Snowboarding

Oh and I would recommend kneepads and wristguards.

What I most remember is really sore arms the next day, from constantly pushing myself after falls. My big problem with learning to snowboard is that I learned to ski when I was 2 and didn't attempt snowboarding until I was 17. I think the younger you are, the better, it doesn't hurt so much to go sliding down the hill on your stomach.

Bend your knees! Start by facing uphill and glide across the slope. You'll feel that balance point. after you've got that, do the same but face downhill. Then practice switching from facing uphill to facing downhill by turning the board down. Now practice the opposite, turning from downhill to facing uphill. Once you've got those four things figured out, you're done.

Watch out for other people! Enjoy.

Learn how to fall and fall often. Many people have an irrational (but understandable) fear of hurting themselves/looking like a spaz when they first learn to snowboard. Even worse, if you think too much about not fucking up vs. just having fun and learning, you WILL hurt yourself. Fuck the haterz.

Also, wear wristguards.

< / short, not very tan former ski instructor with an enormous endowment and decent to quite decent self-esteem >

Bend your knees, and dip as you turn – when you start out you're most likely to fall when you try and shift from one edge to the other i.e. when you turn. So lower centre of gravity = more stable.

You need to be able to control how much grip you have on the slope with the edges of the board, and that's difficult at first, so find a steep slope and go down it on your front edge, facing the slope, like a falling leaf (like super cub said) then do it back to the slope. And don't just do it falling leaf, try doing it without going from side to side, just straight down facing the direction of travel (i.e. not with the board pointing downhill). The first time I was ever on snow I got taken to the olympic black run and told to get to the bottom. It was scary but straightforward and taught me to trust the edge of the board. But my ankles and thighs hurt all night.

Once you're happy with using the edges of the board, learn to turn it as soon as possible. The real fun doesn't start until you can link turns but it can take a few days to get confident enough to do it.

if you think too much about not fucking up vs. just having fun and learning, you WILL hurt yourself

Totally OTM - if you're afraid to fuck up you will fuck up. This is why I wear wristguards and kneepads - I don't need to worry about damaging my wrists or knees if I fall, and this just gives me the added confidence I need to not fall.

Everyone else OTM! Makes me wanna go this winter!

skateboarding: moving sideways, and the abrupt stop of hitting a rock is kind of like catching a downhill edge.

Snowboarding is totally fun! I wasn't planning on going this winter due to funds and a new love of x-c skiing, but now I'm starting to think otherwise.

Snowboarding is dangerous. So is skiing.

xpost - So is driving and so is smoking. Whatever.

Mad River Glen is totally kick-ass, but skier only (one of two or three left in the country). Jay Peak, up in VT's Northeast Kingdom is amazing, and gets as much snow a year as JHole.

Killington is big and decent. Expensive as FUCK. Pico, it's little neighboring resort, is actually pretty fun and NEVER crowded, even on a powder day.

Stowe: good. Sugarbush: good.
As far as NH is concerned: Cannon Mountain is supposed to be good. And, uh, Wildcat?

But, to reiterate: Mad River and Jay. Especially if there's fresh.

Laurel OTM about skateboarding/snowboarding, I hate not being able to move my feet around on a snowboard.

It hurts but you get to sit down a lot which, as a lazy person, is perfect!

Practice by going down a wide, mildly inclined run and see if, through a series of linked turns using this weighting-unweighting movement, you can actually *accelerate* through the turns (much as one pumps to go higher and faster on a playground swing). If you can achieve something of this feeling, even fleetingly, you've found the key.

That's one school of thought - the other says you turn with your whole body, using your upper body to initiate the turns. I'm sure they both work, it's just whatever you feel comfortable with.