Odds are if you've gone to a ski resort in the past 10 years, you've seen a lot of snowboarders shredding snow up and down the mountain. You've probably even noticed that most of them are in their teens or 20s, and there are far fewer older boarders.

There are a number of perfectly good reasons for this.

Snowboarding is much like skateboarding, which has again picked up in popularity in the last decade or so. It's harder on the ankles and knees than skiing is.

And above all else, switching from skiing to snowboarding is just plain tough to do.

Much like riding a bicycle, snowboarding is pretty easy once you get the hang of it, but it takes a lot of bumps, bruises, thrills and spills to achieve the goal of making a successful conversion.

The most important thing to realize, however, is that the change is possible no matter how hard itis or how much time it takes. And there are a few relatively easy steps to get on the road to learning how to snowboard.

A new snowboarder's biggest challenge presents itself before even setting foot on the mountain. Anyone who wants to learn how to snowboard must be prepared to take a beating - both physically and mentally. You will fall, and it will probably hurt. A knee or wrist might get tweaked in the process. But being able to bounce back and keep at it despite innumerable spills along the way, so long as the rider remains free from injury, is essential.

Someone who has mentally prepared for that inevitability has a leg up on the perseverance necessary to be successful. A rider is considered reasonably successful if he or she can make it through a mountain run with just a few falls after a couple hours of practice.

After ensuring the proper mental preparation, it's advisable to sign up for a snowboarding lesson before venturing out onto the mountain. Most resorts offer ski school group lessons every couple of hours daily, while also having professionals on-hand for paid individual lessons. Those typically run around $40 but will guarantee one-on-one instruction. In either case, a lesson is a must for beginners.

For those who are more adventurous and don't feel a lesson is absolutely necessary, it is still recommended to stick to the "bunny hill" for a while until finding your feet on the board. While snowboarding is reasonably similar to skateboarding, the snowboard is far more sensitive to balance and far more difficult to control.

The bunny hill is pretty flat, but shifting weight from side to side can generate a little bit of speed and gives the rider a better sense of how to properly balance without getting out of control on the tougher slopes. At low speeds, experimenting with putting weight on a rider's heels or toes, and carving side to side much like a skier would is also possible with little ill-effect. Something to bear in mind is that the preferred weight distribution is primarily on the back foot, and the stance is slightly on the heels.

Lastly, after a rider is as comfortable as can be with the lesson and the bunny hill, the instructor will take them on the chair lift and up the mountain.

Following the steps detailed above doesn't necessarily guarantee success, but you're bound to have better luck than this writer, who will probably stick to skiing in the future.