Being taught to snowboard by a partner can be the quickest way to end a perfectly good relationship. So why not ditch your man for a week and head off to the slopes on your own. By the end of the week you could have improved immensely; gained fitness and be a lot happier about going snowboarding with him next year. If you or your partner needs convincing that this is a good idea here are a few great reasons why.
// Get fit – Burn some serious calories
Learning to snowboard can burn up to 300 calories an hour - fact. So if you are super keen and make first lifts and ride all afternoon you will burn as many as 1200 extra calories per day! By the end of the week you will have easily worked off the 6000 calories which the average person is said to consume on Christmas day!
// Get social – Find yourself a female companion for future trips
Everyone knows the saying “no friends on powder day”…well this should really be extended to encompass wives and girlfriends and husbands and boyfriends… because it works both ways. Let me paint the picture… the night before the big snowfall arrives he spends every waking hour adjusting his stance, waxing his board, adjusting his stance again, packing his bag and so it goes on until he has every eventuality covered. In the morning he wants to miss breakfast, not wait for anyone and is in a constant state of stress. And you’re quietly thinking… I don’t want to spend the day tearing around after him whilst he searches for every fresh line in the tree sections secretly knowing that although he does a great job of talking it up he doesn’t have the skills to make it out the other side unscathed. And this is when you thank your lucky stars you met Julie on the women’s only week last year… you can relax knowing a quick stroke of his ego and the line “I wouldn’t want to hold you back darling.. I am going to spend the day with Julie” will help you avoid a ruined day on the mountain and a costly taxi back from the back end of nowhere.
// Get Positive - Take up yoga
The benefits of yoga are so far reaching (pardon the pun!) that for anyone wanting to turn-over a new leaf, re-energise their body, stimulate their mind and re-vitalise their soul practicing yoga is a must. Yoga can also bring huge benefits to snowboarders by vastly improving their skill, ability and endurance on the mountain… and there are number of women’s only snowboarding weeks that include YOGA. Check out rudechalets™ rudegirls week – featured in the Daily Mail Ski and Snowboard Magazine.
// Get chilled - De-stress and relax
Snowboarding is not just about charging around the mountain! The cosy mountain restaurants with roaring log fires, the après ski bars with panoramic sun terraces and the steamy outdoor hot tub back at the chalet mean there are plenty of opportunities to kick-back, relax and soak up the mountain ambiance. And if you want to push the boat out you can arrange for Heinrick the masseuse to give you a quick rub down… safe in the knowledge that “what goes on tour, stays on tour”
// Get cultured – Brush up on your language skills
“Excuse em wah.. un beer please and un portion of frites” You love him to bits but every meal he insists on ordering for you.. so with him nowhere in sight you can re-discover your love for foreign languages.
Not only does learning a foreign language stimulate your brain thus enhancing your communication and thinking abilities, it also gives you a greater cultural understanding of a different country and the world in general. So before you head off dig out your old French GCSE Tricolore books, they can be surprisingly rewarding.
// Get healthy - Eat less junk food
If you choose the right company for your holiday you will likely spend the week eating energy packed breakfasts… porridge, honey, cereals, eggs etc and nutritious evening meals made from seasonal vegetables, fresh meat and local freshwater fish. Add this to your daily snowboarding work out and you are going to be ending the week leaner and stronger as well as fitter. And it has to be more fun than going to the gym.
There are lots of companies offering women only snowboarding weeks so why not try one.. I hear rudechalets run one in their morzine accommodation 
Chris Lavender has been skiing and snowboarding for over 20 years and is the founder and director of rudechalets which provides summer and winter accommodation in Morzine & Chamonix.