Rob Stevens

I'll give my support to Willy and RJ-PS. That video clip helped me alot, to see what you're doing. Give it a little effort, Man!!! If you just stand there, all lazy and ****, centrifugal forces will have their way with you, pulling your shoulders outside and back on the heels and into counter-rotation on the toes. Here's another one (you'll have lots of stuff to try out): -It's called (for lack of a better name) the "Teapot". When you go onto your heels, think about having your back shouder higher than your front. When you're in the opposite position i.e: front high, back low, your hip will stick out forward, making it look like you're taking a dump. High back shoulder, low front shoulder will make your hips shift back. The "Teapot" reference comes from the way your front arm will look like the spout (aiming down) and the back will look like the handle (elbow high). I think the E/C boys call this the "Egyptian", like their side-on heiroglyphs. It may make you incline a bit, but we'll take care of that later. This position is meant to get you in a more aggressive position, leading with your head, getting your upper body tilted into the direction you're going, rather than away from it. The side benefit is, through this technique, your style will improve because you won't be sitting and ****ting anymore. On the toes, keep looking to the side after you come out of the apex. Your lazy style is letting your upper body open up to the fall line, making you counter rotate. This is a real "get aggressive" moment. See your target (the trees at the side) and this should help you to close your shoulder, away from the fall line a bit more, at the bottom of the turn. I like Willys advice, insomuch as you need to give'r some more. I will repeat that you look really lazy when you're riding. I can see what Jack is saying about being scared making you revert to your old ways, but you should try harder on the slopes you're used to. Jack... Buddy... This "Horrible advice" thing is taking me back to my come apart with you over your comment to me that what I was talking about was "Utter nonsense". Maybe so, but you sure do get a guys back up when you roast him like that. There was alot of good in Willys post. In writing this, though, I guess I am being pretty PC, so flame away, Brother.

A friend of mine has had a Qtek c200 for awhile now and it is killer. Wi-Fi, great phone with amazing signal strenth, camera and runs a windows O/S, with a touch screen (stylus or finger and will do handwriting recognition if you don't want to "one-poke" the on-screen keyboard). It's also very solid, as it has been dropped on concrete a few times, with no breakage. The sim card port will allow you to switch over easily if you already have a phone with one. My "Bleakberry" (or is it "Lackberry"... I can't remember) is an absolute piece of ****. My friends device absolutely blows it out of the pool. The Qtek is also available NOW, not 2 years from now, like the Apple. The one downside to the Qtek is the small icons. The ones on the Apple are big and easy to see, but Apple always did have much more attractive O/S graphics. I wish I could ditch the cel, as I did for awhile... It was liberating. As a real estate agent, however, I would be fcuked without one and tend to need all the features I can get.

There is no problem with asking, but this is a perfect example of what happens when advise is requested, with no clear idea of WHY the problem happens. Trying to solve your issue with the information given will only create confusion... Kind of like it already is. When your ankle is better, POST VIDEO. Your feedback will be much clearer.

Any instructors here on a demo team, going to Korea? Has anyone ever ridden there before? What am I in for? Should I bring peanut butter?

Suspension travel in my legs. I find I can squat landings much lower, thereby landing bigger drops, with my back foot past 0, into the -'s. It's like squatting weights... Try pointing your feet in the same direction and squatting. Now, try it with a bit of "splay" (I learned this word from you, Neil). In my case, at least, I can get lower. I realize I could have splay AND forward angles, but it is much easier to wind up over the tail in a compressed situation with forward angles. I find it easier to stay between the bindings for better pressure control in a duck stance and switch is better, of course. I just can't EC heelside... I should probably try hardboots and plates, with the same angles I run in softs, on my freeride board. This way, I could get rid of the overhang enough to see if it's possible in the sideways stance I have. Once again, I'm sure there is a setup that won't have overhang at these angles, I'm just wondering if anyone out there has already mastered the turn?

If you could do beginner turns switch, that would be good, but not required. It's not a bad tool to have, though, to show a beginner something, who stands opposite to you. The required element would be switch riding in a pendulum. You don't have to turn switch. You cannot download the manual (proprietary) but you can look at the riding standards for all levels on the site.

I posted a thread awhile back, asking if anyone could lay out EC style heelside turns with a ducked stance (mine is 30 and -3). Kjl sent me the photo of Vin Q in this old thread, but his angles were forward, reducing, or eliminating altogether, his heeldrag. Can anyone out there do it in a stance like the one I'm describing? I will not rotate the back foot past zero. It's important to me to maintain the duck. Carving toeside EC is no problem, but that's a whole different matter... If I could get my heelsides down, in the full F/S, F/R stance angles, I could do the body-drag-speed-brake and always carve the groomers, no matter how steep.

Free up the ankles with softer hard boots, or put them in walk mode.

How was the course?

Sometimes, if I look down the fall line when I'm in the end of a heel turn, my head and shoulders get pulled forward, because that's where I'm looking. I find I keep my back straighter if I'm already looking to the SIDE of the run, when I'm at the apex. That seems to be the deal for better style on the heels. My lower body isn't doing anything different... My ass goes to the inside and the board goes on edge. The only reason you look like you're ass is sticking out is because you might be letting turn forces pull your shoulders outside. I think MikeT has a good one, too, thinking about a bit of "pelvic tilt". Some core strenth (hip bones to rib cage, internally rotating by compressing your lower abdominals) would keep your whole body "stacked" a bit better. For "muscle memory", do some wall sits with your feet out from the wall a couple of board widths, having both hip and shoulder on the wall at the same time. Really make it tough by going into a slightly "inclined" position by bringing your hip forward through internal rotation, off the wall, while your shoulder stays in place supporting you. Just to re-inforce things more, you could look to the side, too.

I'll reinforce some of what's been said: -Start be going across the fall line and finish every turn across the fall line. In the Opus vids, it's apparent how round their turns are. - In the traverse, stay low, using the knees and ankles (In your CASI manual, you'll see this as like an edge change in down-unweighting). As you turn for the fall line and apex, you will extend ACROSS the snow. The feeling is one of pushing the dragged hand and your head down the hill, before the rest of you. *I know you don't want to talk about boots, but unless your ski boots are very soft, they won't easily give up the ankle mobility required to get low, without bending at the waist. I even find it easier to toe EC in my softboots (30 to -3). With the splay, I can squat very low to start. -It's obvious that RCrobar is the go-to guy on this topic. I agree that you should be progressive in getting closer to the snow, but eventually, you'll have to give'r. As inclining is only effective to a point, then you fall. Just remember: LOW in the traverses, extend OUT, ACROSS THE SNOW to the apex, come back to your board VIA THE SAME METHOD AND watch Opus 5 over and over. There is also a rather painful lesson given by Patrice or Jaques on YouTube somewhere, linked out of Bomber. The verbal part of the lesson is kinda weak and takes place largely in the beginner area (the weakest part), but his demo is absolutely incredible. Literally, the smoothest thing ever done on snow.

It seems to me like the whole idea of giving feedback to anyone would be better realized if the rider with the question would post a vid of them trying to do it. Otherwise, anyone attempting to give feedback will be guessing and that's when the flames start raging. This forum is such an amazing opportunity for people in remote places, which is just about anywhere you want to get an alpine session. Those who do put up pics and vids seem to get much more accurate assesments. The side benefit is that the subject gets to watch the video, too and see what the feedback is on about.

Are you ******* kidding me?!!? That is the gnarliest thing I've seen. It looks like once he's dropping, that little foil couldn't pick him up fast enough if he came down on the wrong line. Sober up, buddy.

Come on, BlueB... You're at the hill almost every day and in a snow school, no less and NO VIDEO? Shoot some and I'll try to help you out. Otherwise, it's just guessing and your respondants will be tripping over each other, trying to "imagine" what your problem is. I do agree about the boots. though. Softer is better, for this kind of turn.

Bordys gone (look it up and see why, though I dig the guy). Philfell is still here dispensing knowledge, but he seems frustrated too. Apparently, this forum is viewed by many to be a "love-fest-super-bro-down" only and his "on the nose" approach is best suited to athletes who he can tie to the bumper and drag through the parking lot if they back-sass him. Virtual living is like prison. You get all kinds in here who shouldn't be together and some get shanked while others do the shanking.

What is he, then? World Cup champion? Are you telling me that he would hold on is this position, on the front foot like that, rotated like my neck at Hooters, on ice? Well he might, but not as well as if he was lined up, like in the Jasey shot. Look at the snow he's on, it's mellow! With the exception of the level arms, he pretty much looks like Kjl. If the guy in the pic asked you how he could keep more pressure on the tail, what you tell him?

Jeez, Man... Touchy, touchy. Kjl isn't a beginner! He doesn't likely ride, then, like "most people on this forum". In fact, many folks here just ride and don't really care about technique, so this thread is not for them... It's for Kjl. A ripper from what I can see. I didn't need to see your CV to know that you know what you're talking about and I don't know why my comments got you bailing, but whatever. As for Bordy, well, I'm sure I'll have a smoke with that guy someday, but, I'm not so sure that, despite his obvious knowledge, too many people gave a **** what he was saying at the end. Philfell... Not quite as abrasive, but he's still a coach and not an instructor. Instructors get paid to stroke the client, to a certain extent, so we have a different way of talking. A coach will generally tell you like it is (especially high-end ones like Phil, who don't get paid to fcuk around). When you get "told" and you haven't signed up for "coaching", you might go on the defensive. People get offended all the time here, but when you ask for unsolicited comments, you get what you get. The same goes for you. If it makes you mad, take a break, for sure. You should come back though... there aren't that many alpine technicians around to throw a perfectly good one away.

Then he probably knows a few more moves than the one he's doing here and is sharp enough to use them when the conditions demand it.

It means that if you told him he was reaching too far forward, he'd probably tell you to fcuk off. If he was doing that on ice though, you might not be able to find him to tell him anything... He'd be in the weeds.

This is getting more complicated than it needs to be. Rotate and lie down or face the nose or whatever if the situation allows, or requires it. Even racers will face the nose, heelside if a late turn requires the rider to do everything in his / her power to bring it around. If you think you're going to slide out because the snow is hard, you don't want to be out of an aligned position. This is from the shoulders and hips. If your arms move around a bit for balance this is natural. If you go back to Kjl's question, he just wants to feel like he can control the tail sliding out. On good snow, it won't in the position he's in. If it gets hard, he moves back into alignment and levels his shoulders. Whether you reach for the front, back or middle is just a case of timing and place in the turn. Coming out of the toe turn, many fast people will already be anticipated with their upper bodies, into the new heel turn. This is pretty close to, if not fully, back-hand-over-front-foot (counter rotated). You're already there, so use your core as you head to the apex, to bring yourself to alingnment. As you're doing this, you'd likely see your back hand go from over your front foot, to between the two and finishing into the toe turn with it over your back foot. If you feel like this is getting you breaking at the waist, creating poo butt, get lower with your legs to get closer to the edge, not your waist. This should happen naturally as your board comes under you in a cross through turn. Remember guys: Kjl is an EXPERIENCED carver, he'll know what works and what doesn't as soon as he does it. He doesn't need his hands held (unless they're doingthe wrong thing (joke)). In fact I think he can probably already do it... he's just looking for confirmation.

Hell, Kjl, why not just grab frontside and photoshop yourself into a picture, 20 ft out? In the air, there is no pressure.

RicHard suggested touching the toe of your back boot while raising your inside arm to create an arm spread that is parrallel to the snow, but also lines you up with your binders because you are reaching for the BACK foot. The only warning I'll give here is to get close enough to touch your back toe by increasing the flex in your knees, rather than bending at the waist to get closer.

The bar gets set pretty high when the goal is to ride bumps as well as skiers. GS down Lone Pine is a strictly pow endeavour, for me. Neil and I are sorry for the threadjack, Kjl.

2 miles??!?! Holy s#!t!!!! We were thinking of an MTB trip to NM this spring. It looks like I'll be bringing the longboard...

I love bumps. If I'm trying to stay with the skier line (narrow corridor), I'll face the nose, so I'm already "anticipating" each direction change. It's tough to stay strong, using core muscles to steer the board, rather than have it get too counter-rotated and ugly, with a bunch of arm-hucking. In bigger bumps, or if I'm setting the radius of the turn, regardless of where the bumps are, I'll stay more lined up with the bindings. This always seems to result in a slightly bigger turn, though (rounder, for sure). I've been riding alot of TeePee Town chair lately at Sunshine. Schoolmarm bumps are ON right now. Because most folks thing the old double is too slow, nobody rides down that way, so the snow is mint, even during holidays. The truth is, with no lines and a shorter vertical rise, it's only 10 minutes to Angel chairs 7. The terrain on lower Angel is flat anyway, so you're not missing anything in that lost vertical.