I was introduced to Alpine 3 years ago, at the age of 45, by a good friend of mine. I tried softbooting before and could never get the hang of it (my arms weren't long enough). I bought some used hardboot gear, off Bomber of course, for about $200 and was good to go. (Just got a brand new Coiler VSR for XMAS!!)
My only lessons were from my buddy, which lasted all of 5 seconds;
Lesson # 1. Point the board downhill
Lesson #2. Speed is your friend
I’ve never looked back.
As mentioned above, I love the uniqueness of the sport. There hasn’t been one hill that I’ve been on that someone hasn’t asked “what kind of board is that?” or “how come you’re wearing ski boots with a snowboard?” or “Is that a racing board?”
Alpine is not dead, maybe it’s just very well kept secret.