pay for lessons?

Snowboarding lessons can be quite beneficial to a snowboarder just starting out. And learning a new sport is both challenging and rewarding. But what about the financial aspect of it? Sometimes this can hamper a new riders chances of developing their skills. If you are just starting out the you will have several options; do you go for snowboarding lessons? If so do you go private or group? Or do you go the self taught method (like yours truly here)? Or maybe you are lucky enough to have a buddy who rides and will spend a day with you. No matter what you choose, read on to find out the pros and cons of each choice.

Snowboarding Lessons-Private or group lessons?

Snowboarding lessons are an integral part of learning to snowboard, even if you only take a few, they will give you the start of good foundations to work with. And you have many options when it comes to choosing lessons. You can do private lessons, group lessons, or even download video and audio tutorial lessons online. It all depends how much you are willing to spend and what you are after.

If you can afford it and think that you can learn the basics quickly then maybe private lessons are for you. Private snowboarding lessons these days, depending what mountain you go to, run from $200-$600 per day. So while that can be pretty steep, you get the benefit of one on one instruction and you get the full attention of the instructor.

Group snowboarding lessons are a great way to get some instruction while not paying an arm and a leg for it. You generally get put in a class of about 5-8 people and it will cost anywhere from $60-$150 per day, again depending on what mountain you are riding. Group lessons are a great way to meet people and if you feel like y ou might want 3 or 4 lessons then this is a more economical way to go.

Downloadable Lessons

Lastly there is the downloadable snowboarding lessons. Downloadable snowboarding lessons are a great option because you can study them at home, and then take them on the hill with you. If you have an ipod you can watch the tutorial videos on your ipod or simply listen to the audio instructions on any mp3 player. It is kind of like having your own private teacher there with you. The only draw back to these is that there is no interaction with someone who might be able to help you in a different way. Having said that though, most downloadable snowboarding programs run for between $30-$75 and considering what comes with them that is a pretty great deal.