Learn Skating On Your Snowboard

Mastery of skating from one place to another is a helpful skill in Snowboarding. You will need to skate when you’re doing mid-mountain transfers from lift to lift, crossing the flats from the bottom lodge up to a lift, or when attempting to get moving again if you get trapped on a ‘cat track’. Practicing this useful technique will even help give you the sense of gliding the snowboard forward on the flat before you attempt the same motion on a gradual slope.

Below are some tips on how to skate:

• Connect your front foot to the Snowboard Bindings, and leave your back foot free.

• Try to make a skating motion by putting your front foot in front of you while using your back foot to advance forward. Skating/Sliding on your Snowboard by using one foot fastened is something you need to learn and will perform frequently in Snowboarding. Each time you have to get into or exit a lift or travel short distances on a level or uphill slope, you will have to skate.

• Try skating around but make sure that your back foot will not bein front of your front foot. Make sure tojustmakesmall steps with your back foot.

• As you start to improve, you will understandhow to takelarger steps and really kick with your back foot. Also, be sure you maintain your front leg slightly bent with most of your bodyweight on your front foot. This can help keep your balance.
  

• As your abilitiesincrease, you will be ableto build some speed. You will alsobe able to place your back foot on your Snowboard Stomp Pad or press it against the back of your Snowboard Binding if you don’t have a stomp pad.

• Then, try to maintainboth feet on the boardas much as possible. Attempt to crouch and get up while sliding on the board.

You might not be comfortable with skating at first. Try practicing it and soon enough you will be good at it. Skating requirements more balance and attention to the terrain so continue practicing and you will definitely soon be capable of skate effortlessly.