What's the best way to start snowboarding?

Get out there and fall on your ass for a few days or a few hours. Get some lessons for sure, but the easiest way to learn it is just to go out and be awful at it for a little while. It’s painful, but you will get it eventually, but more importantly, you’ll learn how to fall without ruining yourself, which is always important later.

Get some lessons. Then go out there and fall. Get up, fall, repeat many many times.

It’s helpful to have a friend who will stick to going slow on the green runs for a while to coach you.

A good Idea is to buy a board then all you need is some snow & some warm clothing, then you’re away! ;-)

Don’t do it without a buddy, ever. One story that taught me that was the one about a relatively experienced snowboarder who went out on his own one day and tumbled into the cone of deep snow that often forms around fir trees in the woods. For a skier this wouldn’t be such a problem, because if the bindings didn’t release or the skis break, then there would generally still be a way to twist and turn to release the bindings or move the skis to where the bindings could be manually released. (Not to mention the fact that skiers don’t often tumble into those cones in the first place.)

But this guy had no such luck: he was stuck upside-down in this cone of snow with the bindings holding his feet firmly to the board—and no way to reach up and release the bindings, or move the board, or get himself upright again. I’m not sure whether it was hypothermia or suffocation that killed him, but it took a long time and cannot have been pleasant.

There’s a book and some other online material called no fall snowboarding which offers tips as well as execercises you can do to prepare for the season.

Best way to start snowboarding is visiting a nearby ski and snowboard resort. Rent your gear for the day and take up beginner’s lessons. If you like what you learn, do it as often as possible. . . . After the 2nd rental and you intend to take-up the habit, you should start investing in your own gear instead of renting from the resort. . . . Some stores will offer free or discounted Season Pass for Resort Lifts when you purchase certain gear. If money’s tight, you can check out pre-owned boards and bindings that will fit your size.

Just go and do it.

@lilikoi what do you mean by just go and do it? . . .would be nice to hear details of how to go about and doing it…

Go with someone who is experienced and whom you trust. I went with my husband (boyfriend at the time) and I felt so comfortable…now I can’t get enough of it!

the best way to learn is by just getting on out there, really, you will fall and you will hurt yourself, but you learn on your own by your mistakes. the more you try and the longer you do it, the more confidence you will have to get out there again. It took me about one whole winter, to learn how to get on there, and have fun without falling much, and the following winter i was able to do some more tricks on the half pipes and such. at first its kinda like a rough patch, but i can guarantee as soon as you get used to it, you are going to love it.

@lilikoi , @FarewellStockholm , @niks1112
Sorry to disagree but I don’t think that those are the best way to start snowboarding . . . it may be a way, a painfully long and crude way, but certainly not the best . . .IMO.

I learnt by just getting out there and trying it. Tip: Stay in the kids slope, don’t try anything fancy, and be prepared to look a fool :) Also get some ass-cushion pants and take the wristguards, that will save your lower back and wrists alot of greif.

Deep, soft snow is the easiest to start with, so try off-pist, or atleast try to stay off the rough patches. If it’s an icy day do something else, icy slopes makes snowboarding atleast 5x harder, as well as the falls.

Best of luck.

At the top of the hill.