carvin29 Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 I've noticed I'm getting real beat up on my heelside turns in choppy snow. I'm wondering if my technique is wrong or something because it's gotten so bad. This tends to happen when I'm locked in to a turn and loading the edge pretty hard. Can I try something to help this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buell Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Is this carving or freeriding? There comes a time when carving is no longer safe in chopped up snow due to the risk of catching the nose, pushing out the nose, or catching your boots in a pile of snow. Hard to say anything about your technique without know what it is. Video? You cannot drive the edge very hard in chopped up snow (general statement because there are lots of kinds of chopped up snow). You really need to just balance on it to avoid pushing it out in the soft patches. Make sure you are bending your knees enough to let the bumps be absorbed. Your ankles, knees, and hips will need to work as a shock absorber so your upper body can stay relatively quiet. If the bumps are moving your center of mass around, that will go back down to the board and blow out your turn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvin29 Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 This is freeriding. It happens when I'm doing a real long radius turn where I almost go perpendicular to down hill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingCrimson Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Takes a lot of knee bend. In soft chop, it's a catch 22 because you need to tail ride to stop the nose dangers Buell mentioned, but soft chop is also so grippy you'll never get the tail unstuck to change edges. Ride with lots of knee bend and be ready to leap out of the turn when it gets sketchy. Riding a decambered nose board helps a ton. Make sure your board is waxed super well. All of the base area. When you're waxing for hardpack and you just want good glide on the flats, the nose doesn't matter. However, when you're riding with half or more of the board submerged (as I end up doing almost daily. ) it's important to wax the nose super well, this will make the board feel less lurchy as you go between the hardpacked base layer of snow and the soft chop on top. I think it's a big step in protecting your board and facial structure. It also feels a million times smoother when your board isn't darting forwards and backwards underneath you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buell Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 This is freeriding. It happens when I'm doing a real long radius turn where I almost go perpendicular to down hill. Start by making sure your speed stays low enough that you are in control of most of your turns. Don’t let it get away from you in bumpy snow. Turn more, turn tighter, and use skidded turns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobD Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 What Buell says about controlling speed. As the heel sides get harder to finish, the tendency is to release earlier, and earlier, with ever increasing speed. You may also be leaning into the heel side turns, and not angulating (the knee bend KC refers to, plus flexing at the waist to bring your weight back over the board) . The results is that you can not absorb unevenness, the edge skips out, but because your legs are too straight, and your weight isn't over the edge, you lose it. When you first start a run, before you get any speed, try exploring your full range of motion up, and down. Most people think they are flexing their legs a lot, but are actually riding quite tall all of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvin29 Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 This year I've had to concentrate on keeping my front knee bent because I injured it last year and it gets irritated if I let it jostle around. So I'm more squatted in my heelside turns with a constant load on the edge. Maybe my heelside turns are too long, I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailertrash Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 There comes a time when carving is no longer safe in chopped up snow due to the risk of catching the nose, pushing out the nose, or catching your boots in a pile of snow. Bah. Novice. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobD Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Does the problem occur in the first few turns, or later as the run steepens? There is a relationship between sidecut radius, inclination, and turn radius. It varies a bit, with how the board is pressured, but if one of these three is out of whack, the board will tell you. On a free ride board with a small radius, it is easy to end up doing larger radius turns, than the sidecut, and inclination would like. Finding the balance between these three things makes turns a lot smoother. That often means reducing speed, and carving smaller radius turns. A riding style that works well on hero snow, sometimes doesn't when the conditions aren't so good. It requires tighter technique, and you can't get lazy. When you look at racers, their riding style often looks too "on top of the board" for the hero snow they might be on, but if they hit some crappy snow, they'll ride right over it, whereas the guy hanging it out there, will be spinning down the hill like a turtle on it's back. That's not to say, it's wrong to hang out there when the conditions are good, but you have to have the racer type technique as a back up, for when it's cruddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUD Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 I agree with Buell. Things to think about. In chop you have two options. Go over, or through. Figure out which one works and go from there, it may/will vary as you go down the run I don't give technique advice on here any more, sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Ice coast crud ideal conditions to use a plate really smooths out the chop.Try one if you get a chance. It lets the board take the beating not your body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buell Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Bah. Novice.:D What was that? Sorry, I was out riding. I'll be catching your day count fast now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvin29 Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 I ride at Whitetail, PA mostly, maybe people who ride there can identify. The top is fine, it has more incline, there are moguls and ice but not chopped up crud. On the lower half of the run, you hit this less inclined area it gets to the point where I struggle to link up turns due to the bumpiness. I'm just getting pounded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C5 Golfer Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 I've noticed I'm getting real beat up on my heelside turns in choppy snow. I'm wondering if my technique is wrong or something because it's gotten so bad. This tends to happen when I'm locked in to a turn and loading the edge pretty hard. Can I try something to help this? I am curious as to what board you are riding? some of my boards are not so pleasent in the stuff of which you speak and a couple I have make it ok to ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvin29 Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Jones Flagship 163. I've wondered if it's just that the board isn't damp enough. There's been differing reports on it- some people say it plows through anything and others say it isn't as damp as they expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C5 Golfer Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Jones Flagship 163. I've wondered if it's just that the board isn't damp enough. There's been differing reports on it- some people say it plows through anything and others say it isn't as damp as they expected. Is that a wide board at 26.2 wide? and you are in soft boots correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvin29 Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Yes, correct on both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C5 Golfer Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Yes, correct on both. Others may have a different opinion here.. or Your Results may vary...but this is my opinion. What is your boot size?... do you really need a wide? What you describe is one of the reasons I went to hard boots and a narrow board for most of my riding..when I say narrow my boards are 19 -21.5 wide and my boot size is 12 US or Mondo 30. Others on this site ride even narrower boards - 16 to 18 wide. I liken it to cutting hard cheese... a wide board is like using a Butchers cleaver to cut it and a narrow board is like using a cheese cutter to cut thru...which is easier and takes less power/energy. If you can find a friend that has a hardboot set up -- give it a try and I think you will be impressed by how they ride the chop. Just flex the legs a little - pretend you are the suspension of a nice car and ride it Cowboy - under full control and comfort. I know this does not address your Original Post... but I have ridden wide boards... could not wait to get down the hill and back to the car and change boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Stevens Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 Could be anything. Video please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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