Be a Better Snowboarder: Tips and Tricks

Is it really that hard to learn to snowboard? Is snowboarding really that hard on your body? The answer: yes and no. For the beginning boarder, sore muscles can be an issue and you might spend more time face down in the snow than on your board. Don’t let that keep you off the slopes!

There are a few things you can do to make your snowboarding experience easier and more satisfying. First of all bring plenty of ibuprofen or naproxen sodium with you to prevent the aches and pains from keeping you off the slope on day two. Second, don’t overlook the importance of a good pre-boarding stretch!

Pay attention to you clothes. It’s much more important to dress for warmth, water resistance and movement than it is to look “cool”. Your muscles will thank you, and your snowboarding will improve much more quickly with the right clothes for the slopes.

Make sure you are using the right equipment for your size and snowboarding style. If you don’t know how to size your board, set your bindings and size your boots, ask a pro. It’s worth it for the added control the right sized snowboard will give you.

Don’t be afraid to take a few lessons from a professional snowboard instructor. It’s fun to go out with your friends, but you’re more likely to show off and get hurt in front of friends than a pro. Plus, the pro can give you the benefit of his experience and teach you more, faster.

The first “trick” you learn should be standing and balancing upright on your snowboard. It doesn’t sound like much of a trick, but it is. Balance is key, and so is getting fitted for the right snowboard. The right stance, slightly bent knees, strongest foot forward, is also important to staying upright.

One of the hardest techniques to master is treating snowboarding like a dance. Just like in dancing, you want your eyes on where you’re headed and not on your feet. Staring down at your feet makes you more likely to hit something and get hurt. Looking where you’re going is the best way to stay safe and have good balance on your board.

The most important thing you can learn to do to avoid broken bones and twisted joints is how to fall down. Figuring out how to hit the snow is key to your safety. It can mean the difference between a hospital visit and getting back up and snowboarding some more.

On the slopes water is your best friend. Get a travel bottle and keep it full of water and on your person at all times. Anytime you stop, take a drink. Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate! You can underestimate the importance of being hydrated, even in winter when you don’t expect to sweat as much.

Choosing Your Snowboard

So you’ve decided to start snowboarding, and you want your own board. No problem, I can help you choose the snowboard that is perfect for you! You’re snowboard should fit your style and your body, and picking the right one makes snowboarding safer for you, too.

The first step is figuring out what type of snowboarding you will be doing the most. Freestyle, Free Carve, Half Pipe and Free Ride all require a slightly different board style and shape. Free Riding is what most snowboarders start out doing, so that board will probably be your first choice. The other nice thing about getting a Free Ride board is that it can be used in the beginning stage of the other styles as well, so it works as a learning tool.

For a good first Free Ride board, look for a longer board with a narrower width, deep side cuts a longer nose area and a directional shape. Freestyle boards are shorter, fatter, lighter and have identically shaped tip and nose sections. They are designed to take more abuse, and to go as fast forward as they do backward.

Free Carve snowboarding is the style closest to skiing. It uses a long, narrow, shaped board very similar to a ski so that it can carve turns well and get speed down slope. Unlike Free ride boards, this board can not be used in Freestyle tricks! It will break.

When you go to buy your snowboard, pay attention to how its made. It’s better to spend a little more than you expected to get a sturdier, better-made board than to cheap out and buy a piece of trash. Boards are made from a wood core wrapped in fiberglass, then coated with plastic or more fiberglass, with metal edges. Look at the material, stiffness, length, weight and shape of the board (twin tip, directional or extended edge).

The more aerial tricks you plan to do, the lighter the board you need should be. The more surface tricks and free riding you plan to do, the stiffer the board needs to be to handle the abuse it will get. The more you plan to ride off-piste (off the trail), the more rugged a board you want to buy.

Once you’ve chosen a few boards styles to try, you need to choose the board size that’s right for you. If you plan to snowboard in a style that requires a shorter board, like Free Ride, you can check the length right in the store.

Stand up. Hold the board upright, on its tail, next to you. The nose of the board should reach somewhere between your collarbone and your chin when you stand up straight. For a carver needing a longer board, the board should hit between your eyes and the top of your head. Measure each board, then keep only the ones that fit.

Lay the boards that fit the height you need flat on floor in the store. Stand on the board sideways. The correct width should touch your feet on both sides – at your toes and your

Snowboard Safety on the Slopes

It’s hard to take a minute to think about safety when all you want to do is get out on the slopes and board. It’s important to take a few minutes each day to make sure you’re being safe on the slope and keeping your gear in shape. Half the safety battle is maintenance and being prepared.

The most common snowboarding injuries are wrist, ankle and knee injuries. A lot of injuries are caused by falling incorrectly. Since you can’t put your legs out to stop a fall like you would in skiing, snowboarders who haven’t learned to fall will often injure their wrists, ankles and knees.

There are a couple of ways to prevent wrist injury. First, instead of trying to “catch” your fall with your hands and wrists, learn to tuck in and fall on your elbows and behind in the snow. This puts you in a better position to avoid a fall related injury to your wrists from bends, breaks or sprains. Second, wear wrist guards! They may not be “cool”, but they’ll save your wrists so you can board another day.

Ankle injuries in snowboarding are caused by strain from snowboarding in incorrect gear and crashing into hard objects. Because your ankles are bent while boarding, improper snow boots and bindings can cause snowboarder’s ankle – a strain on the tendons and bones of your ankle.

You can prevent sprains, snowboarder’s ankle and injuries due to crashes by wearing the right gear. Wear a hard snowboard boot that fits correctly. Never wear hiking boots to snowboard! They don’t offer enough support. Make sure your bindings are tight enough to offer support to your ankle. Keeping on top of your gear and how it fits (and watching wear your going) will prevent most injury.

Most knee injuries in snowboarding happen due to crashes or twisting into a sprain. There isn’t much you can do about crashes besides becoming a better boarder and learning to control the board to avoid obstacles. You can wear kneepads, though. These will protect your knee from the unavoidable spills and stumbles that happen to a new snowboarder. You can protect against sprain by learning the right way to carve and the right way to fall.

Don’t forget to protect your noggin! Just because your mom always called you “hard headed” doesn’t mean you’re invincible. Wear a helmet, especially when you are new to snowboarding or learning new tricks. Be sure to get a snowboarder’s helmet. These are made stronger on the sides where most head impacts happen when boarding.

To avoid other random injuries, take a few minutes to make sure you are familiar with the rules of the ski area where you are boarding. Whether you are boarding on piste (on the groomed slopes) or off piste (off the beaten track) learn the trail signs – they can save your life and keep you from venturing down a hazardous slope.

What Size Board Should I Buy?

Most of the time people ask: What length board is best for me? An often unasked, but equally important question is: What width board is best for you? Both snowboard length and width factor heavily in finding and buying the correct size snowboard.

There are a number of key factors to consider when determining the perfect board.

A. You’re riding ability?

1. Beginner- first time, newbie, taking a lesson, snowboarded 1-3 times

2. Intermediate- board 3-5 times a year, ride fakie, catch some air, turns no problem.

3. Advanced- you know who you are!

B. What type of riding style do you enjoy most?

The riding style you prefer will help determine the type of board you should buy.
There are many different opinions on how many riding styles there are but we are going to break them down in to three main categories of riding styles.
The three most common riding styles are:

All Mountain / Freeride style-a freeride or all mountain snowboarder utilizes the whole mountain. You enjoy carving, catching air, basically all riding aspects.

2. Freestyle or Technical riding- includes mostly trick riding. Jumps, spins, grabs, jibbing, rail sliding, basically tearing it up. Technical freestyle riding is usually found in the parks or near the halfpipe.Freestyle/Technical boards is the best choice for a beginning snowboarder.

3. Carve/Alpine style-combines speed and deep turns and utilizes everything the mountain has to offer. Alpine riders are continually transitioning from one turn to the next. It is all about high speed and hard carving.

TIP # 1 Before buying any board make sure you are up on your boarding lingo (terms) this will help in your understanding of what exactly you are looking for.

After you have decided on your ability and riding style we can move on to the most important board buying decisions: Board length and width. This is not only a function of your height but also your weight.

C. Length

Length is measured in centimeters and is sometimes abbreviated to just the last two digits. Hence, a Burton Custom 56 is a snowboard made by Burton that measures 156cm from tip to tail. Kids' boards run as short as 100cm and long race or powder boards can be upwards of 180cm.

To find the correct length for you, start by comparing it to your height. When holding the board on its end, a short board will come up somewhere between your collar bones and chin. Because shorter boards are easier to maneuver, they are great to learn on and are preferred by riders who do a lot of trick, park and pipe riding.

A medium length board standing on end will come up between your chin and nose. This length is for the all around intermediate to advanced rider who may ride a variety of terrain, including parks and steeps.

Long boards go from eye-level to several inches over the top of the head. Long boards are for high-speed carving, deep powder and big mountain terrain.

Riders who are heavy for their height can stay within these guidelines, but should look for boards that have a stiffer flex. Lighter riders will need boards with a softer flex. Also, remember that these are general guidelines to get you started; personal preference can also strongly sway your decision of what length board to buy.

D.Width

While board length has some room for personal preference, board width is directly tied to your foot size. Riders with small feet need narrow boards; likewise, riders with big feet need wide boards.

Board width is measured in either centimeters or millimeters and can be found in the board's specifications under waist width (usually on the tag or in the manufacturer's catalog or Web site). The best way to find the correct board width is to stand on a board that is flat on the ground. Strap or step into your bindings, or place your feet exactly how you would have them when you ride. (This is important because the more angle you ride with, the less your foot will span across the width of the board.)

When standing in riding position, your boots should be flush or slightly over the edges of the snowboard. If your toes and heels don't come close to the edge, you won't be able to apply proper pressure to your edges during a turn. If, on the other hand, your feet hang too far over the edges of the board, your toes may catch in the snow while turning and send you reeling. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as "toe drag", and it is a drag.

TIP # 2 If you are a beginner you may want to rent a couple of different boards before you buy, this will help you determine exactly what you like before you blow all your money