joecarve

I met Doug forever ago in Tahoe…he saw my alpine-gear-in-freeride-configuration and asked, "Why are you riding with your binding angles so low?" Um. I don't know. Carving? What's that? I took a lesson from him the following season - I couldn't believe how low he was riding…both forearms on the snow on every turn. And made it look effortless. What a super nice guy and really committed to helping other people. Without his help I probably would have swapped back to softboots without a clue of what I had. Now carving is easily the best skill I have (though nowhere near his level). Thanks, Doug.

(way late, but I thought I'd chime in here after recently getting pointed to this thread) I cannot ride EC, nor am I really trying to, but there are bits of it I use which are really helpful. I'm generally trying to get as low as possible without touching the snow to avoid the shoulder wrenching potential. On toeside, I'm always trying to pull my back shoulder back by rotating my shoulders (clockwise if you were above me, looking down, for regular footed) - ie, aligning my shoulders and hips to a neutral position...and a little bit beyond, so that my forward shoulder is slightly leading the turn. It seems to lock in my toeside a little better. No idea why, but it works. Go with it. I think there's basic some EC setup going on there, though without the intent to lay my chest on the snow. My heelside is definitely non-EC, but there are times when I use some EC-esque movement for, of all things, safety (!) on a toe-to-heelside transition. Say I'm at the bottom of my toeside turn and I'm running out of room (trees getting real big real fast, impending collision with straightliner, whatever) so I need to make a tight turn very quickly. I stay compressed, pull up my knees as for a cross-under turn and, without any other change of my waist, rotate my upper body as fast as I can past the nose of the board (counter-clockwise). I can't explain why, but this really drives the outside of my forward boot toward the snow (downhill), the board switches and angulates very fast, and I'm cranking around to heelside. Honestly, it's like I don't even think about what the rest of my body is doing...whip those shoulders around and it's autopilot from there. BTW, I'm looking ahead on that, so I'm rotating my head in the same direction..standard deal of rotate-the-head-and-the-shoulders follow. I've even gotten a little bit of air under the nose, thought it wouldn't hold, but it hooked right up with no skidding. The really enlightening part for me is that there's no pinching of the hip - ie, shoving my forward hip downhill - which I previously needed to get a heelside to stick. Go with it, Part II. BTW, I never understood the EC toe-to-heel transition worked like this even though I've spent many hours stepping through the videos. I didn't get it until Dr. Zone's brother showed me the movement while standing in my garage - no gear involved. Next time on the snow it worked like a charm. Also, I think a key part of this transition is being rotated back as I describe above at the end of toeside...gives you more momentum to whip around. I liken it to throwing a discus in a flat plane. It's definitely one of the eye-opening moments I've had in this sport.

My standard run is a short blue adjacent to a chair. I like it because it's wide and on the opposite side of where most of the straightliners ride down. It's also where a resort photographer sits in the afternoon firing off images of easy-cruising families. Is it self-indulgent that I see him stand up and track me through every turn, knowing it's the most interesting thing he's shot all day? No, I get his card and check my form on his online comp sheet. :) (Hmm, I should be lower than that...)

sold...

Ridden maybe four times, stored in comfy wax since. Basically new. $350 + shipping joe...

Apologies if this has already made the rounds, but I had to post this...downhill skate on a public road...riding starts about 2:15. Notice they're handing the (pro) camera back and forth... http://vimeo.com/1654340 joe...

I've read the advice of "dive into your turns" a bunch of times over the years, but it wasn't until this season that it really clicked. Here's what works for me on toeside: First, learn how to make aggressive cross-under turns; then try the following: - Get into a hard heelside turn, allowing yourself to get really compressed at the bottom of the turn; you should be directly across the fall line at the next step. - Begin a quick transition to toeside, rotating your shoulders to align with your feet. I tend to ride heelsides facing forward (or slightly ahead), so I've got a fair amount of untwisting going on here to get to toeside. I'm also weighting forward on my front foot a bit to set the toeside rail. - As your body crosses over the board, extend both arms, palms down, arms parallel to the snow. I liken this position to a little kid about to dive off a diving board - they tend to crouch down, point their hands toward the water (down below the diving board, at the water), and roll forward and down, extending their legs as they leave the board. Same thing here - you're basically pointing your hands toward the snow directly in front of you. Look at the snow right across the board, a couple feet away. - Once the toeside rail digs in, push hard and fast, extending your legs. This is where you're really doing the "superman" move, but launching yourself downhill, instead of up, up into sky. - Then wait for the board to come around, pulling up your knees for the transition back to heelside. Reaching far enough, you can obviously get your hands on the snow and fully lay it out, though I'm actually trying to stay just short of that so I don't drag off speed. It gives me more of a "hanging from your feet" sensation with the board uphill, which I really love.

Absolutely the best thing I was taught to get my heelsides to work was sticking my hip into the turn. Everything above applies, of course, but I couldn't get it at all until I learned to go hip first. Same motion as bumping a car door closed when you've got your hands full...shove that hip into the turn.

Lisa and I will be there with tswei Saturday through Wednesday AM. joe...

"Nice" brand softboots and Switch bindings. Bindings have metal center plates, 4x4 and Burton 3D compatible. Boots are (men's) 8 1/2 (mondo 26.5). Mounting hardware included. About 25 days on both, but unused for several years (since my wife converted to hardboots). Great condition. $75 plus shipping (CA).

Any other softie step-in options other than the Flows? (It's for a friend, I swear!) joe...

Making a toeside arc around three teenagers parked in the middle of the run: "Nice bindings!"

I like FibreFlex decks - thin and snappy, though not super stiff...I've got a pair of 'em: - Pintail 38 with Randall RII 150's and 75a Avalons - Cutaway 42 with Seismic 157's and 78a Flashbacks joe...

Looking for riders in the Lake Tahoe area? Also check the forum on tahoecarvers.com

I'm thinking about going to a full face model when replacing my current helmet...looks like at least ChrisH wears one - anyone else? The extra face protection is an obvious plus, though I'm a little concerned about catching the front of it and wrenching my neck in a toeside fall. Any thoughts one way or 'nother? joe...

I never started, believe it or not. While I can't relate any experience of quitting, I've got multiple decades of explaining to people why I don't drink. So whatever your reasons, I encourage you to stick to them, rather than modify them to meet some social situation. joe...

Yeah, don't make us hunt you down...we will find you. :D Seriously, you'll eventually hack it out on your own, but it's way less painful with a few pointers on the hill... joe...

Kind of along the same lines, one of the moments burned into my memory is the first time I made a fast heel-to-toe transition with the board directly across the fall line - fully on the downhill edge, board uphill from my body. An instant of laughing and yelling to myself, "OMG! It works!!" joe...

This is a soft, entry-level board...a great deck for a lightweight novice carver. My wife rode it for about 7 days before moving to a Burton UP. 20cm waist. *one* set of four inserts F and R (I guess that makes it a 2x2 pattern) at a stance width of 16in. Tall nose and tail, the latter of which sprays up a nice rooster tail. =) $50 plus shipping.

Yeah, heard of them somewhere...those guys any good? joe...

I think we need a few more details on what's occurring...you'll get maximum help here if you can get someone to video you and post a clip somewhere. Beyond that, try staying centered between your bindings and let the board finish the turn. You're very used to tightening up the turn by pushing with your back foot...you basically need to break yourself of the habit. Also see other recent thread on heelsides... joe...

them: "Have you ever tried a snowboard?" me: "I'm standing on one right now." joe...

Pretty well, I think (though admittedly, I don't use it)...she has the same one on her other deck and wanted it again for the Donek. I trimmed away the excess pad so it's just the outline of the body. If you do the same (use an exacto knife), you'll want to mount it in a similar orientation so that the legs are aligned with your foot...otherwise, they get twisted when you scrape to clear your boot. joe...

Wait...you mean the rest of you guys don't look over and see one of these clipped to your SO's feet?

It's a common problem - I was plagued by it in my first year. (Search on "heelside" and you'll likely find a ton of tips). A few pointers: - bend deep at the knees. More. You're still standing tall. more. - Looking ahead (uphill) of my turns helped me quite a bit...if you find yourself skidding and you're looking downhill, across the board, you're not looking ahead. - As you're transitioning from toe to heel, try to really stick your hip into the turn before the rest of your body, like bumping a car-door shut when holding bags in each arm. So just keep repeating in your head as you make the transition to heel: "look ahead, hip first, look ahead, hip first"... joe...