[clm]

thats the vilest board i have ever seen! Do you wear skinny jeans? Please don't buy it. I go la plagne next saturday. Please be snow.

[clm]

...and 153 is fairly small andi. Are you a stump?

[SA Chris]

...and 153 is fairly small andi. Are you a stump?

It's a jib board so meant to be ridden short, but you would be daft to buy a jib board to learn on.

[andy_e]

Apparently it's a beginner's jib board, which is what i want...

[SA Chris]

Trust me, you don't. From what I can see that is a reverse camber board, and will be bad to learn on. You want to learn to ride before you learn to jib or go into the park.

I repeat, do not buy a board before your first trip. If you have mates who are out there they should be able to hook you up with cheap hire, or you can borrow a board from someone.

[andy_e]

Yeah i've been dissuaded and rtold TSA were trying to rip me off...

[SA Chris]

How unusual. From my experience the shops are sheltered employment for the terminally choadish.

[Tiberius]

Yeah i've been dissuaded and rtold TSA were trying to rip me off...

Well TSA itself won't try to rip you off, but they employ mamy people, some of whom can't really remember what a beginner needs and may try to sell you their own preferences...something that never happens in the climbing world 

If it's your first trip and you have no experience then I agree with above posters, don't bother buying a board. Boots mean you don't have to stuff you feet into someone else's sweaty remnants, but snowboard boots can be expensive. I just bought my son snowboard boots and climbing shoes. £160 for the snowboard boots, expensive for a once a year trip (not so bad for us, we live near Cas XScape, so they will get a lot of use...but still, snowboarding is an expensive hobby compared with climbing.

Try www.snowboardclub.co.uk the forums have a lot of information and help on them. Generally I find climbers are similar to snowboarders...but not as fat.

[andy_e]

we live near Cas XScape

Next time you drop by Cas Vegas, come see me on rentals, I'll be the floppy blond-haired one with the moon or prana beanie on!

Seeing as how I get to ride all the time, it might be worth getting a board in a few months, once i can get down from the top to the bottom without rolling over multiple times, do a few things on kickers/boxes etc...

I've been recommended a board like this one:

http://www.romesnowboards.com/product/boards/addictive-collection/

due to its shape it should be easy to ride, and is a good all-rounder.

[andy_e]

http://ridesnowboards.com/boards/society  or that one!

[SA Chris]

The grahipcs on that Rome board are nothing short of horiffic.

If you are working in rentals you should be able to get a few boards on the slope to get a feel for what you want and don't want. Plus you should progress pretty fast if you are working there, so don't buy anything for a while.

And my advice is avoiding boxes, kickers and shit until you can go top to bottom with linked carved turns properly and confidently.

[andy_e]

And my advice is avoiding boxes, kickers and shit until you can go top to bottom with linked carved turns properly and confidently.

I'm heeding that advice already! I'm really not confident so hitting a box doesn't seem like a good plan! My friend keeps trying to convince me to hit a box but i'm climbing strong at the moment so i don't want to ruin that with a cast or something!

If you are working in rentals you should be able to get a few boards on the slope

nope, we only have one type of board...

The grahipcs on that Rome board are nothing short of horiffic.

shush 

[Plattsy]

Got a mate who's been boarding for 9 years. Managed to break a wrist completely all bar 5mm of bone coming off a box wrong at Cas. Stick to them turns dude.

[cofe]

Are you buying that board off stevie wonder, andi?

[clm]

go do a season and stop fagging about indoors.

[SA Chris]

definitely, if you are done with uni now.

But on the board front do not buy a board with daft graphics that are "in" for a season, or else you will look like a mug the next year.

[Norton Sharley]

top to bottom with linked carved turns properly and confidently.

What, is the place empty and got a whole load bigger?  Most quality jibbers I see can't do linked carved turns anywhere.  Freeriding and jibbing are as mutuallly exclusive as bouldering and chuffing imho 

[SA Chris]

top to bottom with linked carved turns properly and confidently.

What, is the place empty and got a whole load bigger?  Most quality jibbers I see can't do linked carved turns anywhere.  Freeriding and jibbing are as mutuallly exclusive as bouldering and chuffing imho 

Are we talking about dicking about at Castleford here, or the bigger picture? I thought Andy was away to the Alps soon? And, IMO, anyone should learn to ride a board properly before going anywhere near any park, so they a) don't look like a prat b) have less chance of hurting themselves and c) don't clog the park with people lying at the bottom of jumps, getting in the way and being a hazard to other users.

And where was I tellinh him to learn to freeride? Being able to do a few linked turns is hardly freeriding.

[Tiberius]

Way too many freestylers can't ride for shit (including a couple of 'professionals). The only 'riding' they do is to get from one rail to the other. As a posted pointed out above, think boulderers and propper climbers

Personally for a first boad, something like the Atomic Hatchet is a good all rounder at a very reasonable price (i.e. less than £200).

[galpinos]

Slightly off topic but....

Can anyone recomend a snowboardign DVD as a Christmas Present. The lad in question (the missus' cousin) is pretty keen and has got quite a few already so something I reckon something new to increase the chance of him not having it.

I instantly thought of the new Jeremy Jones movie but that's not out yet. Shall I just get TGR's lastest offering or is there anything that's "standout" at the mo. 

(I thinking a freeride/park mixture as he does both).

[SA Chris]

Get "That's it, that's All" the Travis Rice one. best I have seen in a while, if he doesn't have it.

Nice mix and some amazing footage.

I love the TGR ones, but unless they have a an interest in skiing too then large sections might not appeal.

[Tiberius]

...Managed to break a wrist completely all bar 5mm of bone coming off a box wrong at Cas.

I took my wrist off the top of my arm riding down a mountain. Split the Ulna down the middle and peeled it apart. Was funny, my arm looked like it was bent in a kind of a U shape.

Spent 3 days in Grenoble hospital having it hammered back into shape, missed the middle of the holiday and didn't get to ride until the day b4 we came home (complete with a cast on). I wasn't climbing at the time, but would probably have put me out for 6 month or so.

[clm]

And my advice is avoiding boxes, kickers and shit until you can go top to bottom with linked carved turns properly and confidently.

I with chris on this. Andi, if you start jumping you'll find yourself coming off stuff carrying a shit load of speed, often with you board in an unusual position under you. It can get quite messy quite quickly. Learn to ride well first.

[Norton Sharley]

top to bottom with linked carved turns properly and confidently.

What, is the place empty and got a whole load bigger?  Most quality jibbers I see can't do linked carved turns anywhere.  Freeriding and jibbing are as mutuallly exclusive as bouldering and chuffing imho 

Are we talking about dicking about at Castleford here, or the bigger picture? I thought Andy was away to the Alps soon? And, IMO, anyone should learn to ride a board properly before going anywhere near any park, so they a) don't look like a prat b) have less chance of hurting themselves and c) don't clog the park with people lying at the bottom of jumps, getting in the way and being a hazard to other users.

And where was I tellinh him to learn to freeride? Being able to do a few linked turns is hardly freeriding.

Sorry your post just gave me this image of peeps graciously carving down Cas slope 

How frozen is the ground up your way now Chris?  Is it going to be a bumper year in Scotland?

[SA Chris]

It's shaping up pretty well. Top of 'gorm has been open for a couple of weeks, and rest of resorts are improving. Loads of routes getting done, but snowcover is developing slowly. Another cold snap forecast for weekend, hopefully ground will freeze so base can start building. Might be able to finally fullfil an ambition to board Black Spout Gully this year.

Hopefully it will be a bumper year, as we aren't going to be able to stray too far this winter, due to an imminent arrival. First year with no ski trips abroad since 1995!