Snowboarding is extremely fun. It provides a completely different experience to skiing, but still allows you to enjoy carving down steep snowy slopes at exciting speeds. However, even though snowboarding is extremely entertaining, it is not the easiest winter sport to learn. In fact, many people fall about a million times when they are learning to snowboard. So, because of this fact, here are some helpful tips for you if you are learning to snowboard for the first time.
Start out on the bunny hill
You may want to storm down the black diamonds right from the get-go. However, if you do not start out on the bunny hill, or at least a non-steep trail, then you are quickly going to find yourself in trouble in many cases. This is because it takes time to get used to the carving motion that is required for snowboarding. So, you really need to practice on a very easy trail before you start making your way toward the larger ones.
Bend your knees
This is one of the single most important tips for learning to snowboard properly. Bending your knees allows you to lower your center of gravity and to be more equipped to handle turning and adjusting your body without falling. If you fail to bend your knees, then you will most likely notice that it is very easy to fall. However, if you do bend your knees, then the chances of you falling are greatly reduced.
Ride across the slope
Do not try to just barrel down the middle of the slope without turning. If you do that, then you will just pick up too much speed and you will probably fall in a painful way. So, instead of shooting straight down the slope, try to move across it sideways and then turn when you are a comfortable distance from the end. Taking this approach will allow you to keep your speed at a safe rate while you are learning how to snowboard properly.
Image is courtesy of Shutterstock