Editing Snowboarding (section)

===Alpine snowboarding===
[[File:Alpine boarder.JPG|thumb|left|An Alpine snowboarder executes a heel-side [[carved turn]], the typical style in alpine snowboarding.]]
[[File:Snowboarder during carving on hard slope.webm|thumb|left|Video of a snowboarder practicing carving on a hard slope, equipped with a boardercross board and hard boots.]]
'''Alpine snowboarding''' is a discipline within the sport of snowboarding. It is practiced on [[snow grooming|groomed]] [[piste]]s. It has been an Olympic event since [[Snowboarding at the 1998 Winter Olympics|1998]].
[[File:UTAH Snowboarding 2001.jpg|thumb|Freestyle snowboarder Matty Shaffer films for movie on handrail in Utah]]
Sometimes called freecarving or hardbooting (due to the equipment used), this discipline usually takes place on hard packed snow or groomed runs (although it can be practiced in any and all conditions) and focuses on carving linked turns, much like surfing or longboarding. Little or no jumping takes place in this discipline. Alpine Snowboarding consists of a small portion of the general snowboard population, that has a well connected social community and its own specific board manufacturers, most situated in Europe. Alpine Snowboard equipment includes a ski-like hardshell boot and plate binding system with a true directional snowboard that is stiffer and narrower to manage linking turns with greater forces and speed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.snowboard-coach.com/alpine-snowboarding.html|title=Alpine Snowboarding – Using a rigid setup for carving and control|website=Snowboard-Coach.com|access-date=2019-04-18|archive-date=October 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022085451/http://www.snowboard-coach.com/alpine-snowboarding.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Shaped skis can thank these "freecarve" snowboards for the cutting-edge technology leading to their creation.<ref name="bomberonline">{{cite web|url=http://www.bomberonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/How-to-Buy-an-Alpine-Snowboard.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.bomberonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/How-to-Buy-an-Alpine-Snowboard.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=How to Buy an Alpine Snowboard |access-date=2010-02-15 |year=2005 }}</ref> A skilled alpine snowboarder can link numerous turns into a run placing their body very close to the ground each turn, similar to a motocross turn or waterski carve. Depending on factors including stiffness, turning radius and personality this can be done slowly or fast. Carvers make perfect half-circles out of each turn, changing edges when the snowboard is perpendicular to the fall line and starting every turn on the downhill edge. Carving on a snowboard is like riding a roller coaster, because the board will lock into a turn radius and provide what feels like multiple Gs of acceleration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alpinecarving.com/ |title=The Carver's Almanac – Hard booting and carving on an alpine snowboard |publisher=Alpinecarving.com |access-date=2012-08-15}}</ref>

Alpine snowboarding shares more visual similarities with skiing equipment than it does with snowboarding equipment.<ref name=help>{{cite web|title=Alpine snowboarding|url=http://www.snowboardinghelp.com/types-of-snowboards/alpine-snowboarding.php|access-date=13 November 2014|archive-date=March 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312043320/http://www.snowboardinghelp.com/types-of-snowboards/alpine-snowboarding.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Compared to freestyle snowboarding gear:<ref>{{cite web|title=Alpine Snowboarding|url=http://www.snowboard-coach.com/alpine-snowboarding.html|access-date=13 November 2014|archive-date=October 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022085451/http://www.snowboard-coach.com/alpine-snowboarding.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Boards are narrower, longer, and stiffer to improve [[Carve turn#Snowboarding|carving]] performance
* [[ski boot|Boot]]s are made from a hard plastic shell, making it flex differently from a regular snowboard boot and is designed differently to ski boots although they look similar.
* [[ski binding|Binding]]s have a bail or step-in design and are sometimes placed on suspension plates to provide a layer of isolation between an alpine snowboarder and the board, to decrease the level of vibrations felt by the rider, creating a better overall experience when carving, and to give extra weight to the board among other uses.  
[[File:Snowboarder in flight (Tannheim, Austria).jpg|left|thumb|Snowboarder in [[Tannheim, Tyrol]], Austria]]