Destination: STRATTON, Vt.

Snowboarding 101

A beginner's guide to negotiating the bumps and bruises

A snowboarder glides down the slope at Stratton Mountain Resort in Stratton, Vt., in this undated photo. Snowboarding has become very popular for people of all ages in the past 10 years.

A month after a painful breakup, I went brokenhearted on a ski trip my ex-boyfriend and I had already planned -- without him. As a distraction and an antidote to lost love, I issued myself a challenge: to learn how to ride a snowboard.

"You'll be black-and-blue from head to toe," one friend warned, reminding me of the monstrous bruises that mapped her thighs for weeks. Another suggested I pad my backside with a hand towel. I did.

The warning they failed to pass along was that I would become addicted to snowboarding -- and within a year sell off my rusty Rossignol skis, buy my own snowboard and plan all my vacations around snowfall.

"Snowboarding is my obsession, my first love," I once heard an Italian exult, arms upraised, at a chalet at Lake Tahoe.

I know what he meant. My lust for great "pow" (powder) has taken me to snowy points across the globe, from New Zealand to Argentina. In the process, many of my friends have come along, bumping their way through first lessons but eventually following the same path to addiction.

It's not a painless journey. Even the most expert of skiers bounce their way down the bunny slope the first day on a snowboard, and there were times at the start when I was sure I heard my brain rattling around in my head as I lay face-up, head in the snow. (A helmet would have helped.)

Getting snowboarding lessons from David Cooper at Stratton Mountain Resort in Stratton, Vt., Jan. 14, 2002. Snowboarding has become a popular activity in the past 10 years among people of all ages.

But in between the brain-jolting falls are moments of pure joy when you are up -- yes! up! -- and sailing down the slope defying gravity. A sense of balance comes about the third or fourth day, and by the end of the first week, most beginners can make it, with just a fall or two, down an intermediate slope.

From there, the learning curve is steep. There is no end to the challenges snowboarding presents -- moguls (every newbie snowboarder's worst nightmare), the half pipe, shimmering bowls, the backcountry.

No, the pipe and snowpark are not the sole purview of 15-year-olds in baggy pants. Yes, 10 years ago most riders were "guys, 15 to 24," recalls Shaun Cattanach, a staff trainer at Stratton Mountain Resort in southern Vermont. "It was more of that 'looking for adventure, I'm young and I'm going to conquer something' attitude."

Today, first-timers range in age from 4 to 75 -- many of them women, which was "pretty unheard of 10 years ago," Cattanach says.

Regina Spallone, 34, of Ipswich, Mass., is one of them. A skier for a half-dozen years, she decided on a powdery day at Stratton to try snowboarding, inspired by a friend who gave up his skies for good after strapping on a snowboard.

"If I can down the hill without killing myself, I'll be happy," she said at the start of her first lesson.

With snowboarding exploding in popularity over the past decade, resorts have learned the importance of that first lesson.

"A good school is going to help you get up and running on a snowboard as quickly as possible and make it an enjoyable experience," says Mark Dorsey, marketing director of the American Association of Snowboard Instructors, Dorsey -- who says he was a "39-year-old male who was slightly overweight" when he took up snowboarding -- cites two things key to learning to ride: athleticism and attitude.

Cattanach has two more words of advice: "Have fun."

Getting snowboarding lessons from David Cooper at Stratton Mountain Resort in Stratton, Vt., Jan. 14, 2002. Most beginning snowboarding packages at resorts include a lesson, snowboard and boots rental and a restricted lift ticket for about $60, a very good deal and highly recommended for the first day or two.

"People get so worked up about 'This isn't happening' or 'It's not quite right yet,"' he says. "You're outside in a beautiful environment. You just need to stop, relax and smile. A bad day of snowboarding still beats a great day at work."

Most beginning snowboarding packages include a lesson, snowboard and boots rental and a restricted lift ticket for about $60 -- a very good deal and highly recommended for the first day or two. It's wishful thinking to expect you'll be on anything even remotely resembling a mountain the first day.

Burton has designed boards and bindings especially for beginners and has 32 Method Centers worldwide where its Learn-to-Ride program aims to get first-timers up -- and linking turns -- by the end of the first day.

But at some resorts, beginners are still thrown into the rental tent with nary a word on what to expect. A quick how-to for first timers: Rental shops will ask -- in all seriousness -- if you ride "regular" or "goofy," terms borrowed from surfers. "Regular" is the more standard left foot forward; "goofy" is right foot forward.

If you surf or ride a skateboard, you already know which foot leads. Another simple test: Have a friend bump you gently from behind. The foot that pops out first is your dominant foot, and likely the foot you'll want in front since it does most of the work.

They may also ask which type of binding you prefer. Step-in bindings are faster to get into but conventional strap bindings offer more support. Several companies now make combination bindings.

Getting snowboarding lessons from David Cooper at Stratton Mountain Resort in Stratton, Vt., Jan. 14, 2002. In the past 10 years, snowboarding has become a popular activity among people of all ages.

They may ask how you'd like your bindings set. Many beginning boards are set "neutral," 0 degrees, feet facing perpendicular to the board. Burton sets its beginner bindings to 21 degrees in the front and 12 in the back, a formula culled from years of beginning rider feedback, according to Cattanach.

Waterproof outerwear is essential, as most beginners spend much of their time beached in the snow. Some ski shops and resorts rent snowboarding clothing, or discounted gear can be purchased cheap out of season or online. Several companies even make "technical" snowboarding pants that come padded in all the right places.

Goggles stay on better than sunglasses during those numbing falls, but if you prefer sunglasses, make sure they protect against UV rays. Helmets are becoming more common, and can be rented for about $10 a day at some resorts. Wristguards and knee pads like those worn for in-line skating are a good idea as well.

A few other key items: sunscreen and ibuprofen. I also carry a handkerchief and an energy bar. And don't forget to stretch out.

Now that you're dressed and equipped, a word on resorts: bigger is not always better your first time -- or even your fifth time -- on a snowboard.

While the view of Lake Tahoe from the famed peaks of California's Squaw Valley is breathtaking, its long, narrow runs -- a skier's paradise -- make it a terrifying place to learn how to snowboard.

In contrast, a tiny neighbor called Boreal is a beginning snowboarder's dream: a salivating stretch of wide, gentle slopes and a $34 lift ticket that is nearly half the price of Squaw's.

I'm also wary of resorts with lots of catwalks, the long stretches of flat that are a breeze on skis but brutal on a board, and I am partial to places that ripple with bowls, like British Columbia's vast Whistler-Blackcomb.

For beginning riders in the New York area, Jason Pellegrini, a Stratton instructor, suggests Camelback in the Poconos and Mountain Creek in northern New Jersey. Mammoth in Southern California and Breckenridge in Colorado are other snowboarder favorites.

One last thought: Keep your weight on your front foot. That's the mantra I played through my head my first few days, and it worked like a charm.

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