BASIC TIPS TO SNOWBOARDING

Last winter my friend, a formal skier since she was a child, decided she wanted to learn how to snowboard. I gave her some of the basic tips on snowboarding and after two days she was no longer on the bunny slopes. The basic rule of thumb when it comes to snowboarding is to always stay on your edge. What I mean by this is a snowboard has two edges, your heal and toe edge. The edge is a metal lining that wraps around the outer part of the board. It helps the snowboarder dig into the snow when carving the mountain. When turning onto your heal or toe edge use your back foot, this is the foot that points you in the direction you need to be going. Pivot your steering foot back and forth to maintain your speed and balance. When you’re pivoting your board like this always keep your board on a bit of a 15 degree angle. If your board is lying flat while you’re trying to carve you’re going to catch an edge and eat s@#*. Always be bending your knees when snowboarding, this is going to help keep your center of balance when controlling your board. In a nutshell when snowboarding start off with your knees bent, point your board in the direction you want to be going in, use your front shoulder as a guide because this is going to be the direction your going in. once you are moving push on your back foot to move from your toe edge to your heal edge. That is the basic concept of snowboarding and once you have a feel for it you need to not be timid and be ready for anything.