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Snowboarding has gone from a fringe activity to a mainstream winter sport in only a few
years. Its popularity is a tribute to the fun and thrills anyone can experience during a
great ride. But due to the speed—and the fact that your legs don’t operate independently
like they do on skis—snowboarders can get seriously injured. Fortunately, it’s easy to
stay healthy. Here’s how:
Prevention
Solid, general fitness makes snowboarding safer. Aerobic capacity is the key to being able
to ride all day because most injuries take place in the late afternoon when fatigue sets
in.
After you’ve built general aerobic fitness, the next step is interval training before the
season begins, so you can shred a run, recover on the lift and then go again. Also you
need enough strength in your legs, abs, and low back, so you can soak up bumps and falls,
then come back for more. Check with you local health club for Get-in-Shape-to-Ski classes
because Guerra cautions that “most people need a supervised program to keep them on track.”
Knowing how to fall also prevents injuries. If you have a background in contact sports
like football or soccer, it’s probably an instinctive reaction to tuck your head and roll
onto your shoulder when you tumble so you don’t get hurt. If not, practice a few simple
forward and shoulder rolls in your backyard on soft grass. Fifteen minutes twice a week
for a month before the season should be enough to make this simple move automatic.
Equipment
If you stashed your equipment in a corner of the garage after your final trip to the slopes
last spring, get your board and bindings checked and tuned before your first outing this
year. If you rent, always deal with reputable shops that take the time to choose equipment
suited to your skill level, weight and injury history.
Warm-up and Stretching
Most snowboarders don’t warm up before the first run of the day. Instead, they get out of
the car, stand in line to buy a lift ticket and ride up the mountain in the early-morning
chill. Their muscles and ligaments are stiff and cold when they head down that double-black
diamond run. That’s asking for trouble. Guerra suggests light stretching and some easy
calisthenics like jumping jacks and running in place to get things loosened up. Also, your
first run should be on terrain rated at least one notch below your actual ability so you
can get your legs under you before you tackle the hard stuff. This is especially true if
you do a lot of jumping because even the best landing is hard on joints and ligaments. An
easier initial run also lets you get a feel for the day’s snow conditions.
Know your Limits
A significant number of snowboard injuries take place when people tackle terrain above
their ability levels. Don’t have delusions of grandeur. If you’re comfortable on smooth,
intermediate runs, you’re asking for trouble if you head for some mogul-infested monster.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to push your limits. But do so only after you’ve had
the necessary instruction.
Also, snowboarding is about getting up in the air—and what goes up must come down. Sure,
it’s fun to launch off cliffs and bumps, but get some instruction if you’re a novice, then
start small to hone your technique.
One other point—winter sports areas rate their runs in different ways. A slope rated
“intermediate” at one area might be rated “difficult” at another. Get a feel for the
ratings before you unsuspectingly plunge down some icy ravine marked “Beginner.”
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is an insidious killer of the unprepared. Due to the gradual lowering of the
body’s core temperature, it’s often associated with raging blizzards and treks to the
North Pole. But hypothermia is more likely to hit in relatively mild weather when an
unprepared snowboarder gets stuck high on the mountain in an unexpected wet snowfall with
inadequate clothing.
Symptoms progress from mild to uncontrollable shivering as the body tries to warm itself.
Victims become fatigued, lose their sense of time and distance and gradually become so
confused that they make irrational choices like abandoning gloves or parkas. When
shivering stops, a sense of profound apathy takes over and many victims die, unable to
find their way to safety or perform simple survival tasks like starting a fire.
Avoid hypothermia by dressing in layers. Always wear moisture-wicking clothing instead of
cotton. Be aware of weather patterns in your area and dress accordingly. If you’re getting
cold, especially if you’re wet, go to a warming hut or mid-slope restaurant to warm up.
Don’t go back on the slopes until you’ve added enough clothing to stay warm. Drink
something hot and make sure you’ve eaten enough to produce some body heat. Because victims
are often unaware of hypothermia’s onset, watch for symptoms in your companions. And if
you begin shivering, seek shelter at once.
Hydration and sunscreen
We don’t associate winter with dehydration and sunburn. But the dry, cold air of most ski
areas, especially at high altitude, can suck the water out of you with each breath.
Because performance decreases significantly when you lose as little as one or two percent
of your bodyweight as fluid, make a concentrated effort to stay hydrated. Drink water with
dinner and keep a bottle next to your bed so you can drink at night if you wake up.
Pre-hydrate in the morning by drinking about 16 ounces of a sports drink an hour or two
before you hit the slopes. The carbohydrate in the sports drink will increase your energy
levels, too. During the day, either carry a fluid source like a back-mounted hydration
pack under your parka or stop frequently at warming huts to drink.
Sunburn is another danger, especially at high altitude in the spring when the sun’s rays
are intensified as they reflect off the snow. Reports abound of snowboarders suffering
severe sunburns on the bottoms of their noses or chins from reflected sunlight. Protect
yourself by using copious sunscreen. Reapply several times during the day.
Avalanches
Winter sports areas located in avalanche-prone areas are extremely careful about avalanche
control. Professionals monitor suspect slopes and close them to snowboarding if heavy snow
or high winds have deposited unstable snow layers that could slide. Always obey the
warnings and closures posted by the ski area. Never venture out-of-bounds. Not only will
you lose your lift ticket if caught, you may be traversing areas of high avalanche risk
that haven’t been controlled by explosives. Play it safe and snowboard only on open, safe
runs.
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