Falling Down
This might be a good time to talk about falling. The biggest caution I can give you is something most people have heard, often, from their parents…”Keep your hands to yourself!” Since one of the most common injuries for new snowboarders is wrist sprains (and worse, breaks), you really should find a way to fall without immediately throwing your hands out to catch yourself. This is much easier said than done, as the hand-catch reflex is strong. Try instead to hug yourself and roll from your behind to your back and shoulders if you are falling backward (using the stronger parts of your body to absorb the impact instead of throwing your hands back, risking hand and/or elbow and shoulder injuries). Falling forward is a different story, and I don’t know that I’ve actually fallen in that direction “correctly” yet. Again, you don’t want to break a wrist, but you also don’t want to smash your face into the snow. Ideally, you’ll want to hit first with you knees and then fall forward onto your forearms. Keep your hands fisted to keep from reaching for the ground (see broken wrist info above!). Realistically, unless you practice falling correctly many times under controlled conditions (like in your living room on a soft carpet!), you will do what most people do and throw out your hands to catch yourself. But at least now I can say, “I told you so.” Have I mentioned yet that most people don’t really enjoy snowboarding until the third day of practice (after their tailbone bruises have peaked)? It’s sort of like learning to ride a bike…once you find that balance point, the rest is much easier.

Heading Downhill!
So, now that you’ve fallen a million times and you’ve FINALLY found that balance, it’s time to take the first downhill journey. While you’re standing static, stay firmly on your heel edge. You always want to be on an edge because edges give you control If you are standing and the board is flat under you, it will slide in whichever direction it wants, often towards the biggest, most unmovable trees. As you face downhill with your snowboard under you (it will be in line with your shoulders and perpendicular to the downhill line), slowly come off your heels and let your toes start to point downhill. Your board will immediately start to slide downhill, so do your best to stay balanced on it. Know that you can come to a stop any time you want by raising your toes and digging your heels…and do this with conviction…back into the snow. Begin your descent in this manner, slowly sliding forward then digging your heels in to stop, until you are comfortable that you could make it down the rest of the hill in this way. You won’t look like a pro, but then again, you just want to make it down the first few times without maiming yourself (or others on the slope). If you start to pick up speed, BE CAREFUL that you don’t let your toes point down too far, or you’ll catch the toe edge of the board in the snow and be doing that face-plant I was talking about earlier.
The Falling Leaf Maneuver
Once you are confident that you can do the start/stop forward slide (and you may pick that up a fraction of the way down the hill), you can advance to the next basic maneuver: the falling leaf. This is a no-speed solution to steep slopes. Start out facing downhill (staying on your heel edge), then allow yourself to glide to the left by applying slight pressure on your left foot and looking toward the direction you want to go. Push your right heel forward at the apex of this glide (this will slow or stop you), and then attempt to glide to the right on your heel edge (again, shifting your weight slightly to your right foot and looking to the right). At the apex of this glide, push your left heel forward and attempt to glide to the left again on your heel edge, etc. With a little practice and a lot of confidence, you will be zigzagging (making the falling leaf pattern) down the mountain on your heel edge in no time! Once you can make it down the hill using this maneuver comfortably then you can start adding a little speed by making your left and right glide angles more extreme. But remember…always stay in control! You don’t want to be kicked off the mountain because you thought you could stop before careening into other skier/boarders on the hill. With each new increment of speed, make sure you are still able to stop quickly. This concludes “the basics” of beginner snowboarding. Have faith in yourself, be patient, and don’t give up…it really does get easier and more fun with practice. My next segment will teach you how to go “beyond the basics,” and that’s when the real fun of snowboarding begins!

 
Snowboards, Bindings and Men's and Women's Boots...

Beginning Snow Boarder Tips (Part 1) | Beginning Snow Boarder Tips (Part 2)