Anyone Snowboard?

I bought a helmet after I knocked myself cold my first year snowboarding. Hit the snow/ice so hard on the back of my head I didn't remember anything for 6 hrs. Drove home and everything. I was living by the moment, fine at the time, but not retaining any memory what so ever. It was interesting.

I will never board without one after that. Plus, you can look cool with a helmet too:

Jamesons always has a nice medicinal warmth. Funny post. I like Morfoot's advice. You have to really exaggerate throwing your hips to get from edge to edge. Remember- Always on an edge never ride flat. Flat is about an eighth inch from disaster. Faceplants in the snow are not as funny as on the water...

It sounds like you're going to have a great time.
I think the advice that mdv gave is spot on. The zig-zag heal side, meaning your heals are on the uphill side, is the way we've taught quite a few boarders. If you've been wakeboarding, you have an advantage over most new boarders, even ones coming from the two-plank world. Three weeks ago we taught my brother-in-law's girlfriend how to board. She's never snow skied or wakeboarded, and was able to get down the hill without falling after an hour.
Figure out what foot will be forward based on your wakebarding. I'm right foot forward (goofy foot) so I would set up at the top of the hill and shift more weight to the right leg and start moving to the right. Then by bringing my left leg even with the right and digging the heals, I can come to a stop. Then do the same thing going left; shift the weight to the left leg, slightly point the left end of your board down, and head to the left. Then you try to do that without the stop in between, A little hint is to use your arms and shoulders, and point which way you want to go. That will help your hips to turn in the direction your hoping to go.
No disrespect to Morfoot, but I think he was trying to get you to run healside to toeside. That will be for your second day, or after lunch and a couple of cold ones.
One important (the most important) piece of advice I can offer; WEAR A BRAIN BUCKET!!). When you catch an edge on a snowboard, you go down quick, like a wakeboard. Unless your running in deep powder, the helmet is your bet friend if you catch an edge while riding toeside.
Second piece of advice, stay off the bunny hill. I'm not saying that to protect your man-card, I'm saying it because you need some slope to get yourself moving. A little speed helps. It's similar to how riding a bike too slow isn't as easy.
I hope this helps.
BTW, speaking of names of hills. I took up snowboarding 10+ years ago after tearing my ACL while snow skiing down a hill called ShushyCat, at Crystal Mountain here in MI. It's a black diamond run with steep slope and tough moguls. At Crystal, they have all the chair lift columns color coded. The lift columns on ShushyCat are pink.
Have fun. Post pics.

IAughtNaut wrote: 75 Tique wrote: So as to avoid awkward moments with the hot tub ladies, maybe run to one of the local slopes around Cleveland a time or two before the big trip and get a feel for it. Well that doesn't sound like very much fun...takes some of the adventure out of it! I think the fact that I might get hurt is one of the reasons they were so insistent I come. In fact, we even came up with a super bowl-style squares game so that we can wager on when and how me and one of the more fragile girls will hurt ourselves.

Well, that works too. How much are squares? Can I buy one? Let us know how it goes.

75 Tique wrote: So as to avoid awkward moments with the hot tub ladies, maybe run to one of the local slopes around Cleveland a time or two before the big trip and get a feel for it.

Well that doesn't sound like very much fun...takes some of the adventure out of it! I think the fact that I might get hurt is one of the reasons they were so insistent I come. In fact, we even came up with a super bowl-style squares game so that we can wager on when and how me and one of the more fragile girls will hurt ourselves.

Ok, lemme see if I follow...It almost sounds like your advice is to kinda side-slide down the hill, and then, for lack of a better way of saying it, zig-zag back and forth without ever actually pointing the board downhill, keeping it for the most part perpendicular to the slope of the hill. Is that correct?

When you say catch an edge, do you mean the side edge or the front edge? Cause on waterskis, because of the curve at the tip of the ski its virtually impossible to bury it. The tips of the snowboard curve up the same way, though probably not as much, is it the same thing? Or am I going to catch that tip at catapult myself over the nose?

haha sounds like you're in quite the predicament Adam. Good choice on going though. The hot tub should be worth the whole trip. Plus, you'll need it after all the falls you'll be taking.

I am an athlete, played all the sports in HS, wakeboarding for 10 years, footing for 15, (im 23) and just started snowboarding in 06 because I was worried I'd be crazy and get hurt in HS and miss my sporting chances.

Anyways...next to learning how to surf, snowboarding was one of the most difficult things I learned how to do. I don't mean to get you syked out by any means but don't plan on being Shaun White your first trip out. I went out thinking psh, I got this...nope lol

A lot like wakeboarding a very good tip is to always keep the downhill side of the board up and out of the snow. You catch an edge on that puppy and you're going down in a hurry. Much like on the water when you can't even get your eyes shut in time and the water gets behind your eye lids...

Best way to get started is stand at the top of the hill like your on skis facing directing down the hill. let your left tip angle down the hill to the left a ways and then bring your right tip up a little and go down the hill to the right. Switching as you get across the hill each time.

Does that make sense? stay on your heels while your doing this and just keep sliding down like that.

It's really difficult (or at least is was for me) to actually get one tip going down the hill and being able to rock back and forth from heal to toe until you get that side slide method locked in. Check out this link I found...it can help you much more than I can.

Snowboard Tips