Anything involving snow and ice is, in my opinion, a risky business. Well, it is considering I have to write about my experience - preferably without being winched into the office with legs, arms or body in traction!

It was by accident (not literally, thankfully) that I discovered snowboarding. I'd contacted the Halifax Ski and Snowboard Centre near Queensbury to enquire about trying skiing. They suggested snowboarding instead.

Before I had time to consider, I found myself on the slippy stuff, wearing huge moon boots, strapped to a board and staring down a slope contemplating my fate.

Practising falling is compulsory for this sport. I'm told to keep my fists clenched and fall on my knees. "But my instinct is to put my hands out," I tell my instructor, the centre's snowboard manager Gary Pickburn - a very placid and patient man, I have to say!

"Yes, but this way is better than a broken wrist," he smiles.

Now that would hamper writing about my experience so I'm eager to do as Gary says, and I'm very happy to put my life in his hands for my brief dabble in riding the board.

The sport originates from America. Gary says it's a kind of rebellious sport. Well, I can see how snowboarders could be considered rebels to old-school skiers with all their airborne acrobatics which, I hasten to add, I won't be doing today, tomorrow or in my lifetime!

Before we hit the slope I have to learn about the equipment. The lightweight board has two footholds; you select the correct board to suit your front foot. In other words, whether you put your left or right leg first. "Your body likes to travel in one direction more than another," explains Gary.

I pondered before deciding on my left but I still wasn't sure until we hit the slope, then I wished I'd chosen my right. "Most people do that," says Gary.

He explains that the board has two ends - a nose and tail - and two edges, tail and heel. "It has the same construction as skis. It has a metal edge and a curve down the side called a side cut."

Gary says this enables snowboarders to do stylish turns. I don't know how ambitious he thinks I am, so at this juncture I have to admit to Gary how naïve I've been. You see, I thought the board would be as big as a sledge, that way if all else failed and I couldn't stand up, I could body board. Doesn't everyone have their comfort zone?

I certainly feel I've left mine today! It's nerve-wracking for a novice, but it's exciting too.

After our safety talk I strap my boots onto the board. Gary wants me to fasten my front boot in and move around a bit on the flat of the slope just to get the feel for it. Well, it's supposed to be a combination of skateboarding and surfing!

I feel hopeless, as if I'm being held back by the huge board I'm dragging along with one foot. Two novices are having fun cruising down the slope like proficient surfers. What must they think of this amateur? "They were like you when they started," Gary assures me.

Now the tricky part - Gary wants me to strap my back foot in. I'm not keen on both feet being anchored - there's no quick release either. If I fall, the board goes with me, causing potential carnage - which is why I'm keeping a close eye on those novices.

I bunny-hop up the slope (I daren't tackle the ski tow, the rope which pulls you up just yet in case I can't let go) and Gary demonstrates what is technically similar to clutch control, letting the board glide and stop on the edge. I have to do that all the way down from the top. I'm scared.

Perched on the beginners' slope - which is steeper than I'd anticipated - I gingerly hop into position to get my board lengthways and start my descent. Enveloped in dense fog makes it all the more atmospheric. The sky was clear when I left Bradford, but the climb up to Queensbury, 1,100ft above sea level, is a dramatic altitude change.

On a clear day I expect the slope provides a stunning vantage point. All I can foresee today is my outline in the fence as I crash through it!

With Gary's guidance, and a bit of hand-holding to steady me down, I manage to slide a bit and stop backwards all the way down the slope, all the while looking at my feet. "Look ahead," says Gary.

I watch Gary cruise down with ease. I sense he wants me to follow but I'm stuck to the spot. Again he guides me down half way then tells me to turn the board around so it's straight and facing down the slope.

We cheat - he puts his foot in front of it (well, how else can I maintain my composure?). He corrects my stance and reminds me of that all important knee bending I should've remembered from my stint at ice skating last year, then he pulls his foot away. I feel a Bridget Jones moment coming on...

Thankfully, the novices have retreated to the conservatory for refreshments. I hope they can't hear me screaming my head off as I gain momentum sliding towards that fence. "I bet your other students don't scream!" I laugh as I near the bottom. "Well not quite as loud!" replies Gary.

"The fence is coming closer," I yell. "You'll stop before the fence," Gary assures me.

Click, click goes our photographer's camera and, without a prompt, I fall spread-eagled over the flat of the slope.

In the brief time I had riding that board I found it truly exhilarating. I can see how people get passionate about it. It's a great adrenaline rush and fantastic exercise.

"It's hard to say why I like it. There's something about the feel of it and the variation. With skateboarding you do lots of little tricks but you can't carve fast down a big fluid slope. This is a combination of surfing, skateboarding and a little skiing thrown in!" says Gary.

He inherited his interest in board sports from his father. "I was useless at anything which involved kicking a ball around, but my father windsurfed so I'd sit on the front of his board when I was a child."

"I'd done a bit of skateboarding when I was young."

As a student he rented out boots at Sheffield's Ski Village to earn cash while studying for his degree in leisure management. This afforded him free snowboard practice but it was on the original Dendex slope at the Halifax Ski and Snowboard Centre where Gary rode his first snowboard.

He gained experience working at ski centres here and abroad before arriving at the Halifax Ski and Snowboard centre six years ago after the original slope was replaced with the Snowflex system, a bristly carpet-like surface. Water sprinklers and wax mats maintain its slickness. This is one of a handful of artificial slopes in the UK and considered among the best, providing a close-to-snow experience.

The centre has hosted the British Big Air Championships in snowboarding for the past three years - the next one is in July - and the main 140m slope has provided the backdrop for two snowboarding movies.

Gary says international star David Benedik - who he describes as the David Beckham of snowboarding' - chose the slope to use.

Some of the centre's snowboarding stars, such as teenager Jamie Nicholls from Queensbury who regularly practices here, starred in the opening sequence of Benedik's movie, In Short.

The slope also appeared in the film This is Britain about the British artificial snowboarding scene.

It is a fantastic family-friendly facility and the centre is well worth a visit.

  • Snowboard taster sessions cost from £20. Flexi-cards enable users to pay as you go and there are special rates for groups, schools and families. Halifax Ski and Snowboard Centre is based at the Sportsman Leisure complex, Bradford Old Road, Swalesmoor/Ploughcroft, Halifax. For more information ring (01422) 340760 or visit soulsports.co.uk To find out more about the British Championship event visit akasnowskate.co.uk