How long does it take to get good at snowboarding?

Question

I have snowboarded a total of about 12 days on vacation but am soon going to college at Colorado @ Boulder and am planning to get my own board and snowboard frequently at the nearby Eldora Resort. I can complete fast skidded or linked J-turns with ease on greens and on some blues. How long would it take for me to fly down most runs and be able to tackle most of the jumps and rails at the terrain park? I am planning on boarding at least once a week and possibly more.

Answer 1

once you've got turning down it's basically just fine-tuning your technique...i'd give it maybe 30 days...assuming you go hard all day and step out of your comfort zone (you will eat a lot of rail if you rush too fast though)

Answer 2

depends...if you did go 12 days consecutively ...then you should be pretty good...but if you go only a few times like me...maybe 3 seasons? wow..once a week..lucky...only if i could drive...

Answer 3

You've already learned the hardest part. Now you only need to master the skill of putting more pressure on your edge in the turn which will mean less skidded turns and more carved turns.

A carving clinic is what really changed the way I rode and allowed me to start riding steeper terrain and making faster, shallow turns. They made us reach down and touch the board in every turn on the blue/intermediate runs which forces you to use more pressure on the edge. You then start riding the arc'd edge through the turns instead of slipping your board.

Several weeks in a row with the same equipment will usually get a person to this next level of riding. Happy carving!!

Good Luck