Totally Board : Snowboarders Carve a Niche in Southern California Slopes

Ten years ago, snowboarders were seldom seen slashing and thrashing the slopes in Southern California. But yesterday’s alpine renegades--long regarded with hostility by kinder, gentler skiers--are sliding into the mainstream.

At Bear Mountain Ski Resort in Big Bear, Mt. Baldy and Mountain High in the San Gabriel mountains, boarders this winter account for between 40% and 50% of lift ticket sales, resort managers say. That’s above the nationwide average for snowboard lift ticket sales--about 13% last year--according to Ski Industries of America. By comparison, boarders generated only 6% of ticket sales nationwide in 1990.

Growth is being fueled in part by exposure on cable television sports channels, MTV and in glossy, photo-intensive snowboard magazines. Snowboarding will be introduced as a medal sport in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan.

“Last year and the year before were huge,” said Jeff Villalobos, an employee at the Green Sector snowboard shop in Woodland Hills. “The increase in the number of people, the amount of money being spent, the variety of styles, it’s kind of turned into a trend.”

Though Green Sector is one of the few stores in the San Fernando Valley that sells snowboards exclusively, other stores such as Sport Chalet, Val Surf and Sport in Woodland Hills, Valley Ski Center in Chatsworth, and Yo-Yo’z Skateboards and Snowboards in Santa Clarita also sell equipment.

READY TO RIP: To prepare for your first snowboarding experience, you’ll need a jacket, snowproof pants, gloves and thick socks. Boards and boots can be rented at snowboard shops or resorts for between $25-$30, plus a deposit. Some resorts require a credit card to rent equipment. Lift tickets range between $30 and $50.

Opinions vary on whether lessons are required for first-timers, but as a rule of thumb, if you have no experience with board sports (skiing, skateboarding, or surfing) a one-hour group lesson, which costs between $15 to $25, might be a good idea. Private lessons are more expensive.

If you need a ride to the slopes and are between the ages of 8 and 18, Blizzard Sports Club, based in Thousand Oaks, will pick you up at home, provide a lift ticket and instruction for $63. Blizzard runs trips every Saturday to area resorts. For information, call (800) 576-2SKI. Check with snowboard shops or ski resorts for information about other chartered trips.

Pierce College in Woodland Hills provides transportation to Mountain High and lift tickets for experienced snowboarders willing to be guides in the college’s Adaptive Ski School for disabled people. Call (818) 591-2228.

Shredding 101: Getting Started

A step-by-step guide to learning how to snowboard.

1. STANDING and GLIDING:

On level ground, strap front foot into front binding, leave rear foot free. Practice pushing off snow with rear foot, skateboard style, using small steps. Keep board tilted slightly on toe edge to prevent sliding out. After gathering momentum, lift rear foot and place on stomp pad between bindings. Glide. To stop, simply plant foot in snow.

2. TURNING LEFT or HEELSIDE GLIDE: With rear foot still free, push off and glide. Bend knees slightly, leave hands at sides. Lift rear foot and place on stomp pad. Lean slightly backward and apply gentle pressure (with both feet) on heel side of board. Board will glide to left.

3. TURNING RIGHT or TOESIDE GLIDE:

With rear foot still free, push off and gather momentum. Bend knees slightly, leave hands at sides. Lift rear foot and place on stomp pad. Lean slightly forward, apply gentle pressure (with both feet) on toe side of board. Board will glide to right.

4. STOPPING: After practicing toeside and heelside turns, strap both feet in bindings and tackle a very gradual grade. The easiest way to stop is the butt-drop. (Self explanatory: plant your butt.) A better way is to execute a toeside or heelside turn, and when board is perpendicular to the hill, tilt board hard on its uphill edge, balancing over both feet. The edge will dig into hill and board will stop.

Letting It Rip: Advanced Moves

Frontside 360 Tall-Grab

A move that sends a boarder up and around the halfpipe lip and then back to where he started.

540 Misty Flip

An acrobatic move that sends the boarder on a front somersault up and over the halfpipe platform.

Fakie

A move that sends the boarder up above the platform and then straight back down.

Trench Dimensions

Most ski resorts today provide prebuilt halfpipes where snowboarders can show off their moves. Regulation halfpipes, like the one at right, are carved in the snow with heavy machinery and snow shovels.

Radical Breakdown

Here is a rundown of the essential equipment needed for snowboarding. Important factors are keeping warm and looking hip.

Gloves

Thermal Undershirt

Shirt

Thermal Underwear

Hat

Eyewear

Pants

Socks, boots, bindings and leash

Snowboard

‘Core’ Lingo

If you’re gonna shred, there’s a lot to be said. Here are some basic terms and slang you need to know:

AERIAL: A flip off the lip of a halfpipe without putting hands down.

AIR: Leaving the ground by jumping or leaping.

ATTACK: Aggressive approach to a jump or half-pipe.

BACKSIDE: The area behind your back when in a halfpipe or doing a trick off a wall.

BINDING: Device that locks boots to board.

BONE: To fully extend one or both legs. (“Nice bone, dude!”)

BONK: Hitting an object with your snowboard. (“I just bonked that skier dude pretty hard.”

CORE: A hardcore, or serious, accomplished snowboarder. (“He’s no poseur. He’s pretty ‘core.”)

DUDE: Any lifeform on the hill. (“Dude! Nice aerial!”)

FALL LINE: The path a ball would follow if it rolled down a hill.

FREESTYLE: Doing ground and air tricks such as spins and grabs.

FRONTSIDE: The area in front of your body.

GAPER: Beginning boarder who can’t do anything except watch the ‘core dudes ride. (“Yo! When’s mommy picking you gapers up?”)

GOOFY: A snowboarder who rides right foot forward. Describes rider and stance.

GRAB: To grab either edge of the snowboard with one or both hands.

GRIND: To slide across an object such as a log or picnic table.

HANDPLANT: A halfpipe trick where rider does a handstand on one or both hands.

HEEL EDGE or HEEL SIDE: The edge of a snowboard nearest the heels.

JOCK: In the same category as gapers and poseurs. A popular high school dude or letter jacket type who takes up snowboarding. (“Hey man, I think that big jock’s trying to steal my girlfriend.”)

POSEUR: A boarder who has the most expensive equipment and clothing on the hill, but can’t do anything. (“This snowboarder image thing is getting out of hand. Poseurs everywhere.”)

RIP: Speedy carving or action in a half-pipe.

SHRED: Carving a hill with a series of fast turns.

SWITCH STANCE: To ride the board backward with the opposite foot forward than you would normally have.

TOE EDGE or TOE SIDE: The edge of the board nearest the toes.

THRASH: Synonym for shred or rip: aggressive, death-defying riding style.

WIPE: Crash. (“Did you see that poser jock wipe? I think he broke his leg. No more football for that dude.”)

Sources: “The Complete Snowboarder,” SNOWboarding magazine, Times staff

Researched by TIM MAY / Los Angeles Times