How to snowboard in 8 steps .............What Size Snowboard.

Dress appropriately- wrist guards and a helmet are a great idea.

A minimum set of clothing would probably be this:

• Boots & socks
• Snowboard pants- waterproof.
• Inner vest
• Fleece jumper
• Jacket, it should be waterproof minimum.
• Gloves. Preferably snowboard specific.
• Goggles (if it's foggy or windy) and sunglasses (if it's sunny)
• Beanie or silly hat
• Scarf or other item to cover your neck if it's windy

Get lessons- nothing beats professional help by the experts. Even if your mates board and want to teach you, investing in a lesson is necessary. You'll get started off with a good basis of boarding knowledge and with continued lessons, you'll be a great rider before you know it.

But in the meantime;-

Figure out which stance you will be using. Left foot forward is a natural or regular stance. Right foot forward is called a goofy stance. If you skateboard, surf or waterski on one ski, you may already know which foot you prefer to have in front. But sometimes this preference will switch around for different sports. Pro riders Jussi Oksanen and Gian Simmen snowboard regular and skateboard goofy-- go figure. You won't know for certain if you are regular or goofy until you head up to the mountain and give it a try.

If you haven’t ridden a board of any sort before, or are a bit unsure of what your stance should be try thinking about these methods. If you were to run across a slippery floor in a pair of socks and do a big slide, which foot would you put forward? Or…if you were riding a bicycle down a big hill and to stand on the pedals whilst coasting, which foot would you have forward? If someone was to push you down a hill, which foot would you use to stop yourself from falling. This is the foot that you would (generally) put forward when boarding.

Warning- the method of having someone sneak up behind you and give you a shove in the back, to see which foot you put forward…..IS NOT RECOMMENDED, for obvious reasons (I have seen people suffer whiplash & a reflex punch in the face)…it is also an unreliable test.

HOW TO SNOWBOARD – in 8 Steps

1. Get in to the bindings. Find a flat area with your snowboard and put your front foot into the front binding. Tighten the straps until they are snug or click in and roll your foot around to make sure it’s secure. Repeat with your back foot. Bounce around with your board attached, to get the feel. Bend your knees, crouch, extend, lean back and forth. Bend and touch the front of the board and the back of the board. Touch the snow each side of your board. Now take out your back foot, leaving your front foot strapped in.
2. Skating- "Skating" is an essential skill to have for getting on the chairlift and negotiating flat areas. It’s the way snowboarders push themselves along using their back foot while the front foot is in the binding. Put your weight on your front foot. Push off the snow with your back foot and slide your front foot forward with the snowboard. Your back foot can push from either side of the board, so try it first on one side and then on the other to see if one is more comfortable for you. Practice skating around for 10 or 15 minutes before you go near the chairlift!
3. Glide and Slide - Take a few steps up a slight hill with your front foot in the snowboard binding and your back foot out. Then strap your back foot into the snowboard. With your snowboard sideways to a small slope, stand up so you are looking up the slope. Your weight will be mostly on your toes. Slightly bend your knees. Now, lower your heels on both feet just a little bit and you will start to slide down the hill. Pull back up on your heels and push down on your toes to stop. Repeat this until you get the hang of stopping.
   Now repeat the opposite, with your board facing across the slope, looking down the hill, weight mostly on your heels, slowly lower your toes and you should start to slide. Pull back up on your toes and push down on your heels to stop.
4. Simulate Getting off the Chair- Go to an area with a slight incline and secure only your front foot in its binding. Point your snowboard down the incline, put your weight on your front foot and start to glide down toward the flat area. Just as you start sliding, place your back foot on the stomp pad alongside the rear binding. Glide to a stop.
5. Get On and Off the Chairlift, T-Bar and pommel/rope tow -Once you feel comfortable skating around in a flat area and gliding to a stop from a slight incline, you are ready to head for the chairlift. Every resort has a beginner lift -- find it. From a safe distance, watch how other snowboarders get on the chairlift until you understand the basic technique.
6. The Falling Leaf -Now that you are at the top of a beginner slope, you are going to slowly slide back and forth across the hill like a "falling leaf," staying on your heelside edge the entire time. Refer to point 3 again. To begin sliding, press down with the toes of your front foot. To stop sliding, pull back up with the same foot. When you reach the edge of the run, stop and press down with the toes of the other foot to start sliding in the other direction. Again, pull up to stop. Continue to the other side of the run. Repeat this back and forth "falling leaf" pattern all the way to the bottom of the run.
   On the next run, try this same thing but on your toeside edge. To begin sliding from your toeside edge, push down with the heel of your leading foot. Pull it up to stop.
7. The J-Turn -Once you are comfortable with the falling leaf on both your heelside and toeside edges, you are ready for the J-turn. The J-turn uses the same technique as the falling leaf, but your goal is to point the snowboard directly down the slope for a moment before turning and coming to a stop. Again, start on your heelside edge. Looking down the slope, press on the toes of your leading foot to begin sliding. Keep pressing on your toes until you are going directly down the slope, then pull up on your toes to go into a heelside turn and come to a stop. Repeat. Continue doing J-turns on your heelside edge all the way across the run.
   Now try a toeside J-turn. Flip over so you are standing on your toeside edge. Press on the heel of your leading foot to begin sliding. Keep pressing on your heel until you are going directly down the slope, then press on your toes to go into a toeside turn and come to a stop.
8. Linked Turns -Once you’ve got the J-turns happenin’, the next step is linking the turns. All you have to do is put your heelside and toeside J-turns together. As soon as you finish a heelside turn, press down on the toes of your front foot to start heading downhill again and continue pressing on your toes right into a toeside turn. Now press down with your heel to start heading downhill and continue pressing with your heel until you complete a heelside turn.

There you GO!! Patience is the key. No-one likes being a beginner, but remember, every one has to start at the beginning. Take it easy, as tiredness and fatigue can inhibit your progress and concentration and also increases your chance of an accident. Practice the basics and you will soon be learning your first tricks!
ENJOY!!!

What Size Snowboard?

When choosing a snowboard, most people want to know: “What length board do I need?” But equally important and often overlooked is:” What width board should I have?”. Width and length combined are both crucial factors in determining the correct snowboard size for you.

LENGTH

Measured in centimetres. It is sometimes abbreviated to the last two digits. Therefore a Burton 58 is a Burton made snowboard that is 158cm from the tail to the tip. Powder snowboards and racing boards can be bigger than 180cm and kid’s boards can be as short as 100cm.

To find the right size board for you, you need to take into account a number of factors. Are you a beginner, intermediate or advanced, do you want to ride boardpark, pipe or all-mountain terrain, high speed carve or deep powder?

If that all sounds too confusing then follow this simple guide : Start by comparing the board to your height, stand the board on it’s end.

A short board comes to between your collar bone and chin- Good for beginners, as they are easier to maneuver. Also preferred by riders who spend a lot of time doing tricks in the pipe and boardparks.

A medium size board will come to between your chin and nose. This is the best all-rounder board for intermediates to advanced who ride a variety of terrains. Can also be used in the pipe and boardpark.

A long board can go from eye level to over head. These are for big carves at high speed and deep powder.
If you are heavy for your height, still stay within these guidelines but find a board with a stiffer flex. Light riders choose a board with a softer flex. Personal preference can also, affect your decision.

WIDTH

Board width is directly related to the size of your feet. Small footed riders need narrow boards, big hoofed riders need wide boards. Width is measured in centimeters and can be found in the Board spec’s, under “waist width”. To find the correct width, stand on the board (which is flat on the ground) and step in to your bindigs with your boots on. When standing in the riding position, you boots heel and toes should be flush (or slightly over the edges of your board.

If your toes and heels aren’t close to the edge, you won’t be able to apply the pressure needed doing turns. If your toes and heels are too far over the edge, they may catch in the snow, when turning and set you off balance – wipe out!

STYLES

A number of different styles have emerged in the short time that snowboarding has been around. It is a good idea to put a bit of consideration into which type of rider you are OR would like to become. You don’t want to make the mistake of spending your hard earned cash on a board designed for half-pipe and tricks if you are going to spend all day carving down the mountain.

Freestyle
The flavour of the day – tricks, jumps, rail slides, parks, pipes and switch. Typically, what the latest snowboard movies are showcasing. Shorter more maneuverable boards are used.

Freeride
Freeriders like to take on the all mountain experience, open terrain, groomed runs, powder… as well as an arvo in the park or pipe. Freeriding is the all rounder style of snowboarding and as such the boards are more versatile and slightly longer than freestyle boards. If you want to do a bit of everything, this is the category for you.

Freecarve , Alpine or Race
Usually takes place on groomed runs or hard packed snow and focuses on high speed, hard carve turns. Little or no jumping involved.

Freecarve boards are generally narrower, longer and stiffer and boots can be hard (like ski boots) which click in to plate bindings. Olympic events include downhill racing and parallel slalom.

So… Now What?
If you are just starting it’s probably best to begin with a good all-round design, like a freeride set-up.

After your first season or once you get the basics down.. you might be able to figure out if you want to specialize in one type of riding or another. OR you may decide you can afford a couple of different boards for different conditions and riding preferences. If you can figure out your prefences and understand the different riding styles before you buy, then you can choose equipment that is suited to your needs.