I see skidded turns in almost every snowboard lesson.
Most people know it’s happening. They can feel the board sliding. They just don’t know why it won’t stop, no matter how hard they try.
The advice they usually get is to “use more edge”. That almost never fixes it.
Skidded turns aren’t about being scared or not committing. They’re usually the result of something happening earlier, before the board ever has a chance to grip.
When I’m watching someone ride past, I’m not looking at the end of the turn. I’m looking at the first second.
That’s where this gets fixed.
Where skidded turns actually come from
If your turns are skidding, it usually is not because you are scared or lazy or doing something wildly wrong.
Most of the time it is much simpler.
The board never really gets onto its edge in the first place.
People focus on how a turn finishes. Speed control. Spray. Shape. That all comes later. If the board does not engage early, the rest of the turn is already compromised and you end up sliding sideways no matter how hard you try.
When I watch someone ride past, I’m paying attention to the first second of the turn. What the board is doing before it points downhill tells me almost everything.
The biggest mistake I see
Most riders try to turn first and edge second.
They rotate the board across the slope while it is still flat, then try to add edge after the fact. At that point the board has no reason to grip. It slides because sliding is the only thing it can do.
If you want the turn to clean up, the order matters.
Edge first. Direction second.
That sounds simple, but it changes everything.
Instead of thinking about turning the board, think about tipping it. Heelside or toeside. Get the edge into the snow before you worry about where you are going.
When the edge is engaged early, the board starts to follow its own shape. You don’t have to force it. The turn happens because the edge is doing work.
Balance Matters more than effort
Another reason turns skid is because people are not actually balanced over the board when they try to engage the edge.
Too far back and the board washes out. Too stiff and the edge never gets loaded. Too tense and everything happens late.
What works better is boring and unexciting.
Stay centered. Let the front of the board lead into the turn. Keep your legs soft enough that pressure can build naturally.
If you wait until you feel the skid before you adjust your balance, you’re already chasing the problem instead of fixing it.
Hint: If you’re finding that your upper and lower body aren’t aligned (upper body twisted and not in line with the snowboard), that’s usually a giveaway that you are doing too much. Carving should be more subtle than that. Get a friend to film you, are your shoulders in line with the board edge?
Pressure matters more than rotation
This leads nicely into my next point… a lot of riders twist their upper body harder when skidding starts. That usually makes it worse.
Carved turns are not created by rotation. They are created by pressure.
You want to apply pressure to the edge as it engages, then allow that pressure to release as the turn finishes. That comes from flexing into the board and then standing back up slightly as the turn runs out.
If your legs are doing nothing and your upper body is doing everything, the board is going to slide.
When people finally feel a clean carve, the most common reaction I hear is surprise. It feels easier, not harder. That is the edge working instead of being dragged.
Terrain Choice
Sometimes skidding is not a rider problem. It’s a terrain problem.
If the slope is too steep, too soft, or too icy, the edge does not get consistent feedback. People end up skidding just to manage speed.
If you are trying to clean up your turns, give yourself a chance. Dial it back to some technique-focused terrain:
- Wide groomed runs.
- Moderate pitch.
- Consistent groomed snow.
That’s where edge engagement actually starts to make sense and where you can feel the difference between sliding and gripping. Don’t head to the gnarliest black run in the resort and expect to hone in your carving!
What does not fix skidded turns
Trying “harder” does not fix it. Going faster does not fix it. Leaning more does not fix it. Forcing rotation does not fix it.
Those things might change how the skid looks, but they do not stop it.
Skidding stops when the edge is engaged early, balanced properly and loaded with pressure.
Everything else is noise.
A simple way to feel the difference
Here is something I use a lot when teaching.
Ride across the slope without turning.
Tip the board onto one edge and hold it.
Do not turn yet.
Just feel the edge grip and carry you.
Do this for a while. Just switch between edges getting as “on edge” as you possibly can.
Once that edge feels solid, let the board turn naturally. The sidecut will dictate the carve shape (to a certain degree).
If the board grips and follows an arc, you are carving. If it slides sideways while you try to steer it, you are skidding.
That difference is what most people are missing. You don’t need to be going fast to test this out, but a little momentum does help.
Bottom line
Skidded turns aren’t the enemy. They serve a purpose in every riding ability – everyone needs to slow down at some point!
But unintended skids happen because the board never gets the chance to grip.
Fixing that is not just about confidence or aggression. It is about order and timing.
Edge first.
Balance over the board.
Pressure through the legs.
Direction comes after.
Once you feel that, carving stops being something you force and starts being something that just happens.
That’s when snowboarding gets easier instead of harder.
Hope that helps.
