Help : hard boots for a beginner?

[chris_eco]

I had an adult "advanced" skier sign up for a beginner lesson and specifically request a hard boot/carving rig. The ski school director accepted the reservation and has "total confidence" in me. (yikes)

While I feel quite comfortable teaching a "freestyle" snowboarder to crossover to carving I would welcome any input on starting someone out on plates.

My initial reaction was to nix the student's wishes and get them carving on softies first?

I'd love to get another carver introduced to the sport.

My plan was to back off the angles and use many of the same beginner exercises with a preamble about how my abilities are the result of 17 years of boarding with lousy grades in college etc etc.

The Skiway has a limited selection of gear ( thanks to me and eBay). I was thinking of using a Rossi 160 freecarve or Oxygen 149 SL for the board depending on the students size. Boots are limited to front entry ski boots. Is it the better part of valor to just put some plates on a Rossi twin tip rental board for the first session?

I welcome any comments.

Eric?
Jack?
Anybody that learned to board in hard boots?

ps - I remember seeing some beginner looking folks at Copper Mountain in the mid-eighties wearing a hard boot on their front foot and soft on the rear - never wanted to try it though.

Thanks,

Chris

[Jack Michaud]

this is going to be one of the easiest lessons you've ever taught.

The support of hardboots makes the rudimentary maneuvers so much easier (sideslipping, traversing, one-foot stuff, etc). Because the student isn't fighting for their life to maintain balance in junk rental soft gear.

Here's an article (http://www.bomberonline.com/articles/snowboarding_day_one.cfm) from the welcome center that talks about this.

In addition to the several beginners who came from skiing backgrounds I've taught in hardboots, I also taught <i>my wife</i>, so you know it can't be hard!

Back off on the angles some, allow them some overhang, and if you can, give them toe lift on the front foot and heel lift on the back foot.

Let us know how it goes.
-Jack

[Tommy D]

Hi. After 23 years on skis, I decided to try snowboarding. Carving on true alpine gear seemed like the logical place to start, and it has worked great for me.

If your student has a good grasp on the dynamics behind how a ski/snowboard carve works, then I would suspect most of your instruction would focus on correct form and technique.

I learned how to carve on a 158 RT SL, Burton Race plates, and Rossi KX ski boots. A friend helped me get started, but as he was also new to the sport, I ended up figuring most of it out on my own, and with the help of the folks here at BomberOnline. Having a pro instructor or expert carver would have been a boon; you'll probably have your student carving by the end of the day!

FWIW: my stance angles were rather shallow at first, so I could get comfy moving the board around, but as I got better, the angles were adjusted so my toes/heels were just touching the edges of the board.

[chris_eco]

I knew I could rely on BOL for wisdom, resources and encouragement.