Heel-edge turns mean turning across the slope with your weight on your heels, facing downhill. Initiate the turn by shifting your weight to your front foot and pressing your heels into the snow. Your board will arc across the slope. Once your heelside garlands feel smooth, this is just letting the nose drop a bit further so the board completes a full turn instead of arcing back to a sideslip.
There are three small moves happening at once. Point your lead shoulder in the direction you want to go, since the board follows your eyes and hips more than your feet. Transfer weight forward onto your front foot so the nose bites first and starts the arc. Then progressively sink into your heel edge by rolling your ankles and flexing your knees, almost as if you're sitting into a chair just behind you. The turn finishes when the board is pointed across the slope, which is also your built-in brake.
The most common beginner mistake is sitting back on the tail and pressing with straight legs. This flattens the nose, lets the board wander, and often ends with you on your butt. Stay tall on your front leg, soft on the back, and let the sidecut do the work.
This video explains heel-edge at 2:40:
Video by SnowboardProCamp
Key tips
- Keep your hips over the board, not behind it
- Steer with your front foot. It leads the turn
- Let the board do the work, don't force it with your upper body
- Practice falling-leaf traverses first (slide heel-side back and forth)