Even a skier can snowboard at Park City Mountain Resort

I have been skiing since age two, but this weekend I decided to switch things up by strapping both feet onto the same board and learning to... snowboard! Fortunately, Park City Mountain Resort’s StartNow program made the experience safe, comfortable, fun and AFFORDABLE! The Park City StartNow program provides Utah locals the chance to learn to ski or snowboard for only $25. That’s right, an afternoon lesson, lift ticket and equipment rentals for only $25. To top it off, you can come back four additional times.


My friend Jessica and I, who are both skiers, arrived at the resort around 11:30 a.m. The rental staff fitted us for our equipment, and even helped us tie our boots. Then it was off to the ticket counter. The attendant at the desk was very patient and explained the program and where to meet our lessons which would last from 1-4 p.m.

I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was kind of regretting my decision at this point. Why was I doing this? Is falling repeatedly in the cold snow really a great way to spend your time? Despite my fear, we moved forward with our afternoon and onto our lesson. Our instructor’s calm demeanor greatly encouraged us. He explained how the board worked, how to strap in, how to balance and led us a through a series of drills designed to make us more comfortable standing on the board.

After one hour of the three-hour lesson, I had hardly fallen at all and was really enjoying myself. The afternoon continued to get better as we learned the heel-side turn and began to tackle the dreaded toe-side turn. Learning to snowboard was really fun and not nearly as painful as I anticipated, especially for my wallet. Will I be back for lesson #2? You bet!