Snowboarding for beginners – 10 essential tips

When you first start out, snowboarding can be daunting. It can also be a little painful – sorry, we don’t sugarcoat things! Yep, you’ll eat some serious snow before you get the hang of it. Trust us, though – nothing beats the unbridled joy of riding once you know what you’re doing. 

So, we put together this guide, with everything you need to know – from strapping in to ripping it up. Feeling ready? Then, read on for our top 10 tips. Oh, and if you’re about to take your first snowboard trip, make sure your style is on point. Check out our latest snowboarding collection below. 

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How to improve your snowboarding fast

1. What to know before you start

Snowboarding looks awesome, feels great, and can be a ton of fun. However, the learning curve can be pretty steep. In fact, you should fully expect to spend the first few days falling over. A lot. It’s all part of the process, though, so don’t stress. Our top tip? Book a lesson with a certified instructor. They’ll teach you the basics of stance alongside stopping and turning. A lesson also prevents bad habits from forming early on.

Make sure you’ve got the right gear, too. You need a snowboard, boots, bindings, a helmet, goggles, gloves, and snow pants and a snowboarding jacket with proper insulation. Renting your ‘hardware’ is totally fine for beginners, and most rental shops will set up your board for your size and ability. A beginner-friendly board with a softer flex and flat or rocker profile makes life easier. And don’t worry — everyone starts at square one. So, take it slow, stay patient, and you’ll improve faster than you think.

2. Understand stance

Your stance is the foundation of everything. First, figure out if you’re goofy (right foot forward) or regular (left foot forward). A good trick is to have someone gently push you from behind. Whichever foot you instinctively put forward to catch yourself is likely your lead foot. But nothing is set in stone. Try both stances and see which one feels most natural.

Once you’ve got your stance dialed, think about posture. Keep your weight centered over the board, your hands roughly above the nose and tail, and your head pointed in the direction you want to go. Don’t twist your upper body away from your board. Instead, have your shoulders square with your hips to maintain control. Your knees should also be slightly bent. And movements should flow from the hips and knees rather than your arms. A stable stance sets you up for better balance, smoother turns, and easier progression.

3. Master edge control and traversing

Controlling your edges is a big hurdle when learning to snowboard. Start on your heel edge and slide slowly down the slope while facing the bottom. This is called a heelside slide and helps you become comfortable with balance, pressure control, and stopping. Practice this move on a beginner trail until you can tweak your speed by slightly shifting your weight back and forth.

From there, traverse the slope, moving across from one side to the other while staying on your heel edge. Look where you want to go and release that heel edge pressure with your lead foot. The board should naturally turn down the run. Try doing the same thing on your toe edge. Remember to keep your knees soft and your movements gentle. It’s normal to catch an edge and take a tumble while learning. However, eventually, edge control gives you the ability to steer, stop, and ride with confidence.

4. Learn to stop

One of the most important beginner skills is knowing how to stop safely. This is done by halting on your heel edge. To do this, face downhill and let the edge of the board cut gently into the snow to slow down. Once you’ve got that, advance from braking to actually stopping.

To come to a complete stop, open your shoulders when traversing and put more pressure on the heel of your front foot to head uphill. Okay, doing this slowly will initiate a turn. However, doing it quickly while ‘pushing’ your back heel forward will put the board into a slide stop. The key is to stay in control. Don’t panic and dig in too hard, as that often leads to falling. Instead, focus on gradually shifting your weight and trusting the board to slow you down. With enough practice, stopping becomes second nature and builds the confidence needed to move on to real turns.

5. Try a J-turn

A J-turn gets its name because of the line you leave in the snow. Your tracks look like the letter J, starting across the hill and curving down into a gentle turn. To nail a J-turn, begin on your heel edge and traverse slowly, applying pressure through your heels. When you’re ready, shift your weight towards your front foot and look down the slope, letting your board begin to turn. Your head leads your shoulders, which lead your hips and board. As you run ‘straight’ down the hill with your weight on the base (not the edges of your board), gently roll onto your toe edge with a smooth, deliberate movement.

Don’t forget to use your hands to guide your shoulders and keep looking at where you want to go. Focus on the transition from your heels to the base and then your toeside edge. The key to the J-turn is patience. Many beginners avoid committing to the turn and end up falling back, or they press into their toes too quickly and fall forward. Okay, you’ll likely fall the first few times. However, each attempt builds muscle memory and confidence. Mastering the J-turn also opens the door to full S-turns.

If you're more of a visual learner, check out this video from Snowboard Addiction to see each step in action.

6. Nail your body position

Struggling to make the jump from traversing to J-turn (the hardest part of progression)? There’s a good chance it’s because of your body position. Instead, keep your knees slightly bent, your back straight, and your head looking where you want to go. Your shoulders should stay in line with your board, stacked directly above your hips, knees, and ankles. Think of your whole body working together as one unit. If your upper body is twisted or out of sync with your lower body, you quickly lose control and struggle to transfer weight across your edges.

Avoid using only your feet to steer. Use your knees and hips to apply pressure to your edges and let your whole body follow. Keep your arms relaxed and your hands positioned above the nose and tail of your board to help maintain balance. Tension is your enemy here — the stiffer you are, the harder it is to move fluidly. Remaining loose and stacked over your board means it’s easier to initiate turns, make quick adjustments while riding, and ‌stay upright.

7. Control speed

The scariest thing for beginners is that sudden feeling of going too fast. This is especially true when going into your first J-turns and letting the board run straight down the hill. However, the key is speed management. Yep, this skill helps you feel safer and more in control. The goal is to keep a consistent pace using edge control and your body positioning. 

Pick a slope with a gentle gradient. Then, traverse to a point that allows you to maintain a steady speed. Stay on your heel edge as you cross the trail and transition into a J-turn without slowing down. Lots of riders brake to a complete stop at this stage. However, this is a terrible habit. Instead, to shrug off speed, make small braking motions rather than ‘turning uphill’ to slow down. Eventually, you’ll know how to link turns, carve, and slide-brake – all tools for controlling speed. But before you get there, we have another step to master…

8. Get the hang of skating

Before you can master the slopes, you need to become comfortable with ‘skating’. Skating involves having your front foot strapped in and your back foot loose to push yourself along. This technique lets you move around on flat terrain. When skating, remember to push your back foot forward on the toeside edge. It’s awkward, but you’ll get used to it!

Skating is also essential for getting on and off chairlifts. Skate through the gate and stop with your board in front of your pushing foot. When the lift comes, sit on it and let your board hang under the chair. Goofy-footed? Sit on the left-hand edge for ease. Regular stance? Perch on the right. As you exit, put your back foot between the bindings, use your hands to move off the seat, and let your board run straight down the ramp before pushing into your heels to slide-brake at the bottom. Easy. 

9. Stay relaxed and balanced

Tension is the enemy of balance on a snowboard. If you’re rigid, you’re more likely to catch an edge or fall awkwardly. Staying relaxed allows you to shift your weight naturally, absorb bumps, and react quickly. So, keep your knees soft, arms loose by your sides, and avoid clenching your muscles, especially in your shoulders and legs.

A common mistake is to dig in too hard with the toes, especially when starting out. This sends your weight too far forward, making it harder to balance and often leading to a fall. Instead, think about being centered over the board rather than pushing down on it. Relax your feet, trust your boots, and let them do the work of transferring your weight between edges – it’s the secret sauce to feeling more in control.

10. Link S-turns

Now, it's time to link your turns. This is when everything comes together, and you finally feel you’re really snowboarding. First, begin with a wide, controlled J-turn starting from your heel side. As you complete the turn and traverse across the slope, shift your weight gently onto your front foot, looking over your shoulder and down the run. Then, transition smoothly onto your heel edge, ready for the next turn. The key is to stay centered and flow from one turn to the next without rushing.

Practice on mellow slopes so you have enough space and time to build a slow, steady rhythm. Focus on finishing each turn fully before beginning the next, and use your shoulders to guide the movement. Linking S-turns means you're now able to control your speed through turning rather than slide-braking or traversing. This helps you ride more efficiently, safely, and with better flow. Okay, it won’t be perfect at first. However, once you nail that first connected line, you’ll experience the biggest rush ever! And trust us – it’s the first of many.

Wrapping up

Snowboarding has a steep learning curve, but once it clicks, it’s one of the best feelings in the world. So be patient with yourself, keep practicing good habits, and you’ll get it in no time!

Oh, and remember slope etiquette. For example, always look uphill before setting off or crossing a trail, and avoid stopping in the middle of runs or just over blind rollers where other riders can’t see you. Love this article, or think we missed something obvious? Hit us up at crew@montecwear.com.

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