Skiing to Snowboarding Transition: Tips & Lessons Learned

Even though I grew up with my family skiing, I had always wanted to try snowboarding. After becoming bored of all the slopes, I decided to make the transition this past winter. While I haven't been snowboarding for that long yet, I've already learned several important lessons about the sport.

Wear protective gear. 

I know this seems basic, but it's important. Because a friend was teaching me to snowboard and not an instructor, I wasn't wearing all the protective gear that I should of been. We were having a great time at first... until I fell and sprained my wrist so bad I had to stay off the mountain for two weeks.

Most injuries you get from snowboarding will be in your wrist, so make sure to have good wrist guards. A helmet is also extremely important, as are knee pads. It didn't matter that I knew how to ski, I still fell A LOT at first. Having the proper protective gear made the difference between getting back up after a face plant, or having to be stuck at home in pain while everyone else was having fun.

Confidence is key.

I was able to pick up snowboarding fairly quickly and I think the main reason was confidence. If you already know how to ski, odds are you feel at home up in the mountains and this makes a big difference. For me, I learned how to snowboard on the same slopes I had gone skiing down a hundreds times before. I knew I could make it down them fine, and even though the slopes were much more challenging now that I was on a snowboard, having the right mindset really helped.

Don't worry about stopping.

A lot of my friends switched over to snowboarding right around the same time I started and one of the things we all had in common was fear of not stopping. Simply put, with snowboarding, this is no 'French fry', 'pizza', like there is with skiing.

It took about a week before snowboarding really 'clicked' with me, but once it does, you're able to go down the mountain with ease. Yes, you will be going fast and it will be extremely scary since you're on a completely new board, but if you let that fear slow you down, you'll always be wiping out. After a little while, I was able to get the feel for the board and just go for it. After that, the rest was history.

A snowboard is a snowboard.

This may sound obvious, but I thought that because I knew how to ski and surf, I'd be able to pick up snowboarding overnight. And it's true that knowing those sports does help... skiers will have some advantages because they already know the mountain. Surfers will have some advantages because they have a general idea how to steer (though it is still slightly different), but at the end of the day, a snowboard is it's own unique piece of equipment. Learning how to use it requires practice and patience. It takes time to get the hang of it, but once you do, it's an amazingly fun sport.