Attention skiers: have you looked down from the chair lift with envy at the ever-growing legion of snowboarders sailing down the slopes and hooting gleefully to each other? Does surfing on snow look pretty fun? You bet! The Complete Snowboarder can introduce you (as well as non-skiers) to their world. With tips from the pros, you can be surfing down the mountain, too. Or, if you're already an experienced snowboarder, this guide can take you to the next level. Beginners and intermediates alike will learn new tricks and techniques for getting the most out of a lift ticket.


From Booklist
Snowboarding is a combination of surfing, skateboarding, and skiing. It has been around since the 1960s and, like many other participatory (as opposed to spectator) sports, has gained greatly in popularity during the 1980s and 1990s. Technical refinements have transformed the sport from an alternative to skiing to a full-fledged pursuit in its own right, complete with a unique lexicon and recognized strategies and procedures. Bennett and Downey present everything the prospective snowboarder needs to know to get started. Nicely illustrated and diagrammed and including a glossary and tips on the terrain and conditions necessary for the optimal snowboarding experience, this is definitely a book for the sports-minded. Mike Tribby


Snowboarder
"Read this before you ride."


New York Outdoors
"The best book to come along on snowboarding. . . . Everybody should read it. An excellent and thorough job on this exciting sport."


Snow Country
"An intelligent, clearly written introduction to snowboarding. Every student and teacher of the sport should own a copy."


Transworld Snowboarding
"The most comprehensive and up-to-date book on snowboarding."


Ted Martin, International Snowboard Federation
"Takes the reader from selecting a snowboard to freeriding and competition. Does a great job in getting the message across."


Snowboarder Magazine
"The only way to get on a board for the first time is with proper instruction, and this book delivers just that. Read it before you ride."


Snow Country Magazine
"An intelligent, clearly written introduction to snowboarding. Every student and teacher of the sport should own a copy of The Complete Snowboarder."


Book Description
“Read this book before you ride.”—Snowboarder “The best book to come along about snowboarding yet.”—New York Outdoors Ideal for snowboarders of all levels, this second edition of the classic guide is updated to reflect the sport’s rapid evolution over the past five years. In down-to-earth, highly accessible language, The Complete Snowboarder answers every conceivable question readers may have about getting started and keeping going. Featuring invaluable tips from world-class pros, killer action photographs, and clear how-to illustrations, the new edition also addresses the sport’s new gear, from boots and body gear to state-of-the-art bindings and cutting-edge board designs. Here also is detailed advice on back-country snowboarding and tips on finding excellent used equipment, and the latest industry safety standards.


From the Back Cover

Snowboarding is addictive! Join the millions of fans surfing deep powder, gliding through turns, carving through gates, and going big in the halfpipe. With stunning action photographs and clear, how-to illustrations, this new edition of The Complete Snowboarder gives you technique and equipment updates, expanded coverage of backcountry snowboarding, and tips from world-class pros.

Grab a copy of The Complete Snowboarder, grab a board, and head for the slopes!

Praise for the best-selling first edition:

"Read this before you ride."--Snowboarder

"The best book to come along on snowboarding. . . . Everybody should read it. An excellent and thorough job on this exciting sport."--New York Outdoors

"An intelligent, clearly written introduction to snowboarding. Every student and teacher of the sport should own a copy."--Snow Country

"The most comprehensive and up-to-date book on snowboarding."--Transworld Snowboarding

"Takes the reader from selecting a snowboard to freeriding and competition. Does a great job in getting the message across."--Ted Martin, International Snowboard Federation


About the Author
Jeff Bennett is an avid snowboarder and the author of The Essential Whitewater Kayaker and The Complete Whitewater Rafter. Scott Downey is a former top-ranked pro snowboarder who now coaches tomorrow's stars. Charles Arnell is the founder of Arnell Snowboards, one of America's first PSIA-certified snowboard instructors, and a former director of the Mount Hood Snowboarding Camp.


Excerpted from The Complete Snowboarder by Jeff Bennett, Charles Arnell, Scott Downey. Copyright © 2000. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
Introduction First tracks. The sun climbs low over my right shoulder, softening the nip of the crisp morning air. Swathed in loose layers of high-tech insulants and warm, comfortable boots, I peer down my favorite run. Last night's storm has blanketed the mountain in knee-deep powder. Snowboarder's nirvana. With a couple of quick tugs, I'm buckled into my bindings and raring to go. I hop once to turn the board downhill and take off. In seconds I'm flowing down the fall line. Surfing the slopes. The board floats from one turn to the next, my body rising and sinking in rhythm with the turns. Total freedom.I spot a small jump to one side of the trail, hit a backside air and stick the landing before melting back into the ride. Moments later, I slow to a relaxing glide as the mountain rolls out into the valley. In the lift line my mind drifts away, back to my first days as a snowboarder. I followed a roundabout path to snowboarding, beginning with curious glances at my freeriding peers as I struggled to master the basics of alpine skiing. As an average skier, I found myself spending more time snapping boots back into bindings or searching for half-buried poles and goggles than I spent skiing. Nonetheless, my enthusiasm for the slopes persisted. I just needed something to keep me on them with some degree of dignity. Coming from a background of slalom waterskiing, I longed to be back on one board, yet free to carve the mountain. Snowboarding appeared to be a natural extension of my prior experiences. A sport that would combine my semi-coordinated athletic capabilities with my passion for winter and snow. So I peppered the local boardheads with questions, watched the latest videos, and waited for this inane wave of curiosity to fade. It didn't. My curiosity hit a euphoric peak when I found myself driving toward my favorite ski area. From the comfort of my pickup's passenger compartment, my imagination reeled. I envisioned moments of weightless ecstasy, doing 180- and 360-degree spins off car-sized bumps, and carving giant, arcing turns through fresh powder. I stepped into the resort's board shop, plunked down some money, and rented my first snowboard. Within minutes I found myself standing atop a fitting platform, answering probing questions about my personality ("Are you regular or goofy?"), and staring down upon the alien contraption that would eventually provide countless hours of entertainment. The friendly technician scampering about my feet made some final adjustments to the bindings, offered some kind words of advice and encouragement, and sent me on my way. Marching out the lodge's back door, I calmly strode to the top of the easiest slope I could find and anxiously buckled my boots into the bindings. "All right . . . my first snowboarding adventure!" my mind exclaimed. "Here goes!" It took precisely two seconds from the moment I started sliding to realize that I had no clue how to control my snowboard. I stood up, I sat down. I slid a few feet, I fell. A few more feet, and I spun backward. I managed to make it to the bottom of the slope snow-covered, but smiling. Once there, I made a decision: "Rather than spend my day rolling through the snow like some circus tumbler, I'll take an introductory snowboarding class." Under the patient guidance of a seasoned snowboarding instructor, I learned how to walk around with my board, how to get off a chairlift, and how to make skidded turns without splatting. By the end of the first day, I'd fallen dozens of times and had barely acquired enough skills to call myself a novice snowboarder, but I was hooked! Today I look back upon my early misadventures with incredible fondness, for they opened the door to a world of fun and challenges. At the same time, I wish that I'd purchased a thick, durable butt pad early on or found a comprehensive book that would have quickly guided me through snowboarding's fundamental theories and techniques. Although I continued to avail myself of professional instruction, I found many skills evolving after my snowboarding lessons ended. I spent a lot of time blundering down slopes, wondering why my board wasn't going where I wanted it to, only to find out that just one tip from an instructor could cure a whole day's worth of trials and errors. This second edition The Complete Snowboarder takes you down the same snow-covered paths that I traveled before, and still travel today. If you have never been on a snowboard before, this book will convey the essence of snowboarding and help you decide whether you'd like to try it. If you are an experienced beginner, it will help you refine and improve your techniques. Finally, advanced snowboarders will find the latest information on snowboarding's hottest endeavors--freestyle, halfpipe riding, alpine riding, and racing. Throughout the book, top pros provide valuable advice on the ins and outs of snowboarding and keep you progressing by leaps and bounds. The second edition has updated techniques, expanded coverage of backcountry snowboarding, and new equipment updates from boots and body gear to bindings and board designs. From the history of snowboarding to snowboarding equipment; from turning techniques to ski area etiquette; and from advanced terrain tactics to the competitive challenges available to the most die-hard boarders, The Complete Snowboarder is a full course, with everything you need to know to enjoy the exciting sport of snowboarding.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

￯﾿ﾽRead this book before you ride.￯﾿ﾽ—Snowboarder￯﾿ﾽThe best book to come along about snowboarding yet.￯﾿ﾽ—New York Outdoors Ideal for snowboarders of all levels, this second edition of the classic guide is updated to reflect the sport's rapid evolution over the past five years. In down-to-earth, highly accessible language, The Complete Snowboarder answers every conceivable question readers may have about getting started and keeping going. Featuring invaluable tips from world-class pros, killer action photographs, and clear how-to illustrations, the new edition also addresses the sport's new gear, from boots and body gear to state-of-the-art bindings and cutting-edge board designs. Here also is detailed advice on back-country snowboarding and tips on finding excellent used equipment, and the latest industry safety standards.

SYNOPSIS

Snowboarding is addictive! Join the millions of fans surfing deep powder, gliding through turns, carving through gates, and going big in the halfpipe. With stunning action photographs and clear, how-to illustrations, this new edition of The Complete Snowboarder gives you technique and equipment updates, expanded coverage of backcountry snowboarding, and tips from world-class pros.

Grab a copy of The Complete Snowboarder, grab a board, and head for the slopes!

Praise for the best-selling first edition:

"Read this before you ride."—Snowboarder

"The best book to come along on snowboarding. . . . Everybody should read it. An excellent and thorough job on this exciting sport."—New York Outdoors

"An intelligent, clearly written introduction to snowboarding. Every student and teacher of the sport should own a copy."—Snow Country

"The most comprehensive and up-to-date book on snowboarding."—Transworld Snowboarding