THE CANYONS -- Heel, toe, wrists or backside. That's the way things usually go for beginning snowboarders -- heavy on the backside. It's the preferred body part to hit the snow first.
And new boarders do fall. But then, the argument in skiing is that if you're not falling, you're not learning. It must be the same for snowboarding.That being the case, it's easy to see why the learning curve for snowboarding, the fastest growing winter sport in the country, rises so rapidly after the initial introduction.
Snowboarding is, said Bill Franks, an instructor for both skiing and snowboarding at The Canyons, much easier than skiing for a lot of people to grasp -- young and old.
"The first few times may be a little more difficult, " admitted Joe Wagner, director of ski school at The Canyons, "but after that it comes quickly. That's what we've found with most of our students."
He pointed out that between 30 and 40 percent of the lessons given daily at The Canyons are for snowboarders. A good many of those are new students -- never-evers and beginners. National studies show that the average age of new snowboards is rising.
"May times," said Wagner, "it's a case where parents simply want to be able to snowboard with their kids. The kids rave about it and the parents want to try. Also, a lot of people ski and want to try something new and different. Snowboarding is that."
Actually, the first steps are easy. Learning to carry the board, and look professional, is a snap. Same with getting into the new step-in bindings and pushing your board like a scooter to get to the lift.
The heelside, toeside moves doesn't come as easily, even though Franks makes it look as easy as standing upright.
Heelside you face down the mountain, back towards the hill, and edge with the back of the board, explained Franks. Toeside you face uphill, push down on the toes and edge with the front of the board. That mastered . . .
"Now, simply look in the direction you want to go. That's the key. Where you're eyes look, your body will follow. Easy," he added and did, in deed, make it look easy.
Funny thing is it works. It's like the head is connected to a rudder in the snow and as the head turns, so does the board. The tendency for beginners, said Franks, it to rotate the body and not the head.
Wagner also pointed out that there's a hesitation by new boarders to release an edge in order to flow into the turn, "so you get the downhill edge fighting with the uphill edge for control. Once you get the feeling of releasing the edge, then it's a fairly easy thing to do."
Easy for whom?
Things have, in fact, gotten easier within the past few years. Where students were once taught to move the body forward into a turn, new methods and better equipment have brought out new teaching techniques where toes are flexed, either up or down, to engage a turn.
This is where faith in the instructor comes into play. Look and the board will turn -- eventually. For a heel-side everything flow in reverse.
Many of Utah's ski areas offers special programs to help introduce the sport.
In a package program at The Canyons, for example, students get a board, lesson and lift pass. After three lessons, if the student wishes to invest in a snowboard, the price of the three packages is added up and can be applied to the purchase of any of the available snowboard packages.
"So, basically, you get the three lessons, rentals and lift tickets free," said Wagner. "One reasons behind this is we want to make sure people are using good equipment. That can make all the difference in the world."
It may not seem that way for the beginner fighting to get the toe-edge to hold, but it will for the boarder who sticks with it and has his or her eyes looking up the learning curve.