Yeap, if you can't skateboard down the street you'll have a hell of a time trying to snowboard. Guarenteed to catch you heel edge and slam your noggin. If you're from the ski world, it can be easier to learn on alpine snowboarding equipment. This looks like ski boots and a race board but isn't, it's specail hard snowboard boots, and a board meant to glide and turn, not 'rip fat air, yo.' Check out www.bomberonline.com . They have a good forum, too.

haha chris, my vote is the clavicle or your wrist. i tried it for the first time last season. i ski pretty good and i thought to myself, WTF? how hard can it be? IT WAS A BIITTCH!. i am a professional mountian bike crasher, so i know how to fall. for some reason, repeated body slammings on the mountian hurts like nothing i have ever felt before. i took lessons, and more than once after the instructor tells you to try something, i think, "you want be to do what?!!!" heel slide, toe slide....whatever. i will try again, but i am wearing a helmet, and medievel knight armor.....

will the armor be SC style, galvanized?

seriously, get a skateboard, it'll make all the difference

I think snowboarding is more like surfing than skateboarding. The weight distribution in skateboarding is more different than surfing. Skateboarding will give you a good idea of what to expect nonethless.

Wear a helmet and wrist guards. I wear a guard that provides thumb support as well. Of course that was after a shattered my thumb (four fractures, two dislocations). I have some yucky pics, but not here.

Snowboarders have fewer knee injuries (ie. ACL) but more upper body injuries (ie. wrist).

Falling hurts. Make your first few days "soft snow days". You will fall A LOT.

I know several 40+ year olds who started and have done great. Just get through the first few days and you'll enjoy it a lot. Don't allow frustration to get the best of you!

Enjoy!
Jon

PS The ideal thing in my opinion is to ski on harder snow days and board when there's powder. Nothing like it.

I tried snowboarding when I was about 30, and an advanced skier. I'd done a lot of skateboarding in college as well.

The thing that surprised me the most? How much my back got twisted and hurt.

What would happen was, I'd be turning, over-lean, fall on my butt, slide along on my back with my left side leading, then the leading end of my board would catch in the snow, the board would dig in and rotate, my lower body would rotate, and my back would take all the twisting stress as my upper body was forced to follow. Ouch.

Eventually I learned to turn myself while sliding, so that this didn't happen. But I decided against doing any more snowboarding.

Leave it to Porsche guys to jump right into the technical stuff and skip the most important, basic advice.

Carry your booze in one of those soft, squishy plastic flasks, or a wine skin. Metal and glass are not a good idea.

JP

5) Coccyx

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll try not to break anything by taking all the precautions you wrote about. I think I'm gonna be the goofiest looking guy out there with a pillow strapped to my a$$, wrist guards and helmet. By the way, I used to skateboard as a kid but was never any good. Wish me luck!