snowboarding

Snowboarding is a boardsport that involves descending a snow-covered slope while attached to a narrow board. It is similar to skiing, but inspired by surfing and skateboarding. The sport was developed in the United States in the 1960's and 1970's and became a Winter Olympic Sport in 1998.

History

The snowboard evolved from early pioneering work by people such as Sherman Poppen (who, in 1965, invented the "Snurfer" in his North Muskegon, Michigan home), Chuck Barfoot, Dimitri Mitrovitch, Tom Sims, and Jake Burton Carpenter. Jake is the founder of Burton Snowboards, one of the largest, and most well-established snowboard companies in the world. In the early 1980s, snowboard companies such as Sims, Winterstick, and Avalanche began emerging across the country. Also in the early 1980s, films by Warren Miller and Greg Stump began to feature clips of snowboarders, boosting the popularity of the sport among the skiing community. It was not until the mid-1980s that snowboarding exploded into the mainstream, when the first snowboard magazine, Absolutely Radical, hit the racks; it was soon renamed International Snowboard Magazine.

Disciplines

There are four primary sub-disciplines or sub-styles within snowboarding with each favoring a slightly different snowboard design.

Freeride

Freeriding is using the natural terrain of the mountain for recreation, without focusing on technical tricks or racing. Snowboarders that aspire to be freeriders will explore the mountain through trees, in powder bowls or anywhere else they feel comfortable riding. Freeriding is also known as all-mountain snowboarding. A variant of freeriding focusing on extremely difficult lines is known as extreme snowboarding or big mountain snowboarding.

Freeride snowboarding, where the focus is on riding cleanly and enjoying the freedom to go and explore anywhere is influenced significantly by surfing. Many freeride purists attach an almost spiritual connotation to carving down the mountain. The Freeriding is mostly for periods of relaxation, due to the relative "calmness" one feels going down a slope at one's own speed.

Freestyle

Freestyle snowboarding is the practice of doing different kinds of tricks on a snowboard. Tricks can either occur on the ground (e.g. jibbing, bonking, grinding, pressing, buttering etc.) or in the air (e.g. spins, flips, grabs). Freestyle snowboarders typically use shorter boards and softer boots than other snowboarders, as the shorter board length reduces the weight and moment of inertia. This process makes it easier to spin, maneuver, and the softer boots make the board more forgiving to control for the particular demands of freestyle riding. This gives boarders slower speeds, high landing impacts, quick turns, and imperfect landings. Softer boards allow the snowboarder to press, or butter, with ease, but many freestyle snowboarders, especially halfpipe riders, use stiff boards that have a lot of "pop" to allow them to jump higher and absorb hard landings.

Most pure freestyle/jib boards are twin-tipped, in that the tip and the tail are of equal length and stiffness. The bindings are located in the center of the board. A freeride board has a tail which is slightly shorter and stiffer than the nose. This design can make turn initiation more forgiving and help float the tip in powder and variable snow. Conversely, riding a twin-tipped board makes it easier to land switch and compensate for changing riding conditions. Softer boots and boards also allow riders more flexibility in body movement. The ability to reach very convoluted or stretched out, stylish body positions Known as tweaks.

Freestyle snowboarders often 'detune' or dull the edges of their snowboards so as not to catch them on rails or boxes when jibbing. One exception is in the half-pipe, where an edge hold can be critical.

Freestyle snowboarding is arguably the most popular discipline, and is certainly the focus of most of the lifestyle marketing in the snowboarding industry. Freestyle is probably most demanded because of the thrill. Freestyle snowboarding can be done almost anywhere that has snow.

Freestyle snowboarding is influenced greatly by skateboarding. Many ski resorts operate terrain parks which often simulate the urban skateboard environment, complete with halfpipes, handrails, boxes, and machine-formed jumps.

Alpine

Main article: Alpine snowboarding

Alpine snowboarding is the practice of turning by carving the snowboard (such that the board turns by using the radius sidecut of the edge), as opposed to skidding the snowboard (where the board is traveling in a different direction than it is pointing). Both traditional snowboard racers (though not necessarily boardercross racers) and recreational carvers are alpine snowboarders.

Alpine riders use hard plastic snowboarding boots, which resemble ski boots, except that they tend to be less stiff in the ankles and have a shortened heel, to minimize hanging over the edge of the snowboard. They tend to angle their feet much more forward than other snowboarders, and also ride narrower boards. Alpine boards are usually, but not always, longer and much stiffer than freeride boards, as the particular demands of carving usually require as much usable edge length as possible. The hard plastic boots stiffens the ankle joint up significantly, making it more difficult to make small ankle adjustments while making skid turns, but making the board much more stable and powerful at higher speeds and the much higher y-forces typically felt by an alpine snowboarder in carved turns.

An analogy made by some alpine enthusiasts is that freeride and freestyle snowboards are like dirt bikes, and alpine/carving snowboards are like road bikes.

Backcountry/Powder

This type of boarding started out with fresh powder-craving snowboarders who, most likely, didn't have the cash to spend at crowded upscale ski parks. In fact, before snowboarding was allowed at resorts, this was the only form of snowboarding; Jake Burton, one of the original pioneers of snowboarding, never even considered resorts; backcountry was what he envisioned as the future of snowboarding. Today, backcountry snowboarding is often for those who have enough cash to afford trips to Alaska or the mountain ranges of the West, to ride outside resorts. Donning snowshoes or a split-board with skins, the backcountry snowboarder cuts a new path up the side of the mountain in search of the very best vistas and untouched snow. Some of those more cash-endowed riders can even hire snowcats or helicopters to take them where they want to go; this is known as catboarding or heliboarding respectively.

Powder is arguably the most enjoyable type of snow to ride in. The feeling of plowing through it is quite satisfying and some have even described riding powder as "floating on clouds". While powder is a lot of fun and the reason why many people even bother to snowboard, it's unpredictable and demands more balance to ride well. It's also advantageous to ride longer boards and move your stance back from center in powder. In powder, it is important to keep the nose above the surface of the snow at all times to stay afloat. Powder is also not as responsive as other types of snow because it's a lot lighter and softer. The board's edge does not cut through the snow as easily. For this reason, riding in powder requires a more upright posture during turns than with harder snow.

A split-board, which if commonly used for snowboarding in the backcountry, is a snowboard cut in half along its length. When apart, the two halves can be used like cross-country skis to ascend a hill. When the snowboarder is ready to descend, the halves are attached, and the bindings are repositioned for a snowboarding stance. Without a split-board, snowboarders who want to experience backcountry terrain, bear a little extra burden by carrying their snowboards with a backpack and using snowshoes or cross country skis to ascend.

Snowboarders also use snowmobiles to ride in the backcountry. If the hill is too steep a snowmobile may not make it up the hill. Often snowboarders use snowmobiles to make jumps into the powder.

Safety is key when hiking and riding in the backcountry, especially after a fresh 'dump' of powder. Snow can be extremely unstable, often leading to avalanches. Backcountry riders are advised to take extreme caution in all conditions, to carry avalanche equipment including a probe, beacon, and shovel, and never to ride alone in the backcountry. Avalanche equipment can be purchased or rented at outdoor equipment stores. Courses in avalanche safety are also available.

Board Construction

The various components of a snowboard are:

• Core: The bulk of a snowboard, the core is the interior of the snowboard. It is typically comprised of a solid material, normally either wood, foam, or some composite plastic. The properties of the core directly affect important characteristics of the board, such as flexibility and weight.
• Base: This is the bottom of the board which is made of a graphitic material that is saturated with a wax that creates a very quick smooth, hydrophobic surface. Because the base of the board comprises the bulk of the board's interaction with the snow, it is important that it be as slippery with respect to the snow as possible. For this reason, different base waxes are available for different snow conditions. If the board is damaged, a new base pattern can be stone-ground into the board. If the base becomes significantly damaged, the board may become sluggish, or if the damage is deep enough, it may even weaken the core.
• Edge: A strip of metal, tuned normally to just less than 90-degrees, that runs the length of either side of the board. This sharp edge is necessary to be able to produce enough friction to ride on ice, and the radius of the edge directly affects the radius of carving turns, and in turn the responsiveness of the board. Kinking, rusting, or general dulling of the edge will significantly hinder the ability for the edge to grip the snow, so it is important that this feature is maintained. However, many riders who spend a fair amount of their time grinding park rails, and especially handrails, will actually use a detuning stone or another method to intentionally dull their edges, either entirely or only in certain areas. This helps to avoid "catching" on any tiny burrs or other obstructions that may exist or be formed on rails, boxes, and other types of grind. Catching on a rail can, more than likely, result in a potentially serious crash, particularly should it occur on a handrail or more advanced rail set-up. In addition, it's relatively common for freestyle riders to "detune" the edges around the board's contact points. This practice can help to reduce the chances of the rider catching an edge in a choppy or rutted-out jump landing or similar situation. It is important to keep in mind that drastic edge detuning can be near-impossible to fully reverse and will significantly impede board control & the ability to hold an edge in harder-packed snow. One area where this can be quite detrimental is in a half-pipe, where well-sharpened edges are often crucially important for cutting through the hard, sometimes icy walls.
• Laminate: Two layers or more of fiberglass that add torsional snap and response as well as protect the wood core from damage. Often, it may be strengthened with carbon fiber or Kevlar stringers.

For a more detailed description, see Board construction.

Bindings

The bindings that attach the snowboard to the rider's feet are securely fastened to the board with bolts that screw into its threaded metal inserts. Most snowboard manufacturers use a mounting system consisting of four bolts arranged in a square or rectangular pattern. Some companies take other approaches. The most notable example is Burton, which has long employed its signature three-bolt system and, more recently, has introduced a two-bolt system on its Un-Inc series of snowboards.

There are two main types of snowboard bindings: conventional & step-in.

• Conventional, or strap-in, bindings are the most common type and are preferred by most advanced riders. Strap-ins, as the name suggests, lock the rider's feet into place with straps which tighten down over the boots. Typically, there are two straps, a heelstrap and a toestrap, however, some other variations do exist. Strap-in bindings usually have a high-back made of plastic or other material which rests against the rider's ankle & calf for enhanced leverage and responsiveness.
• Step-in binding systems are generally more convenient, quickly locking to a mechanism on the boot when the boot is stepped onto the binding, and releasing the boot if a lever is pulled with the fingers, and are thus quite popular for beginner snowboarders and rental shops. Most modern step-in systems lock the boot laterally (i.e. fastening the sides of the boot). Higher end step-in bindings may also have high-backs, which add stiffness and leverage when the rider executes a heelside turn. Because the boot-binding interface with step-in bindings is on the sole of the boot, the boots must be very will fitted and very stiff to allow the rider to control the board effectively.

Instruction

Snowboard instruction is available at almost every ski resort from certified snowboard instructors. Professional instruction is a good way to learn proper technique, safety policies, mountain etiquette and resort rules. Beginning snowboarders, whether young or old, should consider taking a series of lessons. It will not only get you on the slopes more quickly, but will help you feel more confident in sharing that mountain with the other members of the snowboarding/ski community.

Snowboard lessons, as with ski lessons, can either be group or private lessons. Group lessons are often cheaper, but often have a high student-teacher ratio, resulting in less individual attention. Private lessons can be taught one-on-one or between a small group. Private lessons are often far more expensive than group, as it is the snowboarding analogue of being privately tutored. The rapport developed between an instructor and a student who returns for multiple lessons is the real benefit derived from private lessons; one is taught better by a teacher who knows them, and a student is more likely to heed the advice of someone they trust.

Typically, beginner snowboard lessons focus on very basic, common snowboarding skills. The first lesson often begins with basic safety policies, stretching, and learning to fall, then progresses to snowboarding with one foot on the board (particularly skating and J-turns). Learning to snowboard with one foot strapped into the board is a particularly useful skill because it is necessary to disembark from the lift successfully. Then students learn how to turn and stop with both feet in. Other important beginner skills to learn are the falling leaf technique, side-slipping, and lift procedures. More advanced techniques that are taught in later lessons are linking turns, edge control, weight distribution, edge pressure, and eventually carving. As students progress in ability they can seek out specialized instruction in areas such as riding steeper slopes and through a wider variety of snow conditions, terrain park skills (jumps, rails, and pipes), mogul technique, off-piste riding, powder riding, and racing.

Freestyle snowboarding

Freestyle snowboarding owes much of its form and content to skateboarding, and many of the maneuvers common to snowboarding exist in skateboarding as well. Though the last decade has seen the trend reverse, with tricks unique to snowboarding cropping up in skating (witness the adaptation of the rodeo in skateboarding by Shaun White), the great majority of terminology is still borrowed from skateboarding.

• Ollie: The fundamental freestyle maneuver is the ollie; a good ollie is absolutely essential for any trick. The ollie is not a hop, as is commonly thought, but a technique which amplifies the power of the legs by exploiting the natural flex of the snowboard. A snowboard is essentially a flat, wooden spring with edges and a low friction base material; the wood core has elastic properties and can store and release energy which can be used in a variety of ways. Ollieing is one of them. To ollie, one must pressure the tail of the snowboard while lifting the nose upward and then jump. Executing an ollie properly requires timing and coordination and though it sounds (and looks) simple, it is actually a complex series of motions that takes years to perfect. The ollie was developed and named after Allan "Ollie" Gelfland, a skateboarder who first adapted the ollie to vert and bowl skating in the late 70's early 80's.

• Frontside vs Backside: This distinction is essential to understanding freestyle snowboarding and is borrowed from surfing, which uses it to distinguish different types of waves. Because a snowboarder stands sideways on the board, turns and movements are asymmetrical; a turn on the heels looks different and requires different movements than a turn on the toes. The frontside/backside dichotomy is useful for understanding terrain and tricks, though it can be confusing. The simplest explanation is that frontside involves turning to face down the hill, while backside involves facing up the hill; therefore a frontside turn is done on the heels, while a backside turn is done on the toes. All rotations are either backside or frontside, as well; if one jumps and turns looking downhill, the spin is frontside, but jumping and turning one's back to the fall line is a backside spin. When applied to terrain however, the frontside/backside distinction is different; a halfpipe for instance, has frontside and backside walls. If one were to straight run down the middle of the halfpipe, the rationale would be apparent; the rider faces the frontside wall, and approaches on the toes, while backside wall is behind them and is approached on the heels. This applies to rails and boxes as well; the method of approach determines the name of the trick, not the direction of rotation. A boardslide, executed facing up hill, is actually a frontside boardslide, because the obstacle is approached from the frontside.

• Fakie: This term refers to riding a snowboard in the opposite direction, and is borrowed from skateboarding. If a regular footer (left foot forward) puts their right foot forward to ride goofy, but retains the same stance and foot position, they are riding fakie. When riding fakie, a great number of manouvers can be executed in the same way as one's natural stance; an ollie for instance, can be done with the exact same movements, but the direction will be reversed, with the back foot lifting and the front foot pushing down.

• Switch: Also adapted from skateboarding (which in turn adapted it from baseball), switchstance is the act of riding one's unnatural stance; switch for a regular footer is goofy, while for a goofy footer it is regular. Switchstance is roughly equivalent to signing one's name with the wrong hand, and requires learning each movement and manouver in its mirror image. In skateboarding, switchstance requires both switching the front foot and shifting the whole stance towards the tail of the board; accordingly, switch stance as applied to snowboarding is most often a misnomer. Regardless of which foot is forward, the bindings on one's snowboard are fixed, and thus the stance cannot be switched except with a screwdriver, and this is not easily done while one's feet are in one's bindings. Unless one rides a perfectly centered stance with equal amounts of angle on both bindings, switch is not really possible.

• Grabs: Grabbing the edge of the board while in mid-air. The six basic grabs are the mute (front hand, toe edge), indy (back hand, toe edge), stalefish (back hand, heel edge), melon (front hand, heel edge) nose and tail grab. Each grab has virtually endless permutations depending on exactly where one places one's hand on the edge and what one does with ones legs (known as "boning" or "poking") while in the air. For instance, an indy grabbed between the back foot and the tail is known as a "tindy" (tail+indy), while an indy grabbed close to the front foot with the board shifted backside is known as a crail. Likewise, a mute grab with the front knee tucked and back leg poked is a Japan air, and a melon pulled back and shifted is a method. In addition to the six basic grabs and their variations are a whole host of different grabs that are too numerous to detail exhaustively.

• Rotation: rotation occurs when the board and body turn in relation to the fall line. The smallest possible rotation is a shifty, and while theoretically limitless, a 1260 (three and a half rotations) is a the largest spin currently practicable at the highest level of snowboarding. Rotations must be in multiples of 180 degrees; less or more most often involves falling. 360s, 720s and 1080s involve taking off and landing with the same foot forward, while 180s and 540s and 900s involve a change from either goofy to regular or vice versa.

Safety and Precautions

Although many snowboarders do not wear any protective gear, helmets and some other devices are gaining in popularity. Wearing protective gear is highly recommended and is very serious because people have died from snowboarding accidents. The body parts most affected by injuries are the wrists, the tailbone, and the head. Useful safety gear includes wrist guards, padded or protected snowboard pants and a helmet. Goggles are also used by most people, even though they are not a necessity (debatable - snow blindness does happen). Padding can be useful on other body parts like hips, knees, spine, shoulders, and on the genitalia based on gender. Padding can be specialized for snowboarding, or it can cross sports. For example, knee pads used for volleyball can be useful for snowboarding. They can be useful for the many times that a snowboard rider may wish to rest on the knees, such as after coming to a stop. General safety tips for winter sports, alpine conditions and skiing should also be respected.

Mountain maintenance is a very important aspect of safety. In places where the mountains are steep and the snow is deep, avalanches are extremely common. In order to keep these parts of the mountain safe, Ski Patrol will set off dynamite to control the avalanche. The idea behind this is that the chances of someone being caught in a large avalanche is less likely. This maintenance is done on a day to day basis.

Prevent muscle strain/injury by doing some aerobic warm up and stretching session. This will give you flexibility to ride significantly better than you would without warming up beforehand. Here are the basic stretching excercises that will help you before you step into the snow. Quadricep stretch, hamstring and lower back stretch, calf stretch, groin stretch and spinal hip stretch. These parts of the body need to be stretched out in order to give your body the flexibility it needed to prevent muscle and bone injury.

There are few environmental hazards to be consider before you will hit the slope like Dehydration,Hypothermia, Altitude, Frostbite, Windburn, and Ultraviolet radiation. Learning to anticipate and reconize the potential pitfalls of this environment is the first step to avoiding problems/tragedy.

Videos and movies

Snowboard videos have become a huge part of the sport. Each season, many different snowboard films are released, usually in September. Production companies work all year developing these videos.

Videos have evolved to become the backbone of the sport. Many companies rely heavily on their professional riders to help in promoting their product in these videos. These videos began as a way to show what can be done on a snowboard and have now become a major marketing tool in the industry. One example would be The White Album, a snowboarding film from Shaun White, that includes cameos by Tony Hawk and was sponsored by PlayStation, Mountain Dew and Burton Snowboards, just to name a few.

Snowboarding has also been the focus of numerous Hollywood feature films, quite notably the 2001 movie Out Cold, which included appearances by several renowned professional snowboarders as stunt performers, actual characters, or both. Out Cold is one of few major motion pictures to show snowboarding rather realistically and to exhibit a real understanding of the sport, as well as the culture that surrounds it.

In countries where snow is either rare or an impossibility, dry slopes and indoor snow slopes are present. One such country is the UK, and this artificial snow phenomenon is well documented in the movie "Standing Sideways" by Damien Doyle. Professional Snowboarder, David Benedek, rates this as one of his favourite snowboard movies ever.

Other snowboard movies: Follow Me Around, People, Decade, Simple Pleasures, The Community Project, DC Mountain Lab, Lame, After Lame, Attack of the Living Shred, Revenge of the Grenerds, Smell the Glove, Patchwork Patterns, Cue the Birds, and many more.

Online Videos

• FutureProof FutureProof trailer
• The Big Blind The Big Blind trailer

See also

• Alpine snowboarding
• Category:Snowboarders
• Mountain Boarding
• Skiing
• Skwal
• Monoskiing
• Snowboard Cross
• Skateboarding
• Surfing
• Snowkiting
• X Games

External links

• "Three Revolutions Have Equaled a Transformation in Snowboarding", The New York Times, December 27, 2005.
• Snowboarding at the Open Directory Project
• Snowboarding Safety and Guidelines

References

• Hart, Lowell (1997). The Snowboard Book: A Guide for All Boarders. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-32692-0