How to Ride Switch on a Snowboard

Every snowboarder has a natural direction: regular, with the left foot in front, or goofy, with the right foot in front. Riding switch means going the other way, with your usual back foot leading. The first runs feel as clumsy as your first day on a board, but the good news is that your body already knows the movements; it only has to learn them as a mirror image.

Why learn switch?

• Flat sections and lift exits are easier when you can ride either way.
• Your legs share the work, so your usual front leg gets a rest.
• Riding away backwards after a small spin or a mistake stops being a problem.
• It improves your normal riding, because you have to think about every movement again.

Set up your board

If both bindings point forward, riding switch feels awkward because your toes point backwards. A duck stance, with the front binding angled forward and the back binding angled back, for example +15° and -15°, makes both directions feel similar. We explain binding angles in our guide to regular or goofy. If you ride a rental board, ask for a duck stance when you collect it.

1. Glide on the flat

Start on an almost flat area. Strap in your new front foot, which is your usual back foot, push with the free foot and glide in a straight line. It feels strange at first, so repeat it until gliding with the other foot forward feels normal.

2. Straight runs and stops

Strap in both feet, ride slowly straight down a very gentle slope and stop on your heel edge. Keep your weight over your new front foot. The most common mistake when riding switch is drifting back onto your usual front foot, which is now behind you.

3. The falling leaf the other way round

On a green run, go back to the drills from your first days: side-slip on your heel edge, then the falling leaf, drifting from side to side. Then do the same on your toe edge. We describe these drills in our guide to turning on a snowboard. They are not exciting, but they rebuild your edge control in the new direction quickly.

4. Linked switch turns

When the falling leaf feels steady, start linking turns: look where you want to go, turn your shoulders, move your weight onto your new front foot and change edges. Your first switch turns will be slow and wide, which is exactly right. Most riders find that their switch turns improve much faster than their very first turns did.

Common mistakes

• Weight on the back foot: The board will not turn. Keep your weight over your new front foot.
• Looking at the board: Look ahead, in the direction you are riding.
• Stiff legs: Bend your knees as you would in your normal stance.
• Trying it on hard runs: Practise on easy green runs until switch feels relaxed.

Ride switch at Erciyes

Once you can link turns in your normal stance, you are ready to try switch, and the wide, gentle slopes of the beginner areas are a good place to start. Read more in our guide to snowboarding at Erciyes, and if you want to add your first small jumps, see our guide to the ollie.

• Snowboarding
• Snowboard technique
• Switch
• Intermediate