Tips For Learning How To Snowboard by Danielle Rose

Learning to snowboard is difficult just like any new thing that you may try. It will take time to learn, but by doing simple things and learning simple techniques, you will be snowboarding soon!

Learning how to snowboard can be difficult and certainly can be painful if you don’t learn how to fall correctly. Before ever setting foot on a snowboard, you need to be aware that you are going to fall, and learn how to do it properly.

Taking beginning lessons is a good idea, because it will teach you the basic concept of falling. It may sound simple, but it will also teach you that the snowboard slides down the hill, and teach you to keep your balance on it. Once this is achieved, you can begin learning how to control the snowboard, and how to turn it. Shifting weight from the toe-side to the heal-side edges of the board is what is going to allow you to steer the snowboard. http://www.mountainsnowboarding.com/learntosnowboard/

One thing you might want to do before you ever go out to the hill is practice on the carpet first. If you set up your board and do some “carpet riding” in order to get used to standing on the board, it may help you be more comfortable out on the hill when you get started. Setting yourself up on the carpet will help you get used to your stance and practice with bending your knees before you are going down the hill.

It is easier on the carpet to change your stance to see if you are more comfortable riding goofy or regular (right foot forward = goofy, left foot forward = regular). It also gives you a chance to see which muscles you will be using and practice with pivoting and shifting your weight before the board is going to slide too much on you. Practicing on the carpet first will allow you to be comfortable with the board before you start your lessons up on the hill.

It’s difficult to learn because one concept you need to be comfortable with is leaning down the hill. By nature, when we are being pulled down the hill, we want to lean back, but in snowboarding that isn’t how it works. When snowboarding, you need to control the board with your front foot, putting your weight going down the hill.

Keys to learning the basics are remembering to keep you knees bent, and to look where you are going. Keeping your knees bent is going to help you relax and keep your balance going down the hill. Looking where you are going is the same as with a lot of things. If you look down, you are going to fall. Looking at your feet is not going to help your balance, but if you look to where you want to go, your feet can follow your eyes.

Getting out on the hill for the first time can be very scary, but also can be a lot of fun. Remember to wear the right clothing equipment used for snowboarding for the weather, so that you are warm and comfortable. If you are cold and wet, your snowboarding experience isn’t going to be fun. Dressing in layers is recommended. Experienced riders can be fine out on the slopes in snowboarding pants and a sweatshirt, but for a beginning rider who may spend a lot of their time in the snow, layers are a good idea.

Also, remember to warm up your muscles and stretch before going out onto the hill. The experience can be ruined by pulling a muscle while going down the hill. Snowboarding is a physical activity, so it should be treated as one. Warming up and stretching before going out, but also not overdoing it on the first day. Snowboarding takes time, and trying to learn when you are exhausted will only make you more frustrated.

After the first day, it may seem as though you are never going to learn, but don’t give up. Falling can be frustrating, but it happens to everyone. Given time and practice, you’ll be fine. Once you have the basics, you’ll be able to go wherever. Don’t give up! It may take time to learn, but it’s worth it in the end. Snowboarding is a fun recreational sport that can be done by everyone. It can be a family event, or and event with friends.

Remember, time and practice is what it takes for you to become a good snowboarder. You are not going to be an expert right away. Snowboarding is more difficult to learn than skiing because balance is easier with speed. A person who is uncomfortable with snowboarding is typically uncomfortable with speed. However, once you overcome this fear, and learn the basics, snowboarding is easy to master. You will feel comfortable because you have learned to control the snowboard, and can feel free to explore the mountain or back country as you please.

Danielle Rose is a featured writer for MountainSnowboarding.com. For more help on learning to snowboard, and how to choose a snowboard, visit our site.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com

Which is More Dangerous - Skiing or Snowboarding

By Anthony Barretti

Snowboarders and skiers are increasing in number every year. As the numbers increase so do the number of injuries. More awareness is being placed on snowboard safety and ski safety.

During the course of a year about 11 milion skiers and 4 million snowboarders in the U.S. alone are on the slopes at least once. The average number of visits to the slopes is around 60 million. For every 1000 skier visits, there are around 2.5 serious medical injuries. This comes out to one injury every 430 days of sking and snowboarding.

The death rate of snowboarders is 40 percent lower than alpine skiers, they are more likely to be hit by skiers gone out of control than the other way around.

When skiers fall they slide alot which causes them to be 3 to 4 times more likely to crash into something or someone. A snowboard on the other hand acts more like a seat anchor, preventing sliding. Death usually is caused from hitting something.

The most common injury faced by skiers is anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) sprains. Those who were injured skied more years, but fewer days per year, were more likely to be female, are older, and fell less often.

Before you begin snowboarding or skiing be sure to take some lessons from a qualified instructor. Plus make certain you have the proper equpment used for snowboarding or skiing. Ultimately you are responsible for your own safety. The safer you are the more fun you will have on the slopes.
For safe snowboard gear try K2 snowboards
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anthony_Barretti

Alpine snowboarding

Alpine snowboarding is for those of you who are a little more extreme about speed than most. Alpine snowboarding encompasses more than just speed. Other areas often included are racing and extreme carving.

Alpine snowboards are uniquely designed for their purpose. An alpine snowboard has a longer, narrower and stiffer construction than any other snowboards. This design allows for higher speeds, very sharp turning, and aggressive edge holding power on hard snow and excellent high-speed stability.

Alpine snowboarding is generally done on hard packed snow or groomed runs. Hard packed snow usually isn't good for snowboarding but is exceptional for high speeds, the heart of alpine snowboarding. With other styles of snowboards maneuverability is impossible on this type of terrain. Thanks to the aggressiveness of the edge of the alpine snowboard, fast, snappy control is the least of your problems.

Since the riding is so different from other types of snowboarding it only stands to reason that the gear would also be slightly different from normal. The gear for alpine snowboarding resembles skiing equipment more than it does snowboarding equipment.

In order to protect the rider and maximize control at high speeds an alpine snowboarder will use the following things. First is a helmet and eye protection. Thanks to the laws of physics we know that a hard surface becomes even harder at higher speeds. This means that a helmet and eye protection are an absolute must if you wish to stay safe when ripping down a hill at blazingly fast speeds as the impact from any mishap can be more than normal.

The next thing to consider is your boots. You must use a hard-shelled boot that resembles a skiing boot. Since the speeds on an alpine snowboard are so much higher the forces required to maintain a tight turn are also higher. In order to make shape-cornering possible you must use a hard-shelled boot to leverage your power with the snowboard.

After thinking of your boots you must also think of the stance that you wish to use when riding your alpine snowboard. There is basically only one choice but there are subtle variations for each rider. Traditionally the front foot should be set at about +70' and the rear foot at about +35'. With the advance of technology and the improvements of the snowboards the degree of the feet has become less important. More commonly the stance is determined by the width of the board as long as there is a difference of at least 5'.

Any interesting thing to note is that alpine snowboarding has seemed to have died off and been reborn again. Alpine board manufactures took the design of the alpine board to a point that it was amazingly perfect at high speeds but no longer usable for the average person. One main way of improving the snowboard efficiency was to reduce its width to as little as 16 cm in the center of the snowboard. This did allow for even greater speeds but caused the snowboard to become unstable at low speed and forced the rider to remain in a position that was uncomfortable to ride in for any length of time.

These innovations seemed to kill the industry as did skiing manufactures that started to implement the aggressive edge technology into their products. Most people began to shy away from alpine snowboarding and instead seek out freestyle snowboarding. However this has changed recently with the rebirth of alpine snowboarding. Once again people are becoming interested in the challenge and excitement that comes from ripping down a hill at high speeds and pulling turns that exert more g-forces on the body than most cars do. Manufacturers have learned their lessons and seem to be much more reasonable and consumer oriented in their snowboard designs than before.

If you are a snowboarder who enjoys speed and tight cornering then alpine snowboarding is the thing for you. Alpine snowboards are designed to be ridden hard and fast on machine groomed or packed runs. Their design allows you to move in ways no other snowboarder and possibly skier can ever hope to. Also, alpine snowboarding is easier to learn than alpine skiing. If you are looking for fast paced action filled fun like nothing else than you are destined for alpine snowboarding. Have fun, keep your speeds up and enjoy the g-forces of the mind blowing cornering.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Jakob Jelling is the founder of snowboardinghelp Please visit his website to discover the world of snowboarding!

How To Choose a Quality Used Snowboard by Fabio Marcell

If you're looking at getting into snowboarding, going for the second hand equipment used for snowboarding is not a bad way to go. Often you'll get lucky and find a snowboard that hasn't been used much at all. If you know nothing about equipment used for snowboarding and have no friends who are boarders then a quick search on Google will turn up plenty of forums where you can get specific answers.

You will be pleased to hear that with just a little bit of knowledge you will find it easy to select the right snowboard for you. Try to decide what type of snowboarding you will be doing. Do you want to be out all day enjoying some all-mountain snowboarding or are you into speed? Will you mostly be practicing in your local snow park?

When you are choosing a used snowboard check the sidewall and sandwich layers to make sure the laminate is not splitting apart. Make sure the inserts are in good condition and that the snowboard has a full set. If you can, go for a snowboard with a cap construction because this type don't have a sidewall, the board is stronger and it flexes better.

Another consideration is the effective edge. This is the area of the snowboard which actually touches the snow. For sharper, tighter maneuvers the effective edge should be shorter. The longer the effective edge the more stability the snowboard will have at faster speeds.

Make a point of inspecting the top sheet. Be wary of more obvious cracks or "crazing" which you may find more evident in and around the binding areas. Often these indicators will warn you of problems down the line. You will find that most smaller scratches are not worth worrying about unless the aesthetics are really important to you. This is down to your own judgment really.

Check the flex. Place the snowboard on a level surface and flex the snowboard to see if it still has a springy feel to it. If it feels dead and soft give it a miss. Also be vigilant for core shots - these occur when the P-Tex material is badly damaged, gouged or chipped. The damage penetrates to the core of the snowboard, hence the name.

The bindings should not deteriorate as quickly as other parts of the snowboard. You can gauge their condition with a quick manual inspection. You will be able to easily tell if the snowboard bindings are past their "use by" date.

You may be surprised to know that these days snowboards are designed with different specifications for men and women. You should be aware of this when choosing your second hand equipment used for snowboarding. Women tend to be a slighter build overall and on average are shorter than men, so most women will be looking for a smaller, lighter board. The taller female will want a slightly wider snowboard but not too much longer.

You can quite easily pick up secondhand equipment used for snowboarding online at places like eBay and other more specialist snowboarding suppliers. However, your best bet if you can is to actually go to a shop and touch the product. Plenty of snowboarding retailers will have used equipment either on show or out the back. Just ask the proprietors, they are usually more than happy to help.

Fabio writes for many niches and is an experienced researcher. He has written articles covering a wide range of subjects and enjoys plying his trade especially on the Internet. He is currently sponsoring Checker Pig Snowboards News and Blogs and can be reached on fabio@linkz-and.info

Article Source: http://articlecrazy.com

A Guide to Resorts in the Alps by Peter Wilson

The alps are a popular winter travel destination. Skiing, snowboarding, ice skating and other winter activities abound throughout the mountainous area. The Alps are shared among many countries, including Austria, France, German, Italy and Switzerland.

Whether you are looking for a family vacation or are more adventurous and enjoy mountaineering and extreme skiing, you will find something for every one in this area. Family Resorts in the Alps like many resorts throughout the area cater to families. In these resorts, families with children make up the bulk of their business. There is plenty for both parents and children to enjoy. Horse drawn sleigh rides, skiing and snowboarding are popular family activities. Just about all family resorts offer ski instruction especially for children as well as adult lessons for mom and dad. Some offer night skiing, either nightly or on certain evenings during the week.

After a day of skiing, parents can enjoy the sauna and Jacuzzi, while children enjoy the variety of play areas and activities geared especially for them. If mom and dad want an evening alone, many resorts offer babysitting services. Many family resorts are low tech and don’t have internet access or video games, but some do have these features available. Many families enjoy the low tech atmosphere, which encourages children to enjoy the outdoors and other activities offered.

Many of these resorts are located in small villages scattered throughout the alps. These offer quaint scenery and older hotels. Restaurants are nearby, if you want to leave the resort, or you can eat right inside the resort. Others are in larger tourist areas and contain luxury hotels and apartments for families to rent. Singles Resorts in the Alps Other resorts are geared for the younger crowd. These are more popular with single people in their 20s and couples without children. These resorts offer more expert runs for skiing and snowboarding. Many are near glaciers and have monster pipes built into the glaciers that allow snowboarding even in the summer. More experienced skiers generally choose these resorts.

Many of these resorts are wired with internet access. Rather than family based activities, they contain bars, lounges and a busier nightlife. Most offer night skiing with lighted trails for skiing or snowboarding in the dark.

For the more adventurous, mountaineering is a popular activity in the area. Daily climbing excursions or multi day trips are common here. Hut to Hut tours make it easier to climb more difficult routes. These are great for multi day excursions. You won’t need to carry heavy overnight gear with you, as you would when camping. The huts have what you need for sleeping.

Easier to more difficult routes are available with hut to hut climbing. The easier routes tend to be more crowded and the huts fill up quickly. The more difficult routes are less crowded, but are not meant for beginning mountain climbers. There is generally more room in the huts on these trips.

Peter Wilson writes frequently for the guide area of http://www.munich-to-vienna-via-salzburg.com/. The writer is publishing about alps and other areas in this field.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbeyondbetter.com/