Snowboarding Tips For Your First Day

You've got your gear, you've had a good night's rest and you're dressed in comfortable layered
clothing. Now it's time to get straight into your first snowboarding experience.

Warming Up and Stretching

Get warmed up by having a light run around or doing some simple skips, jumps or hops before you
begin riding. Doing so will help pump oxygen into your blood, increase your heartbeat and breathing
rate while loosening your muscles and joints.

Once you're warmed up, do some basic stretching exercises for your neck, shoulders, back and
hamstring. Properly warming up and stretching your muscles will go a long way toward minimizing
the risk of injury.

Carrying Your Board

You may, at times, have to carry your board in your hands while walking around or up the slope.
When doing so, attach the leash of your board to your gloves or wrist to make sure it doesn't escape
from you. Simply carry the board with one hand holding the middle of the board.

You may find it less tiring carrying your board placed horizontally on your back for additional support
using both hands. In this case, carry the board facing downward so that your bindings will dig into the
snow if your board drops thereby preventing your board from sliding away. Bindings facing
downward should also be the rule when resting your board unattended anywhere on the mountain.

If you're walking up the slope, you may not have to remove your board at all. Just dig the toe-side
edge of your board into the snow across the slope and push yourself up one step at a time.

Strapping In

Find a flat area on the mountain with soft-packed snow and low traffic. First and foremost, attach the
leash to your board and front foot before placing the board down on the snow. To keep your board
still while you get strapped in, step on it with your back foot (half on the snow) or use your knee.

Dust off any built-up snow from your boot and binding and slowly slide your front foot into the
binding as far back as possible so that your calf is flush against the high back. Buckle up your ankle
strap to a firm and comfortable fit and repeat with your toe strap.

You'll initially not have your rear foot fastened. This is to save you time and energy while you practice
new maneuvers, work on your balance and use the chairlifts. You can strap your rear foot in once
you've got a firm handle on how to skate, glide, turn and stop.

Falling Down

Falling down is unavoidable when you're snowboarding. Therefore, it is important to learn the right
techniques for falling down to avoid hurting or injuring yourself particularly in the wrist and knee
regions where the majority of injuries occur. Protective clothing and accessories such as wrist guards
and kneepads can only do so much.
If you're falling over toe-side, crouch down and place your forearms in front of your knees. Clench
your fists and straighten your legs. You should then slide forward on your forearms when you hit the
ground. Avoid ground impact with your knees and wrists as much as possible.

To fall over heel-side, place your arms and elbows close to your chest, tuck your chin in, crouch
down, round your spine, relax and roll backward so that you slide on your back with the fall.

Standing Up

If you have both feet strapped into your board, getting up onto your feet again is an art in itself.
Before you try standing up, your body should be uphill from your board. Place your board exactly
across the hill's fall line with the uphill edge digging into the snow. This will prevent yourself from
sliding downward the second you try to stand.

To stand up heel side, grab the toe edge of your board with one hand and pull yourself over the
board while using your other hand to push yourself up from behind your foot. Bring your pushing
hand closer to your board as you push to transfer the weight to the snowboard before finally
standing up.

Getting up heel side is tiring and requires some strength to execute. The good news is that getting up
toe side is a lot easier. If you are on your back, you'll first have to flip over to a kneeling position by
lifting your feet and rolling over on the tail of your snowboard. It will then be just a matter of pushing
yourself up with both hands to a standing position.

Snowboarding Maneuvers For Beginners

Here are some basic snowboarding maneuvers for beginners. You should practice these on a gentle
slope with your front foot strapped in but with your rear foot free. This is to help you to quickly
regain your balance by stepping off the board when you're about to fall while saving you the time
and energy needed to constantly re-strap your rear bindings.

Edging

While snowboarding, you'll be spending most of your time literally on the edge. One of the most
important skills beginners must learn is how to balance the board while on its edges.

To practice toe-side edging, place your rear foot on the stomp pad, move your body over the toe
edge, bend your knees and rise up on your toes while tilting the board on its toe edge. Hold the
board on its edge for a few seconds, gradually increasing the duration with each attempt.

Repeat with the heel-side edge of the board. Bend your knees and move your body over the heel side
edge. Pull your toes up and push your lower legs against the highbacks of your bindings.

Skating

When you are stationary on a flat surface with your front foot attached to your snowboard, you'll
have to move around by skating. This is what snowboarders do to move toward the chairlifts.
To skate, put your weight on your front foot and push with your free foot. Practice toe-side and heel-
side skating by slightly tilting your board on its respective edges as you push. Also practice gliding by
placing your free rear foot onto the stomp pad after pushing off.

First Descent

Well, all of that must have been rather mundane and unexciting but you're finally ready to actually
glide downward. First, find a gentle slope for beginners with hopefully very little traffic and with a
long flat runout at the bottom.

At the top of the slope, when you're ready to go, transfer your weight to your front foot and place
your rear foot onto the stomp pad. Relax and maintain your balance while looking ahead or in the
direction you want to go as you start to glide forward. Continue your descent until you stop naturally
on the flat runout. Climb up the slope again and repeat this fun little exercise until you feel
comfortable with balancing yourself.

Stopping

Since not all slopes and trails conveniently end in a nice and flat runout, it's time to learn how to
stop. You do this by turning either onto your toe-side or heel-side edge.

To stop with a toe-side turn while you are on your descent, steer by twisting your front foot and
pushing with your rear foot so that your board turns in an arc with its tail following its tip. As you
turn, look in the direction you wish to go and tilt the board so that it remains on its toe edge until the
board decelerates and comes to a stop with the board across the fall line. To execute this maneuver,
natural riders will be turning right while goofy riders will turn left.
Once you can stop with a toe-side turn, practice stopping with a heel-side turn. The principles will be
the same except that you will be turning in the opposite direction and stopping with the heel edge of
the board across the hill. You may find this a little tricky to perform at first but it will get much easier
later when you have your rear foot strapped in.

Basic Traversing

Traversing means descending across the slope of the hill through the use of proper edging as
opposed to gliding straight down. It is an important skill snowboarding beginners should learn as you
will use it in the future to negotiate steep slopes. By adjusting your angle of descent (or attack as
they like to call it) you can control how fast or slow you move.

First, practice traversing the hill on the toe edge of your board with your back facing toward the fall
line, your rear foot slightly uphill and your front foot pointing in the direction you wish to move.
When you reach the far side of the trail, step off your board and position yourself and your board to
repeat the maneuver on the heel edge of your board.

Keep Practicing

It's important that snowboarding beginners continue practicing the skills above until they feel
confident in being able to execute them comfortably. On average, this shouldn't take you more than
two hours before you're ready to finally head up the lifts and strap your rear foot in.
Your First Snowboarding Turns
Well, you've mastered the Key Movements and now you'd like to be able to get down the hill without
having to drop down to change edges anymore since the falling leaf maneuver is starting to get old
fast. In other words, you want to learn how to turn! Well you're in luck because here's a step-by-step
guide to learning how to turn effectively.

Basic Turns

To practice your first turns, find a well-groomed and gentle slope with little traffic and plenty of room
to move. Start by positioning yourself on the toe or heel edge with your board across the hill and put
your weight onto your front foot as you would during a traverse and look in the direction you wish to
go as you begin to glide.

Use your feet and legs to steer the board so that you twist your front foot in the direction you wish
to turn while your rear foot pushes away from that direction. Make sure your movements are
smooth and gradual.

As your angle of attack approaches the fall line, gradually roll the board over to the other edge and
steer your board completely across the hill while maintaining your balance and controlling your
speed. Practice making turns using both the toe and heel side edges. After completing a turn, use the
maneuvers you have learned (traverses, sideslips and garlands) to find a new spot where the
conditions are suitable for practicing another turn.

Linking Turns

When you are comfortable with executing basic turns on both edges, you'll be ready to link a series
of turns together while descending a hill.

To link turns together, you'll have to be comfortable with rising up to an upright position and sinking
down low to a flexed position again. First, practice rising and sinking on flat surfaces. Next, use the
some rising and sinking motion while traversing across the hill on both edges while maintaining your
speed.

You can then incorporate this into your turns. As you start, extend your body and rise up. During the
middle and toward the end of your turn, flex your lower body. Continuing traversing while flexed and
rise up again to begin a new turn. By rising before the beginning of a turn, the amount of weight on a
board is reduced making it easier to steer and to move into your next turn. Repeat the cycle of rise,
turn, flex and finish over and over again through a series of linked turns.

Initially, perform these turns in a rhythmic fashion as you make one turn after the other. Once you
are comfortable with this, try deliberately changing the rhythm of your turns by increasing or
decreasing the length of each turn randomly or according to the trail. Doing this will give you greater
control, allowing you to turn whenever you need to.

Explore Trails
Once you are able to link turns confidently, take your new found skills to a variety of green-circle
(beginner) and blue-square (intermediate) trails to e

Snowboarding Key Movements

Now that you're comfortable with the maneuvers you practiced in Maneuvers For Beginners and are
able to balance yourself while steering your board, it's time to head up the lifts! Strap your rear foot
in (yes, finally) and with both feet attached to your board, work on the moves below. These are key
maneuvers which you must master before you can progress any further.

Traverse

Start with a toe-side traverse. Place your board across the fall line and get into a kneeling position
with your body uphill from your board. Push yourself up to a standing position and balance on your
toe edge. Now start your traverse by looking in the direction you wish to move (left for natural, right
for goofy) and putting some weight onto your front foot.

Maintain your balance and steer the board so that you move across and slightly down the hill. Start
with a small angle of attack and gradually increase this as you gain in confidence. To stop, push
downward with your rear foot so that the board is across the hill and tilt the board higher on its
edge. Once you are completely across the hill at the end of the trail, kneel down and roll over so that
you can stand on your heel edge. Again, look in the direction you will move, shift your weight to your
front foot, and traverse to the other side of the hill on your heel edge.

Sideslips

Sideslipping involves skidding down the hill on the uphill edge of your board. Being proficient with
this skill will allow you to descend virtually any slope regardless of how steep it is.

As usual, we'll start with the toe edge. Keep your board balanced across the hill on your toe edge.
Make sure that your weight is distributed evenly across your board. Tilt the board slightly downward
to reduce the amount of edging and you should begin to skid downward following the fall line. Tilt
the board up again to bring your board to a stop.

Once you can consistently control the speed of your sideslips on the toe edge, repeat the exercise on
your heel edge.

Falling Leaf

Falling leaf refers to the process of descending the slope while traversing forward and backward
(fakie) on the same edge. Yes, that's right, you'll no longer have to drop down to flip your board over
so you can traverse to the other side of the hill.

To do this, just traverse as you normally would on your toe or heel edge. When you get to the end of
the trail, stay on the same edge, look over to the opposite direction and place some weight onto your
rear foot so that the tail of your board is now slightly down the hill.

You should now start moving backward on your board in the other direction. To slow down or stop,
push down with your front foot so that the board is across the hill again. Once you are at the end of
the other side of the trail, simply traverse forward again on the same edge. You can keep doing this
until you reach the bottom of the hill.

Garland / Half Turns

Garland turns are partial turns which do not involve a change of edge. They are used to allow you to
get accustomed to making small turns before you progress to full turns.

On your toe edge, steer the tip of your board down the hill, more than you would while traversing
but not straight down. As you begin to move downward, steer your board up the hill again so that
you slow to a stop.

Keep making a series of partial turns on your toe edge until you reach the end of the trail. Now, of
course, you'll make partial turns on your heel edge to get to the other side. You knew that was
coming, didn't you?

Conclusion

Garland turns help you master the start of a turn while traversing and sideslipping are encountered
during the middle or end of the turn respectively. By mastering these techniques, you'll find making
complete full turns that much easier.

Snowboard Carving
In Your First Turns, we covered the basics of performing turns on the snowboard. After you've
performed the basic turning maneuver for awhile, you might find the noise and sloppiness inherent
in skidded turns may not quite be to your more refined taste.

This is where carved turns come in to the picture. Carving with a snowboard is an advanced art form
which takes time to master so make sure you are proficient with basic skidded turns first before
attempting to carve.

The idea behind carving is that by tipping the board on its edge sufficiently, you can exploit your
board's sidecut and flex to provide the turning power while you control the edging and weight shifts.

Traversing Without Skidding

The first step towards carving is to practice traversing on both toe-side and heel-side edges with the
board rocked up higher on its edge and your knees and ankles flexed more. Hold the board on its
edge as it rails across the slope without skidding.

Carved Turns

Once you are comfortable with traversing on your edge without skidding, turn the board slightly
down the hill and carve your way back up the hill while remaining on its edge. Do this by ensuring
that the tip and tail of your board pass through the same point in the snow so that the board's
sidecut causes it to turn. Examine the track you have created in the snow. If it is a thin line which has
sliced through the snow, then you've got it right. If it is a messy and sloppy track caused by too
much skidding, then you'll need to keep working on it.

As you gain in confidence, increase the angle with which you point your board down the fall line until
you can eventually point it straight down and carve back up. Keep practicing until you can confidently
carve on both edges. Experiment with different degrees of edging where you'll find that tilting your
board higher will give you a sharper turn.

Linking Carved Turns

Now you'll be ready to link carved turns. Once you have carved your way back up, roll your board
onto its downhill edge. Yes, it's downhill edge. In most cases, this would cause a wipeout but with
carving, the board's sidecut will pull you into a carved turn. To link turns smoothly together, adjust
the amount you turn up the slope and use the shape of the turn to control your speed.

As always, practice on progressively steeper slopes as your confidence and ability increases. With
higher speeds, make sure you that you are in an open area away from any obstacles or peoples who
may get in your way while you are carving.

Backcountry Snowboarding
In the early days, when snowboarding was still outlawed from resorts, pioneers of the sport would
indulge in their new pastime by hiking up mountains and riding back down with their primitive but
innovative gear. The rapid growth in the popularity of snowboarding has seen the attention now shift
mainly to riding on groomed runs or terrain parks in resorts.

However, as the abilities of enthusiasts mature, many begin to search for new experiences and
eventually return to the roots of snowboarding i.e. riding in the backcountry, far from the packs of
visitors at the busy resorts. Backcountry snowboarding is a combination of not just riding but also
climbing and mountaineering where you venture away from the resorts and out into the wilderness
to discover nature and deep, untracked powder.

Preparation

If you have never experienced riding in the backcountry, there is one important fact that you'll need
to understand and that is unlike riding in a controlled environment like a resort, you alone are
responsible for your own safety. There are real dangers out in the wild which can hurt or kill you.
Reading this article will provide you with some basic information on backcountry riding but will
absolutely not be sufficient to prepare you for the experience So before you head out, educate
yourself by taking a course in backcountry exploration or reading up on the subject. And, as much as
possible, always go in a group with experienced riders who have been there before and done that.

Backcountry snowboarding will present a variety of challenges so make sure that you have the skills
to ride in a wide variety of ungroomed terrains and snow conditions.

Research Your Destination

Understanding your destination and any alternative routes will go a long way toward a safe and
rewarding backcountry journey. Tell your friends or family about your intended routes and
destination and when you expect to be returning.

This is so that, should an accident occur, there will at least be somebody who can initiate a
search. Check the weather forecast over the number of days you will be trekking and riding and bring
enough gear and clothing to adapt to any extremes in the conditions which may occur.

If there is a local avalanche hotline, use it to find out about any risks of snowslides which may occur
in the region.

The Journey

To maximize daylight, start out early in the morning. If you will be ascending the mountain through
deep, untracked snow, use snowshoes or backcountry skis. These may not be necessary if you are
following a packed trail or if the snow is hard and frozen.
Because hiking through deep snow consumes plenty of energy, where possible, try using preexisting
tracks or take turns within the group in breaking a trail.
Use steady steps and breathe rhythmically rather than sprinting in bursts which will cause you to lose
your breath quickly. Drink plenty of fluids and keep your energy up with appropriate snacks along the
way.

Enjoy the spectacular scenery around you but still be aware of any potential hazards such as
avalanches, falling rocks or ice, covered streams or tree wells. When you reach the summit, take
some time to savor the wondrous environment and appreciate your accomplishment (unless, of
course, you cheated and used a helicopter).

The best part of the whole journey will then be the descent where you float and turn through the
expanse of deep untracked powder or spring corn not available on the groomed runs of any resort.
But, as always, stay alert and be wary of any dangers on the way down.

Riding In Deep Powder

Anyone who has ever experienced the exhilaration of riding in deep powder will tell you it is the
ultimate in snowboarding. Riders hooked on the sport will invest all the time, energy and money they
can afford as they travel the globe searching for fresh and untracked powder.To truly appreciate
riding in deep powder, you'll need to make a few adjustments. This is because you'll actually be
riding in the snow rather than on it as you would generally do over groomed trails.
Before you dive into it, however, first make sure that you're able to link turns on groomed
intermediate trails.

Finding Powder
Finding deep and untracked powder could be one of your greatest challenges simply because they
don't last long. To increase your chances, get out early and head straight to the front of the chairlift
line before the chairlifts actually open so that you can enjoy that first run.

Later in the day, you'll have to venture out to search for lesser-used trails. You probably won't get
much help from the folks or patrons down at the resorts since they'll probably be just as keen on
finding powder as you are.

Starting Out

First thing you'll need, of course, is fresh powder. Lots of it, if possible. Start with a gentle slope
which ends in a nice runout. Go straight down the slope through powder at a reasonably fast speed
which will allow your board to float closer to the surface of the snow while making it easier to steer.

Do not put too much weight on your front foot or you may sink the tip of your board and crash.
When riding in deep powder, keep most of your weight on your rear foot so that your board stays
floating (think water-skiing). Mounting your bindings farther back on your board may be convenient
if you plan to be riding in deep powder all day.

As you float through the snow, practice adding some gentle bouncing movements so that your board
bounces deeper and shallower in the snow. In addition, try pulling your legs and feet up from
underneath so that the board is lifted to the surface. While this will give you an indication of the
snow's texture, you'll also use this technique later for turning.

Turning

Using the bounce and retraction technique you practiced earlier, initiate your turn when the board is
near the surface of the snow at the top of your bounce. Get into a rhythm of bouncing and turning so
that you'll begin to link turns all the way to the bottom of the slope with little effort.

Getting Up

Getting up after a fall in deep powder may be a little tricky due to the nature of loose snow. In
general, you'll probably find it easier getting up on the toe side. You may have to roll over to do this if
you fall forward. Try to keep your board over the snow surface and make sure your board is not
buried in the snow. Otherwise, you may find it close to impossible to move.

Controlling Your Speed

Make sure you don't get caught stranded in flat areas of powder by looking ahead to plan your route.
Maintain your speed across flat areas by pointing your board mostly down the hill. If you still find
yourself slowing down, try riding in tracks created by others to lessen the resistance.

Slowing down probably isn't much of an issue in deep powder. All you'll need to do is to ride into a
section of deep powder and turn.

Anticipate a change in terrain if you are moving from a groomed run to a deep powder area or vice
versa and adjust your weight accordingly. The sudden deceleration or acceleration may result in you
falling over or your board sliding out from underneath you.
Performing Snowboard Tricks
If you've ever watched snowboarding videos or read snowboarding magazines, you've probably been
inundated with images of freestyle riders performing exciting and spectacular snowboarding tricks,
jumps and spins. So after watching all of those terror-death moves, your adrenaline starts to race and
you can't wait to catch some big bad air.

However, before you rush out to the halfpipes or terrain parks you should at least be proficient in
linking turns in intermediate blue runs as described in Your First Turns. You'll then be ready to work
on the maneuvers below.

Fakie

Riding fakie refers to riding in a backward direction on your board i.e. with your rear foot leading.
This will be one of the most fundamental skills in freestyle snowboarding which, apart from making
you a more complete and versatile rider, will allow you to perform various spin moves in the air or on
the snow.

To develop competence in riding fakie, practice key maneuvers such as traversing, stopping and
turning but instead of leading with your front foot, lead with your rear foot instead. Persist with
developing confidence and control and practice in various terrains, conditions and trails until you are
comfortable with riding backward.

Tip Rolls

A tip roll involves flipping or rolling your board over 180 degrees to change from forward to fakie
while the board's tip remains on the snow. To execute this maneuver, move your weight far forward
and lift up your rear foot so that the tail of your board rises off the ground.

Start with a small lift first before gradually increasing the height. With the tip of your board still on
the ground, practice swinging the tail until you can swing it all the way around to the other edge and
ride fakie. Once you are comfortable performing the tip roll from forward to fakie, practice swinging
the board over with the same technique from fakie back to forward. As always, practice with both
edges.

Catching Air

Now it's time to catch your first air. If you have access to a terrain park, look for structures designed
for beginners. Otherwise, find an area with a few bumps or small berms to jump off from.

Move toward the jump at a low to moderate speed while looking ahead with your hands in front of
you. At the top of the jump, remain balanced over your board and look straight ahead at all times
while you are in flight. Do not look down! This has a tendency to badly affect your balance causing
you to crash to the ground.

As you prepare to land, keep looking ahead and bend your legs to absorb the impact of your landing
before riding out to search for your next jump.
You can also get some air on a flat ground by performing a maneuver called the ollie. Shift all of your
weight toward the tail of the board until the tip of your board begins to rise and allow your board to
pop into the air.

Grabs

As you gain in confidence when jumping, you can grab your board while in mid-air. Grabbing your
board will provide extra stability in the air while also helping you to perform spins and inversions
more effectively. Plus it just looks so cool!

Make sure you bend your legs to bring the board up to your hand rather than bending downward to
grab your board which can put you off-balance. Experiment with grabbing various sections of your
board with either hand whether it be the tip, tail, toe edge or heel edge of your board.

Spins

Being able to spin in the air will serve as the basis for which other more advanced freestyle tricks can
be performed. Mastering the technique, however, will take plenty of practice and persistence.

Start by practicing 180 degree spins while on a gentle slope. While traversing on your toe edge, bend
down low and wind your body up in a direction opposite to your intended direction of spinning.

Jump straight up and uncoil your body to begin your spin while using your arms to maintain balance.
While spinning, look in direction you will be spinning and then in the direction you will land. Bend
your knees and absorb the impact while landing on your heel edge and continue to ride fakie.

As always, practice on both edges and when you can jump and spin from forward to fakie, practice
going from fakie to forward again. When you've mastered a 180 degree spin, practice doing a full 360
degree spin using the same principles except you'll be moving in the same direction on the same
edge when you land.

Combining Moves

As you gain in confidence, gradually increase the size of your jumps and spins. When you're ready
(after much hard work), you'll be ready to try out your tricks in the park or pipe using various
combinations of jumps, spins and board grabs.

Snowboarding Styles
In essence, there are essentially three snowboarding styles i.e. freestyle, freeride and alpine/race.
Your preferred snowboarding style will influence the type of terrain you cover and, more
importantly, the type of equipment you'll need to get the most out of your ride. This is especially true
when it comes to your choice of boards, boots and bindings.

Freestyle
Probably the most glamorous of the three snowboarding styles where the riders are trendy and full
of attitude is freestyle riding. Freestyle primarily involves a variety of tricks and jumps in specially
constructed terrain parks, rails and halfpipes (a large and deep U-shaped ramp).

Because of the dynamic and acrobatic nature of freestyle snowboarding, freestyle competitions are
more popular and generate more publicity compared to their other snowboarding counterparts. This
is probably the style that you've been the most exposed to in all those posters, magazines, videos
and other forms of media.

Freestyle snowboarders usually wear soft boots while using boards specifically made for
snowboarding which are shorter and have superior flex to facilitate jumping, spinning in the air and
landing. These boards also have an identically shaped twin-tipped nose and tail to allow riders to
move in both forward and backward directions with ease.

Freeride

Freeriding is a more general form of snowboarding which combines a variety of snowboarding

elements and disciplines. In essence, it encompasses the spirit of exploration where you, as the rider,
trek through a variety of powder fields, trees, steeps and anything else the mountain has to offer.

Boards for freeriding are generally longer and narrower than freestyle boards while having a more
prominent sidecut for more efficient carving.

Freeride boots are also of the soft variety although riders may prefer a little added stiffness for a
more responsive setup.

Alpine / Race

Here, the primary focus is speed where riders race through wide open terrain or racecourses made
from hard packed snow. For this reason, racing boards are narrow and stiff with small noses and little
or no tail kick as they are designed to move in a forward direction only.

Because there is very little margin for error, this style of snowboarding is best reserved only for
advanced riders who have a firm grasp of the pre-requisite skills. A less extreme form of race
snowboarding is called freecarve which uses slightly shorter, wider and more flexible boards to
combine race carving with the versatility of freeriding. Competitions in this category of snowboarding
usually take the form of giant slaloms where riders are required to make a variety of tight turns to
negotiate a specifically designed course marked by poles on a mountain slope.

Boots and bindings made for racing are hard and stiff, closely resembling ski boots. These are
designed to give as much protection as possible to the feet and ankles during high speed carving
while providing maximum control and stability at all times.

Which Style For Beginners?

If you are a beginner, sticking with soft boots and bindings and using boards made for either freeride
or freestyle snowboarding will give you enough flexibility and margin for error so that you can pick up
the fundamentals of snowboarding without too much discomfort. Riding for a handful of sessions
should then give you a clearer idea of which snowboarding style you'll fancy the most.

Snowboard Clothing
Your snowboard clothing can be basically broken down into three separate layers. Dressing in layers
will give you the flexibility of adapting to cold or sunny conditions by adding or removing layers as
required to ensure a high level of safety, fun and comfort.

Inner Thermal Layer

The inner-most layer should pretty much cover your whole body. This will include a long-sleeve top,
long thermal underwear pants (or longs johns) and socks. When choosing clothing for this layer,
don't worry about fashion or big brands since they pretty much all perform the same function and
nobody can see the weird looking colors and patterns on the set you chose to buy anyway.

Look for synthetic materials such as polyester or polypropylene which will help to wick moisture
away from your body to the outer layers to keep your skin dry. Avoid garments made from cotton as
they have a tendency to absorb water which equals a wet, cold and miserable snowboarder.

It isn't really necessary to wear more than one layer of socks. A good thin pair of socks will keep your
feet warm by facilitating air circulation around your toes. You can also get socks specifically designed
for snowboarding which are thinner around the toes and have a forward lean built into them.

Middle Fleece Layers

The middle layer (or layers) consist of one or more layers of a quality synthetic fleece or wool (not
cotton!) top. These are primarily used for providing insulation and keeping you warm by trapping air
next to your body.

The thickness of this layer will vary depending on the temperature conditions. On cold days, you may
like to wear several layers or a single heavy thick layer while on warmer days, you could possibly
even get away with just a simple t-shirt.

Outer Shell Layer

This layer will provide protection from the extreme cold and winds and will include you outer jacket
and pants. Ideally, the attire for this layer will be durable, waterproof, windproof and breathable,
allowing perspiration to escape while shielding you from the winds, snow and rain. For more
information, please see our article on Jackets and Pants.

Accessories
To complete your snowboard clothing setup, you'll need goggles to protect your eyes, gloves for your
hands and preferably some type of beanie (hat) or helmet to keep your noggin warm. For more
information on how to find the right accessories, please see our section on Equipment.

Establishing Your Snowboard Stance

Getting your snowboard stance right is vital in ensuring that you and your snowboard achieve
optimum balance and timing while efficiently using your energy and muscle strength. By riding in a
position that feels as natural as possible, the effort required to ride comfortably for as long as you
want to is minimized.

Natural or Goofy?

These terms refer to which foot you will use as your front foot while riding. Natural footers ride with
their left leg in front while goofy footers prefer leading with their right leg. While a slight majority of
snowboarders are natural footers, there are both natural and goofyfooter pros and neither one will
mean having better skills.

Determining which foot you'll prefer is easy if you surf of skateboard as they are similar to
snowboarding since movement is in a direction that's sideways to your body. Even playing other
sports such as snooker, baseball, martial arts or darts can help you determine which foot you
generally prefer to use as your front foot for balancing.

If you're still unsure of which foot to use as your front foot, you can conduct a few simple tests to
help you figure it out. Try sliding on a polished floor with your socks on or examine which foot you
put forward first when climbing a set of stairs. In each case, you'll notice which foot naturally moves
to the front. When all else fails, just hit the powder with your board and go with whatever feels right.
All will be revealed by then.

Stance Width

Your stance width is measured as the distance between the centers of both feet. As a general rule,
use a width that's about the width of your shoulders or maybe just a little wider to begin with and
adjust it accordingly after a few rides to the width that feels the most comfortable and natural.

If your stance width is too wide, you may find yourself using more of your muscular strength instead
of your overall torso for controlling your board. As a result, you'll tire yourself out quickly and find it
difficult to negotiate your turns effectively. Conversely, if your stance is too narrow, you'll severely
limit the range of motion of your lower joints while noticing a deterioration in balance and stability.

Stance Angles

Stance angle is measured as the angle that your bindings are pointing to in relation to your board.
These angles are usually printed on your snowboard bindings.

For freeride and freestyle riders, moderate angles of between 15-30 degrees for the front foot and
no more than 15 degrees for your back foot should give you enough versatility to ride, carve and
perform tricks in a variety of situations. Large angles will help you with your carving but will hinder
your ability to perform other moves while angles that are too square to the board will limit your use
of your legs and lower body. If you are a beginner and are still confused as to what stance angles you
should be using, try using angles of 21 and 9 degrees for your front and back foot respectively to start
off with. As with other aspects of your stance, you can fine tune and adjust them over time according
to whatever snowboarding stance feels best for you.

* Air - getting you and your board completely air borne

* Avalanche - when a layer of snow is weak and can't support the weight of the snow that has
fallen

* Avalanche Shovel - Jumps, Ditches, Avalanches. Use if for everything

* Backcountry - places you would go where not a lot of others do

* Bail - give out or give up and fall while snowboarding

* Battleship - rail that angles up then flattens out then angles down again

* Betty - any girl who is only snowboarding for the attention

* Biff - To crash, plain and simple

* Bingo - when someone sticks three 360s in a row

* Bip - the region on your body between your butt and either of your hips

* Bomb - To ride straight down the run

* Boot Pack - path that is created by someone breaking trail

* Burton Bible - Burton's annual catalog

* Burton Snowboards - Maker of all things snowboarding

* Comp - gathering of riders to find out who is the best among them

* Dump - amount of fresh snow that has or will fall

* Edge - metal edges that run along either side of your snowboard

* Fakie - riding with your opposite foot forward

* Four Nines - Four 900 spins in a run

* Goggles - used to protect your eyes

* Goofy - having your right foot as your forward most foot

* Helmet - protect a snowboarder's head

* Hip Pads - keep the bruises on your hips to a minimum

* Huck - when someone goes off of a jump and goes big

* I-Beam - a strip of material that is put into the core of a snowboard

* Jib - to snowboard on obstacles that are not regularly intended for riding on

* Kicker - A Jump

* Lens - translucent piece of plastic in either glasses or goggles

* Lip - the very last part you will hit

* Night Riding - snowboarding after it gets dark

* Post Hole - the imprint you make when hiking

* Rainbow Rail - arched rail

* Runway - the path before a jump

* Snowboard Socks - Keep your feet warm, all day long

* Switch - riding with the opposite foot forward then you normally would