www.huckhunter.com ~ Hunter Mountain, New York

The Burton Learn to Ride Program

In the Dark Ages of snowboarding, learning to ride was a painful trip through Purgatory for many riders. Learning to link turns required paying some heavy dues before reaching the promised land of true proficiency. Skull-slapping falls exploded goggles and hats into the air, leaving riders seeing stars. Wrists sometimes snapped as learners struggled with the downhill toeside edge. And tailbones bounced along the ground so often that people were left sitting on donut pillows for a week. Not surprisingly, beginners often didn't come back to the mountain for a second round.

What Is Burton's Learn To Ride Program?
With Burton Snowboards engineering innovative Learn-To-Ride (LTR) products specifically designed to facilitate and accelerate learning, want-to-be snowboarders around the world are living large after years of ignorance and misdirected instructional programs. Developed in conjunction with the American Association of Snowboard Instructors (AASI) and major resorts around North America, the LTR methodology stresses getting people to link turns—actually feel what it’s like to snowboard—in the first lesson. Coupled with the LTR learner-specific products, it's a methodology that makes learning to snowboard fun, easy and painless.

This isn't philanthropy. It's a program that is geared to bring novice snowboarders back to the mountains for repeated visits and to inject the snowboard industry with a long-term shot in the arm. Without LTR, where mountains still use inappropriate equipment, side-slipping methodologies and large-group lessons, data shows that people who take one lesson rarely return to the mountain to spend another dollar. With LTR, however, rider retention is up considerably, giving mountains long-term growth in resort visits and the snowboard industry an ever-expanding base of customers.
With a development history dating back to 1998, the LTR program enters it's second product year in 2002 with a complete line of tools that take the pain out of learning to ride a snowboard. To dial in the right geometries and flex patterns, Burton's board designers tested prototypes with true beginners in lessons conducted by AASI instructors who were part of the LTR development team. The instructors observed how learners fared on the different prototypes and guided the design direction according to proven successes in their lessons.

The success of the LTR program is inextricably linked to Burton's product innovations. The program is based on a two-board progression that first puts riders on a board strictly designed for the first lesson and then graduates them up to a second board that is beginner-friendly, but tuned to let them explore more of the mountain.

The Boards
The LTR is Burton's model specifically designed for a rider's first lesson. Certain aspects of the shape and flex have been exaggerated in order get riders turning without the falls traditionally associated with learning to ride. The technical details that deliver day-one success include:
• Three-degree base edge bevel to prevent falls caused by unwanted edge hook ups.
• An extra soft torsional flex profile to give riders added control with their feet and lower body.
• A deep sidecut to let riders easily initiate turning and let them feel how a snowboard should carve.
• Long transition zones in the tip and tail for smooth turn initiation and completion.
• A twin-tip design to make it easy to determine which foot should be in front.
The Cruzer is the second board in the progression. Like the LTR, it is flexed and proportioned to facilitate turning while minimizing falls. But unlike the LTR, this is the perfect board for exploring the whole mountain after a couple lessons. With a directional shape, the Cruzer is the ideal choice for the first full year of a rider's career. The Cruzer's technical details include:
• The same three-degree base edge bevel as the LTR in order to minimize edge hook ups that cause painful falls.
• A directional shape and flex for all-mountain riding and more aggressive turning.
• Slightly more torsional and longitudinal stiffness than the LTR for higher performance in carving and control at higher speeds.
• Shorter transition zones in the tip and tail for quicker initiation and turn completion.
From a graphics perspective, Burton's LTR board line doesn't make riders feel like hapless beginners by branding them with bland designs that broadcast to the world that they are rental users. The LTR graphics rock, letting riders feel comfortable.

Burton Method Center
Method Centers are innovative learning and rental facilities that combine Burton's Learn-To-Ride product line with a unique philosophy towards instruction. Strictly for learners, the Centers feature the Burton LTR and Cruzer boards, as well as the Foundation SI boot and binding system. In order to attain Method Center status, participating resorts sign off on a group of commandments that ensures that prospective snowboarders maximize their chance for success. Among other things, the commandments include the use of the LTR board until riders are proficiently linking turns, no rentals of the LTR board without a lesson, and regularly tuning to maintain a three-degree base edge bevel. And because Hunter Mountain understands the learning challenges in a large group lesson, the targeted class size for Hunter Mountain Method Centers is under ten people per group.

To take advantage of Burton's LTR technology, simply purchase a Beginner Learn to Ride Package. It will include a Lower Mountain Lift Ticket, rentals of Burton's LTR board and boots, and a group lesson.