MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Winter 2021

24 time on the magic carpet. With my husband’s job in the Blue Mountain Snow School at the time, we allowed them to test a tiny tot snowboard program with Hannah—to see what kind of attention span and progression one could expect from a very young rider. She enjoyed the experience but spent a lot of time picking up snow and rolling down the banks before and after her lesson. She’s almost 13 now, and while she dabbled in ski racing, she eventually decided on her own to take a nine-week snowboard program that seemed to be a more permanent move to the sport. She tried out freestyle last winter, kicking my mom nerves into high gear. Watching her conquer her fears, ride boxes and rails and rip down runs of every level is super-satisfying. She’s remained a competent skier, too. With her teenage years approaching, she’s already talking about becoming an assistant snowboard instructor, following in her dad’s footsteps. Snowboarding for our family is about the journey, not the destination. We want to see her having fun at the hill and enjoying the freedom of riding. We want it to remain a place where screens are left behind and great days are had with friends. We aren’t concerned about whether this happens on two planks or one. If you look around at today’s lift lines and magic carpets, you’ll see that there’s a healthy mix of skiers and snowboarders at local resorts. Beginner snowboarders seem to fall into a few main categories: children with avid snowboarder parents, older children whose friends snowboard and have asked to learn, and adult skiers who want to try something new. The great thing is there’s a strategy and a program for them all at Blue Mountain and most local resorts. But in this winter of weirdness, learning to snowboard might begin at home for the youngest learners. After all, much of that first winter of snowboard exposure for us was climbing hills, sliding down small slopes and dragging the board around. If you are working on teaching a very young rider, the magic carpet will be the place to be this winter.With pandemic restrictions making lift-loading interesting, surface lifts might actually make a comeback! Whatever the case, Blue Mountain Resort Snow School Assistant Manager Alex Mann has some tips for parents supervising their child’s progression on a snowboard. “You need to be patient and readjust your expectations of the time frame it will take to get to the top of the hill,” explains Mann. “When you’re teaching a kid to ski they are going to reach a point where they are independent and have access to more terrain much faster. You need to be okay with being on smaller slopes for longer and you need to be okay with more time on the carpet.” Mann agrees there’s much you can do on your neighbourhood slope or backyard before even hitting the carpet. “If you’re lucky enough to have a Burton Riglet board, you can just pull them around the backyard, the house and let them explore their balance. Find a little slope that you can have them skate and climb up. Just have them sliding down that little slope over and over. Have them get low and get high in their stance and help them explore that range of motion.” And no matter how badly you’d like to be at the top of the mountain, remember that your new rider will only progress at the rate of their independent ability. “Stay on terrain that allows them unassisted trials,” says Mann. “Once they can start side-slipping on their heel edge on the carpet independently, you can explore more of the mountain. You can increase the terrain a little bit and then come back to lesser terrain so they can start working on something new to bring back to the larger runs.” After the last nine months of ups and downs, our family is very much looking forward to strapping on our boards and getting back to something “normal.” Mann suggests this might be a good year to tick snowboarding off your bucket list. “It’s been a frustrating time and it’s a good year to try something new,” says Mann. “You can enjoy being outside, and feel some success and accomplishment. If you’re a longtime skier maybe it’s time to step back and learn a new skill.” –Allison Kennedy Davies ALLISON KENNEDY DAVIES