After my first months of tumbling and falling on my rear end countless times I finally got the hang of snowboarding.  Now I'm going to try to show you how to snowboard right here so you wouldn't have to learn the hard way.  The first thing a snowboarder must keep in mind is where their center of gravity is located.

http://www.snowboard.com

Finding the center of gravity is important because it provides balance between the snowboarder and the ground during high velocities.  Losing touch with the center of gravity while coasting down a hill at a high speed can lead to a painful event. Since we are all bilaterally symmetrical, we can find out which foot needs to "lead" when going down a hill.  That is, whichever foot faces the bottom of the hill.  In order to determine this, a person stands behind the person finding their lead foot, then pushes the person from behind.  Whatever foot that person (who gets pushed) extends out is their lead foot.  This determines the lateral component of our center of gravity. Finding the longitudinal component of our center of gravity is similar to riding a bike.

Unfortunately, finding this center of gravity comes through actual practice and not reading, but some points to conceptualize may help.  

-Since humans differ in a center of gravity, it is usually located in the pelvic area where the heaviest bone is.  When going down a hill in sinusoidal motion, keep the hip directly over the board.  This will keep from falling while experiencing a tremendous amount of centrifugal force.  

-When steering, the rear foot is pivoted, similar to a rudder of a ship.  A higher tilt of the board while turning will increase the turning radius.  This concept is very important when it comes to narrow ski trails and cliffs!

www.bomberonline.com/Bomber_Files/Articles/JackM8/jackm8.html This diagram represents a free body diagram for finding the turning radius of a snowboard.  It is apparent that the center of gravity must be perpendicular to the edge of the board touching the ground in order to maintain stability.  Click on the link above for detailed information.

http://www.snowboard.com

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