How To Stand Up

When you're first starting out with snowboarding, every little piece of the puzzle can seem challenging! In this tutorial we're going to simplify standing up after strapping into your bindings. After you have mastered this, we have another tutorial showing you how to Strap In while standing up. For now, there is nothing wrong with sitting down to do up your bindings. Think of it as a nice little break and a time to get stoked for the next lap. 

(Narrating/Riding: Duncan Mainland & Nev Lapwood, Filming/Editing: Vince Emond.)

Getting Started

When you're ready to strap in, it's best to sit down on your butt with your snowboard in front of you. Getting up with both feet strapped in can be difficult. When you stand up after strapping in, your board is going to want to start sliding. Our number one tip for getting up from sitting on your bum is, keeping that toe edge high!

Notice how Nev's Toe Edge is off the snow. He's pushing his weight into his heels. 

Keeping your Toe edge high will provide the best grip on the slope. As soon as you let your toe edge lower, you're stepping on the gas pedal and you're going to start slipping forward.

It's All In The Hips

Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint what is making your edge tilt down towards the slope, generally, it's caused by raising your hips, in an attempt to keep your balance. Instead of raising your hips to get up, scooch your bum close to your board and in one smooth motion push up and forward. 

 The Hip raise vs the scooch

To help with getting that scooched position you can pull on the toe edge of your board with your hand, to bring yourself in close to your board and gain some stability. Then use that position and stability to get up in one fluid movement.

 Getting stability by grabbing the toe edge.

Once you get up be ready to Sideslip, because staying stationary on a slope can be difficult when you're first learning snowboarding.

Get By With A Little Help From Your Friends

Another way to learn how to stand up is, to get a friend to help you out the first few times when starting out. A simple foot under the board and a helping hand can do wonders.

 Head Coach Nev, taking a helping hand from our filmer Vince.

You'll only want to do this a couple times. It's not a good idea to make this a habit, as you will have to get up on your own eventually. 

Tuck and Roll

When you're starting out, it's much easier to get up from your toe edge. That said, doing your bindings up from your toe edge isn't all that easy. Start by doing up your bindings, then extending one leg and bending the other. Next, put your hand underneath your bent knee and pull yourself over onto your toe edge.   

 
The art of flipping from heel to toe edge.

It's a lot easier keeping your edges high on the toe side and to stand up. You will still want to practice getting up on both edges because rolling around in the snow all day isn't as fun as it sounds. 

Do you feel ready to start linking turns and carving up the slopes? 

Hannah Paquette
Snowboard Addiction
Our Goal Is To Improve Your Riding