What is Snowboarding and How to do Snowboarding?

Snowboarding is an exciting and interesting winter activity, especially in countries where winter is severe and snowfall happens very frequently. It has become popular for its outstanding physical and mental benefits.

People of any age who are physically fit can enjoy snowboarding but it seems that it is more popular among young aged people.

However, it is undoubtedly a great way to enjoy speed and winter at the same time. You even can enjoy the scenic beauty of nature while snowboarding.

Furthermore, it can help you to burn fat, and stay fit and active. As a beginner, you must confused about how to do snowboarding.

Well, you will never know unless you start it. So let’s start snowboarding from the very first day of your next season of snowboarding.

What is Snowboarding?

Before learning “how to do snowboarding” you should have known that ‘what is snowboarding’.

In a very simple definition, we can say that snowboarding is such a delightful sport where a person descends a snow-covered slope using a fiber or wood-made board with the help of auspicious gravity.

Snowboard riders use special types of boots that allow them to attach their feet to the board. It may sound very simple but yet it’s not that much easy also.

Things to remember before riding:

It would help if you had to learn some core basics to become a pro in this sport. Balancing the board and body is the main challenge for a player.

You must have to be enough flexible to help you to coordinate your body and board. Another thing you need is concentration. It takes a lot of practice to master snowboarding.

If the slope is natural it may not hundred percent safe. In that case, you must be extra cautious to avoid injuries.

Using proper safety gear is another important issue in snowboarding. If you can remember these things you are ready to enjoy your next winter with a snowboard.

Different Types of Snowboarding

Snowboarding is not only about surfing on snow with a board but it has a lot of variety.

In this context, we will try to make you understand the variety of snowboarding by explaining them.

What is freestyle snowboarding?

Freestyle snowboarding is very popular among its enthusiasts. Performing tricks is the most important thing in freestyle snowboarding.

Players show their skills snowboarding with jumps, slides and obviously presses. Jibbing, slopestyle, halfpipe, and big airs are some specific disciplines in freestyle snowboarding.

Jibbing is a way of snowboarding where riders perform mostly in the snow off obstacles like rails, rocks, walls, boxes, etc. Slopestyle is an Olympic event of snowboarding.

It’s a way where riders perform their tricks in a purpose-built course. The course contains jumps, rails, boxes, etc.

Halfpipe is another variant of freestyle snowboarding. Here the ramp is half round which looks like a half pipe and where the name came from.

Here the riders ride from one side to another with the snowboard and fly a bit above the ramp at the end of the ramp and land back on the ramp to repeat the process.

Big Air is a way where the rider flies higher than usual with the help of a ramp and does tricks in the air like spins, flips, and finally a lands smoothly.

What is freeride snowboarding?

Free ride is a type of snowboarding that usually uses natural terrain.

Free riders focus on their skills to descend natural slopes and perform their tricks using natural obstacles like cliffs and trees.

Riders can enjoy nature and snowboarding here at the same time. Backcountry and split boarding are two specific styles in the Free-ride variant.

What is alpine snowboarding?

Alpine snowboarding is an Olympic Event. It’s about speed and race. The ramp is usually narrow and directionally designed.

These are usual variations of snowboarding. Before knowing how to do snowboarding choose your own style from these variations.

Snowboarding Season According to The Continents

If you really want to know how to do snowboarding you should be aware of the best seasons of snowboarding as it varies because of season, altitude, and the geological position of the countries.

We can describe these seasons based on where it is most popular.

Continents with the most extreme winter and snow

Europe and North America are very well-known countries for severe winter and snow. Snowboarding is a very popular sport in Europe.

So it’s no wonder that there are a lot of snowboarding parks in Europe. In Europe, the snowboarding season starts in late November and ends in May.

Maximum parks can offer the best snowy conditions in January or February. Some can be in March too.

Therefore, it’s better if you take some pre-inspection before flying to Europe for snowboarding.

North America is another ideal place for snowboarding though winter is here bit drier than Europe. But the good news is many of its snowboarding parks arrange artificial snow for their guests which is auspicious for beginners.

You can avoid unwanted injuries where artificial snow and slopes are available. The ideal time for snowboarding in North America should be November to April.

But it’s better not to fly there before December for snowboarding. In the USA and Canada, You will find the best parks for snowboarding in North America.

Continents with moderate winter and snow

South America and Australia are two continents where you can enjoy snowboarding for a long time in winter after Europe and North America.

Though South America is less known for snowboarding it can be an attractive place for your snowboarding experience for some special places like the Andes Mountain Range.

Here you will get the best snowboarding experience during the time of southern hemisphere winter. The Middle of July to September provides the best quality of snow in South America for snowboarding.

Australia is more prominent for its sea beaches and surfing but here snowboarding is also popular in some mountain-covered areas. When winter reaches its peaks these mountainous areas become snowy and become ideal for snowboarding.

However, in New Zealand, snowboarding can be more attractive than in Australia because of its slopes. If you want to do snowboarding in this part of the world you should fly from late of June to October.

Less-known Continents for winter and snow

You even can enjoy snowboarding in some Asian and African countries though these two continents are very less known for winter.

Though Asian countries are not prominent for snowboarding you can visit Japan for some good experience in snowboarding as there are many beautiful snowboard resorts with natural snow.

From December to May is the best time for snowboarding in Japan. Africa is very less known for snowboarding but you still can get experience of snowboarding in South Africa.

The best time here to get experience of snowboarding is June to August.

It does not matter where are you heading for a lifelong remembered snowboarding experience but always try to visit when they are able to offer the best quality of snow and slope.

Best places to snowboard for beginners

Where you can you should go for snowboarding? We have made a list of the top 5 regions where you can get your best snowboarding experience.

1. European countries:

European countries can give you the best snowboarding experience in the world. There are many big and well known snowboarding parks in different countries of Europe.

For example, St. Anto, Solden and Ischl in Austria, Verbier and Laax in Switzerland, Chamonix in France, Davos in Switzerland, Serre Chevalier, Tignes and Les Arcs in France are the most prominent places for snowboarding in Europe.

These snowboarding parks are very renounced for their snow, slope, and hospitality. If you want to get the best experience of Snowboarding these parks should be your ultimate destination.

2. North America Countries:

North America is number two on our list. But North America can be the best option for the beginner, especially the USA. The winter in the USA is drier than in Europe.

So many of their snowboarding parks arrange artificial snow and slopes which are helpful for beginners. Breckenridge, Mammoth Mountain, Northstar, etc are very famous snowboarding parks in the USA.

On the other hand many people like Canada more for snowboarding. They have a snowy and beautiful attractive resort for snowboarding.

The most popular parks are Whistler Blackcomb, the Lake Louise Resort, Sunshine Village, Sun Peaks, Revel stoke mountain resort, etc. 

3. South American Countries:

During the time of the Northern Hemisphere, South America became one of the most attractive places for snowboarders. Andes Mountain range is also another main attraction here for snowboard fanatics.

You will have a beautiful landscape of mountains and lakes at the same time here. The main snowboarding countries here are Argentina and Chile.

There is some famous and attractive snowboard resort here. Such as Las Lenas, Portillo, Catterall, Valle Nevada, and la Perla etc.

4. Oceania countries:

The most suitable weather you will get in Oceania for snowboarding is New Zealand. You can easily compare its mountains to Europe.

New Zealand is famous for its slopes. The main places of snowboarding in New Zealand are Mount Ruapehu, Mount Potts, Queenstown, And Wanka.

In Oceania, you can also have a snowboarding experience in some snowy mountains. Thredbo in Australia is famous for snowboarding.

5. Asian and African countries: 

Asia and Africa are less known for snowboarding. Winter is not very severe here and you can see snow here only in a few places when winter reaches its peak. Japan is famous for snowboarding in Asia.

Niseko, Nozawa Onsen, Hakuba Valley, Furano, and Myoko Kogen are famous snowboarding resorts in Japan. Among African countries, you will able to go snowboarding in South Africa.

Tiffindellski snowboarding resort is most famous for snowboarding in Africa. Here we made a chart for you by which you can easily understand where and when you should go for the best snowboarding experience.

When was snowboarding invented: Back History

The history of snowboarding is not that old. The game was inspired by some of the same kinds of extreme sports like sledding, surfing, skateboarding, and skiing.

The early story of snowboarding

It all started in 1965 when an American engineer named Sherman Poppen decided to make a toy for his daughter by fastening two ski boards together so that his daughter could achieve some extra control over the board.

It became very popular among her friends and he decided to patent the product with a company. They sold more than one million copies of these boards.

Evolution of snowboard during 1970-1980

However, if you talk about modern snowboarding you will find two names as its pioneer, Tom Sims and Jake Burton Carpenter. They made the experience of snowboarding more amazing by their innovation.

Tom Sims became attracted to snowboarding at a very young age. Sherman Poppen arranged a snowboarding competition in a Michigan ski park. Tom Sims patriciate there and become attracted to the sport.

When he was an eighth grader he built a snowboard of his own using wood and aluminum sheet in the bottom. Later he launched commercial snowboards in mid of 70s.

On the other hand during the same period, Jake Burton Carpenter designed a snowboard that was able to attach the feet with the board. He first showed it in 1977 in a competition and crowds applauded the board very much.

Later he founded Burton Snowboards for commercial production of his board. In 1980 two Devotees from the Soviet Union named Aleskay Ostatnigrosh and Alexi Ostatnigrosh brought some innovative changes in the design of the snowboard.

Their boards allowed riders to perform jumps during snowboarding. They used bungee cords to do so on their board.

Snowboarding in Modern time

Day by day Snowboarding become more popular in Europe and America. At that time many competitions were arranged by the devotees.

For example, we can talk about the competition of snowboarding in 1981 which was held in Colorado. The USA arranged its first national snowboarding competition in 1982. Later in 1983, the world championship of halfpipe was arranged by the same country in California.

The game became more international when the International Snowboard Federation was established. This federation set the rules for international contests.

In 1998 snowboarding became an official event of the Winter Olympics. This event of the winter Olympics was held in Nagano, Japan. Karine Ruby from France became the first woman to win a gold medal in this event.

For men, Canadian Ross Rebagliat is the name who became the winner of the gold medal in snowboarding. Snowboarding is now popular all over the world.

Conclusion

Snowboarding is definitely an awesome way to enjoy winter and snow. But before you know How to do snowboarding you must be aware that it’s an extreme sport.

So you should be very careful about safety issues. Definitely, you should use proper safety gear and proper board based on the variety of snowboarding that you want to enjoy.

You should not go for something extreme unless you have a lot of practice season. Try to learn snowboarding from the best parts of your city. If you want to be a professional rider of the board you must need a lot of passion and dedication.

Remember control is the key of snowboarding which you can achieve only by a lot of practice. Once you learn it you will be able to enjoy your winter in a different and extreme way.

If you really love snow then just don’t wait anymore, grab the board, practice a lot, and enjoy your winter in the most awesome way.