Tips

For the most part, your instructor will tell you everything you need to know. But there are a few things which you can do to be prepared as well as a few important things that bear repeating.

You will be falling a lot at first. That means you're going to get wet. So make sure you have a snow suit, bib or a good set of water proof pants. Don't plan on wearing just jeans. If you are wearing water proof pants, a long coat is better than a short coat because it keeps the snow out. Since you aren't holding onto poles, you will tend to put your hands in the snow more than when skiing. Water resistant gloves or gloves which have a rubberized inner surface are better. Also, longer boarder's gloves are better than shorter skier's gloves since they tend to keep the snow out of the gap between the jacket and the gloves. When you are just starting, this is not terribly important so it doesn't warrant you buying new gloves just yet.

Wear a head band or a hat (baseball caps don't count). If you catch your rear edge you can fall backwards and will sometimes hit your head. The hat provides extra padding. Though the best thing to do is to wear a helmet. And certainly if you are going to continue in the sport after your first lesson, that should be one of your first purchases!

Some people have also suggested wearing wrist guards like you use when rollerblading and something extra to pad the tail bone. I've never tried it, though.

Unlike skiers, boarders suffer few lower body injuries. Rather than broken legs and torn knees, boarders tend to get fractured fingers or broken wrists. Here's a bit about how to avoid them.

New boarders typically fall because they catch the downhill edge of the board. If that happens to be the front (toe side) edge you fall forward. If it happens to be the back (heel side) edge, you fall backward. When falling forward never catch yourself by splaying out your fingers. This leads to fractured fingers. Keep your hands in a fist and catch yourself with your forearms rather than your hands. When falling backward, you...well, just don't fall backward. Of course, the best thing is never to catch an edge. If you remember a couple of things, you'll fall a lot less. First, keep your weight on your forward foot (except in deep powder). Second, never ride the board flat. You will always ride on your uphill edge. If this is your front (toe side) edge, you will always feel as though you are on tip toe just a bit. If it is your back (heel side) edge, you will always feel as though you're curling your toes up. Third always keep your knees bent - even on the flats. Unlike with skiing where you can stand up straight, sit back and flatten out your skis when you get to the flat parts, this is bad news on a board. Keep your knees bent, your weight forward and keep riding on the uphill edge.

When you're sitting on a chair lift, your board is perpendicular to the direction you want it to be to dismount. When you approach the dismount point, twist sideways in your seat so that the foot that's still in the board is facing forward. Once the board touches the ground, hold onto the chair with one hand, stand up on the foot that's connected to the board and place your loose foot on the board just in front of the binding into which it goes. Center yourself over the board and release the chair. If your instructor, doesn't tell you these things ask him or her about them. Just a few simple tricks can make your boarding experience much more enjoyable.