Features

Turning to toeside & learning to boardslide

Burton Women’s Learn to Ride camp hits Northstar at Tahoe for three days of sun, fun and learning new skills
Day 1

Words and photos by Katie Bailey

Burton sent SBC Women’s Annual an invite to check out a Women’s Learn To Ride camp at Northstar last month so, naturally, we eagerly accepted. After rubbing it in about how much fun she had, SBC scribe Katie Bailey brought us this 3-part series on the camp aimed at ladies looking to sharpen their skills.

Do you remember your first day on a snowboard?

Most riders do. The first day of snowboarding is usually etched in our minds as clearly as any other first-time. But somehow, the difficulty of that day fades. Sure, you might have a war story to share (maybe, like me, you had to walk down the hill on your first day) but it’s all good because you’re fine now, right?

It’s so easy to forget what it feels like to initiate that first, terrifying toeside turn—all you remember is the triumph that follows. So when Burton Learn to Ride program coordinator Hillary Sherman invited Snowboard Canada to participate in a Women’s Learn to Ride program at Northstar-at-Tahoe resort in California, I was all about it. All the bonuses of learning to snowboard at a women’s camp but no bruised bum! Whoo hoo! So on a plane I jumped and made my way out to sweet, sweet sunny California.

Day One: Goofy or Regular?

The first day of the camp starts off in a hectic fashion as Burton PR coordinator Kelly Isaacs and I start our day by going to find my bags at the front desk—conveniently lost the night before somewhere between Detroit, Las Vegas, and Reno (Yep, three flights: ouch.) It’s a bit of a pain, but I’m grateful to see them after a night spent wondering where I would be able to buy new underwear at a posh ski resort.

We do a quick change and head out to find the campers. The weather report for the weekend is epic: sunny and warm, with a high near 50 F (about 10 C). It’s been a snowy, but horribly grey winter in Toronto and just seeing the sun makes the journey to California worthwhile. As arrive at the resort and near the locker room of the resort’s main lodge, the din of over 25 excited campers meets us long before the sight of the meeting place does—a good sign that that campers are stoked.

So we drop right into the melee to find out just what kind of women have signed up for the Burton Women Learn to Ride camp. Will they all be beginners? Moms? Teenagers? It turns out, they are all of the above: insurance brokers, financial planners, skydivers, marketing execs, army wives, and mothers. They’re here to hone their skills—whether they’ve ridden before or not—in an environment where they can forget about feeling foolish and get right down the business of learning to ride.

Cheerleading the event is WLTR coordinator Hillary Sherman, who gets on a table and gives the group the run down on the day’s program. And it’s off to the races. Goodbye, grey and slushy streets of Toronto! Hello beautiful Tahoe sunshine! The sky is bluebird, the air is 10 C and there’s over 100 inches of snow on the ground. Awesome.

Northstar’s team of crack instructors quickly and expertly divide the girls up into six groups depending on skill levels. I sign up to hang with the never-ever-ridden-before’s, and after a quick group warm up, we head to the fantastically warm, no-coat-needed learning area. My trusty sidekick Kelly runs off to get some mandatory Starbucks (getting bags had trumped breakfast) and I kick back to soak up the sun and watch the group get schooled in the parts of a snowboard by super-instructor Meredith (“a.k.a. Mezza”, she quips) and her team-teaching co-star Lisa.

It doesn’t take long before I notice that teaching snowboarding has evolved significantly since I learned eight years ago (on a questionable set of step-in bindings. If you don’t know what those are, be glad). The WLTR approach is much more sophisticated and uses a female-focused approach that utilizes research into the way women learn complex tasks and how their bodies adapt to the snowboarding stance.

The campers first learn to skate (on flat base vs. edge) and practice their stance (women have a tendency to lean forward too much when learning) and how to combine the two. We stay in the flat-ground, fenced off learning area as the girls get used to their boards a bit more and then it’s time to put it all to use in a very slight halfpipe shape.

I decide to join in on the fun switch stance, strapping in opposite and skate over to join. I’m a decent switch rider, but quickly realize that actually skating switch (especially without the aid of gravity) is an entirely different ballgame. Looking like just one of the gang, I hobble over to the group and almost kill myself doing in the process—so much for showing off my super slick switch skills. Sigh.

The halfpipe exercise is done one-footed, which is interesting. Getting used to one foot only is not only a great benefit to getting around, it allows the campers to get the sensation of sliding without slamming every five seconds, as they can put their foot down to catch their balance. The Learn to Ride boards are even designed with built-in traction where a stomp pad would usually go, giving people a better grip on their boards while one-footing it around.

The camaraderie of a women-only learn to ride session really is unique. Snowboarding is so awkward at first, it’s nice when the group you are with are laughing and cheering with you, instead of at you. The female-only dynamic makes it a much different experience than an average group lesson, but the main thing is that, in the camp setting, everyone seems committed to making sure it’s a good time.

After a break for lunch, we get a chance to check out the Burton Progression Park, something I’ve really been looking forward to. It’s an incredible learning tool, designed purely with learning in mind. Each feature is built to progressively bump up a rider’s skills and the park is luxuriously long. I’m just starting to do rails and boxes and the Progression Park is the perfect place to take you from sweaty and nervous to calm and competent.

And the person to take you there is definitely Liz Hand, instructor to the freestyle group, who we will be spending the afternoon with. Liz is definitely a contender for the most stoked and talented instructor I’ve ever met. Her group, accordingly, is amped too: Whitney, 14 years old and the youngest WLTR rider, is nailing backside boardslides before Liz even has the words out of her mouth. Jess, a financial planner, is super keen to hone her park skills, trying boardslides after a mere morning of learning features. Rounding out the group are Katrina and Chris, who appear to be just as game. I’d say Liz had it easy with such an up-for-anything crew, but her enthusiasm is infectious and I soon find myself caught up in it too.

The afternoon speeds by in a blur of high-fives, brave attempts and tricks accomplished and as 4 o’clock rolls around, we make our way to the bottom for the only way to end such a great day: melty chocolate, marshmallows and frosty, well-deserved beverages. Northstar hooks us up with free s’mores, toasted at their skating-rink-side cabana bar, complete with open fire pits and soft chairs. The day is capped with a rather raucous ice skating session and I end the day with the knowledge that not only can I do rails and not die, but that I can skate backwards as well.