Of course, I jumped at the chance to try out some of the latest products from a team known for their innovations in the field.

There was even a bonus involved--get in touch with the public relations department, I was told, and they'll hook you up with Burton representatives to ride with. Since most of those I tend to hit the slopes with are skiers, this was a welcome opportunity to spend some time with people who share my enthusiasm for the single-plank method of getting down a mountain. However, when I casually mentioned that my wife, a skier, would be tagging along for the weekend, you could almost hear the sound of the plans switching gears.

Burton's latest pet project, it turns out, is its Learn to Ride (LTR) Program. Designed in conjunction with major resorts and leading snowboard instructor associations, LTR is a radical new approach to getting novice snowboarders to conquer the slopes easily, safely, and, especially, painlessly. Combining specialized equipment, smaller class size, and a teaching philosophy that emphasizes fun, LTR is making a significant change in how beginners are introduced to the sport. The people at Burton were delighted at the prospect of using Susan to demonstrate this new method. All that remained was to get her to "volunteer."

Susan and I had learned to ski together about 10 years ago. Five years later, I learned to snowboard, and have never strapped on skis since. The freedom and fluidity I found on a board was something I had never achieved on skis, despite having reached a good level of competence with them. While my wife recognized my love for my newfound sport, she also vividly recalled my horror stories about the learning process I went through, and was understandably reluctant to try it herself.

I first got on a snowboard along with about a dozen other people in my novice class, and spent quite a lot of the first day slamming onto the snow, once almost knocking myself unconscious. By the end of the second day, I was falling less, but still not having much fun. Things finally came together on day three, when I was first able to put a few turns together without hitting the ground. Not surprisingly, many would-be snowboarders who have similar experiences never go back, as I did, for a second day. In fact, Burton's research suggests that just one in 10 people who take a Level I class ever put on a snowboard again. LTR, the culmination of five years of research and development based on novices' experiences, is Burton's attempt to improve those statistics.

Putting aside the fear factor, my thirtysomething, professional, not particularly athletic spouse was also a little hesitant about her ability to fit the traditionally youthful snowboarder image. However, my research had indicated that novice classes are filled with individuals of all ages, backgrounds, and fitness levels, and are about evenly split between former skiers and those who had never set a boot on the slopes. A veteran generation of snowboarders is introducing its kids to the sport, and the typical slacker stereotype is way past its prime. All you need, I assured her, are a moderate level of fitness, some warm clothing, and a supportive environment, and you, too, can be a snowboarder. A little hesitantly, she agreed.

We arranged to spend the weekend at Stowe, Vt., where Burton has set up one of 16 Method Centers in North America. There are 16 more around the world, and three Kids' Method Centers for the 12-and-under set. These are the bases for implementing the LTR program. A collaboration between Burton and the individual resort, a Method Center consists of instructors and equipment technicians, all with a common goal of providing a positive first-time experience. To qualify, a resort must furnish appropriate terrain for the beginner, low student-to-teacher ratios, and a technical staff committed to maintaining snowboards in optimum condition.

The LTR experience starts with the unique equipment. The novice LTR snowboard, like its cousin, the slightly more advanced Cruzer, is designed to be more forgiving of a beginner's less-than-perfect technique. The most significant difference from the typical board is its three-degree base edge bevel, a subtle, but important, change in the angle of the metal edge that makes it much more difficult for the side of the board to get hung up in the snow. Snowboarders call this "catching an edge," and those of us who have done it know how painful the resulting fall can be. The boards are more flexible as well, making it easier to initiate a turn.

Several other technical features--including deep sidecuts, which give the board a slightly hourglass shape--also help in turning. This allows riders to link turns, making an S pattern in the snow, in their very first lesson--in other words, allowing them actually to feel what it's like to snowboard, right on day one. Completing the package are supportive, comfortable boots and step-in bindings that permit a rider to clip the boot onto the board without the fanny freezing that resulted from sitting on the snow in the early days of the sport.

Once we had the appropriate gear, Susan got a short lecture on the mechanics of steering a snowboard. Use of edges, pressure, and turning technique were described and demonstrated. That done, we headed for the learners' slopes. By riding "switch"--with my right foot forward on the board, rather than my usual left--I was able to get a taste of the novice experience despite my years of snowboarding. Think of trying to write with your other hand, and you'll get the picture.

Most people are not fortunate enough, as Susan was, to learn from Jake Burton himself, while I teamed up with Matt Butterly, a Stowe Method Center veteran, to take me through a typical lesson. A little practice balancing on the board and learning to maneuver with one foot strapped in to get around crowds at the top and bottom of a slope, and we were ready to hit the lift. On our first trip up, I spotted Susan tentatively balancing on the board and making a few careful traverses, sliding sideways across the mountain in either direction. I made my own way down the slope, under Matt's careful tutelage, and, on our next ride up the lift, I was pleased to find her negotiating a few turns: curving around to face up the mountain; then heelside, opening up to face downslope. For someone who had been admittedly nervous a few hours earlier, she looked remarkably confident.

As the morning ended, we met up at the base of the beginners' slope, with Susan making slow, careful, but technically correct turns to get there. As promised, Burton and Stowe's LTR program had her linking turns by lunchtime, and, also as promised, she was doing it with a huge grin on her face.

That afternoon and the next day saw her practicing and improving her technique, while I took the opportunity to ride with Jeff Biloba, head of LTR for Burton. As we cruised some virgin powder high up on Spruce Peak, he told me that, in the short time LTR has been in widespread use, there has already been a positive response from resorts and instructors, demonstrating that successful starts lead to potentially longtime snowboarders. He emphasizes that making sure novices have fun during their first hours on a board is the crucial difference.

He is especially excited to be gradually introducing his two-and-a-half-year-old son to the sport, mindful of a toddler's limited balance and attention span. Jeff's attitude is typical of that of all the Burton/Method Center folks we met that weekend--they love to snowboard, and love to introduce new riders of all ages and backgrounds to the joys of the sport. I took one of their success stories home with me, and she can't wait to get out there and ride again.

Tom Farrell, a freelance writer from Brooklyn, N.Y., has been a snowboarder for more than five years.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Society for the Advancement of Education
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