In order to slide down a ski hill we need to get up. So in the early 1930′s the rope tow was introduced, which made it more accessible for the general public to enjoy skiing. Sense then they have introduced and utilized other means of getting up the hill easier and faster.

Surface Lifts
Are ski lifts where your skies or snowboard stays in contact with the snow or surface of the hill. Surface lifts are mostly found on beginner or bunny ski hills.

Magic Carpet-
is basically a conveyor belt that you stand on and it takes you up to the top of the hill. Carpet lifts may be the easiest lift to use for skiers and snowboarders.

To ride a Carpet Lift you

• move up slowly and scoot onto it making sure to leave space for the person in front of you.
• Once you are on just stand there, its a good idea topractice your stance here.
• To get off the carpet you should stay tall and balanced, lean forward down the ramp, keeping your back foot on the board until you come to a stop.

Paddle Tow-
some times called a handle tow lift derived from a rope tow with added handles and is also supported off the ground so riders don’t have to support the weight of a rope.

To ride a paddle tow lift you

• move up to the lift with your snowboard or skies pointing up the hill.
• Watch the paddles over your shoulder so they don’t catch your legs and drag you up the hill.
• Once in position reach back and grab the paddle and stand up tall.
• Snowboarders might want to use a skate and glide move to get started.
• To get off of a handle tow just let go and step off to the side until you snowboard or skies are pointing across the hill, and move away from the lift.

Rope Tow-
is basically a long loop of rope that is stretched from top to bottom of the hill with pulleys and and engine running it.

To ride a rope tow you

• should move up and position your snowboard or skies up the hill and stand next to the rope.
• Reach down and grab the rope loosely in your hands and slowly grip the rope tighter until you start to move having a firm grip on the rope pulling you up the hill.
• Some times we can grip the rope with one hand behind our back to help support and make it easier to ride.
• To get off of a rope tow you should let go and step to the side at the same time, making sure to position your snowboard or skies across the hill so you don’t continue to slide, and move away from the lift.

J-Bar-
takes on the shape of its name. A J-bar is a spring loaded long metal bar hanging from a suspended cable with a carrier at the bottom that is in the shape of a J. It can only carry one skier or snowboarder at a time.

To ride a J-bar you

• Need to move up pointing your skies or snowboard up the hill and look over your shoulder.
• When the J-bar comes along you should hook the J shaped carrier behind your upper legs or rear end and stay standing.
• The J-bar will carry you along the surface to the top.
• There is usually a ramp at the top of the hill where you can slide away from the lift.

T-Bar-
Is similar to a J-bar, but a T-bar can carry two passengers at a time side by side.

You ride a T-bar the same as a J-bar

• by moving up next to the person you will be riding with.
• Pointing your snowboard or skies up the hill and looking over your shoulder.
• When the T-bar comes along you hook it behind your upper legs or rear end.
• The T-bar will carry both of you to the top of the hill.
• There should be a ramp at the top so you can ride away from the lift.

Aerial Lifts
Are ski lifts that carry the skier or snowboarder up in the air and set them down at the top of the hill. Much faster and easier than standard surface lifts, most every ski resort now has aerial lifts to take skiers and snowboarders up to the top.

By: http://www.ridetips.com/ski-lifts

Benefits of waxing your snowboard

Waxing your snowboard will make the base more resistant to wear and tear from regular use, prolonging the life of your board. Waxing will also make your snowboard slide better which will make riding easier. Easier riding makes for longer time spent on the hill.

Tools to wax your snowboard

• Drop cloth or newspaper to lay out under working surface.
• Good Ventilation
• Base Cleaner- to clean the grime off of your snowboard.
• Iron- Wax specific is preferred, but any iron will work. Make sure that the iron you are going to use is not one that you use on your clothes.
• Wax – Hot Wax specific for skies or snowboards is mandatory, any ole’ wax will not work.
• Scrapper– a medium ski specific scrapper is preferred over a long snowboard scrapper. A medium scrapper will not bend like a longer scrapper will. A piece of Plexiglas with smooth edges will work to scrap off the wax.
• Horse hair or brass brush- for texturing the base.
• Abrasive Pad- for final finish.

Optional Tools that will help

• Work bench to work on is always nice.
• Snowboard vice to hold your snowboard in place.
• Stacked books work in place of a bench.
• Stacked lumber same idea as the books.
• Saw horses again a make due bench.

Preparation 
You will have to get your snowboard ready to wax by cleaning the base and edges. You can get base cleaner but most citrus cleaners will work. Use any type of cloth with the cleaner to get rid of any grime on the base. A gummy stone or an abrasive pad will work well to clean the rust off of your edges. This is also a good time to sharpen your edges before applying the wax.

Applying the Wax
Turn the Iron on and let it heat up. A waxing specific iron works best because it will heat up to the proper temperature. If you are using a house hold iron make sure that you are melting the wax and not burning it, the wax should not smoke. Hold the iron point down and press the wax lightly against the iron to drip the wax around the snowboard sparingly (you can always add more later).

Smoothing the Wax
Place the iron flat on the snowboard and melt the wax so it’s smooth. A tip to tail motion is a good rule of thumb; just make sure the wax is fully melted along the base. Don’t let the iron set in one place on the base or it may damage your snowboard.

Scrape the Wax 
Let the snowboard and wax cool to the touch. First scrape all the wax off of your snowboards metal edges. Then hold the scrapper on the base at an approximate 45-degree angle and scrape from tip to tail. You may have to scrape your snowboard many times to get all of the wax off. This step may seem strange but when you hot wax your snowboard you are actually putting wax in the pores of the base. Any excess wax on the base will slow you down.
Tip
When waxing take your hand and feel for excess wax on the base, if you feel it there scrape it off. If you have wax build up and the long side of the scrapper won’t work use the short end.

Finishing Texture
If you have a horsehair or brass brush run it from tip to tail of your snowboard in smooth even strokes. Run the brush over your base only a couple of times to add texture. Next take your abrasive pad and run it from tip to tail of your snowboard to finish it off. This abrasive pad will give your hot wax that final touch to make you go fast. If you don’t have a brush or abrasive pad you can use cardboard and rub the base of your snowboard in short quick movements to create friction and finish the base off.

By: http://www.ridetips.com/how-to-wax-snowboard

Video:

Manufacturer’s Description:

Saving snowboarding one butter at a time.

A favorite for team new Jumper Cables Hi-Voltage. The Scoop tips only add to the buttery float and catch-free performance. For as forgiving as the Hero™ feels, it carves like a samurai sword thanks to the added grip of Frostbite Edges. Bottom line—this board will save your season.

Year: 2011

Available Lengths (cm): 149,152, 155, 158, 152W, 155W, 158W, 162W

Riding Style: Freestyle/Park

Specifications:

The Channel ICS bindings system
V-Rocker™ profile
Twin-Like shape with twin flex
Super Fly® Core with Dualzone™ EGD™ and Negative Profile
Triax™ fiberglass laminates
Sintered base
Frostbite Edges with Grip and Rip™ Tune
10:45™ dual angle sidewalls
New 162cm Wide, Jumper Cables Hi-Voltage, Scoop, Pro-Tip™, and Infinite Ride™
Feel: 3

Board quick stats:

Riding switch means snowboarding in the opposite direction to normal. If you usually ride regular, you will be riding switch with your right foot forward. If you usually ride goofy, you will be riding switch with your left foot forward.

Best tricks all times by rider Travis Parker.

SNOWBOARD HISTORY

We came a long way in a relatively short time in the snowboard history.Since the early “no snowboarders allowed” to the fact that snowboarding in responsible for today’s revival of skiing. This is the story of how it all began.

The History Of The Snowboard

First Known Snowboard. Snowboarding is a fairly young sport with about 40 years of history, but today it is definitely out of its diapers . First known snowboard was made from plywood by a man named Tom Sims in the year 1963. Tom Sims made a snowboard for his eight grade technical class. Tom called the first snowboard a ski board. Later Tom Sims opened his own snowboard company that had a big impact on the world of snowboarding in the early years – Sims Snowboards.

Snurfer

The next man, that came up with the same idea was Sherman Poppen. Sherman Poppen constructed his own snowboard in the year 1965 and called it snurfer. Actually it was his wife that came up with the name. Sherman simply glued and bolted together two skis, made some support for the feet and put a rope to hold on to at the front of the stick. Sherman gave the snurfer to his daughter and she tested it on the backyard hill. Soon everybody in the neighborhood wanted one. Snurfer was a big success on the market as it was simple and cheap and was sold in supermarkets. But it was kind of a short lived fad.

Snowboard history and surfing

Surfing is a big part of snowboard history. Snowboarding has its roots in surfing and snowboarders wanted to get the same feeling riding powder than they did riding waves. So the shape and design of the snowboard was influenced by the surfboard. List of snowboard pioneers that were mainly inspired by surfboards is quite long. We already mentioned Sherman Poppens (inventor of the Snurfer), than we had Dimitrije Milovich (Winterstick Snowboards), Bob Webber (Yellow Banana), Jake Burton Carpenter (Burton Snowboard), Brandon Bridwell, Tom Sims (Sims Snowboards), Mike Olson (Gnu Snowboards), Donavin Carlberg, Chuck Barfoot (Barfoot Snowboards), Chris Sanders (Avalanche Snowboards), Steve Derrah (Flite Snowboards) and others. They all developed different experimental snowboards, played with different snowboard shapes and ideas. One of the most notable was Bob Webbers snowboard from 1972, that he also patented and later sold to Jake Burton Carpenter in 1990. Jake Burton wanted to get a piece of action on every snowboard sold in the world on the grounds of this patent, but he later changed his mind.

Snowboard History: Jake Burton Carpenter, Dimitrije Milovich, Steve Derrah

The founder of Burton SnowboardsJake Burton started making snowboard from fibre glass in 1979. He also addedsnowboard bindings for better control. But the real breakthrough came from Dimitrije Milovich, an east coast surfer. Dimitrije had the idea of sliding on cafeteria trays up state New York. He then developed his idea and started developing snowboards designs and in 1972 he started a company called the Winterstick. The winterstick was based on the design and feel of a surfboard but worked the same way as skis. Companies like Winterstick (Utah) and Flite Snowboards (Newport, RI) began pressing ski-like, closed-moulded boards from small garages. This was at least 4 years before other snowboard companies followed suit. Before that time all snowboards had been built like large 7-ply maple skateboards. By switching to closed-moulded boards, Flite introduced the “modern” snowboard, providing strength, lightness, and durability.

Snowboard bindings were developed too. Highback was put at the back of the binding to control the snowboard on hard and packed snow.

Steel Edges on a Snowboard?

Next big breakthrough was in the year 1980, when steel edges were added to the snowboards.This was a big leap from powder surfing to real snowboarding. It allowed the snowboards to be used on hard groomed slopes and soon snowboarding was ready to be banned from ski resorts.

No Snowboarding Allowed

Yes, during the early snowboarding years, snowboarders had a lot of problems with the ski industry, ski resorts and skiers in general. Snowboarding was seen as a fad, a punk brat of skiing that is not to be taken seriously. The general opinion was that

Snowboarders:

• sit on their ass all the time,
• get high,
• can’t even stop on the snowboard,
• ruin the slope,
• crash into people,
• have concealed weapons in their baggy clothes,
• are having no fun at all, they snowboard just to piss off their parents etc

These were the usual remarks. I guess that even at that time skiers felt threatened by a new sport that looked like it was more fun than skiing. So many resorts did not initially allow snowboards on the slopes and others insisted on the use of leashes. Even today there are a few ski resorts that do not allow snowboarding.

Alternative Sports Take Over the Media

We came a long way in the snowboard history since then. Snowboarding in responsible for today’s revival of skiing. Skiing took the tricks and the attitude of snowboarding to keep the kids on skis. Without snowboarding skiing would today really be and old farts only sport. Sports like snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing are no longer pushed to the edge of society, they are right there in the focus, somehow loosing their alternative sport label. Many people find it hard to deal with that. But still, there is something about snowboarding that no man can take away. When you strap into your bindings on the top of the fresh powder slope nothing else matters.

SNOWBOARD STOMP PAD

What is a snowboard stomp pad?

Snowboard stomp Pad is a rubbery or foamy (or whatever material that has high friction) pad that is attached to the top of the snowboard so you can stand on it, when your back foot is not strapped into the snowboard binding. Snowboard surface is slippery, especially when it is wet from snow. So when your back foot is unbuckled like, when you go on a ski lift, get off the ski lift or just traverse a flat section of the slope, you put our back foot on the stomp pad. Because the stomp pad is generally made of rubber (and has anti skid profile) and so are the soles of our snowboard boots, they stick together much better than snowboard boots and snowboard surface. With stomp pad we can even make some easy turns, use the edge of the snowboard, stop when we need to without wiping out etc…

Who should use a stomp pad on a snowboard?

Stomp pad is very useful for beginners and not so experienced riders. Stomp pad helps them control the snowboard when the back feet is out of the binding. Now if we are really experienced and have total control of our snowboard we can do all that without the stomp pad. But stop pad makes it easier.

How to attach a stomp pad to a snowboard?

Stomp pad comes with a layer of strong glue on the bottom side. First thing you need to do is mark the spot where you will put your stomp pad. Stomp pad comes right in front of your back binding, that means in between the snowboard bindings. Put your snowboard boot just in front of the back binding and make a spot under the center of the boot. This will help you not to glue your stomp pad to close to the binding, where you cant stomp it so well. Next thing you need to do, when attaching a stomp pad, is clean the top of your snowboard. Remove all the dust, oil, blood, sperm, marijuana and other stuff from the deck. Wipe it clean and let it dry. Make sure you are inside, if it is too cold, the glue gets harder and it will be less durable. Also, don’t wipe off the X that marks where to put your stomp pad

And finally, remove the paper/plastic/whatever from the bottom of the stomp pad and place it firmly on the snowboard. Keep the pressure for a while and you are set to go. If you have enough time, it is better to leave the stomp pad under pressure (put some heavy books on it) for 24 hours before using it. It will stay on longer.

If my stomp pad comes off?

Usually you can stick it back on as the stomp pad will still be sticky. But it will start coming off sooner and sooner, so at one time you will have to throw it away and get a new one. Remove all the old glue from the snowboard, then follow the instruction above.

Stomp pad styles

Just go crazy. Like everything in life, snowboard stomp pads have gone from simple dull black pieces of rubber to designed, bling bling, colorful, high tech…well pieces of rubber. Enjoy your ride.

made by: http://360guide.info/snowboarding/snowboard-stomp-pad.html

HOW TO MOUNT SNOWBOARD BINDINGS

How to mount snowboard bindings?

Got your snowboard, got your snowboard bindings nicely wrapped in the box… You can ask the shop you bought them from to mount your bindings (and maybe end up with a stance that you will only later on discover is not the best for you) or you can do it yourself. If you have never done it, it can seem complicated, if you do it all the time you can still learn something new, so how to mount your snowboard bindings?

Do you have the right snowboard binding?

First just check you have the right snowboard binding with system compatible to your snowboard inserts (inserts are holes in the top of your snowboard). If you have a Burton snowboard, the baseplate of your binding should have three holes (3×3 system) otherwise it should have four holes (4×4 system). If it is not compatible wait, do not panic just yet, maybe there is a spare center disc in the box for each binding that is compatible with the other system. Most of the snowboard bindings manufacturers do that. If not, you can still ask in the shop if you can get one or as a last resort, you can return your bindings. Also check the bindings are the right size for your snowboard boots.

The how you mount your snowboard bindings part is pretty simple. Basically you just use the screws that came with your snowboard bindings and screw them into the holes on the top of your snowboard.

The “brain” part of the process are three basic measurements you need to decide on when you mount your bindings:

• setback
• stance width
• angles

Read our SNOWBOARD STANCE guide to learn how to set the right stance setback, stance width and stance angles.

Mounting snowboard bindings

Ok, we guess you have read our snowboard stance guide, before mounting bindings on your snowboard you should know:

• Are you regular or goofy?
• Do you need more setback that it is already in the snowboard?
• Do you want to change your stance width?
• What stance angles are you going to use?

Check, check, check & check? OK! From now on it is easy:

1. Get you bindings and put them on the snowboard. There is always a left and a right binding, it is obvious from the shape (if it is not written on the binding). If you are regular, put your left snowboard binding on the snowboard over the holes that are closer to the nose, put your right one over holes near the tail. If you are goofy do it vice versa (right binding – nose, left – tail).

2. Center each binding over the middle holes of each insert if you do not want to change your setback or your stance width.

3. Put center discs with stance angle scale into each binding. Zero angle must point towards the snowboard edge. The row of screw holes for each screw must be perpendicular to the snowboard edge.

4. Set your stance angles by turning your binding and not turning the discs you have just put in. Just watch the marker on the binding and the angle scale. Make sure you also try it with your boots in the bindings, so you can check for the boot overhang and adjust the angles accordingly.

5. Center your snowboard boot across the snowboard. Put the boot into the binding and slide the binding back and forth. There is a row of screw holes to choose from (I warned you before). This is done after the stance angle is set – the angle affects how your boot is positioned. If you ever noticed that you drift one way when your back foot isn’t strapped in, you might not be centered over your snowboard.

6. Now screw in your bindings as tight as you can. Put in all your power. Screws are known for coming loose at the worst time possible. Lots of screws that come with the bindings have a little plastic on them that prevents them from coming loose. If you have problems, get new set of screws. Anyway, check and tighten your bindings every few trips up the mountain (hint: that is much easier in your room than on the mountain when the bindings are stuffed with snow and frozen solid).

That’s basically it. Your snowboard is ready to go. There are a few more snowboard binding adjustments that you can do.

Adjusting the straps

If the bindings are new or you are using them for the first time you might also want to adjust the straps:

• Strap your snowboard boots into the bindings.
• Check the straps. The straps should come together easily, and you should be able to tighten them down so your boot is snug. Is the cushion positioned over the middle of your boot? Is the strap to long or to short?
• Adjust the straps. Most snowboard bindings have some sort of system that allows you to adjust your straps length and position (unscrew the strap and tighten in through another hole etc….).

When strapping in, tighten the straps so your boot is fixed and doesn’t move, but make sure it is still comfortable. To tight and you will limit blood flow – your feet will hurt, get tired and get cold quicker. Bigger and anatomically designed cushions on the straps will distribute the pressure better.

Set you forward lean

What is forward lean? Forward lean is the amount of forward angle on the highback of the snowboard binding. More forward lean will give you better heel edge control and more power over it and it will push you in better riding position, too much forward lean will put lots of strain on your quads and you will get tired quickly and the board will be harder to turn. Try it and readjust, generally the forward lean is between 10 and 15 degrees.

Rotating highbacks

If your snowboard bindings are really adjustable you can rotate your bindings highbacks. You can make your heelside turning more responsive if you align your highback with the heel edge of the snowboard.

That’s it – How to mount snowboard bindings.