First Time Snowboarding

How to Snowboard the first day

Information on how to snowboard for beginners explained. Tips to get you skating, turning and stopping on your snowboard.

Basic Stance

To learn how to snowboard you need to have a good stance. Before you put your snowboard you should explore where your basic stance is. Stand so you have equal weight on both feet and your body is aligned and not twisted. Keep your arms at your side and out slightly for balance. Move in and out of this position to get a feel for what’s the most comfortable for you. The only turning of your body should be your head turning toward the tip of the snowboard.

Skating

You will need to move around with your snowboard on and that’s called skating. Strap your front foot in to your binding nice and snug but not so tight where it causes pain. Now get in your basic stance and try to balance on your front foot. You will move by pushing with your back foot on either the front of your snowboard (toe edge) or on the back of your snowboard (heel edge). Skate with small pushes of the back foot and stay balanced on your front foot with a good basic stance. Skating is very awkward at first so don’t get discouraged.

Side Stepping

You have to get up the hill to learn how to snowboard down. An easy maneuver to get us up hill is the side step. Stand facing up hill with your snowboard pointing across the slope and your back foot is uphill of your snowboard on the toe side edge. With your snowboard on edge take a step with your back foot up the hill and then bring your snowboard up to your foot. Keep taking these side steps and move up the hill.

Straight Run

Now you are up the hill just a little be you can make a straight run. A straight run will help you learn what it feels like to move while standing on your snowboard. With your back foot off of your snowboard point your board down the hill. Look around for safety and make sure no one is in your way. Step your back foot on to your snowboard and stand in your good basic stance with equal weight on both feet. Remember don’t try this at the top of the hill, side step up only a little ways so you don’t have to worry about stopping your snowboard.

First Turn

You are ready to learn how to make a turn on your snowboard. Start in the same spot where you made your straight runs, once you start moving lift up on your heels and balance on the toe edge of your snowboard. You should move your hips over the toe edge for balance. Keep your heel edge up, stay balanced on your toe edge and your snowboard will turn. Once you get that to work try to lift up your heel edge and rotate your snowboard slightly to get it to turn. Remember that you should be making a turn with your legs and feet, and your upper body should remain quiet. After you get the toe edge turn down then try the heel edge turn. When making a heel turn move your hips over the heel edge for balance.

How to Stop

How to stop on a snowboard can be very daunting at first. To stop you have to point your snowboard across the hill or slightly up the hill. If your snowboard is pointing down the hill even on an angle it will continue to move. Try making a turn and continue to turn until your snowboard is pointing slightly up the hill. You may start sliding down the hill sideways unable to stop. Try lifting up on your down hill edge slightly to help stop your snowboard from sliding. Remember to keep your weight distributed evenly on both feet.

Practice these maneuvers until they become easy then you are ready to try riding a lift.