Snowboard school in Sestriere

• Absolute beginner: you have never tried snowboarding before. Start from zero and explore this exciting sport.
• Improver: you have been out a few times and you can get down relatively easy blue pistes; you can turn on gentler slopes and, where it is steep, you come down in falling leaf. Flat sections are a problem sometimes, too…
• Intermediate: you turn on blue and red pistes, even if you sometimes come down in falling leaf on steep, icy slopes. You have also started trying a few tricks, both on the piste and in the park, and you occasionally ride switch.
• Advanced: you feel confident on every kind of piste and in all snow conditions, you can also ride switch well, and you take on jumps and off-piste descents. You are at home on a snowboard in any situation.

Read more: Ski & snowboard levels

Have you ever watched a child take a run-up and then slide across the floor? They do it sideways, instinctively and naturally! It is exactly this affinity with the sideways stance that makes snowboarding a fantastic option for small winter sports fans.

So at what age can they start snowboarding? From very young, always with an adult keeping a close eye on them to help them get up, slow down and move on the board, they can play fun games on the snow and try their first slides. This is where they get used to the equipment and start to enjoy snowboarding.

From the age of 4 or 5, children can really start snowboarding the way we adults mean it: they become more and more independent, they pick up the basic snowboarding skills easily and they start to enjoy the whole experience on the snow. So if you would like your children to start snowboarding, remember that the right age is the one where they feel ready and keen to explore this adventure on a board. With the right approach, learning to snowboard can be an exciting and rewarding experience, one that leads your children to discover the wonderful world of the mountains in a fun, engaging way.

Read more: Teaching kids