Wow, this thread was dead for almost a year before you revived it... I think the OP, who created the thread 1,404 days ago, isn't taking any more advice.

And????

Are you still riding?  Did you like it?  Did you go back to skiing?

So, my point is a person in his/her 40's can take up snowboarding.

The Azz-Pad. Good advice at any age. 

Maybe, but I think there's a big advantage to having both feet on one board. 

We just don't bounce like we used to I guess! I'll be 43 in a month and have gotten in a minimum of 35 to 40 days for the last 4 seasons and expect to ride that many, if not more, this season.  Luckily, I have been able to avoid any serious injuries for the last few years but the little "dings" definitely seem to linger longer these days.

No, I have not.  MikeD has been after me to get up there, just haven't had the chance.  I figure it's about a 10-11 hour drive, which is a heck of a lot of driving.  Wish there was an easier way to get there.

Ironically I'm 46 and hitting my 3rd year, too.  I'm comfortable riding anywhere on the little hills of MI but I'm really looking forward to going to Breckenridge in April to see how my riding skills (or lack of) do on a mountain.

This is awesome!!!  I belong to a ski club where there are a lot of older skiiers shredding.  Some even qualify for the free tickets (for being old enough).  There is one lady there that both skis and boards and is 75.  

I'm pretty sure most of them are up playing in the snow more often than I am.  If I get up 10 times this year, I'm going to be stoked!

I started riding at age 44.  

That is awesome, keep it up!!

Holy crap Thats awesome, not only are you 62 but 175 days on the slope, now thats impressive. 

My new hero, that is awesome!  First, I can't even start to imagine getting 175 days.  Second, doing it in your 60's is too cool.  60's are the new 30's. 

That's the life, living near major ski resorts and going their daily!

I rode with a few older guys once in a while, they are 40+ and rips through the whole mtn. no park though, just natural hits. O, wear a helmet.

 

No doubt, my wife didn't start learning to ride until she was 32.  I'm 31 and still love boarding just as much as I did when I was 14.  I think in the future instead of old dudes shoooshing down the slopes slowly on skis, you will see a bunch of old dudes taking long wide turns on their boards

I will say this though- our group didn't start boarding until we were close to 30, now we're in our late 30's and I live for boarding.   Someone above said it- You only live once.

 

 

 

Skiing made me board.

 

Oh, and drink milk.....unless you get lactose intolerate at your age.

In an act of contrition (that you dont want), ill spam my original reply :) 

and comfortable in many ways. For example, sitting on the slope.

Still life is short and snowboarding is fun, thats all I can say.

 

Cheers

My age and responsibilities do hold me back though. If I get hurt I can't work. I run my own little small business involving labor. If I get hurt there is no one to do all the work that is already scheduled and that work will pay my bills.

I got hurt in the beginning of Feb. learning how to ride switch, I was still able to ride but I can still feel injury in arm to this day. After that I really had to calm down and get ready for work season and be fresh for spring.

I'm a spry 155lbs and am in excellent shape but still could feel my limitations towards the end of the day while boarding. I seemed to get hurt doing stupid things and would hold me back from progressing till I recovered. But that had more to do with inexperience.

The biggest limitation on me is jumps where my knees can not take anything but small ones. The more I learned, it got more advanced and I fell a lot and I felt like a 30 year old.

I will be a old man boarder, no ski's when I'm a senior citizen.

 

I became an instructor over this past season, and there are thousands of elements to just freeriding that i never thought existed for example, using counter foot motion and use the twist in your board to initiate turns.

Definitely this. I'm not quite 40+ yet, but I've lost my sense of invincibility a long long time ago. I think the top protective wear would be 

1. helmet

2. wrist guards

3. knee pads

Mainly because those 3 things hurt badly when injured and are hard to fix! If nothing else, though, at least get the helmet.

I think if you have a good attitude and are willing to fall down a little bit during the learning process, you'll do fine. Be careful... but not too careful. Remember to relax and have fun.

Besides, underneath all the gear, no one knows how old you are. Maybe on the slopes, you are really a kid at heart.

Like someone said, just rent, pay for a lesson (although I would recommend three), and see if you like it.  If you don't, it's only three days of missed skiing.  If you do like it, you may feel completely at ease.

Tail bone is definitely something to consider.  My husband had a sore bum for a few years after learning.  We're 10+ years into it now and loving it even more.  Now to get our kids involved (3.5 and almost 2)

I learned to ski first and skiing was pretty fun and easy to learn.  My first time out skiing, I was almost carving on blues the same day.  When I first went boarding, I spent 8 hours on 1 green run.  By the end of the day I was able to link turns.  However, the next day I was sore everywhere.  Snowboarding is definitely harder to learn and much more painful.

That was 11 years ago.  I have never been skiing since and I have absolutely no desire to go skiing again.  Boarding is definitely more fun.  

I call BS. I took up the sport at 29, with my brother in law who was 40. He has skied since the age of 4, and decided he was ready for something different. Now he's a very different rider than I am, and we're both approaching it very differently than my 12 year old nephew, but I see no reason why someone 40+ or even 60+ can't take up the sport for the first time. 

Totally agree with this statement.

I am similar to you - started at about 38 and each season I have a couple of lessons, push myself a little more and spend a few more days on snow.

I will be spending a season in the snow here in AUS this year so I am hoping that those blacks will be handled with a little more ease at the end of it 

45+ is probably too late to learn to board..

 

But once you know how to, i'm pretty sure u can board well into late 60's, early 70's

One of the instructors I took a lesson with was probably in his late 50s and he was the best teacher I've had so far! It's never too late to learn!!!

You should at least take one lesson.

Don't think about the age, just go for snowboard A.S.A.P.

 

 

I love seeing old people on boards - they're always soooooooo stoked!

However, if you're learning BOTH at the same time, I'd say less pain with snowboarding! That's from my personal experience. Your legs already together and all you need to learn is how to fall (front & back). But you won't be all over the place like on skiies... legs, hands and all. Have a helmet, padding, wrist guards and your good to go.

There's a video on SS about how to fall properly. Also, when starting, make sure there's LOTS of snow cover to absorb the falls. DO NOT start learning in icy condiotionss... it will hurt.

 

Pay good attention not to cllip (catch) a front or back edge (facing down or up). Those hurt.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Cheers...

There is no harm in trying, if you don't like it after the first few times out then just stick to your skiing.

 

Yeah but first chair isn't really an issue right? All the "experienced" folks I know are up at like 5 am every day...

 

But yeah, you're awesome and I hope I can be like you at 61.

That is excellent - and I thought I might be the oldest female snowboarder at 44.

 

My mom still skis at 48, and I'll be damned if I can catch her half the time.  She rips it. 

The only downside to learning to board late is that you want to kick yourself in the butt for not having gotten around to it sooner!

There are quite a few of the older generation out here in Europe who board... my (conservative) Dad always thinks its strange to see a guy with gray hair wearing the newest 686 baggy boarder outfit or whatever, but I think its cool! Respect to everyone who doesnt take growing older to mean having to grow up 

I started at 31 myself and didnt take any lessons... just went by trial and (loads of) error... it took 2 days of figuring everything out a little til I managed my first linked turns on the 3rd day, although I have to admit that I spent nearly the first entire day only in new powder snow since that was much softer to land in. 

Been riding now since Jan2006 and cant get enough! Best decision I have ever made!

One little piece of advice should you try without lessons first, when riding a T-bar, put your back foot in FRONT of the back binding ;-) no need to look like an idiot like I did my first time!!

Have fun!

haha me 2 

 

I'm 44, started snowboarding 4 years ago because I didn't feel like skiiing anymore and simply wanted a new challenge. We were all skiers before, now my older son and I snowboard, my younger one and my wife still ski. I love it and will not be skiiing anymore. By the way, my older, now 14 year-old son broke both his wrists. The first accident was on the very first day he switched from skiing to snowboarding. The second one was last X-mass eve in VT. This time he was pushing himself a little harder than she should have along with an 18 year old snowboarding instructor (they were racing). In VT he even had wristguards, but he fell backwards and hit the hardpack (or may be some hidden piece of ice that was below) with the uppers side of his wrist and cracked it. It was a green stick fracture, so he healed in 4 weeks, but now he's got Burton Impact gloves, they're support his wrists and are heavily padded (and he thinks they look cool). To be honest with you I didn't have the helmet the first year, only bought it after I fell and bump my head, not smart!!! So far my bones are intact, but I am not as agressive (or young, brave and stupid) as my son is. I have had Impact Gloves from Burton for 2 years, I find them better than just wristguards for several reasons.  I also do not ride when it's frozen solid which unfortunately happens often in the East... One needs to remember that a certain level of risk always exists, you need to decide if you are willing to accept it or not.

BTW, a very good friend of my busted his knee 5 years ago and after two surgeries was told to forget about skiing, but that snowboarding was OK. We were together in VT last Xmass, he figured it out in three days and in April bought his new gear (all Burton) from Sierra (his cousin who lives in SF had to buy it for him because Sierra can't ship Burton to Canada). He can't wait for snow now (he'll turn 41 this Friday)!!!

I'd say rent a board for a couple of days (get a decent board, it'll help you pick it up faster), remember the helmet and wristguards, and enjoy. I'm pretty sure you'll like it,  and if you do get yourself as decent gear as you can afford, good quality gear will allow you to improve your skills faster and will also minimize the risk of injury.

 

]\\

would Bell's Beach be the SAME Bells Beach that "Bodie" found his perfect wave at in Point Break?? 

Started about 4 years ago and am addicted.

Spending 4 weeks on the mountains here in Aus this upcomming season hoping to improve to an intermediate level.

 

Falling hurts!

 

If I ever have children and grandchildren,  that would be an ideal situation where I could teach both of them.  I couldn't think of a better way to bond with them.

 

That's awesome.  You are my new role model.

 

I have to agree, I'm 32 and starting snowboarding last season, and have no desire to ski again.  It will hurt the first few times, but all great things come at a cost.  I think once you try it you'll sell your skis and buy a snowbard.  thats what I did.

I agree, go for it

 

Any time is good to start.  40 is the new 30, anyway.  If you're in good shape, the hikes won't be as bad.

A military friend of mine just clicked over, and he's anxious to start riding when he gets home.

You shouldn't even need to come here and ask for advice - you're going to be all right, just run with it.

 

Steve.

x2

Way too much basketball and Volleyball= knees wrecked....

 

Skiing was not and never will be an option...

Moral of the story she gave it a go and she loved it.

 

If you have the chance try it, if you dont like it then stick to skiing, just remember you will be sore after the first day,

 

From talking to older riders, they all say the same thing.  You've gotta stay in shape.

My Dad boards with me and he's 65.  He started about 10 years ago, but was a skier for about 30 years before that.   He picked it up pretty quick.

 

Is boarding really that much fun and worth it or is it a sport for the young at heart and more importantly, body?

 

Stick with skiing or should i hit the board?