Blunt.RS

iTrader: (7)

Only centres ive found is tamworth/milton keynes & bracknell for real snow
been told dry slopes will wreck your board and failing off hurts more lol
looking at getting some lessons as ive never been before and the centres wont let you on the slopes without lessons which is good i guess
anyone been to any of the above

COCHYN

I've been snowboarding for several years, and I gotta agree, the dry slopes will eventually tarnish the underside of your board. But not for a while. I wouldn't put my board on them though, so you're best off biting the bullet and booking a flight to somewhere with some real snow Bought some new skates though and playing more hockey these days, time of year for it

Ade500

iTrader: (1)

Yep I have been to Milton it's ok and there is also another one in Hemmel Hempstead that's quite new . There was a deal on Ł18 for two hours nice n cheap and had a good laugh. But you can't beat the mountains!

Cheers Ade

foreigneRS

bracknell is not real snow - or wasn't when i lived there back in january. regardless of what it might or might not do to a board, it just doesn't react in the same way and there's no point on going on artificial imo.

it's not a bad idea to have a day in a dome here so that when you hit the real mountains you are ready, but you could just pick it up when you get there.

Graham S1

Which is why were off to Austria in a few weeks!

Indoors is ok, but only getting 10 seconds of boarding for each lift run is a bit of an arse, you just can't build up any rhythm, it's over before you know it.

Wish they'd get their arse into gear with a slope (any kind) down here in Cornwall. Theres been one on the cards for years, but keeps getting held up with planning, funding issues etc!

Fil

been to the MK one and hemel hempstead one www.thesnowcentre.com would say the hemel one is better, go duing the week tho, as very busy at weekends, especially now as people are having lessons for there ski holiday.

There are not great, but worth an hours playing when you have nothing else to do

mk5tom

Tbh mate it depends on what type of riding/how serious you are about it. If you want to get into freestlye/kicker riding the best bet is go to snowflex slopes with inbuilt kickers as you can get a lot of runs in and develop pretty quickly so that when you do go away you aren't wasting time on nursery slopes. Not too sure what there is near you but Halifax and Rossendale round here are great. Much better atmoshpere than the indoor slopes and cheaper, and people will help you out if you need advice etc. It doesn't really damage your board, I used to ride the kickers and rail twice week at Rossendale for a couple of years and my board was fine as long as you wax it etc.
Avoid dendex slopes though as they will put you off, ha ha pain doesn't even begin to describe them....
If you are just getting into it then its worth a lesson or two in the uk at indoor place just so you get the basics down, its pretty easy to learn just takes a bit of commitment and confidence.
Also if you get quite a bit of riding before you go away then your muscles etc in your legs will be in better shape so you will get more out of your time away. The more effort you put in the more you'll get from your time in the resort, plus you can get used to falling properly and reduce the chance of injury ruining your holiday. Most beginners don't bother and you can see them hobbling round the resort after a day or so riding. Id get some impact shorts too if you are learning as they will take the brunt of the impacts you'll get when learning to control your edges.
Best advice though is just do it, you'll have an awesome time whatever, it doesn't take long to get to a standard where you can ride power and thats where the real fun starts!
Jesus what a long reply, not ridden in a while and its made we want to go now ha ha

Blunt.RS

iTrader: (7)

TBH if i could get to a stage where i could just control a board ill be landed
its just something ive all ways fancied doing but up untill recentally never had the time or pursuied it further
great advice as allways guys be worth haveing a look around before i book all the inddoor slopes dont get great reviews from what ive seen but look good fun now and again just a shame most of the better slopes are further away
i dont mind traveliing but if its only slighty better then a closer one might not be worth it
as pointed out apart from the real stuff what choice is thier

thankyou to all above been great

P_is_for_Paul

I've just done a 3 hour fasttrack lesson at xscape in Glasgow on Monday last week. They say you should need two of these fasttrack lessons to be pretty competent at it.

At the beginning of the lessons learning toe edge and heel edge I was falling on my arse all the time, and feeling the day after it, you get a numb arse!

After not a lot of time you get your balance and start really enjoying it more. Then you start going a bit faster and bail out big time down the hill

It's something I always wanted to do and I'm glad I've started it now it's so much fun!

Blunt.RS

iTrader: (7)

I need to get my back side in gear am missing out
funny you should say glasgow it looked the best one but distance its a no go
due to distance and i get the feeling indoors is good but not great its between tamworth milton keynes & bracknell

Graham S1

Keep your weight forward. The moment you start leaning towards the back of the board you will lose control!

One good method my brother taught me (professional instructor) was "Steering a boat whilst stopping the pint from moving about". When you steer the rudder of a boat, you go the opposite direction to which you push the rudder. So while on the board, put one arm behind you, and pretend it's steering an imaginary rudder on the board.

With the arm in front, imagine you're trying to stop a pint sliding across an imaginary bar when your steering. So push left with your rear arm to steer right, and put your front arm to the right to stop the pint sliding. Works remarkably well! Difficult to get explain on a message board, but hopefully you'll get the idea!

Really looking forward to this years hols, as I finally got to the stage last year were it's becoming a subconcious thing like driving. You don't think about it, you just do it!