Snowboarding Extreme Sport at Winterplace

This is probably the peak of my vacation this year, snowboarding. The last time I snowboarded was about 3 years ago. I really enjoyed it, but I didn’t have the chance to really “enjoy” it because I fell so many times at that time. This time, I managed to enjoy my snowboarding little bit more as I was able to control my board little bit better than the last time. I still fell down a lot but not as much.

We decided to go to WinterPlace Ski Resort to snowboard. It was located in Ghent, WV. The price was ok, but there was no other attractions other than ski resorts in West Virginia, so during the three days we were there, we didn’t go anywhere else besides eating and snowboarding. The place was great though. It was much cleaner than the ski resort I saw in Gatlinburg, TN.

There are couple lessons I learned as I begin to understand to snowboard:

• Stay calm. AT first, you will panic as your board slides through the snow, because you don’t really know how to control the board. However, the more you are panicking the more your board go wild and you will end up falling. So, stay calm, hear and remember what your instructor told you to do.
• Balance yourself. Position your shoulder at the center of your board. Don’t fight it. Your body will naturally leaning backward or forward to balance yourself, but by doing so, you will be off-balance from your snowboard and fell.
• Point your front shoulder to the direction you want to go. Your front shoulder is used as a string wheel. By pointing your shoulder, your hips and legs will turn to the direction you want to go, and it will also turn the board to the right direction.
• Learn how to stop really well. This will help you a lot, especially in the beginning stage. You don’t want to hit someone or fell to the gutter at side of your snowboard track. Also, proper fall will minimize the impact from falling.
• Stretching before you start. Your body will be forced to do certain things that you would not normally do. So, if you are not properly stretching, your body will sore more that it should be.
• Wear proper attire. Make sure you wear something that’s waterproof, including your pants, jacket, and gloves. If not, the water from snow will penetrate into your body and make you fell really cold. Most places rent bib, so if you don’t have waterproof pants, you can rent it from them. TIPS: Go to Good Will Store to get cheap snowboard attires.

If you are not a beginner, you might have your own preference in do things when you are snowboarding. That’s fine. The list above is only for beginners.