How to turn on a snowboard
Snowboarding is a sport that attracts people from all walks of life and athleticism. It unites them and turns them into a hot mess. Snowboarding is difficult. It’s harder than what New Englanders pretend to be calling “packed powder”.
After you have mastered the basics of snowboarding, such as staying upright, getting off and on the lifts, and the falling leaf technique it is time to make real turns. These are our top tips for turning on a snowboard.
Skidding vs. Carving
You’ve probably noticed that certain snowboarders ride quieter than others. This is a sign of true carving and “skidding” turns. Skidding allows you to keep more of your snowboard in contact with the ground. These turns are popular with beginners because they are easier and faster to perform. Skidding is when your board makes a lot or you can see tracks in the snow roughly the same width as the board when you look uphill.
The basic principle of carving snowboard turns is the same as skiing turns but with more effort. Your flexion and extension must be deeper to increase the tilt of your board as you carve. The snowboard edges will bite into the snow harder, which makes your turns quieter and faster.
Also Read: How much does it cost to go snowboarding
5 Steps To Turn like A Pro On A Snowboard
To turn on a snowboard, you need to think about the following: your head, shoulders, hips, knees, and feet. Each of the steps below contains a specific technique of movements for that exact body part mentioned.
Read through, find inspiration, practice each step, and once learned; combine them all and turn like a pro on your snowboard. To get the most out of learning to snowboard, join our world-famous snowboard Tutorial Membership
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Head
On a snowboard, people usually forget how important the head is. Typical mistakes are looking at the board or straight down the valley. To keep orientation and avoid surprises while riding your snowboard:
- Keep your head up
- Look in your riding direction
- Sight and strategy for your next turn
When initiating turns on your snowboard, always start with turning your head first and looking in the direction you want to go. Do this even before you start turning your snowboard.
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Shoulders
The shoulders and the snowboard work closely together and follow each other when you are riding. When turning your head and shoulders, the snowboard will automatically follow your head and shoulder rotation.
Essentially, your head and shoulders are the steering wheel. To improve your turns with correct movements of the shoulders, you should:
- Turn your head and shoulders in the direction you want to ride, then…
- Use your core muscles to turn the snowboard under you.
- Control the speed of your turns, with the speed you turn your shoulders
- Use some head and shoulders shampoo in the shower while dreaming about tomorrow
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Hips
While rotating your head and shoulders in your turns, your hips will also start to turn, almost following your head and shoulders like a Mexican wave. To test this and practice the motions:
- Place your hands on your hips
- Make some smooth turns and feel how your hips are working
- You don’t want your hips to go back and forth, so
- Keep the hips over the center of the board, moving in rotational motions
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Knees
You can improve your snowboarding skills by using your knees to turn. You can start your turn by moving your hips, shoulders, and hips further down the body. This is particularly useful for steep slope riding.
To get your knees moving, the easiest way is to:
- Turn your knees toward the nose of the snowboard while riding heelside
- Toeside riding: Turn your knees towards the tail end of the snowboard
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Feet
Your riding experience is greatly affected by the movement of your feet since the feet are mounted directly to the snowboard.
Try paddling your feet as you turn on your snowboard. Consider starting the turn by applying pressure to the front foot, and ending it with pressure to the back foot.
- Start by putting pressure on your front toes and then turn to your back toes
- Start with pressure on your front foot heels, and then turn on your heelside
How to link turn on a snowboard
After you have mastered the art of keeping your balance through both frontside- and backside turns, you can learn how to link turns with a snowboard. Although the mechanics of turning don’t change when linking is done, you will need to learn how to move between your heel and toe edges more fluidly to create smooth “S-turns.”
It is important to be patient when connecting these turns. Choose a gentle slope, and ride the entire trail. It will become easier the more you practice. Your turns will become tighter and more smooth over time.
Tip: Connecting your breath to your turns can help to link them together.
- For a full inhale, stay on the heel edge.
- Keep your breath and watch as the board begins to flatten through the finish.
- Keep your toes on the ground through the exhale.
This will help you to slow down and keep you focused on the task at hand, rather than worrying about whether you are going too fast or falling.
