Bringing your Girl Skiboardng

[Synn]

Do you guys think it's a good idea?

I was thinking about buying two Night Season passes for me and my girl (got till end of Oct for the discounts).

Think it's a good idea to invest that much money in my girl for Skiboarding?

The plan is to hit the hills every weekend, but she has never even skied before.
How is it when you bring a girl with you?
How is it when you bring someone who has never skiied before?

I know with my boys, we hardly even talk. We got our music playing, and we're shredding it. Then we chill at the park and crack jokes.
With my girl who has never been skiing before, how will this work out?

I think learning to Skiboard is much easier than learning to ski. My first time, I strapped em on, and was down the hill.
But you always see those new skiiers on the hills making the pizza shapes, edging slowly. This is a season pass though, so she'll eventually get good right? Gotta ride at least 8 times to make the pass worth.

Share your opinion and/or experiences.

[Bad Wolf]

I would as long as she wants to. There is nothing easier to learn on than skiboards, the shorter the better. It's even OK to skip the lessons and led her learn through feedback. Just give her the chance to get confident on easy terrain first and she will progress quickly. For the saKe of your relationship I would avoid trying to teach her yourself. No pizza required, just french fries and hockey stops. If she can skate or blade, she can skiboard.

Maybe rent her some Tanshos or Slapdashes through the demo program first.

[mary]

Now, I can't exactly say how teaching your girlfriend to skiboard will go, but I've taught my girl friends and my boyfriend how to ski on the blades that my local place rents. My family as a whole has taught many people to ski, and we always start them on the shortest thing they can rent. They always pick it up by the end of the day. My advice is to go once if at all on the easiest terrain you have, then pull them up onto the bigger (still beginner/intermediate) slopes where less beginners are so they have less obstacles. It'll all depend on how easily she picks up on it.
For my advice to you from a girl, I don't know the personality of the girl you're with, but if you do plan on taking her and showing her yourself, you should probably actually show her and talk to her and stay with her, even if she struggles. Evaluate your teaching abilities and decide if you think it's a good idea to teach her. You and your guy friends may be fine with just slapping on some skiboards, putting headphones in and heading down the hill, but until she's comfortable, I'd give her your attention. You don't want her to feel lost or left out, especially if she's not sure what she's doing. Skiing is a fairly solo sport, but she'll probably want to have fun with you, not just with herself.

[mary]

But to answer whether or not I think you should bring her, YES! Go for it. Introduce someone else to the world of skiboading it could be something awesome that the two of you really enjoy doing together.

[LYK]

Couple of tips...

A big issue is comfort - make sure the boots fit, the clothes are warm and watertight, the goggles not ill fitting and all fogged up. It makes a big difference whether someone is warm and comfortable vs wet and miserable. Skip the days when its blowing a gale with freezing rain, its just too much for a beginner to enjoy. Bring spare clothes to change out afterwards too.

Keep it short and sweet. Its better to leave early and have her wanting to come back, then stay too long and leave a bad taste.

Dont push too hard. Again, its better to have someone eager and left wanting to do more, then taking someone beyond their ability and destroy their confidence with too difficult a run to come down on.

[mary]

Keep it short and sweet. Its better to leave early and have her wanting to come back, then stay too long and leave a bad taste.

Dont push too hard. Again, its better to have someone eager and left wanting to do more, then taking someone beyond their ability and destroy their confidence with too difficult a run to come down on.

My boyfriend said he was done after his first run on the bunny hill. Lol. Said it was too tiring for him and refused to try the chair lift. Eventually I got him to go after a lot of motivation and now he can't wait for this season either!

[Wookie]

Here are somethings to consider:

Do The Math -- if your question just comes down to if a season pass is the right choice, figure out when you will break even. In the Eastern US/Canada it takes an average of 8+ days on the hill to make a season path worth it. So figure out if your girlfriend will hit the hill that many times or if just a few times out is enough for her first season. Once a week for Jan/Feb is 8-9 days and most of the Eastern Season.

Does She Have Any Transferable Skills -- does your girlgfriend skate, play hockey, or has she been skiing before? If the answer to any of those is YES she'll likely take to skiboarding better than if the answer is NO.

Is Your Typical Night on the Hill a "Sausage Fest"? -- sounds like you hang with your friends on the hill. Is it all guys and is this "guy time"? Are they all advanced skiers/riders? Will your girlfriend feel comfortable with this group enough to join you all the time?

Does Your Girlfriend Enjoy the Cold? -- snowsports aren't for everyone. There are pro level skiboarders that don't like to be cold but press on. If she doesn't like to be in freezing conditions for extended periods the chances of her skiboarding all the time are slim.

Try Before You Buy -- For a first season some inexpensive rentals or used "skiblades" and a 5 pack of lift tickets can be a better way to go rather than investing in a season pass and top end skiboards.

Will You Be Happy on Greens all Season? -- I'll disagree with BadWolf here and say there are easier things to learn than skiboarding. Snowsports are NOT easy and if you want a skiboarding partner with your girlfriend you may need to invest a whole season on the Bunny Hill with her. I have done this with two daughters and my wife and it gets boring. Can you handle this if this is what it will take to keep your girlfriend interested?

[rickylink]

YIKES! Ride with a girl!??

lol

[Bad Wolf]

Wait what Wookie, skiing and snowboarding are easier to learn than skiboarding ? Say it ain't so!

[Wookie]

Wait what Wookie, skiing and snowboarding are easier to learn than skiboarding ? Say it ain't so!

I am not saying that. I am saying that there are easier things other than skiing/snowboarding, like snowtubing, and your post implied that skiboarding is as easy as falling off a log (plus I am messing with you a bit, which is also easier than skiboarding).

Skiboarding is not easy and is not for everyone. Skiboarding may have been easier than skiing or snowboarding for most of us but I have seen people that just can't get it similar to ice skating, roller skating, riding a bike, etc.. Forcing skiboarding or any snowsport on your significant other can be a relationship killer if your expectations are too high and you are not prep'ed for them to say it's not for them.

To clarify I offer a portion of your original post from above:

..... There is nothing easier to learn on than skiboards ......

Other things easier than skiboarding .... posting snarky comments online, wear capes, applying stickers to sporting goods, etc.. Okay maybe not wearing capes, that takes some balls, but those other things are easier.

[Quattrofan]

Going skiing together doesn't have to mean actually skiing together. Just going along for the ride, spending time in the lodge together can be fun. It is the entire experience that can be rewarding.

IMHO of course

I am not saying that. I am saying that there are easier things other than skiing/snowboarding, like snowtubing, and your post implied that skiboarding is as easy as falling off a log (plus I am messing with you a bit, which is also easier than skiboarding).

Skiboarding is not easy and is not for everyone. Skiboarding may have been easier than skiing or snowboarding for most of us but I have seen people that just can't get it similar to ice skating, roller skating, riding a bike, etc.. Forcing skiboarding or any snowsport on your significant other can be a relationship killer if your expectations are too high and you are not prep'ed for them to say it's not for them.

To clarify I offer a portion of your original post from above:



Other things easier than skiboarding .... posting snarky comments online, wear capes, applying stickers to sporting goods, etc.. Okay maybe not wearing capes, that takes some balls, but those other things are easier.

[crocos]

Going skiing together doesn't have to mean actually skiing together. Just going along for the ride, spending time in the lodge together can be fun. It is the entire experience that can be rewarding.

IMHO of course

Picture this: Your significant other has dragged you up the mountain to try this new sport of theirs, doesn't really matter which it is. You try it, give it a good go and decide you don't like it / aren't a snow person / whatever.
Fair enough. But now you're in the lodge all day getting bored out of your noggin' while your partner and their friends are hitting the slopes.

Sure it's nice to see your partner at night & spend time together, but you don't want to wind up as the kitchen slave either. There's only so much you can do at a ski lodge that doesn't involve the snow.

That might be fine for a day, even 2 if you've got some reading material, but much after that and you're are going to be bored and hacked off, generally wanting to go the heck home.

[Wookie]

Picture this: Your significant other has dragged you up the mountain to try this new sport of theirs, doesn't really matter which it is. You try it, give it a good go and decide you don't like it / aren't a snow person / whatever.
Fair enough. But now you're in the lodge all day getting bored out of your noggin' while your partner and their friends are hitting the slopes.

Sure it's nice to see your partner at night & spend time together, but you don't want to wind up as the kitchen slave either. There's only so much you can do at a ski lodge that doesn't involve the snow.

That might be fine for a day, even 2 if you've got some reading material, but much after that and you're are going to be bored and hacked off, generally wanting to go the heck home.

I know way too many people who do just what Crocos describes. This can work but usually does not and there are two scenarios that I see most:

The Good Scenario: The significant other doesn't like skiing/snowboarding/skiboarding and will go to the mountain but not participate. The good thing is there are other spouses/partners that feel the same way so while the snowsports group (husbands,wives, etc..) is out on the mountain the non-snowsports group is in the lodge at the spa or shopping in the village. They all meet up apres ski for a nice dinner and everyone is happy. This works real well if your home mountain is Vail, no so much if it your typical East Coast hill with a dumpy lodge.

The Bad Scenario: The significant other doesn't like skiing/snowboarding/skiboarding and will go to the mountain but not participate. The bad thing is there is no one else to hang with so he/she sits in a dumpy East Coast lodge that smells like wet ski gear at a cafeteria table reading a Kindle wondering why they are there. He/She regrets coming and resents the other person for dragging them along. Worse is that the snowsports enthusiast keeps buying him/her a ski pass and ski gear and insisting the he/she give it one more try. After a season of this they both grow to hate each other when they could have been happy just doing their own thing and connecting on non-ski days (or apres ski if the mountain is close to home).

The moral of the story ..... Rent some short skis and figure out if your significant other likes the sport before investing. Worst case is you spend a little more this first season but if your season pass (and your friends' season passes) are like most resorts you probably have some buddy passes that can keep the cost down.


Oh ... and this one is from my preteen daughter who was reading the forum last night ... you have a better chance of this relationship making it the whole season if you stop referring to the young lady you are dating as "my girl". In my daughter's words, "No woman over age 12 likes to be referred to as a 'girl' and less so as 'my girl' like they are a possession." She also wondered why you are asking a bunch of weirdos (referring to all of us) on the internet this question instead of asking her. She makes some valid points, no?.

[rickylink]

Wookie... are you going to Shredfest? Love to meet you..

[Wookie]

Wookie... are you going to Shredfest? Love to meet you..

That depends ...... Do you want to "hang at the spa" and do some shopping or just skiboard??

Unfortunately (but not that unfortunately), I will actually be in Colorado from 2/21 through 2/28 on a family ski/skiboarding trip. I was hoping to attend SF this year but this was the only time our CO timeshare was available. Since Eagle County CO is a long commute from SLT lets say I am doubtful for any of SF. If those wildfires take out SLT I will, however, be the first to suggest a change of venue to CO.

There is a small chance our CO week may shift and would allow me to to attend SF but it is a very small chance.

If there are any other major meet-ups I may be in, but we'll see how the season goes. As of right now CO is as far West as we are going this year and the rest of our riding will be in the icy East Coast.