Before proceeding you should have a good idea of snowboard tuning basics. Several courses cover the subject in details (i.e. Snowboarder's guide to Tuning & Waxing available with Burton Wax kits etc).

There are three cruitial elements to strive for:-

1) A completely flat base

2) Ultra-sharp edges

3) A thin, consistant coat of wax

To see if your base is flat, lay a straight edge across the board from edge to edge. If flat, it will contact the P-tex and edges equally along its entire length. High spots should be carefully removed with a file, metal scraper or base grinder. The flatter your base, the less drift you will experience.

Virtually all modern snowboards are designed this way. If however, yours has a domed, beveled or convex base improvement must come solely from edge tuning and waxing. Don't try to flatten a base that was never intended to be flat! Also, boards have intentionally raised edges. If your edges are higher than your P-tex, file them until they are flat. The process of flattening your base will usually square off the bottom side of your edges, but you may need to spend some additional time removing burrs with a stone, diamond hone or abrasive gum. In flat fliling the bottom edge, do not bevel the edge as is sometimes done with skis. Get it as flat as you possibly can. This advice may clash with older ideas about things like edge-catching, but when used in conjunction with the remaining points, flat edges are the way to go.

For performance snowboarding, edges can never be too sharp - unless the snow retains so much free water that hydrodynamics becomes an issue. The question is 'where' they are sharp. Many boards can use razor-sharpness from contact point to contact point. Start by placing marks at each end of the sidecut, or the last points of base contact with a flat surface, whichever is longer. Sharpen evenly until you can shave a fingernail with the edge. Try to use sharpness rather than detuning to correct deficiencies. Example: instead of dulling the heal edge back from the tip, consider extending sharpness toward the tail. A variation on this is asymetrical tuning. Your Alpine nboard just might suprise you if you detune the toe edge toward the tail and extend the sharpness toward the tip. Then detune the heel edge back from the tip, but run it sharp all the way to the tail. This method is very helpful on asymetrical boards with conventional nose designs and works on square tails boards aswell.

If the board is too soft for your weight, try sharpening the tip and tail areas near the ends of the sidecut, paying less attention to the centre sections. This will allow an even weight distribution over the entire edge. If the board is too stiff, keep the centre ultra-sharp but dull the last few centimetres tip and tail. Rather than dulling the tip edge further back on a board that over-initiates (tries to spin around too far on one or both sides), try sharpening the tail first. You may still need to dull the tip, especially on the heelside, but always sharpen first and detune last. Don't worry if both sides are tuned differently as long as it works for you!

When sharpening edges by hand, always use a good edge tool to ensure an accurate ninety-degree angle. Angles other than ninety-degrees are not needed.

Getting the wax thin and consistent means you must take time waxing a scraping. When waxing, it is imperative to keep the iron moving all the time. Work down the base slowly so it is warmed over a large area and the wax is well liquified, allowing good penetration. Next, let the board cool. Don't be in a rush to finish. The wax must cool completely, usually for thirty minutes to an hour, before you can scrape away the excess. Extra wax slows you down; not enough penetration is just as bad and much harder on the P-tex. Follow the usual instructions about texturing the surface, but don't get carried away. Thin and consistent is the key.

If you do these three points right, you'll wonder how you ever could stand riding an untuned board before...!

Written by Candice Abbott (Certified Advanced Ski & Snowboard Technician) and John McGinnis (Pro-Snowboard Technician)