jburk Posted February 20, 2018 Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 A post of @Beckmann AG in the "Anyone want to buy Bomber" thread got me thinking: I know I would spend a significant portion of my boarding-related budget on instruction rather than gear, if only I could find some (at least semi-qualified) instruction. Using older gear more effectively is way more rewarding than repeating the same bad habits on a new piece of kit. I've had quite a bit of skiing instruction from ages 5 until my mid-20's, which has given me some context to self-critique my hardboot riding and hopefully catch bad habits as they develop before they get cemented into muscle memory, but an hour with someone who can break things down and suggest a few key things to work on is worth multiple seasons of riding by yourself. Hell, if I could even get someone to shoot vid of me from time to time I'd be way ahead of the game. Is there anyone in the PDX area who has some experience as an instructor who would be willing to do a few paid sessions a month at Meadows, mid-week nights from 6 to 9? Your experience wouldn't necessarily have to be as a snowboard instructor, some history as ski instructor would be OK if you're currently an active harbooter. It would ideally be at Meadows, as that's where I have a season's pass. I wonder about the efficacy of time spent with even a very talented rider with no formal instruction experience. I've found from my ski days that a lot of very good riders without some training in instruction can't articulate what another rider needs to do in order to progress. I've asked at the ski school at Meadows several times last year about this, but convinced that route is a dead end. A couple of the staff were like "I used to carve, it was awesome. Haven't done it in over 10 years..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliechocolate Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 http://www.snowperformance.com/ operates out of Hood River and they run carving camps. Chances are they might know someone who teaches in your area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 8 minutes ago, charliechocolate said: http://www.snowperformance.com/ operates out of Hood River and they run carving camps. Chances are they might know someone who teaches in your area. They have Sean Cassidy, he lives in the Seattle Area. He knows his stuff, I worked with him at Crystal. On 2/19/2018 at 8:50 PM, jburk said: s there anyone in the PDX area who has some experience as an instructor who would be willing to do a few paid sessions a month at Meadows, mid-week nights from 6 to 9? Your experience wouldn't necessarily have to be as a snowboard instructor, some history as ski instructor would be OK if you're currently an active harbooter. It would ideally be at Meadows, as that's where I have a season's pass. I did happen to teach skiing and snowboarding (in hard boots) and currently also have a Meadows pass, but I can't do nights or weekends at this time. PM me and maybe we can connect. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted February 22, 2018 Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 20 hours ago, Keenan said: I did happen to teach skiing and snowboarding (in hard boots) and currently also have a Meadows pass, but I can't do nights or weekends at this time. PM me and maybe we can connect. Having seen Keenan ride, I would be pretty stoked to get some lessons from him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skjalf Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 On 2/22/2018 at 11:31 AM, Dan said: Having seen Keenan ride, I would be pretty stoked to get some lessons from him! +1 I would also like to get lesson(s) from Keenan at Meadows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckmann AG Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 If none of the above works out in a timely manner, have you considered hiring an instructor from Meadows to simply shoot quality footage you can post here? That would at least provide some common ground for evaluation of the big picture stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 It looks like were on hold until it stops dumping. I'm not even sure I want to go up there this week. These people drive like fools. My powder board is going to last forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dw3 Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 Olympics got me like “I gotta try this!” I’ve been riding 6 years but only in the soft boots. I love to hit steep groomers and go fast. How do I get started? I ride at Hood and make several trips out of state to ride each year. So how do I get started? I would love to get some instruction but also need info about equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 DW3, welcome! If you post a greeting in the main Carving Community forum, you will get all kinds of info on gear and links to instructional resources. My quick $0.02: you will spend the most on boots and it's hard to get around that. Ski boots are not a good option (some people will disagree with me on this, but the flex pattern is really not what is needed for snowboard carving). You need to figure out your mondo size, which is your foot length in centimeters - I think there is a "how to" somewhere on this site. There is probably a mondo size printed in your soft snowboard boots somewhere - probably a number from 25 to 30 or so, it's the same as Japanese boot sizing, different from Euro sizes. Anyway, once you have your mondo size, you can post in "looking to buy" for some used boots, but there is a pretty good chance you'll have to get new boots, which you can get from yyzcanuck.com or blue-tomato.com or upzboots.com. There are two companies making hardboard snowboard boots now, Raichle and UPZ. Performance-wise, both are fine, but there are some differences in the boot shape so depending on your foot shape one might work better than the other. Use search to find some discussions on this. UPZ has shorter soles for the same size foot, so if you have very large feet (mondo 29 cm or greater), UPZ might work better because you get more options for angles without having overhang. Overhang on an alpine board is a non-starter. Boards and bindings are cheaper and easier to come by and you can expect lots of advice from people if you post on the main forum. You could find a used board+bindings for $200 total if you shop carefully. Post your height / weight on the main forum and people will give recommendations. Personally, I started out with hardboots and plates on the freeride board I already owned, and a few days of that eased the transition when I started riding a dedicated carving board. Definitely happy to hook up on the mountain some time, but I think Keenan would be the go-to guy for lessons if you can talk him into it :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P06781 Posted March 3, 2018 Report Share Posted March 3, 2018 Monday and tuesday morning are looking "prime" for carving . If you can make it up then , I'm sure there will be a group of us riding . I have no formal experience in teaching but have ridden with the "snow performance" crew in the past and can offer pointers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jburk Posted March 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2018 Thanks for the offer. I'll be up on Tuesday with another rider, would be great if we ran into each other. I'm in a burgundy/red jacket, blue pants with black knees, grey helmet, come up and say hi if you see me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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