How to turn on a snowboard

Every turn starts on one edge and finishes on the other, so learning how to turn on a snowboard only works once you can already control each edge. Before you start, check that you can:

• sideslip down a gentle slope on your heel edge and stop when you want to;
• do the same on your toe edge, facing uphill;
• get up on either edge without the board running away.

Turning is the step in our beginner snowboarding roadmap where it starts to feel like real riding, so it is worth being patient with the basics. Choose a wide, gentle, groomed run with a flat run-out, ideally in the beginner area. An instructor will pick terrain that matches your skills and give you instant feedback, which makes this stage much faster and safer.

A useful bridge between stopping and turning is the falling leaf: while sideslipping on one edge, you shift your weight gently toward your front foot so the board drifts forward across the slope, then toward your back foot so it drifts back. You stay on the same edge the whole time, but you are already steering the board by moving your weight.

Edging means tilting the board so one edge grips the snow; steering is what happens when you change that tilt and twist the board a little. An edge change is the moment the board rolls from one edge, through flat, onto the other, and it is the heart of every linked turn.

1. Look first. Turn your head and eyes toward the next turn. Your shoulders and hips follow.
2. Flatten the board. Ease the pressure off your current edge until the base is flat. The board will start to point more downhill, and you will speed up slightly. This is normal.
3. Lead with your front foot. Tip your front foot onto the new edge first (toes down for toeside, toes up for heelside). The back foot follows, which gives the board a gentle twist and helps it start turning.
4. Stay centered. Keep your knees flexed and your weight over the middle of the board. Leaning back toward the tail, or into the hill, makes the board hard to steer.

PSIA Northwest’s snowboard progression template sums the idea up as “use twist not pivot”: a gentle twist of the board, started from the front foot, rather than swinging the whole board round with your upper body. We find that letting the board’s edge and shape do the turning is smoother and easier to control. The same template builds skills in three stages, a static exercise, then a directional sideslip or garland, then the edge change, which is the order this lesson follows.

When single J-turns on both edges feel steady, you are ready to link turns on a snowboard.

1. Garlands. Traverse across the slope on one edge, let the board point slightly downhill, then bring it back across without changing edge. It is like drawing a garland across the hill, and it gets you used to turning toward the fall line and back.
2. Turn to a stop, then go again. Do a heelside J-turn, stop, then set off and do a toeside J-turn. Gradually shorten the pause between them.
3. Link without stopping. At the end of one turn, instead of stopping, flatten the board and change edges into the next turn. Your tracks now make an S shape down the slope.
4. Control speed with turn shape. Finishing each turn further across the slope keeps your speed down. If you are getting faster with each turn, you are not finishing them.

Keep your runs short at first, and look well ahead so you can plan your next turn and avoid others. When linking feels reliable on the beginner slope, and your instructor agrees, you can start using the lift for longer runs. Our guide to riding chairlifts and T-bars walks you through it.

• Catching an edge. This happens when the downhill edge digs in, often at the moment of an edge change or when the board goes flat while sliding sideways. Change edges when the board is pointing more downhill, keep your weight centered and make the change smoothly rather than in a rush.
• Board will not turn. You may be leaning back, with too much weight on your back foot. Move your hips over the middle of the board and lead with your front foot and your eyes.
• Big skids at the end of each turn. Skidding is normal while you learn. To reduce it, use smoother, more gradual edge changes and ask your instructor about progressing toward cleaner, carved turns later.
• Toeside turns feel scary. Many beginners reach toward the snow on toeside. Stand taller, press your shins forward and keep your eyes up.
• Too much speed. Finish each turn across the slope, and move back to easier terrain if you cannot control your speed. The Your Responsibility Code says you must always stay in control and be able to stop or avoid people or objects.