Tips for a Beginner

Heya everyone,

I am sure a few of you noticed my post in the other forum regarding my gear etc for upcoming trip, just wondering if you guys and gals can give me a few points for my first time on the slopes. I have a lesson first up on the day but maybe a few tips and tricks to focus on to get me going. I will be snowboarding in NZ come June/July. I am a tall guy (6"6’) but many have said to opt for a shorter board to begin with.

I come from a background in Inline Skating, Ice Skating and Skateboarding, so a lot of that is in the heels and knees (stance), I feel as though that might carry over subconsciously as I do it by default now and don’t really think about my stance.

Definitely read through this thread first. I wrote these articles (and videos) to help those just learning to snowboard. It basically covers everything you would learn in the first couple of days of snowboarding, if you take lessons.

Check it out and let me know if you have any questions at all.

Skateboarding does seem to help.. The mates of mine that have come down and have a skateboarding background.. Seem to pick it up faster than those who dont.. (they already understand the movements and have a feel for it)

my best bits of advice..  have fun.. And don’t give up!!

also read the thread rider posted.. He has so much helpful info!

Bend your knees and the first day will be the worst. Second day is where you have a little idea and you begin the fun. Skateboarding helps with the stance and your heels and toes when turning but remember always look where your going so you don’t catch an edge.

The one thing you can do to aid you, is train yourself to be able to stand up on your heels. Sit on the ground and practice trying to stand up using only your heels (don’t let any other part of your feet touch the ground).
As an instructor, one of the few things I can’t teach certain people is how to stand up on their heel edge by themselves (because they simply don’t have the strength yet). Within a few days of boarding they will have built up the muscles, but if you can do it on day one, you will progress faster.
I got my sister to do this for weeks before she showed up for her first lesson with me. The first time she tried it on a board she got up like a boss without me even explaining how. She had the muscle memory and strength already from practising at home.

Had watched all of those videos and they are great, definitely given me a lot to think about and focus on come the days on the slopes. I think I will watch them all a few more times before I leave. Andy I will give that a go, I actually do a lot of foot work outside of my activities, for example I horse ride as well and often we need to stretch our achilles tendon to keep our heels down while riding, we achieve this by standing on a step with the front of our foot and letting our heel take the weight of our body pushing the heel down and stretching the tendon. Kind of the opposite to that but more then happy to get myself ready before I actually go.

Oh you’re a horse rider, it won’t be a problem then. Everyone I’ve taught that rides horses can get up on their heels straight away.

Instead maybe a useful thing to practice would be to balance on your heels with your knees and hips slightly bent to keep your weight over your heels (which will soon be keeping your weight over your edge).
And then do the same thing on your toes.
You’ll do a LOT of this on your first day. And every other day you ride in one way or another.

Depending on how good you are/were on a skateboard a balance bar/board could be a good start to learning some rail tricks

I made my own and mess around on it every now and again.

If you don’t have a snowboard use an old deck and some bike tubes like in the SA video

^^ Sick!

Was inspired to get out and use it again after posting lol. Here’s a quick clip for anyone interested http://instagram.com/p/ly9k4Ziysz/ front board, 50-50, front 180 out… Just need to put that down on a real box now!

top setup koper, and rad insta! 

My tip would be, grab some kids ‘Ripstick’ and ride that a bit cause it gets you turning on your heals and toes .... but also teaches you the action of moving your feet independently through the turns. Specifically, this independent foot action where each foot is doing something slightly different in the turn can help heaps when you apply it to the snowboarding action.

Helped me a lot anyway…

How chilled is this dude!