How Long Does It Take To Learn To Snowboard?

If you're going on a skiing holiday, you might well be wondering about learning snowboarding while you're there. Snowboarding looks like a lot of fun with those dramatic carving turns. But now you're wondering, how long does it take to learn to snowboard?

Learning the basics of snowboarding will not take longer than a week, and having the right attitude definitely helps. Learning to get good enough that one can tackle black ski runs and do jumps will probably take you a lot longer, maybe as much as a season of snowboarding.

If you want to be able to just slide down the slopes, then a day is enough. But we're sure that you want to be able to ride better than that, so read on to get a good idea of how long it will take you to learn to snowboard.

Factors Affecting How Long It Takes To Learn To Snowboard

Several factors affect how long it will take you to learn to snowboard, so let's examine these factors in detail so that you can make a realistic assessment of how long it will take you to learn to snowboard.

You Will Learn To Snowboard Faster If You Are Young And Fit

If you are younger, not only do you have the advantage of learning new skills more quickly, you are also more likely to be fitter. Fitness is an enormous help when learning to snowboard, as snowboarding requires a lot of core strength.

In the beginning, you will be falling a lot and picking yourself back up again, and being strong and flexible will help you in this process. Otherwise, you are likely to be too tired before making significant progress.

If you are overweight, it will hinder you. Snowboarding requires good balance, quick reactions, and rapid shifting of weight, so if you have more weight on your frame to move around, it will hinder your ability to react as quickly as a leaner person. Even despite the fact that you are fit!

You Will Learn To Snowboard Faster With The Right Attitude

If you are used to a sport such as mountain biking, where you need to keep your weight over your rear wheel, snowboarding will seem counter-intuitive. You have to lean further forward in snowboarding and commit your weight downhill.

If you have the right attitude, this will come faster. The right attitude is boldness and not being scared to take a tumble. If you are nervous and hang back, it will take you longer to learn than if you go for it. It’s a leap of faith to allow the snowboard to carry you down the slick snow on the mountain.

Another part of having the right attitude is not being scared to make mistakes, fall, and get bruised. You will get hurt while you are trying to learn, and if you can accept that and get on with things, you are more likely to learn faster.

You will fall down while learning!

Fortunately snow is softer than pavement.

Being timid of falling is even more likely to make you fall again sooner, so it works against you that way as well. The right attitude is a virtuous cycle; a timid attitude is a vicious cycle.

You Will Learn To Snowboard Faster If You Know A Similar Sport

If you are already familiar with skiing, you will understand the different types of snow and the grip that they offer. However, the mechanics of the two sports are quite different, and you will still have to learn how to move on a board.

Humans are not generally used to facing sideways or moving sideways, and it takes some time to get used to the mechanics.

If you are familiar with surfing or skateboarding, then the mechanics of moving the board will seem similar, with the caveat that you are firmly attached to a snowboard. In contrast, you have free movement in the other two sports (see also The Complete Comparison of Snowboarding Vs Surfing)

On the other hand, you will not be familiar with snow, so you will have to get used to it.

If you know skateboarding and skiing, then snowboarding should come quite fast.

You Will Learn To Snowboard Faster If You Get Lessons

Getting lessons from a snowboarding instructor will enable you to learn precisely how to carve and stop and learn the correct form.

When you are starting, you won't be able to visualize how you should be moving your body, and you will be making a lot of mistakes.

A good instructor can give you individualized feedback on aspects of form to improve much faster in the initial stages of learning. They can also show you how to make carving turns and to stop, both of which are essential parts of snowboarding.

Experienced snowboarders generally recommend getting lessons if you are starting, at least for the first two days.

Heck, you can even a head start on your trip just from watching internet videos. But nothing can replace an in-person lesson.

After you have learned the basics from the instructor, it is up to you to practice (and fall) and practice some more to burn the skills into your brain.

How Competently Do You Want To Be Able To Snowboard?

Most people can learn to slip-slide down a hill on their first day. However, few would say that you are a snowboarder at this point.

After a few days, you should be able to link some sloppy turns together. You will still probably be falling hard a lot.

Most snowboarders agree that it takes five or six sessions before you stop falling much and learn to link turns.

However, good snowboarding, where you link elegant, carved turns, will take you longer to achieve. Being able to ride confidently on blues and reds should take about two weeks.

Being able to ride blacks and do jumps will take longer, but an entire season of riding most days should get you up to this level of ability.

Summary

As you can see, various factors affect how quickly you will learn to snowboard, with your attitude toward falling and your familiarity with other board sports such as skateboarding playing a significant role.

Experienced snowboarders generally recommend getting lessons to begin with and supplementing them with a lot of practice to be able to ride well.