If you’re wondering how hard it is to snowboard, you’re in the right place. Any new skill or sport is going to have a learning curve, some steeper than others.
In this post we’ll break down how hard it is to snowboard, and show you how to shortcut the learning curve so one day you wake up and think, snowboarding is easy.
Table of Contents:
- How Hard is it to Snowboard?
- Why is snowboarding so hard?
- Snowboarding requires balance
- The shortcut to learn how to balance on a snowboard
- Snowboarding is on a snowy, cold mountain
- The shortcut to learn how to navigate the mountain on a snowboard
- Snowboarding uses edges to turn
- The shortcut to learn how to turn on a snowboard
- Snowboarding requires physical agility
How Hard is it to Snowboard
Table of Contents
Snowboarding is cold, requires balance, and has real consequences. Because of this, snowboarding is harder than playing basketball or tennis for the first time, but easier than learning to fly a plane by a long shot.
In other words, if you’re in decent shape, are willing to stick with it for a few days, and don’t mind getting a bruised bum, you can get to the point where snowboarding is not so hard.
Why is snowboarding so hard?
Snowboarding requires balance
If you’re not used to balancing on a board, you’re going to fall over a lot on a snowboard.
It’s the reason that skateboarders or wakeboarders can pick up snowboarding very easily, whereas someone who has only been athletic with traditional sports like volleyball, tennis, or basketball is going to have a much harder time.
The shortcut to learn how to balance on a snowboard
Practice balancing on a skateboard, a balance board, a wakeboard, or any other kind of board. By practicing snowboarding at home, you’ll be much more able to balance when you do get to the mountain.
Want to learn the 5 skills snowboard tricks for beginners? read this post!
Snowboarding is on a snowy, cold mountain
If you’ve already learned how to ski, use your edges, navigate the mountain, load and unload the lift and deal with getting ready to hit the slopes, you’re going to have a much easier time learning to snowboard than someone who has never stepped foot on a ski resort.
Not only do you have to learn how to snowboard, you have to learn how to layer properly, carry all your gear, get on and off the lift and learn how to use your edges.
The shortcut to learn how to navigate the mountain on a snowboard
Learn about setting up your snowboarding, what to wear to the mountain, how to get on and off the lift, and about snowboard technique before you get to the mountain using online snowboard lessons.
That way, it’s not a foreign experience to you, and you’ll actually understand how everything works before you have to put it into practice.
Snowboarding uses edges to turn
Learning to turn on a bike is easy because all you have to do is turn the handlebars, or lean to one side. Learning to turn on a snowboard is hard because you have to deal with sharp, metal edges that grab the snow.
While these edges are ultimately your friend, and what allows you to fly down the mountain and feel free for the first time in your adult life, they are also your worst enemy when you “catch an edge,” and faceplant into the snow.
Learning to use edges is a completely new skill for most people. I’ve seen wakeboarders learn to snowboard and surfers learn to snowboard, and I can tell you that the wakeboarders learn much faster, because wakeboarders use edges to turn, while surfers don’t.
Both know how to balance on a board, but only one of them understands edges.
Find out how to get good at snowboarding!
The shortcut to learn how to turn on a snowboard
Practice skateboarding and/or wakeboarding if possible to start to get the feel for turning on a board.
Watch snowboard instructional videos on the different kinds of turns on a snowboard, so you mentally understand the technique before you go out and try it for yourself.
Learn how to fall on a snowboard without getting hurt so when you do catch an edge, you don’t hurt yourself. And lastly, make sure to wear a helmet and proper protective gear so you can live to ride another day.
Snowboarding requires physical agility
Not only is snowboarding a good cardiovascular workout, but it also requires physical prowess and agility.
Especially if you’ve never snowboarded before, you’re going to be sore on muscles you didn’t even know you had.
The first couple of days are going to be the hardest, and it will get easier after that.
If you train in the offseason, are generally healthy, and hit the gym before the season starts, you’re going to have a much easier time learning how to snowboard than someone who doesn’t take care of themselves.
That’s it. So how hard is snowboarding? It depends on how well you know how to balance on a board, what other extreme sports you do, and how fit you are.
Overall, it’s harder than learning to shoot a basketball or hit a tennis ball, but not as hard as skateboarding.
Go out there, and find out how hard it is for yourself, just be sure to stick with it until it becomes easy.
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