Falling
You will fall. Not knowing how to fall can mean spending the day in the ER and missing days of snowboarding fun. You don’t want to do anything that will deny you of your snowboarding experience. So, even though falling down is quite an odd thing to be learning, it makes sense to learn it.

Falling down while riding Heelside
When you catch your toe edge, you’ll fall forward. When falling forward, your fingers, wrists, shoulders, and elbows are at risk. I have broken wrists, elbows, and dislocated shoulders falling on boards. The natural inclination is to extend your hands out in front of you to break your fall. Make sure you RESIST this temptation. Doing it can break your fingers, or worse, your wrists. Instead, make fists (to prevent your fingers from breaking), hold your arms in front of your chest (bent, not extended), and fall on your forearms, not your elbows. The surface of your forearms you should fall on is the one that makes contact with the dinner table when you rest your arms comfortably on it.

Falling down while riding Toeside
When you catch your heel edge, you’ll fall backward. When falling backward, your head and tailbone are at risk. If you feel yourself falling backward, tuck your chin toward your chest. This is good advice for beginners on the bunny hill, but before you hit the slopes, get a helmet. When you are going fast, the chin tuck doesn’t afford much protection. Your melon will bounce off the ground anyway.

The other thing you need to protect is your tailbone. Falling flat on your back is better than falling on your rear while bent over. If you feel yourself falling backward, twist a little while falling so you end up on one butt cheek or the other.

There are times you may want to fall down on purpose. If you are about to hit something or can't stop gaining speed, try to lay out and slide like a quarter back. I like to lean down onto my back or stomach and slide out a wreck, making sure to keep my board from catching in order to prevent knee or ankle injuries. I know I suggested trying to catch the edge of the board when sliding down steep terrain headfirst (under riding steep terrain). This is based on the fact that head and neck injuries are deadly, knee and ankle injuries are not.