Learn to Snowboard in 7 Easy steps.

First of all before we start let's quickly clear up the essentials. Wear warm clothing hat, gloves, and a helmet for safety. Bring a friend so you can help each other through the steps. Rent a board for your first time, the rental employee will tell

   First of all before we start let's quickly clear up the essentials. Wear warm clothing hat, gloves, and a helmet for safety. Bring a friend so you can help each other through the steps. Rent a board for your first time, the rental employee will tell you all you need to know about the equipment, there's the basics so let's get started!!!!

STEP ONE STANCE AND SKATING: First you need to learn how to stand and move around with the board on one foot. That's how you get from one place to another when there is no slope. When you stand on the board you want to be in a natural stance with bent legs, back straight, head up looking where you want to go and hands over the tip and tail of the board. But when you skate and try to move you have two options, (always leading with the foot that is IN the binding and back leg pushing.

A. You can push with your back leg behind your snowboard. Make small balanced pushes trying to stay centered. Just move slowly and easily be relaxed.

B. You can push with your back leg in front of the board. Again make slow small relaxed pushes.

Experiment with both ways then choose the one that feels better!

STEP 2: side-slipping forward: side slipping means when the board is sideways across the hill NOT POINTING down the hill. This is how you brake etc. So take turns with your partner helping each other to get the feel of it by holding their hands and helping them up, but first

A. just do a crab walk and get a feel for the heel edge of the board

B. When you are ready have your partner help you up and stand in a balanced position (head up, back straight, knees bent.

Now the trick is when you drop your toes you go faster and when you lift your toes you slow down and stop. To slam on the brakes you would lift your toes and sit like your sitting in a chair.

try to find a balance with dropping and lifting your toes so you slide easily at one speed, this will take some practice but keep your head UP looking where you want to go, have your partner help you up and go for the first bit and you'll get it in no time!

STEP 3: Side-slipping backwards: Now that you can slide straight forward on your edge you need to learn how to slide straight backwards on your toe edge. Again have your partner help you up and hold their hands until they get the hang of it.

A. The trick with this one is to look up the hill. When you want to slow down you drive your knees closer to the snow and when you want to go faster slowly drop your heels. As long as your standing looking up the hill and knees are bent you will slide easily.

B. If you find you're going from side to side look straight up the hill and try and put even weight on both legs, Keep them bent.

Continue to do this until you get the hang of it. Once you can do both your ready for the next step!

STEP 4 heel edge PENDULUM: Now that you can go straight down the hill on both edges it's time to go from side to side and learn how to control the board and the direction it goes.

A. Start by sliding straight down the hill.

B. When you want to go right put a little pressure on the right foot point and look right. You should begin going right.

C. When you want to go straight again, have hands over the tip and tail of the board look straight and have equal weight on both feet.

D. Then to go left, put a little pressure on the left foot point and look left and you'll begin to go in that direction.

Keep in mind to go slowly back and forth, make small movements STAY IN BALANCE. Your body position should change very little.

Step 5: Pendulum Backwards.

It's the exact same thing as going from side to side forward

A. have your friend help you, and begin by going straight backwards by looking up the hill with hands over tip and tail of the board.

B. same principles apply for going in each direction. Pressure on one foot, look and point and stay nice and balanced, maintain same position, leaning very slightly in the direction you wish to go.

C. to go straight again, put equal weight on both feet look up the hill and hands over the tip and tail of the board.

STEP 6: YOUR FIRST TURNS!

Make sure you can do steps 1 through 5 before trying your first turn. IT makes it soooo much easier so work on any weaknesses you might have like backwards for example. Master that first and you'll thank me later.

a. Now that you're ready to try your first turn get your partner of their butts to help you out with this

OK here is the turn do this and you'll be laughing.
1. Start with sideslip forward
2. Put weight on front foot and KEEP IT THERE UNTIL YOUR ON THE OTHER EDGE.
*(as soon as you start to go down the hill you'll put your weight on the back foot but you CAN"T turn like that. get over the fear and keep your weight on the front foot)
3. Then take your lead arm and point it down the hill in a smooth motion while keeping your weight on the front foot.
4. Once the board is straight take that lead arm and bring it all the way across look UP the hill and you'll be on your toe edge.

Now to turn from you TOE edge to your heel edge same principles apply. Keep in mind to slowly put weight on front foot begin to rotate shoulders and point your lead arm down the hill once the board is straight bring arm all the way across and balance in a forward sideslip.

Have your friend help you with as many turns as you need until you get the hang of it. Remember the steps, watch your partners' front foot, body, position, and arms and help them through the turns!!!

STEP 7 LINKING TURNS: Now that you can turn from edge to edge you want to learn how to stay on that edge longer. So now when you turn go for a little while on the edge by pointing and looking where you want to go. When you're ready to turn make the proper movements and hold the other edge for a little bit longer so you are going across the hill now.

A. When this becomes comfortable for you bend your legs a little lower when your on the edge and when you are ready to turn stand up a littler bit make the turn and then bend your legs again when your on the other edge :)

Remember practice makes perfect, obviously you learned a lot today and I wish you all the success in the world. If you would prefer audio lessons where you're coached step by step on the hill in your ear visit www.snowboardacademy.com but since I am a freestyle coach this camp is fantastic for the people who are looking to learn jumps, rails, and pipe. IF your one of those people don't kill yourself trying to learn difficult tricks the snowboard academy is the best freestyle camp in the world, get some lessons and kill the park not yourself :)

if you have any questions email me instantly at matt@snowboardacademy.com and I'll get right back to you

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