Pushing "40" and it hurts to Crash!
Goose
wrist protectors? I'm a newbie and crashed on the catwalk. Solid ice. Damn
that hurt. I didn't buy this equipment, because I didn't know if I would
like the boarding since I'm a skier already. Well, I love boarding but
haven't gotten my equipment yet. I think I'll ski a few days until it
comes. Hey, thanks posts for talking me into this snowboarding, it is great
fun!
Kai Leibrandt
discouraged. Get some nice soft snow under you and you'll be laughing!
I actually found that crashing when boarding tends to hurt me less than when
skiing as I usually got my legs all twisted up etc. Can't do that now :-)
Kai.
"Goose" <pi...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:t5v1aa9...@corp.supernews.com...
Mike Tovino
I'm (only?!?) 30 and have been using a helmet and wrist guards for 2 years
now. They have both kept me out of the emergency room at least once (knock
knock knock) and the helmet has turned what could have been a short day into
a full day several times. I find my helmet more much comfy than a wool hat,
and the only downside I can think of to my wristgaurds is that they reduce
my choices in mittens and gloves. It's all about finding stuff that fits
you properly, both for safety and comfort's sake.
Crashing on ice hurts no matter what kind of gear you have on though! Keep
riding, I've been going's sideways for 4 years now and haven't skied since.
(I skied for 12 years before riding, but I already have twice as many days
on a snowboard and am MUCH more skilled.)
Mike T
Kahn
I'm 23 and on my very first day of snowboarding (actually about 2 hours
into it) i crashed really bad on bulletproof ice. I continued to ride (took
it
pretty easy though) but it took 2 weeks until i could sit normally again.
I shit you not, 2 whole weeks.
And of course, during the time that i continued riding, the excrutiating
pain
in my tailbone led me to perfect the famous cheek to cheek stand up method.
"Kai Leibrandt" <kai...@earthling.net> wrote in message
news:3a5f8...@news.arcor-ip.de...
Tommy T.
Why would you do that?
Tommy T.
John Davison
I hear ya Goose! I'm only 32, but I still don't bounce back like I use
to. Two things that help me alleviate bodily damage while boarding,
wrist guards and learning how to fall.
Wrist guards are a pain to wear, but they sure are nice when you hit
the ground hard. Wrist guards only work for me when I fall forward. I
spent the whole day on the mountain yesterday without any pain in my
wrists today.
It took me a while to learn to fall on my back instead of my butt. I
would instinctively want to break my fail by putting my arms back.
Unfortunately, half the time my arm would get twisted behind my back
and feel like it was being ripped out of the socket. After that I
started landing relatively flat on my back. When you land flat on your
back the weight of your body is distributed across a much larger
surface. Believe it or not, it doesn't hurt (much). I also find
myself in more control after I fall because my body is straight and
sliding down the fall line.
- John
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/
Ed Willis
butt and hips. http://www.crash-pads.com/ they have some pretty decent pads.
I bought some pads at a local ski store for less though. I also wear a
helmet. The pads make the boarding experience much better because I am not
worried about the falls and I don't have the bruises anymore.
"Kahn" <lj...@clix.pt> wrote in message
news:97934989...@cachalote.ip.pt...
Luke
definitely hurts to crash. Knees and head, get a decent helment and
knee pads (they save you from bruised knees and head injuries -
obviously). You'll outride all other 40+ boarder who ignore the hazards
of large patched of ice. :)
LUKE
John O'Shea
> Damn, when you said 'pushing 40', I thought you meant 40mph! That
> definitely hurts to crash. Knees and head, get a decent helment and
> knee pads (they save you from bruised knees and head injuries -
> obviously). You'll outride all other 40+ boarder who ignore the hazards
> of large patched of ice. :)
A mate of mine (hi Dave!) has a theory that, on-piste anyway, the faster
you go, the less likely you are to hurt yourself if/when you wipe out -
he reckons you end up skidding more often than not, rather than
face/back-planting (or, horror of horrors, cartwheeling...)
Any comments? I've seen him skidding down a blue run at probably 20+ mph
and get up with a big grin on his face, so maybe there's something to
it. Thinking about it, being as low as possible is also going to help
loads...
--
John O'Shea <mailto:john_...@wordbank.co.uk>
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Dave R
>
> A mate of mine (hi Dave!)
That's a bit forward. We hardly know each other. :-)
> Any comments?
I think it depends on how you crash. If you catch an edge and slam,
then obviously slower is better. If you end up landing on some body
part after a jump or something then it does appear that faster is less
painful. Same with landing on a steeper jump. I've had some high speed
ones that I thought were really gonna hurt, but you just seem to get
up... mostly!
But... knowing it, and doing it are 2 different things. :-) Oh yes.
--
Dave
John O'Shea
> John O'Shea wrote:
> >
> > A mate of mine (hi Dave!)
>
> That's a bit forward. We hardly know each other. :-)
ROFL!
> > Any comments?
>
> I think it depends on how you crash. If you catch an edge and slam,
> then obviously slower is better.
Agreed. Though, of course, 'happening to someone else' rates even higher
on the Better Scale ;-)
> If you end up landing on some body
> part after a jump or something then it does appear that faster is less
> painful. Same with landing on a steeper jump. I've had some high speed
> ones that I thought were really gonna hurt, but you just seem to get
> up... mostly!
I wonder how long it'll take some enterprising soul to come up with a
"Personal Airbag" outfit, that deploys into a nice big comfy cushion
*just* as you thwack the slope? Could make for some interesting wipeouts
- visions of people bouncing down the runs as their bags deploy
> But... knowing it, and doing it are 2 different things. :-) Oh yes.
Indeed. Still it'd be quite a good excuse for when the Slope Patrol bods
stop you: "I was going 900mph on the nursery slopes for my own
safety..." ;-)
Arvin Chang
you crash, but the change in speed (i.e. momentum) of the crash. This change in
momentum is related to the amount of force your feel in the crash.
So like Dave said, the type of crash is important, whether you splat (i.e.
landing on a flat), anchor (catch an edge), slide out (slip off your board on a
land), etc...
If you catch you edge, it's going to be pretty jarring.
If you land on your back on the landing of a jump, it isn't too bad because you
don't lose much speed (you are still going really fast). That's why big air
jumpers don't get completely killed when they crash - the slope is really steep
and you can see that they don't lose much speed when they crash. However, if
they were to land in the flat (before the land) it would be bad.
arvin
John O'Shea
> I would redfine the below comment to this. It's not some much the speed at
> which you crash, but the change in speed (i.e. momentum) of the crash.
> This change in momentum is related to the amount of force your feel in the
> crash.
Good point. That's kind of what I was trying to say, but lacked the,
errrm, *thought* to come up with. Reminder to self: do not post on
Monday mornings - it's never a good idea...
> So like Dave said, the type of crash is important, whether you splat (i.e.
> landing on a flat), anchor (catch an edge), slide out (slip off your board
> on a land), etc...
Trees. There's always trees...
> If you catch you edge, it's going to be pretty jarring. If you land on
> your back on the landing of a jump, it isn't too bad because you don't
> lose much speed (you are still going really fast). That's why big air
> jumpers don't get completely killed when they crash - the slope is really
> steep and you can see that they don't lose much speed when they crash.
> However, if they were to land in the flat (before the land) it would be
> bad.
Ummm, yes, that'd be a good way of describing it (albeit very
understated ;)
Lynd
fairly recent addition to SBing so I can still remember the very painful
early learning times :-) (and still having some of them).
First, don't be too scared of steeper slopes. They are your friend. The
steeper it is the more of a glancing angle you make with the slope when
you come off. So it hurts less (generally). My worst accidents were
actually on the flatter terrain, like when I caught an edge last year at
the end of my holiday, came off straight onto my back. Had whiplash for
the next two weeks and a sore lower back.
Second, and this is something I am going to concentrate on this year
realising I have been doing it badly before, is bend the knees MUCH
more. I realised I was standing way too upright before. At 6'4" I have a
long way to come down, so tend to do it like a sack of coal. The more
you bend the knees, the lower your centre of gravity, and the less you
have to fall. So it hurts less when you lose it.
Anyway, thats just my thoughts, but I am determined to really work at
keeping a lower centre of gravity this year.
L
>> If you catch you edge, it's going to be pretty jarring. If you land on
>> your back on the landing of a jump, it isn't too bad because you don't
>> lose much speed (you are still going really fast). That's why big air
>> jumpers don't get completely killed when they crash - the slope is really
>> steep and you can see that they don't lose much speed when they crash.
>> However, if they were to land in the flat (before the land) it would be
>> bad.
>
>
> Ummm, yes, that'd be a good way of describing it (albeit very
> understated ;)
--
L
Enjoy it!
(please remove "nospam" if replying to me directly)
John O'Shea
> Just felt like adding something for the newcomers out there. I'm a
> fairly recent addition to SBing so I can still remember the very painful
> early learning times :-) (and still having some of them).
>
> First, don't be too scared of steeper slopes. They are your friend.
Agreed 100%. First time down one, take it nice & easy. Spend as much
time on the traverse as you want - even traverse the entire width, then
sit down to turn if you have to. Once you get accustomed to how steep it
all is (and *everything's* steep when you're moving up a level) you'll
then find that the slopes you were just comfortable one seem like a
piece of cake. You can then belt down those and it all becomes this
lovely self-reinforcing circle.
> The
> steeper it is the more of a glancing angle you make with the slope when
> you come off. So it hurts less (generally). My worst accidents were
> actually on the flatter terrain, like when I caught an edge last year at
> the end of my holiday, came off straight onto my back. Had whiplash for
> the next two weeks and a sore lower back.
Agreed completely - the worst ones I've had I've been going something
like 2mph then *kerplunk* I'm on my back (or face, or whatever's most
painful at the time)
> Second, and this is something I am going to concentrate on this year
> realising I have been doing it badly before, is bend the knees MUCH
> more. I realised I was standing way too upright before. At 6'4" I have a
> long way to come down, so tend to do it like a sack of coal. The more
> you bend the knees, the lower your centre of gravity, and the less you
> have to fall. So it hurts less when you lose it.
You also tend to notice the *really* good boarders tend to be in the "on
the toilet" position for most of the time - I vividly remember 4 people
just *zooming* past me on a churned-up powder field a few years back and
me being amazed at how *low* they all were...
> Anyway, thats just my thoughts, but I am determined to really work at
> keeping a lower centre of gravity this year.
Me too.
Runxoverruny
>> First, don't be too scared of steeper slopes. They are your friend.
Well, somewhat agree. I do believe that for me falling at speed means a more
comfortable landing angle. I find that it is very important to stay relaxed
and enjoy the fall. My only reservation is when I am sliding down the hill
upside down and backwards looking at my board and boots, "Now were was that ski
lift pole again?"
Slope
Vahur Krouverk
>
> You also tend to notice the *really* good boarders tend to be in the "on
> the toilet" position for most of the time - I vividly remember 4 people
> just *zooming* past me on a churned-up powder field a few years back and
> me being amazed at how *low* they all were...
>
Being "low" and "on the toilet" is not quite the same: on the toilet
means that upper body is turned sideways and bent from waist, butt is
sticked out and legs are held relatively straight in order to "hold an
edge". Being really low (i.e. bending knees) and holding upper body
upward means that center of body is over the edge and pressure on edge
is maintained even on worst conditions, such as chopped up snow or ice.
There is good article about it in bomber site:
http://www.bomberonline.com/Bomber_Files/Articles/DanB1/danb1.html
John O'Shea
At first glance, that looks like a fine article - thanks!
John
Wondering when I'm going to fit in all this reading...
Lynd
Runxoverruny wrote:
<grin> Or that tree. Obstacles excepted of course. I'm generally aware
enough of my surroundings to know I'm not going to run into a lift pole
or something when I crash. If you're on piste (as a beginner generally
is) steep reds are usually quite wide and straight in my experience. The
biggest danger seems to be that skiier who has just decided to carve
across your crash path. Too many pointy bits ready to impale you, thats
the danger of em'. Two pointy poles, two pointy skis and a pointy head
<grin>.
Hugh Gibson
> How many of you older 40's snowboarders use the butt protector, helmet and
> wrist protectors?
Wrist and knees for sure. It's strange, I've now developed a reflex
reaction when forced to turn on ice and the edge gives:
Using my gloved hand (with wrist guard) to cushion my tail-bone.
This trick seems to work well... any one else doing this?
I love carving big trenches, at low angles.. If I lose it on the toe
edge, I don't have too far to fall, as I'm canted over hard anyway.
Love that pendulum-like swoosh-shoosh just leaning hard from
edge to edge, leaving big deep S-shaped grooves. Got to start trying
to jump soon, but carving feels so good!
Also, I now find that even when the edge gives out, I can absorb most
of the energy by trying to re-catch the edge, juddering to a stop
rather than planting my face/spine in the ice, as I used to; I find I
rarely have those "oh-my-god let me just stay here for 10 minutes" type of
wipe-outs.
Hugh.
frg
too upright, almost like a statue at times and especially so when I was wary
of the terrain - it's a natural reaction for some people. Bend the knees and
go faster and you'll crash less and when you do crash you'll have more
enjoyable crashes, usually skidding rather than having a bone-jarring slam.
If you have crashed at speed and are sliding on your butt, never try and dig
the board in too early to halt your slide (unless you really have to, like
to avoid hitting someone or going off a cliff or something) as it can really
jar your knees. Just go with it.
Lynd <ly...@nospameurope.com> wrote in message
news:3A638F68...@nospameurope.com...
Mike M. Miskulin
Yes riding faster is less painful. As mentioned, bend
knees and higher slope angles make for not as painful
falls. But I will add another one. Riding too slow
makes turning much harder, which inevitably leads to
beginners falling. So definitely try to keep some
speed up into the turn.
mike
[posted and mailed]
While pondering the Universe, darr...@onetel.net.uk (frg) wrote
<3a6a...@news-uk.onetel.net.uk>:
Chris
the park, helmet only when i ride