The last thing you want to do if you've never been snowboarding before is strap yourself into your snowboard and head to the top of the steepest mountain and hurl yourself onto guaranteed embarrassment and possible injuries. As ironic as that sounds there are thousands of rookie snowboarders out there that attempt to "learn" snowboarding by snowboarding down a slick mountain the very first time they step onto snow. Don't be one of those guys and don't be "that guy" that has to run over a kid on the slopes just so he can come to a stop. Be smart and take about an hour before you hit your first slope and acquaint yourself with your snowboard, your equipment and some basics that will keep you from hurting yourself or anybody else on the slopes.
Before you purchase your ski lift ticket it is recommended that you pull over and find a small patch of snow that is large enough for you to snowboard around on and has enough of a slope or is hilly enough for you to build some momentum. Once you are on the snow the first thing you want to do is strap your boots into your snowboard bindings. You want to make sure they are snug and feel comfortable and most importantly allow you to move around freely. You also want to make sure that all your apparel is comfortable and allows you to bend and flex your knees freely. Some people put on so many layers that they can barely move! It is important that you be able to bend your knees and keep your body loose because with this posture you are much less likely to injure yourself should you fall. Once you feel comfortable with all of your gear you can move onto some snowboarding basics.
Wakeboard Binding
As mentioned above the correct posture for snowboarding is slightly leaning forward with your knees bent and with your arms out for balance and to help you turn. Get you snowboard moving a bit and try to turn it by digging your toes into the snow and lifting your heels. If you have enough momentum you can also try to turn by leaning forward. While it is much easier to turn by leaning, it is also much harder to master because you feel like you are falling but this is the best and most effective practice for turning. Once you've practiced turning for a bit you can move onto stopping.
If you learn anything before you hit the slopes it is highly recommended that you learn how to stop. Think about this... you're on your snowboard and you're coming down an icy mountain at about 50 miles per hour and you don't know how to stop... how are you supposed to stop? Trust me take the time and at least practice stopping before you hit the slopes. Stopping your snowboard can be easily explained and it sounds pretty basic but it's one of those things that's hard to execute in real life. What you basically want to do is dig the tail end of your snowboard into the snow; you want to dig your rear foot through your board and into the snow. You also want to lean back to apply more pressure to the rear of the snowboard. To further enhance stopping power a lot of snowboarders also slowly start to turn the snowboard to apply even more resistance.
If this is your first time on the slopes, take a few moments before you hit the bigger slopes and practice a bit on the bunny slopes. It can be the difference between having a great weekend and ending up in the hospital!