General Technique

Learning how to snowboard is typically harder than skiing for the first few days, with many more falls and bruises. However, some consider snowboarding easier to learn than skiing in the long run, requiring only the mastery of two edges as opposed to four edges and two poles in skiing. However, others believe that the snowboarding motion, which requires leaning into turns beyond the natural comfort level of one's centre of gravity, and the lack of stability from just one edge are far more difficult skills to master than skiing.

Goofy or Regular?

Regular footed snowboarders ride with their left foot forward, while goofy footed snowboarders ride with their right foot forward. A common test for new snowboarders to determine their natural stance is to have somebody shove them from behind and see which foot they catch themselves with, though critics claim this is really testing which foot they happen to have most of their weight on at the time, and that people will naturally shift their weight from one leg to another while standing. A more accurate test is to have new snowboarders slide on a slippery floor while wearing socks and observe which foot they lead with.

Carving

Contrary to popular belief, carving is not simply 'turning'. Most of the time snowboarders (and skiers) use sliding (skidded) turns, where the board is pivoted around a point between the feet to change its direction. In a carved turn, the boarder executes the turn without any pivoting of the board. Instead, the board is angled up onto its edge and by virtue of its shape a turn is achieved. When done correctly this results in a single, thin 'pencil line' track being left in the snow.

Carving consistently (keeping the track to a pencil line with no interruptions) is a high performance technique that requires a high level of skill. This is in part due to the necessary speed and the resultant forces on the snowboard and the snowboarder.

To begin to experiment with carving, gain some good speed on a moderately steep slope to practice. With equal weight on both feet, initiate the carved turn by tipping the board onto its edge using your ankles, knees and hips. DO NOT simply lean over, as you will fall. Once you have tipped the board onto an edge, you can gradually lean against that edge as the forces build up in the turn. It is extremely important that you use your body weight, directed by your shoulders and head, to steer into the turn instead of kicking your legs out. It will be very uncomfortable at first because it requires that you go beyond a comfortable position over your centre of gravity.