Airboarding is one of the newest extreme sports to hit the snowy slopes. An airboard is an inflatable sledge that you ride like a bodyboard and can reach speeds of 80mph!
What is an Airboard
An airboard is an inflatable bodyboard that is used for sledging. Popular in Switzerland, an airboard is provides an extreme sledging experience. The airboard is ridden just like a bodyboard. You steer the airboard by moving your bodyweight towards the direction you want to go.
An airboard has a handle on each side to hold onto. The bottom of the airboard has ridges that help to keep the airboard sliding in a straight line rather than spinning like snowtubes do.
How to Ride an Airboard
The first thing you need to ride an airboard is a hill that is steeper than 30 degrees, and has snow on it. The best place to use an airboard is on a proper ski slope.
Whatever airboard you get, you will need to be able to steer it. You lie down on your airboard and hold onto the handles. To get more of a start, you can run and dive onto the airboard.
To steer your airboard, you move your bodyweight to one side or the other. The most important thing is stopping. Use both feet to stop by digging your toes into the snow. Make sure you can stop before the bottom of the run. Also check that there are no hazards such as fences, barbed wire, roads, water or drops at the bottom of the hill. If you find you cannot stop, bail out before the end by rolling off the back of the airboard.
Video demonstrating the thrills of airboarding
Due to the speeds attainable when using an airboard, we highly recommend using protective gear such as a skiing helmet, gloves, knee and elbow pads.
Airboards are becoming more popular, and you can get one from a variety of online shops including Airboards from Amazon