Can Snowboarding Be Saved?
Yeh we have had 2 friends, (one did a lesson one said he will give it a go, if after an hour he can’t get down a run, he was having a lesson) both came through piper, and were t baring with in 5 hours on a board (one is an ice hockey player, the other a massive skater.. I was so dumbfounded!! (it took me a week, on a massive plank, that was far too heavy, I even went back to skis for half a day.. Then Mr.h0z dragged me back down for a weekend.. On a different board (9cms shorter and a hell of a lot lighter) and I was doing green runs (plesant valley) and making it down with barely stacking by the end of the weekend) haven’t looked back since.. (but was so amazed that they picked it up so quickly and easily, (maybe I would have picked it up faster if i wasn’t put on a board bigger than mr.h0z’s and super heavy?) good thing I can be stubborn and wanted to learn! Lol
and thanks Andy!! I’m LOVING buttering! Such a fun flat land trick.. And it makes you so edge aware! Still really keen to learn those roll back turns (I hope that’s the right name, but the single raised butter rolling the nose back up hill to put you on switch) and I want to improve switch riding, I can now do basic turns on a green run, and starting to 180 and Ollie aswell!
back to the topic title question
we are in trouble, look they are planing to steal our boots!!
Fat Blades
So that’s where all the boarders have defected to!!!!!
Happy Fat Blading!!!!! 
Oh no!! This is like the dual snowboards all over again!! Haha (except a ski version).
although I do think the portability is a good factor to consider, and I really like the psychedelic graphic, (some one make a snowboard with that type of graphic please?.. Preferably gnu??) haha
There’s some stats that are floatin around that actually show both snowboarding, and skiing have fallen in participation rates!!!!!
And in fact, skiing has had a bigger drop than snowboarding has!!!!!
My reckoning though, is all sports will fluctuate throughout their exictance, and we needn’t worry a bit about boarding, cause it’s always gonna have newcomers, and they are gonna be the ones that keep the sport alive!!!!!
No matter what a bunch of antagonistic old farts on skis happen to dream about!!!!!
Andy you’re an instructor, should instructors be telling boarders to put their weight on their front leg?
Only when riding the pommer / t-bars.
The problem I find is that when beginners put weight on their back foot, they try to balance with it and then any slight movement or if it hits the snow, they bail. When you tell them to put their weight on the front foot, they are more even and are happier to let the board do the work for them. The difference when you tell a beginner to try this is massive!
Jerks on Gherks?????
Why are you comparing Jez laying on top of Michelle and annoying boarders? 
I’m glad that someone got it!!!!!
haha
Andy you’re an instructor, should instructors be telling boarders to put their weight on their front leg?
Only when riding the pommer / t-bars.
The problem I find is that when beginners put weight on their back foot, they try to balance with it and then any slight movement or if it hits the snow, they bail. When you tell them to put their weight on the front foot, they are more even and are happier to let the board do the work for them. The difference when you tell a beginner to try this is massive!
In general, no. There is a misconception that it’s easier to turn that way.
An intermediate-advanced rider will start the turn on the front foot and finish on the back foot.
But if you tell a beginner to turn on their front foot - they will stay on the front foot and do weird counter rotated (flick the tail around) turns. Beginners learn faster by staying centred on the board which will allow them to stay balanced and they can start and finish the turns without any surprises (it’s one less thing to think about).
But on TJ is talking about T-Bars/J-Bars. So…. yeah! It’s the foot that’s strapped in, so it has more control. I just tell people to pretend the are skating uphill, cause they basically are. And put just a little more weight on the front foot like you do when you skate.
If they are still back foot heavy I will ride the J-Bar with my back foot in the air to make my point.
Yeah, just for j and t bars. Riding normally I’ll focus on keeping weight centered.
Andy you’re an instructor, should instructors be telling boarders to put their weight on their front leg?
Only when riding the pommer / t-bars.
The problem I find is that when beginners put weight on their back foot, they try to balance with it and then any slight movement or if it hits the snow, they bail. When you tell them to put their weight on the front foot, they are more even and are happier to let the board do the work for them. The difference when you tell a beginner to try this is massive!
In general, no. There is a misconception that it’s easier to turn that way.
An intermediate-advanced rider will start the turn on the front foot and finish on the back foot.
But if you tell a beginner to turn on their front foot - they will stay on the front foot and do weird counter rotated (flick the tail around) turns. Beginners learn faster by staying centred on the board which will allow them to stay balanced and they can start and finish the turns without any surprises (it’s one less thing to think about).
Interesting you guys mention it. I reckon I had lessons with about 3 different instructors when I was a beginner and every single one of them told me to put my weight on my front leg. And exactly like you said, I found that i had to really swing my back leg around at times. As soon as I balanced my weight out more I found that I could instantly turn a whole lot more controlled and smoothly!
Totally agree though, a lesson here and there can make a world of difference. I do one at the start of every season and it always amazes me how much I improve in just an hour!
Been boarding for 18 years (15 full seasons) - still have at least one lesson a year.
Feathering is the best thing to learn as a beginner - weight even on both feet, shifting slightly between both.
After that I like to get learners to do one foot drops (like an acid drop on a skateboard).
Learning to ride front foot heavy can get you out of trouble in most circumstances and initiate turns in both direction.
I thnk a lot of beginners aRe told that because they have a tendency to lean back way too much away from the downhill. More like wakeboarding. So they he told to put weigt on front foot where in reality they are neutral. Just said so they don’t fear leaning downhill