Snowboarding is legendary fun. Everybody should try it, though preferably on different slopes :) When you start there are a few things you should know. Yes it's just snow but fall on it a few times and it does hurt. When you fall, and you will, tighten your hands into fists. Or buy a pair of those fingerless mitteny things, you know the ones that keep all you fingers together. The most common accidents for people starting snowboarding are sprained thumbs and broken fingers. Now, lemmie see, oh yeah to turn the board lean to the front. That will make the board turn downslope. Then lean toward whichever direction you want to go. Bend your legs coming into a turn, straighten up on the apex and bend again coming out. This makes the turn sharper and easier to control. It is advised that you don't snap your trailing leg out to kick the board into a turn. This is because it's quite habit forming and will cause you problems off-piste in deeper powder. When you get comfortable with the slower carving turns (the leaning rather than forcing, edge to edge turns, lean into the mountain as much as possible and drag your hand in the snow :)) you can try the fast snap turns. These can be very useful going through moguls (mounds of snow in platforms center piste) or the steeper blacks. When off piste lean back slightly on the board to avoid digging in the front and use only the carving turns.

Once you can turn you can try switching. It can be quite tricky at first. Most people when starting will be able to go fakey down a slope (leading with the opposite foot, i.e. if goofey then leading with left and if regular, right). Switching is alternating between the two while carving. It's easiest to practice switching on a turn. Assume your stance is regular (left foot forward) and you are traversing the piste from right to left. Lean backward well into the mountain and bend your knees. Shift your weight to your trailing leg (right) and lean such that your left starts going upslope. Now lean downslope (right again) and straighten both legs. The board has now turned slightly and you find yourself travelling left to right, bend both legs and lean back into the piste. You are now leading with your right leg and can "kinda" switch. Try this for a while and then practise doing the full switch while going in the same direction. While practising the turns try a few in the fakey position going from heel to toe and back on several linked turns. Your weigth movement will be same, lean downslope then into the mountain. To go fakey while still travering in the same direction is more difficult. Start again going right to left across the piste, turn upslope leading with the left, lean downslope and shift from heel to toe (with that fun flat board pivot :)) now lean forward into the slope, on your toes right foot forward, right to left accross the piste. Swop back again or turn fakey and keep practising, now you can switch.

So try flat boarding down a slope, start with a blue and see how much speed you can actually pick up, sweet, gnarly, rad and so forth. This can be very scary at first but will help you no end in landing jumps later. You start by flatening out the board and pointing directly downhill. Now squat down very, very low. So you can touch your toes :) Keep your center of balance low and try and control the wobbles by alternating from one edge to the other. The correct way you should end up doing this kind of run is leaning your body forward and back from edge to edge while making a very slowly weaving spiral on the piste. I found trying to stay on the flat of the board for as long as possible far more exhilerating but less controllable. When you do hit bumps, mogels or outright ramps comit totally to it and try and hit with planty of speed. Just after your trailing foot has gone over the edge snap down on the flexible rear of the board. This will bend and spring back as in a skateboard ollie and will give you far bigger air. Try not to panic when you land as your speed will have suddenly increased. When landing remember it's a slope not a flat though your mind's sense of balance will be telling you otherwise. Try not to land on your edge (or your head) and keep going. You don't particularly want an enthusistic boarder or glorified pedestrian (skier) landing on you poles first. Great, now find some bunny slopes (green or blue) and hurl yourself energetically down them at skiers.