By Karla Fetrow Take the wheels off a skateboard, combine its mobility technology with skiing, and you have snowboarding. One of North America’s fastest growing winter sports, riding a snowboard requires the same body language for balance and performance as is required for surfing and skateboarding. If you can ride a wave or cruise a sidewalk, you can snowboard.

The main difference is snowboarding is much faster. In the three hour hike it takes you boot packing a new trail up the mountain (that is laboring up the hill with a sideways step that packs the snow down under your feet) to that ideal skiing hill, it takes three minutes to fly down. That’s the beauty of it. As you sweep down at speeds that would make a race car driver envious, you feel you are truly air borne. Snowboarding requires a bit of special gear. Most snowboarders like to wear baggy clothing. Thermal underclothing, a loose jacket, wrist supports, elbow and knee pads, and protective head gear are standard fare. For snowboarding, you want to be able to move around freely, without any binding or restrictions in your clothing. A pair of good snowboarding boots are crucial to performance. The special assembly allows your foot to splay broadly and evenly over the board to maintain balance. A pair of good boots will cost around $150, with average boards running between $200 and $550. Even though the initial costs may sound high, snowboarding is an relatively inexpensive sport. And, if you invest in quality snowboarding gear, it will last you a long time. Used gear can be found for half price, but you’ll want to be cautious. Check a used snowboard carefully. A poorly cared for one can develop cracks in the seams, which allow moisture in. The moisture will cause the board to bend and warp, hampering mobility, speed, and balance. When choosing a snowboard, pick one whose length comes to chin level, but more importantly, consider the width. When snowboarding, you want a board that is comparable to your foot’s width. Small, narrow feet should have a narrow snowboard; broad feet, a wider one. You’ll also want to consider that the narrower your board, the faster it is. Beginners generally choose a freestyle or freeride board as the heavier structure allows more mobility and control. Practice the initial steps of snowboarding. Clamp one foot inside your board, while using the other along side to propel it. When you gain a little momentum, lift your foot and place it inside the other boot bracket. You’ll begin to feel the balance and coordination required for snowboarding. A good website for gaining tips on comfortable snowboarding techniques is Freestyle Snowboarding Tips. Choose your first snowboarding hills carefully. Use smaller hills with gentle inclines to start with, making sure there are no hidden obstacles at the bottom, like sharp rocks and boulders buried under the snow. As you gain confidence, there are a number of ski resorts that offer services to beginners, as well as intermediate and skilled class divisions. Killington, Vermont leads the list of places to go with seven mountains and over two hundred trails to choose from. Other favored resorts are Aspen, Colorado, where you can watch the pros jump and spin as well as have well-groomed powder hills for beginners to practice on. North America’s all-around favorite is Whistler with its spectacular Blackcomb Mountains, in British Columbia, Canada. Less than a two hour drive from Vancouver — with 230 runs, 2 terrain parks, 3 half-pipes, a boarder-cross track, and tree runs — Whistler gives you not only versatile choices in track runs, but also the incredible view and village atmosphere that are a wonderful asset to any vacation.