Snowboard Season is Almost Over

Summer is coming and the snowboard season is almost over. When storing your board and gear, be sure to get them up off the ground or inside to avoid moisture and rusting of the edges.  A coat of wax before summer storage is also good for keeping your board in good condition.  Better yet, wax it before your last weekend of boarding so you can enjoy a fast board + your ready for summer storage. 

If you want to improve your feel for snowboarding, get on a wakeboard, skateboard, or ,if you can, a surfboard.  Have a great summer!

*Check out this new non toxic snowboard wax at www.greenskiwax.com .  Always be mindful of what you are bringing to the woods.  Most of your wax will typically wear off after about 6 days on the mountain.

Avoid Chairlift Mayhem

The two hardest things to do in snowboarding are getting through the lift line and getting off the chairlift.  The lift line is tricky because you have your front foot in the bindings, and your back foot out of the bindings to push.  If you get in to a hurry your legs can part ways real quick.  So take your time and get a good feel for moving with one foot out of the bindings.

The chairlift can be tricky when getting off because you still only have your front foot in the bindings.  The key here is to confidently ride your snowboard straight off the chair.  Treat the chairlift ramp like it's an actual ski run.  Get a stomp pad and practice riding with your foot on it.

Best Foot Forward

 The best foot to put forward on a snowboard is the same foot you would have forward on a skateboard or a scooter.

Start Small

Starting on a snowboard is fun and exciting!  Even if you are on the smallest hill in your state, it's still fun.  So start small.  Any little hill, hump, or bump will do.  Think small and gradual.  My kids started on a 4 foot high hill in our backyard with a cheap plastic snowboard.  They then graduated to a sledding hill (still in our yard) with a gradual slope.

Snowboard Motion & The Center of Gravity

The Center of Gravity is the mean location of the gravitational force acting on a body.  When standing still, the center of gravity can be viewed as an imaginary line down the middle of the body, where your weight is equally distributed on each side of the line. 

In order to balance on a stationary snowboard, your center of gravity must be directly over the center of the snowboard.  The cool thing about snowboarding is you can "cheat" gravity by using momentum.  As you progress and move faster, the more you can lay your body out and appear to be on the brink of falling.  The key is to be able to move your board back under you in time so you don't fall.  Once you get the hang of it, the motion you create is a feeling like no other.

Keep Dry While Boarding

When it comes to snowboard clothing you want gear that is fairly water repellent. The two pieces of clothing that will get the most wet are your pants and mittens. Make sure these items are good and waterproof so the fun can last for an entire day.



For waterproof gear at very affordable prices, check out ebay. Kids snowboard gear rarely gets worn out by the first owner!

Snowboard Length

A snowboard should come up to about the rider's chin. Kids' snowboards range from 90cm for a small child, to 135cm for bigger kids. Common lengths are 100cm, 110cm,125cm. Err on the side of going a little small for a kid's first snowboard. You want them to be strong enough to move the snowboard freely. A smaller board is easier to handle and move on the snow.

A Good Drill

Here an an easy to do pre snowboarding drill that you can work on with your kid:

1. Stand up straight with feet shoulder width apart.
2. Look over shoulder to one side or the other (straight snowboarding position).
3. Roll to your toes and balance there for 3 seconds.
4. Roll to flat footed.
5. Roll back on to your heels and balance for 3 seconds.
6. Repeat.



Tips- The heels are harder to balance on so be careful the 1st time you roll back on them. Make into a game for the kids. Who can balance the longest? As you progress, practice rolling from your heels to your toes smoothly with no stop in the middle.

The First Day

On your first day snowboarding you should go up on a weekday or find a slope with almost no one on it. You want lots of room to room to get the feel of your board.

When you start snowboarding you are not under full control. It's easy to avoid large objects, like the forest, but when you have small moving objects all around you it's more dangerous and less fun.

The Edge

The key thing to remember in snowboarding is that you ride the edge of the board, not the middle. The bottom of the board is only ridden briefly when transferring from one turn to the next.

Introduction

My first foray into snowboarding was almost 20 years ago. I went up with no idea how to do it. With the eventual help of a passer by, I learned how to get down the mountain without killing myself or other people! I recently taught my oldest child to snowboard. We had some ups and downs, but the kid picked it up pretty quick and now goes just about anywhere I go. Through the process I realized there are a few key points, that if you know going into it, give you a major head start. This blog contains those key issues, as I see them, and hopefully will elicit more insights form others.