Tips for Snowboarding

by Kevin Miller
posted 4/26/1998

1. Get a teacher. There are very few people who are naturals at this sport. You can't just walk in and expect to have a good run down the mountain the first time. A teacher will help you enjoy the sport more and prevent injury.

2. Know the equipment size that you need. (If you're 4 feet tall, you won't be able to do anything on a 169 cm all mountain board, just as if you are 5 feet tall, a 106 cm board will be pretty hard to do much of anything on.)

3. Do snowboarding because you like it. Too many people do sports because it looks cool, or because their friends do it. If you don't like it, don't do it.

4. Make sure your bindings are attached securely to the board and that all of the latches work. This can be a big problem if one of the ratchets pops open, because it's king of hard to press it back down in mid-run. An open ratchet impairs performance.

5. Ride within your abilities; don't go to the park your first day. And definitely don't ride down the black diamond slopes until you have mastered all of the others.

The Best Place to Snowboard
A couple good ones are Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Whistler, British Columbia. You could also travel to places like Austria, France, and New Zealand for some extremely good riding.

The Best Brand
Obviously, there's a lot of disagreement here. Overall, I'd say that Santa Cruz is the best because it's won so many awards for its snowboards that one hangs in the New York Museum of Modern Art and Design. Close behind are Shorty's, Atlantis, Limited, Lamar, Type A, Joyride, Division 23, and Burton. For the most part, almost every company is at least fairly good, this article just tells about some of the exceptional ones.

Here are a couple of good places to get gear:

CCS Mail Order (in the winter) 1-800-777-9648
Board Zone 1-800-669-1258

Skateboarding!

A written interview with Jeff Barton.
posted 4/26/1998

What are a few tips for skateboarding?
1.Never be afraid to try new things.
2.Expect to get hurt, cause you will.
3.When you fall, always tuck and roll.
4.Be unique, try doing your own thing.

What's the best brand of skateboard?
I've had good experiences with Hook-ups and Powell.

The best brand of clothes?
Quality of all brands is about the same; just get whatever looks cool.

Do you wear pads? a helmet?
When starting out, you whould always wear pads and a helmet, or when doing and ramps or transitions.

What's your favorite move? How's it done?
My favorite move is the heel flip, which is done by sliding your foot off your front side of the nose while in the air, causing the board to flip 360, and then landing back onto the board, still while in the air.

Where's the best place in Ames to skateboard? Gilbert?
Anywhere in campus [Iowa State University] at Ames is good, and the school is probably the best place in Gilbert.

What makes a place good for skateboarding?
Any hard, smooth surface with curbs, steps, or any other fun things to play on.

How did you get started? When?
I was watching TV once and saw some guys doing it and thought it would be cool so I just went from there. I've been skating now for about 2 1/2 years.

Arcade ;-)