Welcome to the 4 part series on How to Snowboard. The goal is to get any beginner to progress from zero to tackling blue trails in the least amount of time.
Part 4 — Introduction to carving *Optional
Edge Theory
A snowboard has 3 sides for you to ride:
- The heel edge
- The toe edge
- The bottom of the board
Snowboarding is primarily about being on the edges and riding them down the mountain.
You typically do not want to be on the bottom of the board for too long (read 3 seconds) because you will gain a lot of speed very quickly, losing control.
You typically want to be on an edge so that you maintain control throughout the trail.
How to stop and or slow down
Learning how to stop/slow down on command is the best way to reduce injury!
On every trail, there’s a fall line which means it’s the direction that descends in the most downward direction.
To effectively stop you’ll need to put your board’s edge perpendicular to it
Notice how his knees are bent and in an athletic position.
Notice also how he is leaned back a little so that the weight is on the back edge (heel edge) here.
This is advantageous because this allows his knees to absorb more force, giving him a more stable base which allows him to generate more braking force (think about a leg press).
Progression typically looks like this:
- slowly stopping, legs somewhat bent.
- quickly stopping, knees bent & in an athletic position
Make sure you are centered on top of the edge that you want to ride.
A visual that helps me is to think about where my belly button is on top of.
Edge theory 2
How do we ride an edge?
For heel edge: Toes up with heels down while leaning back
For toe edge: Toes down with heels up while leaning forward
How do we change how much of the edge is being used?
To change the angle of the board to the snow you’ll need to flex your ankles and lean your body appropriately. In my experience, I usually have a ratio of 60% front leg/ 40% last leg (weight % I distribute per leg).
Speed Control
If the nose of the board is directed towards the fall line (12 o clock) you will accelerate.
If the nose of the board is perpendicular (9 o clock or 3 o clock) to the trail you will brake.
Snowboarding is about switching edges while riding (more of) the diagonals (nose facing 9:30 to 11:30 & 12:30 to 2:30) which is a nice mix of speed and control.
Open and closed turns are crucial for speed management — open turns are used to maintain speed, increase speed on flatter terrain while closed turns are used to taper off some speed before entering the next turn.
You will usually want to make sure your turns stay round enough so that you get to decelerate before entering a new turn, otherwise, you’ll end up way faster than you’re comfortable with.
As we link two turns together, focus on keeping them around by finishing the turn across the fall line and traversing up the trail (the bottom arc of the C), dropping off some speed.
Safety
Presume you’re a beginner — you’re most likely going to fall often.
Helmets reduce head injury by 20%–50%. WEAR A HELMET.
Now that that’s out of the way let’s learn how to fall. Typically you instinctually want to put your hands in front of you, but this leads to sprained or even broken wrists. tuck your hands in
Ideally, you’ll want to let your back take the brunt of the force — your back is able to much more force than your wrists safely.
If this is something you can’t control, maybe you’ll want to invest in some wrist guards before your first day on the mountain :)
Was something confusing? I’d love some feedback!
Picture credit:
1- Wiki
2- SnowboardProCamp
3- Google images
4- REI how to carve video
5- SnowboardProCamp
6 -How To Fall (Without Getting Hurt) On A Snowboard by Ed Shreds
