It’s winter and you are trying to find something to do outdoors. One of the most popular things to do in winter is to go snowboarding. If this is your first time snowboarding this guide will provide you the necessary information to have a successful snowboarding trip up in the mountains.
Some of the questions you may ask:
- What kind of gears you’ll need to snowboard?
- How to stand on your snowboard?
- How to transport snowboard?
- What are the different parts of the snowboard?
- How to strap in and out of a snowboard?
One of the most important things to consider when starting to snowboard for the first time is to make sure you find the perfect boots that fit you properly. You should only wear one pair of socks with your boots. Boots of today are made to keep your feet warm as you snowboard, so you don’t need to wear multiple socks. Once you found your boots and tried them on with your one pair of socks, make sure that your heel is at the very back of the boot.
What Kind Of Gears You’ll Need To Snowboard
- Snowboard
- Snowboarding boots
- Bindings
- Snowboarding Helmet
- Snowboarding goggles
- Snowboarding jacket
- Snowboarding pants
- Snowboarding socks
- Snowboarding gloves
- Base and mid layers
- Snowboard wax
- Snowboard bags
- Action Camera
- Snowboard pads
- Snowboard stomp pads and leashes
- Car rack
How To Stand On Your Snowboard
In order to start standing on your snowboard, you’ll need to determine your stance. If you ever skateboarded before it will usually be the same stance. The stance is the way you face as you are going down the mountain.
The two stances that people usually use is goofy and regular. The goofy stance is when the right foot is forward, and the regular stance is when the left foot is forward as you are going down the slope. It doesn’t matter what stance you end up using just use the one that feels the most comfortable for you.
The Different Parts Of The Snowboard
There are five parts to a snowboard, the front, back, heelside edge, toeside edge, and the bindings. The front part is called the nose and the back part is called the tail. The heelside edge is the side of the board where your heels are closest to when standing. The toeside edge is the side of the board where your toes are closest to when standing.
Bindings are usually made with plastic or metal and they are the things that keep you attached to the snowboard, one of the most important parts of the snowboard. So make sure its securely attached to the board.
How To Strap In And Out Of A Snowboard
The binding is the part where you would place your feet in. The binding has a ratcheting strap system where you put your feet in and start to crank the ratchet to tighten.
Find a flat surface to start strapping in. Then place one foot into the binding and feed the ladder part into the ratchet and crank the ratchet until its tight on your boots. When you reach the spot where you want to snowboard, you do the same on the other foot.
When you are done going down the slope and want to free yourself from the snowboard, you just have to pull the buckle away from the ratchet to release.
How To Transport Snowboard
In order to keep your snowboard looking good and new while driving to your winter resort, your snowboard should be in a snowboard bag. The snowboard bag can also be used to store the snowboard during off-seasons when you are not using it at home, so it doesn’t end up getting scratched.
If you have room inside your car or truck bed you won’t need a car roof rack to help transport the snowboard. If you are going with a bunch of friends and need space for the snowboards, you should look into getting a car roof rack.
While on the slopes and you want to carry the snowboard around you should be mindful of the people around you so that you don’t hit them with the snowboard on accident. The best spots to hold a snowboard would be the bindings if you don’t have gloves on. If you have gloves then you should hold the snowboard in the middle side of the board.
A good way to carry a snowboard is to have the binding site of the snowboard face towards so that it doesn’t get caught on people’s stuff while walking by them. And if you are in a crowded place you should have your snowboard vertical with the bindings towards you to take up less space.
How To Snowboard Down, Up, And Around The Slopes
Practice on flat ground first. When you have your feet locked into your snowboard, bend your knees and try leaning your body forward a bit toward the nose of the board. This is what you would do while going down the slopes.
Even though most of the time you will be going down the slopes, sometimes you might need to go back up the slopes but don’t want to unstrap your boots to the bindings. So in order to go back up just face the uphill and dig the toeside edge into the snow and start jumping up the hill like you are jumping rope. Continue to jump up until you reach your spot, this will be very energy consuming but it’s the only way to go back up without undoing the binding straps.
A way to get around when you are not going downhill is to strap only one foot to the board and use your back foot to push you forward, this is called skating. This is the most popular way for snowboarders to get on and off the chairlift and how most get around on the flat ground.
How To Ride A Chairlift, Turn, And Stop With The Snowboard
When you finish practicing and mastering the basics of snowboarding on flat ground, its time to take it on the slopes and go down. In this part we will cover:
- How to get on a chairlift?
- How to get off a chairlift?
- How to turn with the snowboard?
- How to stop with the snowboard?
One of the most important things to learn about snowboarding is learning how to stop. You will also need to learn how to control your speed going down.
To stop and slow down, use the heelside with the board perpendicular to the hill and lean back a bit by doing a mid-squat position. The toeside can be off the ground a little bit. Remember to use equal weight destitution on each foot so that you won’t go side to side while trying to stop or slow down.
To turn on a snowboard you’ll use the same skills you learned on how to stop. With those skills try doing a half-turn first, which is also known as garlands. Once you feel comfortable with the half-turns, move on to C turns. To do this you have to shift your weight from toes to heel and vice versa. Once you do a couple of full C turns you will end up with a full S turn and that’s all the turning you’ll need.
So now you have all of these techniques down. You just have to try them out on the slope and the fastest way up those slopes is a chairlift. Remember to get onto the right slope because you do not want to be the one that gets stuck on the advance slope when you are a beginner and have someone to go up with a snowmobile to help bring you down.
This part you’ll learn how to get on a chairlift. First, you’ll have to skate up to the chairlift area, you might have to wait in line. Once it’s your turn to get on the chair, skate up to the loading area. Position yourself in a way that you are ready to sit, the snowboard should be parallel to the seat. Once the chair comes, just sit down and seat all the way back into the seat. Then pull down the safety bar and you’re good to go.
Remember to not throw anything while you are on the chairlift, you might injure someone below. Also do not loosen or undo the binding that is attached to your boot. Just enjoy the view as you are riding up.
Now that you reached the top of the slope, its time for you to get off of the chairlift. In order to get off the chairlift safely, you must point the nose of the snowboard directly at the unloading ramp. Once you enter the unloading area, place your snowboard down and your back foot on your board between the bindings and stand up. This will help you glide away from the chair and the unloading area.
Finally, once you are away from the chairlift you can strap your other foot down to your snowboard. Now you are all set to go down the slope.
Remember to have fun and stay safe.