Snowboarding: Learning to Ride from All-Mountain to Park »

Snowboarding looks like fun but in itsn't necessarily easy you ego, as well as your backside, can get bruised if you don't know what you're doing when learning to ride. Luckily, author Liam Gallagher is here to help the aspiring shredder grasp not only the finer points of gear and technique, but also the all-important business of attitude: It's not how many times you fall, but rather how many times you get up again! And you're always going to have a better time if you're out with friends.

Snowboarding: Learning to Ride from All-Mountain to park and Pipe covers the basics:

Which board to buy for specific types of riding-and whether it really matters

Different grabs to use for additional control or style points

How to do straight airs, frontside and backside spins, hand plants, and air to-fakies

How to care for your equipment

And much more!

From the introduction: Every experience I've had while riding helped me write this book. And writing this book made me realize just how much I've learned along the way, both about how to get down the hill and about how to get through life.

Acknowledgments 11

Foreword Jesse Burtner 13

Introduction 17

Chapter 1 Gear

Boards 23

Boots 30

Bindings 35

Clothing 38

Accessories 40

Preparing Your Equipment 41

Chapter 2 Snowboarding 101

The History of Snowboarding 52

Basic Snowboarding Techniques 58

Types of Snowboarding 74

Chapter 3 All-Mountain Riding

Understanding the Mountain Environment 82

All-Mountain Techniques 86

Chapter 4 Park Riding

Understanding Weather 102

Park Features 103

Jumping in the Park 107

Park Rails 116

Chapter 5 Pipe Riding

Understanding Transition 129

Understanding Half-Pipe Design 130

Understanding Snow Conditions 131

Prepping Your Board 131

Dropping in and Airing Out 131

Pipe Tricks 132

Chapter 6 Caring for Your Equipment

Tuning Equipment 148

Snowboard Prep and Repair 150

How to Store Your Equipment for the Off-Season 156

Chapter 7 Fit to Ride

Biking 161

Stretching 161

Exercises 164

Chapter 8 Introduction to Backcountry Snowboarding

Essential Gear 170

Better Safety Through Technology 174

How to Prepare for the Backcountry 176

Monitoring Weather Conditions 177

Understanding Avalanches 178

Helping Others in the Backcountry 184

Means of Access: An Introduction to the Best Ways to Get into the Backcountry 184

Glossary 191

Index 197