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Throughout Colorado there is reason to rejoice this time of year — ski and snowboard season are beginning. When your playground happens to be the Rocky Mountains, you get treated to snow much earlier in the year. 

Dr. Haley has been skiing since her first visit to Beaver Creek, Colorado when she was six years old. She continued to ski in Colorado, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, until she decided to take up snowboarding her last year of high school. Here are some of the tips she has found useful for snowboarding:

*Get in shape first. A regular general fitness program will make snowboarding easier and help protect you from injury.

*Use the right equipment. Buy or rent good snowboarding boots, an all-purpose snowboard, a helmet and wrist guards.

*Pick the right time and place to learn. Take lessons from a trained instructor in good weather (when there is good visibility and it's not too cold). Pick a skiing area that allows snowboarders. Use slopes that are not crowded and have packed snow. Avoid icy slopes. Make sure you get set up with the right board, boots, and bindings for your ability, the resort you'll be riding, and the conditions.

*Protect your wrists. Most snowboard injuries are to the wrists. Wear wrist guards made for snowboarding or in-line skating. Don't break your fall with your open hands. Hold your hands in closed fists while you snowboard so you won't be tempted to break your fall with an open hand. Try to roll into a fall as a paratrooper would, spreading the force of the fall over your body instead of taking all the force in one place.

*Protect your head. Though you probably won't hit your head first, the back of your head may hit the ground at the end of a fall if you land on your buttocks. These head injuries usually aren't serious, but you can end up with quite a headache. Wear a helmet when learning, racing and snowboarding on unmarked trails. (Collisions with trees cause some of the most serious injuries in this sport.)

*Bend your knees! Even when you think you're bending them, bend them more! The lower your center of gravity the more aggressive you can be!
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