snowboard blog

After many years of trial and error, I have found the 3 most important things to stay in control when snowboarding (and prevent people from bad-mouthing you) are:

1) Learn your dominant foot

This can be done one of two ways. If you are alone you option a; if you have company use option b

a. Sit down, stand up and take three steps.

b. Stand up and have someone push you (lightly)

Whatever foot you place out first is your dominate foot, this should be placed on the back end of the snowboard. AKA if you used your right foot first you are regular foot; if you used you left foot first, you are goofy foot. Many people begin snowboarding goofy foot (including me) because it feels more safe to have your dominate foot forward. It seems counterintuitive but your back foot is your dominate foot.

2) Keep your posture upright

It is often very easy when you start to lose control to lean low to the ground to stop. You actually gain more control by standing yourself upright and pushing down on the edge to create a 90 degree angle with the slope. Never lean low to the ground, you will lose control and wipe people out and they will get angry. Instead throw your shoulders back like your grandmom taught you and take control of your board.

3) Distribute your weight

At first, it seems right to place most of your weight on the back of the board because this is your dominate foot, but in reality you lose control by snowboarding this way. You should place about 70% of your weight on your front foot. The reason for this is it puts less weight on your dominant foot so you can swing the board around better and control your path.

Nose – the nose is the end that usually point’s downhill

Tail – the tail is the end that usually points uphill

Toe edge – the side of the board where your toes are

Heel edge – the side of the board where your heels are

binding – the thing that binds your foot to the board.

Regular vs. Goofy

Picture yourself sliding downhill sideways. Which side is facing downhill, you’re right or left? Alternatively, imagine yourself sliding across the kitchen floor in your socks. Which foot is forward? If you answered left, you’re “regular”. If you answered right, you’re “goofy”. On a snowboard, your feet are not perfectly pointed straight toward the toe edge, they are slightly angled either to the left (regular) or to the right (goofy). Your “leading foot” (the foot that goes down the hill first) for a regular person, this is the left foot, for a goofy person, it’s the right. The board pictured above is a regular board. On a goofy board, the nose is on the right and the tail is on the left.

Riding the Board

The first unusual factor you need to get used to thinking about is that you can face any direction while riding downhill on a snowboard. You can go down the slope backwards, that is, with your toes pointed uphill and your back in the direction in which you’re traveling. You can go down the hill nose end first or tail end first. You can go downhill facing downhill, or you can do anything in between. Wicked hey?

The uphill edge

bare in mind while you are snowboarding, always put pressure on the uphill edge of the board. So, if you are going down the mountain backwards, that is, facing uphill, your pressure will be on your toes. This way of facing the mountain is called “toeside” for obvious reasons. If you are going down the mountain facing downhill, your pressure will be on your heels. This is called “heel side”. DON’T put pressure on the downhill edge. It will cause you to fall over. Think about it. If you are heel side (that is, traveling downhill and facing downhill) and you dig the downhill edge (the toe edge) into the snow, what do you think will happen? The board will stop and you will keep going, causing you to tumble over your board and fall flat on your face. Similarly, if you are toeside (traveling downhill backwards) and your heel edge digs in, what is going to happen? Your board will stop and you won’t, causing your backside to slam into the ground. And guess what this is known as?

Balancing front-back

The balance point is the center of your weight relative to the surface of the board. Try this: at a standstill, position the board so that it is perpendicular to the slope and you are facing downhill. Now, tilt the toe edge of the board up and down using your ankles, move yourself front and back until you find the spot where you won’t tip over. That’s your balance point. The balance point changes with the softness of the snow because in soft snow, you’ll have to tilt your board away from the incline more so than you would on hard-packed snow. Try going heel side slowly down an incline by reducing the pressure applied by your heels.

Balancing left-right

For the most part, try to keep your weight evenly distributed between your two feet. You don’t want to put more weight on the uphill foot. Why not? The surface of the board under the leading (downhill) foot is largely what steers you. Just think of a sled going down a hill. The steering is in the front; friction on the sides of these blades will make it turn. If that analogy didn’t work for you, then consider this one: Ever done a pop-a-wheelie on your bike as a kid? What happens when you steer while your front wheel is in the air? It has no effect on your direction, right? No control. Same thing with a snowboard, if there is no pressure on the leading end (the downhill foot), you have no steering.

Stopping

a stop is a lot like a hockey-stop on ice skates. You bring the board perpendicular to the slope and dig the uphill edge in. If you are heel side (if you are facing downhill) you stop by digging your heels in. If you are toeside, (if you are facing uphill) you stop by digging your toes in. Slowing down is basically the same thing. It’s just that when you want to stop you apply a lot of pressure fast. At the same time, you’ll be balancing your weight (shifting your balance point) so you don’t upset your position to the point where you tip over. Practice stopping heel side. Then practice stopping toeside.

Turning

Okay, this part is important, so pay attention. Start with your board perpendicular to (that is, horizontal across) the slope and then apply less and less pressure to the edge and see what happens. The leading foot tends to go downhill. If you stay in this position, with the lead foot downhill and the board parallel with the slope, you’ll go fast. To turn, start digging the heels in. What happens? You turn heel side. If you had dug your toes in instead, you would have turned toeside. WAIT UNTIL the nose of your board is pointed directly downhill BEFORE digging in the edge. Always look in the direction where you want to go. You have a tendency to go where you are looking because your head is followed by your shoulders/upper body and then by your hips. It may help to stick your hand out in the direction you want to go. This will help get your shoulder to turn. Avoid looking at the ground right in front of you, especially when you are toeside. Instead, when you are toeside, look over your shoulder in the direction you think you want to turn. When you want to actually turn, let your shoulder follow your head. Your hips and feet will follow.

Every snowboarder has that moment where a trick or a feature pops into our mind, but we are just too gripped with fear to try it out; even the greatest pros encounter things they feel unprepared to handle, and with a career/paycheck on the line maybe doubly so.

One of the most common questions you will come across in any extreme sport is “How to hit ___” or “If there are any tips for doing ____”. It can seem as though these are rookies looking for a magical solution to get better at snowboarding, but 9/10 times the rider is usually only looking for reasons not to fear attempting to learn a new skill.

A little bit of the fear is never a bad thing, it is nothing more than a natural reality check… but if we always gave in to our fears than there would be no progression in anything, so when is it appropriate to push through your fears and how can you go about managing that?

We fall so we can get back up

For your average snowboarder, let’s say that fear can manifest itself in three different ways: as a familiar encounter that went badly, an acknowledgment of something new and unknown, and in response to something completely beyond our control.

When injured trying a new skill or feature, many are met with great hesitation when they step up for a second try. This is reasonable, since getting hurt sucks; but the key to overcoming this fear is to understand that even though it was negative, what happened was an experience. Remember after the fall when you asked yourself, “what happened?”

You probably realized your weight was wrong, or you didn’t pop high enough, etc. Since you know what caused your injury, use your mistakes to adapt a new approach and you have no reason to fear repeating the past.

Build a safe progression

Sometimes “the next step” means moving on to a feature or a trick you have never tried before. The brain, unable to calculate the sensation of what you are attempting, tells you to immediately back down…fear of the unknown.

And it’s only logical to be at least a little scared. If a feature is much bigger or a trick much more technical than anything you’ve tried before there is certainly a risk factor: you can’t compensate for everything because, as previously stated, you don’t really know how a new feature will pop/slide or what a new trick necessarily feels like.

Make it so that some aspect of the progression is under your control. When trying a new feature or bigger kicker, your stock tricks are your friends–a trick you can land 10/10 times will be your flashlight into dark and unfamiliar territory. As for new tricks, they are always best saved for low consequence features, the things you’ve fallen trying hundreds of times but never been seriously hurt on.

Also keep in mind that every new trick/feature should be just slightly harder, and ideally should build off a previously learned skill. Building your riding up piece by piece versus giant leaps will not only build a more complete repertoire of skills but will likely keep you injury free.

Patience is worth it, as a slow but steady progression also allows you to get comfortable with your new skills to a point where you can convey style.

Know when to back down

So far we’ve covered fears that usually can and should be overcome in order to progress. On the other hand, there are times when you should never regret going with your gut instincts. The majority of snowboard injuries and deaths occur when people ignore a very logical signal from their brains telling them not to do something.

An obvious example would be many of the snowboarders who are caught in avalanches each season. Backcountry riding is an incredibly thrilling and rewarding experience, so it’s easy to get overanxious and neglect minor details that later become vital. Avalanche training, equipment, and the company of experienced local riders are necessities before thinking about backcountry riding; and even all of those don’t offer any guarantees of a safe return.

Bottom line: If there is any hesitation or question about the conditions or outcome of a backountry excursion, this is a fear you should give in to and back down. All of the epic backcountry footage that makes it to your screens is the result of weeks of observation, research and waiting on perfect conditions… and not without reason.

What about those days when things just aren’t coming together?

Snowboarding comes with it’s share of off days, and when you feel like a stranger to your snowboard it’s usually best to just go with it; anything that you aren’t confident about, it is best to back off. This doesn’t mean the day is anywhere near over, since thankfully cruising the resort and exploring new spots is never boring.

A good point to stress in closing is that fear is always relative to the person. If it comes down to wholeheartedly not wanting to go for something, then always back down. Sometimes confidence alone can make something impossible possible.

Do you have any methods for managing fear on the slope? Feel free to post a comment with any ways you deal with hesitation when it comes to learning new skills…

Paul “Lou” G is a snowboarder, fitness enthusiast, and freelance sports writer.

After graduating from high school, Lou took to the snowboard bum lifestyle working as a lift operator for his local resort. Now approaching his fifth year-round season and having ridden hundreds of days at dozens of resorts, Lou has taken snowboarding from just a simple hobby to a full-time career.

Lou is a certified AASI Snowboard Instructor with a dedicated passion and desire to learn all there is to know about the sport; and to share his knowledge and experiences with you!