Families love skiboarding! Here is one story about family fun on skiboards:
I took my new skiboards out to Bear Valley the week before Christmas, the coldest spell anyone had seen in years. On Dec. 20, La Nina was working her magic, laying snow and ice on everyone from about 1000 feet up in the Sierras. After crawling for a long 36 miles at 15 mph in blinding snow on Highway 4 with my chains clanking away, we reached the cabin and snuggled by the fire.
Next day we were on the mountain, cold (for California) and clear, with the driest snow I’ve seen in years. It was great fun, turning on a dime and cutting hard with almost no effort. It was also easy to just shift my weight from one leg to the other and the boards seem to turn themselves. I felt in full control most of the time. I also found I could bleed off speed using the edges like a snowboard, sliding sideways down the hill.
The skiboards were excellent for my daughter, granting her control and stability enough to let her begin to risk. She dragged me into trying several jumps in one area, allowing me to crash with much sound and fury right under the lift, to the appreciation of everyone. I try to entertain! Once I got my balance centered, I found the skiboards supported my smallish jumps with ease and style. These things make it easy to risk a little air.
The bindings were easy to set up, and held me in tight and secure, even with some nasty crashes. And yes, crashing did NOT hurt my ankles or knees. In fact, I took a wrong turn and found myself on a black diamond run by accident, way beyond my skill level, and while crashing pretty hard the bindings let me roll back up on to my skiboards and continue my terrifying decent. Looked cool, snow everywhere and I zip out of the cloud of powder like I planned it. Again, in full view of the lift.
Parents: if you are looking for a fast and fun way to allow your kids to enjoy sliding down the mountain, you can’t beat skiboards. My daughter, with all of three days of beginning skiing last year, fell down maybe four times this week, making her look like a pro compared to me. Her skiboards also gave her great control to make the run as slow and easy as she wanted, but ready to zoom whenever she got up the nerve. She was able to take runs through trees with enough control that I never worried. She had a blast, and that’s all a parent can ask for, right? Why have your kid spend a weekend sitting in the snow learning to board? Put them on skiboards and let em rip!
Mark
Santa Barbara, CA