Snowboarding Stance 101

You might find yourself “asking what makes them better riders than me?” A lot of factors affect your snowboarding abilities and skill level. One that is commonly overlooked is your stance. Stance can make a world of a difference to your riding, and making sure that you’re properly setup for YOUR style of riding will make your life much easier. For those wondering, stance is the angle at which your bindings are set to.

What To Do
1. Figure out whether you are a regular (left foot forward) or goofy (right foot forward) rider. My favorite method (also the funnest one) is to run across a smooth floor with socks on and try stopping yourself. The foot that creeps its way in front of the other will be the foot you place at the tip of your board.

2. Angle the front binding outwards a bit and set the back one at zero.

3. After you’re no longer falling on your ass every few meters, start testing out different stances. Two things to focus on are stance width and angle.

Stance Width
Stance width affects your ease of turning and board control as you go down a hill. Riding too narrow or to wide will just make you uncomfortable and you’ll feel the pain in the side of your legs (one too many friends have complained about it, so I feel I must point this out). A good starting point is roughly an inch wider than your shoulder width and then feel free to adjust if you need. Theoretically, go wider for more stability.

Stance Angle
There are two main variances in stance direction that are used:

• Forward stance – this is where the front food is angled forward and the back is just slightly angled forward or not at all (this is most popular with free riding where the board is primarily facing one direction).
• Duck-footed – this is where your front food points outwards towards your tip (similar to forward stance) AND your back foot points out towards the tail of the board, thus forming a crude V (this is most popular with freestyle riders).

Tip – Center yourself on the board, put your feet where they feel the most comfortable and squat and stand up like you would if you were turning down the mountain (at this point your bindings should not be mounted on your board). This will give you a good idea of what is a good width and angle for you, but feel free to change it up as your riding gets better.

Snowboard Turning Tips Video

Found this video earlier today and thought it’d make for an interesting ‘tips & tricks’ post. I don’t need to tell you how important your turning techniques are, but very often, riders overlook it and don’t realize that they have bad turning technique. Hopefully this will prove useful.

How to Snowboard 101: Snowboarding Basics

If you want to learn how to snowboard without paying an arm and an ear for an instructor or any other online courses, this free guide is perfect for you. There are 12 lessons, read them in order, and pay attention. If you want to read these on the slope for reference, feel free to print them, or better yet, save paper, and read them off your phone.

Lesson 1/12
If you are new to snowboarding, then you’re probably anxiously waiting to tear up the slopes… but just lacking the knowledge of how to do it, right? Snowboarding is a ton of fun, not to mention fast paced and adrenaline kicking… but accidents can also happen fast, and the best way to avoid an accident is to be as comfortable on your snowboard as you can. And the best way to get comfortable on your snowboard is to get yourself acquainted with it well before-hand. To start with, learning to get on is a very important step, so that is the one we will discuss here.

Step 1
Find yourself a nice flat area, or an area that has a gentle incline. Try to choose a spot that won’t have other snowboarders on it. This way, you can keep out of their way, and they will not be in yours either. Once you have found a suitable spot, secure your snowboard by laying it down in the snow with the bindings facing down. The point here is to lay it down in such a way as so that it will not glide away from you!

Step 2
Now, turn the board so that it is towards you. It may be a good idea to attach the safety leash to your front leg so that your board does not roll away. You can now start fastening your board to your foot. Start with your front foot by placing it right on the binding mechanism. Fasting the ankle strap, and make sure that the back of your foot is secure and in place.

Step 3
Next, secure the top strap of your snowboard binding. Tighten it so that it is nice and tight, but no so that it is so tight it hurts! Now, get used to your board by standing up and moving it around with your front foot. Lift your leg up and down so that you get a feel for it. Go ahead and do this until you feel comfortable enough to continue. You can also put your free foot forward and move the board behind you by bending your knee at a 90 degree angle.

Once you have your board in place, and once you have grown accustomed to it, then you are ready to move on to the next part. This is a very crucial part of the process, so take your time… get it right… and above all, have fun!

Full Lesson Guide
1. Snowboarding Basics
2. Skating on a Snowboard
3. Switching Edges
4. Gliding on a Snowboard
5. Moving up a Slope
6. Heelside Sideslipping
7. Toeside Sideslipping
8. Heelside Traversing
9. Toeside Traversing
10. Falling Leaf Snowboarding Technique
11. Garlands Snowboarding Technique
12. Linking Turns

How to Snowboard 101: Skating

Lesson 2/12
Moving on a snowboard is not just confined to going downhill. Sometimes, you will need to move across flat areas with your snowboard on… and in these cases, you will need to learn how to skate. Flat areas Skating on a snowboard involves moving across flat areas, such as when you are going from mountain to mountain or going from the lodge to the lift. It takes a bit of practice to get it right, but it is a skill that you have to learn if you want to be able to effectively get around while on the slopes.

First of all, you will need to put your snowboard on by attaching your front foot with the binding mechanism. Your back foot should remain free.

Next, you will need to make forward-motion by putting your free foot forward, and pushing off with it until it is farther behind your front foot. . This will cause your board to glide forward from the movement. It is similar to skateboarding, which is why they call it skating.

There are a few things to remember though. First of all, never put your free foot in front of your secured foot. This can cause you to lose your balance and fall. As you get better, you will be able to push off with more strength, and will be able to glide for greater distances. As you improve at the maneuver, you will even be able to press your back foot against your snowboard or on your snowboard stomp pad.

How to Snowboard 101: Switching Edges

Lesson 3/12
Sometimes, you will find that you are on the wrong edge while learning how to snowboard. Most people need to unfasten their snowboard from their feet, turn around, and then re-attach it so that they will have the right edge facing forward, but did you know that there is a much easier method of switching edges than this? It involves rolling on your side so that you can switch it up… but it is a fairly complex move that takes some practice! Here is a step by step tutorial on how to do it.

Step 1
First, drop down on your knees, putting your hands in the snow (if you’re facing the other way you should still read this as it applies). To give yourself more support, drop down even further, onto your elbows. This will make the move easier to pull off.

Step 2
Now, lower your right shoulder down towards the snow. This is the beginning of your roll. You will now need to get your snowboard up in the air, and gradually turn it so that the new edge will be facing out.

Step 3
Follow through with your roll, and land on your back. Your snowboard should not have turned, and you can rest it back down in the snow. As you can see, you started face down, and you are now on your back. You have successfully switched from toe to heel edge!

The Other Side
Switching from heel to toe edge is pretty much the same thing, but in reverse. You will start by sitting on the slope, with your knees just slightly bent. Next, you will lay on the ground with your arms at your sides. Next, raise your hands up and put them behind your knees. You will now lift your snowboard into the air. Once it is, start to turn it. Plant one end of it in the snow, and continue rolling in that direction until you end up with your snowboard on its toe side with you facing up the hill. Just use your hands for support as you get up, and you are done! Just make sure to keep away from other snowboarders while performing this maneuver, as it is easy to whack someone in the face while your board is in the air.