Legs and Toes

Yesterday I also gave a lesson, to a 13-year old girl I’ll call Ambre. Ambre had trouble with heel side turns, as do many novices. But on toe side turns, she did pretty well, especially for a never-ever.

She did even better once she starting standing up straight from the waist up. Though there are times when you want to be close to the ground, casual snowboarding isn’t one of them. Make your turns by applying pressure to the appropriate side of the board, but don’t try to help things by leaning your torso over the board. That only makes you into a Tower of Pisa–though in this case, a tower that will fall soon, not centuries from now.

In creating the edge pressure required to turn, use your legs and especially toes, and heels.