Canada

Did you know that long before the term “snowboarding” existed—and at least 80 years before it became an Olympic phenomenon—people had been zipping like surfers down snow-covered hills using a variety of boards in just about every northern country. Well, this was a unique sport for me too, before I arrived in Canada. In my home country, Russia, I enjoyed cross country skiing through the forest for my entire life. However, once I moved to rural Prince Edward Island, I decided to learn how to snowboard. As soon as I saw how high the mountains in the Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park my nervous system was triggered. I knew I would have to be extremely cautious. Because of this, I decided that I should take at least one lesson from a trainer to provide me with some fundamentals before I hit the hills. Perhaps you’ve heard the saying about snowboarding: It’s harder to learn than skiing, but easier to master. How much truth there is to this depends on the individual.

Although, it is generally windy in Atlantic Canada, the weather on the day of my first lesson was calm and cloudy. I rented a snowboard, a pair of boots and a helmet. Then, I met my teacher on a very gentle slope, where she trained me how to get geared up. Once I was strapped into the front binding, I learnt how to skate, and move around on flat ground with the front foot strapped in and the back foot pushing me along.

One of the most important skills I learnt during my first snowboarding lesson was a heel side J-turn, which enabled me to start shaping a turn. In addition, this skill allows the snowboarder turn and brake when necessary. I determined that one lesson was enough for me to get started. I practiced these techniques for the rest of the day on the Bunny Hill and on the Central Flat Hill. Of course, there were falls, but they are a part of learning.

After diligently practicing for 3 days, I became substantially more confident with heel sliding and stopping. However, when observing other skiers, I realized there were still some key skills I lacked. A couple of days later, I discovered one of my colleges was a snowboard and a ski instructor. He gave me tips on how to improve my toe-side j-turn and traverse to heel slide. When I started practising these techniques, I found it quite challenging to balance because it is people’s tendency to fall when they are very close to the ground. I worked on these skills for the whole day.

After a couple of more days of practicing, I became much more proficient at executing these skills. That’s when I realized how much fun this sport really is: I was sliding downhill like a person on a surfboard, but instead of waves there was snow.