SNOWBOARDING: IT'S COOL! IT'S HOT! IT'S EVEN PRETTY SAFE!
By ELIF SINANOGLU

(MONEY Magazine) – IF YOU THINK OF SNOWBOARDING AS just for the baggy-pants-and-backwardbaseball-cap set, you haven't been on the slopes lately. In a survey of snowboarders taken last winter, some 20% were over age 25, and the percentage is expected to climb this year. Retailers have already reported a flurry of activity. "Everyone from eight to 80 is coming in to buy a board," says Chris Donovan, snowboard buyer for Paragon Sporting Goods in New York City, echoing comments we heard from other large stores across the U.S.

Indeed, the sport seems to be drawing out the curious of all ages. Fully 45% of people who paid their first visit to a ski mountain last year went not to ski but to snowboard. Statistics like that help explain why resorts that banned snowboarders as a menace to skiers just a few years ago are all too happy to take in boarders this winter.

Snowboard boosters go so far as to predict the sport could soon pass downhill skiing in popularity. So what's the attraction? Kevin Delaney, the 1993-1995 world snowboarding champion and founder of a chain of training camps, puts it this way: "Snowboarding is a lot like skiing, but it's easier to learn and easier to get good at."

To begin with, all you need is one board and a pair of special boots. You don't have to worry about keeping two skis pointed in the same direction--the primary preoccupation of most skiers--nor do you run the risk of whacking yourself in the face with a ski pole if you make a bad turn, since snowboarders don't use poles. "All you have to do is keep your balance," says Delaney, and that's easier with a snowboard. Though statistics on snowboarding injuries remain sparse, the odds appear to be about the same as for downhill skiing (roughly three to four injuries each season for every 1,000 participants). More significant, snowboarders' injuries tend to be less severe than those of skiers and result in fewer hospital stays.

Before you strap on your snowboard and head for the hills, here's what the pros recommend:

Take some lessons. Many ski resorts offer weekend lessons. Delaney holds his adult snowboard camps (800-743-3790) in Vail, Buttermilk, Beaver Creek and Aspen, Colo. The camps are now in their fourth season, and the average participant is 40 years old. Cost for a two-day camp is $425 and up.

Rent a few boards before you buy one. Try a different model each time you go boarding until you get a feel for the kind you like best. At many stores you can apply the rental fee toward a purchase. Best bet for beginning boarders (and more advanced ones as well): a freestyle board, which makes turns easily and is designed with front and back ends that curl slightly upward for better balance.

You can also rent snowboarding boots, which come in two basic varieties: soft ones that resemble hiking boots and hard ones that are more like ski boots. Most boarders prefer soft boots because they're more flexible and comfortable; racers favor the hard footwear because they can get more speed with it. Typical cost for a one-day board and boot rental: $20 to $25.

When you're ready to buy, check out these freestyle snowboards that the board buffs we consulted recommend: the Burton A-Deck ($300), T-deck ($300) or Twin ($340), or K2's Fat Bob board ($370). You'll find them at most major sporting goods stores, as well as at ski and snowboard shops.

--Elif Sinanoglu