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Snowboarding Course - Gliding



Gliding is one skill that you should be able to do before you progress to other Snowboard Exercises. This basic movement will help you to be comfortable in shifting your weight forward and in gaining Snowboard control.

This will also be helpful when riding a chairlift. You can be able to unload from a chairlift in control if you are able to turn out of a glide. As soon as you are able to stand tall on a board and glide down from an incline, then you are ready for the chairlift.


STEP 1: First, find a gentle slope with as little human traffic as possible. Maintain your balance while standing. You can spread your arms a little bit to help you stay in upright position. As soon as you are ready and the coast is clear, place your back foot just in front of the back Snowboard Binding.




STEP 2: Lean forward so you can start moving downhill. Point your toes down to move forward and shift your weight backward to slow down or stop. Always look at where you want to go and not at your Snowboard.


Moving on the slope with only one foot attached to the Snowboard can be pretty exhausting but you will find that it will be very useful in many ways. Practice and be comfortable in doing straight glides before trying other Snowboard Exercises.

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Article Comments
Leanne Mustain
Monday 23rd February 2009 at 5:09:49 PM  

This may just save me 50-100$. Thank you so much for making this visual learning part of your site.

Erin Holtz
Sunday 15th November 2009 at 9:37:54 AM  

I have always wanted to learn how to snowboard, but unfortunatly I live in the tropics. I have to wait till winter to go up to Michagan.

Monika
Monday 23rd November 2009 at 2:13:27 AM  

I live in vancouver, bc, and am looking for someone to teach my to snowboard! Anybody willing to help me out, msg! :)

pandy
Sunday 13th December 2009 at 11:32:53 AM  

hey iv always wanted to snowboard but i live in england and it hardly ever snows can anyone tell me a good place to learn

Ivo
Friday 18th December 2009 at 7:13:48 AM  

Pandy, go to Bulgaria - Borovets or Bansko!

freddy
Sunday 20th December 2009 at 6:15:36 PM  

hey pandy go to alaska

pandy
Wednesday 30th December 2009 at 5:59:14 AM  

@IVO and Freddy
thanks for th tips im going snowboardi on saturday should be great!

jeremy
Saturday 2nd January 2010 at 11:07:03 PM  

i''m a longboarder and my friend told me i should try snowboarding. this site is really helpful

Sicopath
Sunday 3rd January 2010 at 12:36:50 AM  

Hey Pandy, Goto Val Thorens in France in January, its awesome, check it out on YouTube!

rommel
Wednesday 6th January 2010 at 1:03:36 AM  

Is it me or are the bindings supposed to be angled like they are in the animation. Mine are at 90 deg and not sure if I should adjust them

Jacs
Wednesday 13th January 2010 at 7:57:45 AM  

Re:bindings....my bindings are straight across the board...finding it really hard to skate/glide etc but managing to get downhill ok, do you think the bindings should be at an angle instead of straight across the board? Need to master this as I''m using the lifts soon!!

nina.v.
Monday 18th January 2010 at 12:24:27 PM  

Yeah, this is probably one of the most basic skills that I still need to master ):

al
Wednesday 20th January 2010 at 6:23:07 PM  

jacs
hope i''m not too late, check out you tube "fitting bindings" some useful advice on a rough place for each type of riding. I''m going to fort bill in scotland next week for my first attempt, cant wait

DT
Friday 29th January 2010 at 7:35:01 PM  

Yesterday was my 2nd time snowboarding and I always fall when I get off the lift LOL.

caprice!!
Sunday 21st February 2010 at 11:49:51 PM  

yes this is real cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

greg
Friday 12th March 2010 at 12:12:19 AM  

RE: Bindings. . . Your bindings should not be set at 90 degrees, when you stand your feet should be at comfortable angles toes pointing away from each other, My lead foot is pointed a few degrees more than my back foot. You just have to adjust it until you feel comfy.

ABunny
Tuesday 16th March 2010 at 8:15:02 AM  

@DT - I''m off to Vancouver next week for my 1st snowboarding trip..and I''m dreading getting off the lift!!!

Shell
Thursday 13th May 2010 at 12:14:51 AM  

Lifts are something that you need experience to master. There are a few tips I can give though. This exercise will definitely be useful when getting off lifts. Balancing with your back foot unclipped is pretty tricky. To be honest, you don''t want to spend half your day practicing this exercise before you go do some real snowboarding. Do it a couple times for sure but don''t be afraid of lifts, as long as you stick to the easy runs the ends wont be too steep. Make sure you don''t have too many people on the same lift with you.. keep it to one other person and no more and preferably a skier. Why? Because snowboarders tend to get their boards all mangled together and skiers have their sticks to push themselves quickly out of the way. If you do need to go with another snowboarder make sure they have the same foot forward as you otherwise it gets very messy. This is not necessary, but it will save you from making 3 other people on your lift stack it.. like I did my first day.. it also enables you to have more room to steer where you feel comfortable. Again before getting on the lift, if you feel more comfortable turning on your heels and you are a natural (Left foot forward)then sit on the left side of the lift chair, etc. Little things like this will make it much easier. Getting on the chair is simple, you need to use that skating technique, wait for the chair in front to pass and then skate to the line indicated for you to wait at with your board pointing straight towards the uphill. When you sit down make sure you lift your feet up slightly so your board doesn''t drag along the snow. Pull the bars down and if it is more comfortable for you, hook your free foot under the board. Oh and it might feel like the board is trying to rip your foot off but you will get used to this, just make sure your boots are snug and properly attached to your board!! When you approach the landing lift the bar and wiggle so that your board is straight and out enough to make contact with the snow. KEEP YOUR BOARD STRAIGHT and rest your foot on the grip pad! Seriously thats the biggest thing to make sure of. You don''t want it to swing horizontally because then you will absolutely fall and risk the lift knocking you in the back. If you do fall in front of the lift. Duck. wait for it to pass and crawl out of the way. Skate straight off the lift and then when you are clear of all the other people on the lift with you turn and brake. I think that is all.. if anyone wants feel free to pull me up on something they disagree with. Cheers

Christinaaa
Tuesday 29th June 2010 at 9:53:07 PM  

Okayy so I''ve on;y snowboarded once but once winter rolls around again I''m getting lessons...so two questions.
1) I still don''t understand what gliding is exactly used for? and
2) Does anyone know cheap but good lessons in NY or CT?
Thanks!(:


 
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Lessons Overview

Below you can find all the lessons of our Learn Snowboarding Online Course:

1: Snowboard Basics
2: Carrying your Snowboard
3: Skating
4: Switching Edges
5: Gliding
6: Moving Up the Slope
7: Sideslipping (Heelside)
8: Sideslipping (Toeside)
9: Traversing (Heelside)
10: Traversing (Toeside)
11: Falling Leaf
12: Garlands
13: Linking Turns

Done? Try our Snowboarding Tricks section.