question about my technique (or lack thereof)

[Guest Armon]

(i've read most of the tech articles, but if I missed one that would answer some of these questions, please point it out)

Well, I've been attempting to learn to carve the past few days. I think I'm making some progress. I bumped my angles up to around 30/21 which has made a lot of difference and makes me feel much more stable. Is it normal for the big toe on your front foot to hurt with forward angles? I may need to get my boot liners stretched or something..

So about the technique, this is what I feel like I'm doing. On heelside I sort of squat down towards the board and try to get the board at as much of an angle as I can while keeping my body somewhat close to being above the heelside edge. Shoulders are facing my bindings, pretty close to parallel with the horizon. It seems easy enough.

Toeside is a different story. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be leaning into the turn more or not. I push my knees to the inside of the turn, and my shoulders are parallel to the horizon and facing somewhere in between the nose and my binding angles. I can't seem to get the board at as great of an angle as on heelside. I also seem to be keeping way too much weight on my back foot. My center of gravity is pretty close to edge.. maybe a few inches to the inside of the turn. Do I need to lean further? Are my other problems due to lack of experience or bad technique?

I have no problem with things that "just need practice" but I'd like to at least get my technique better so I can be sure to practice the right things.

Thanks for the help!

[hangten247]

As far as your toe on the forward foot, your boots may be to BIG, or not tight enough on your foot. Although you may not be noticing it much when you are riding, going from toeside to heelside may be causing your foot to slide back and forth, and slamming your toe into the front of the boot, causing you the pain by the end of the day. I have worked in the snowsports industry for many years, and it is my humble opinion that 90% of the skiing or snowboarding public is in a boot that is too big for them. Also, when is the last time you clipped your toenails? You should consult a boot fitting professional to be sure you are in the correct size (and SHAPE) boot for your feet, and if you are already, then they can work with your shells and liners for a better fit to stabilize your foot and eliminate any fit issues.

[trikerdad]

With your setup, toesides are going to be harder. With your angles, the forward lean of your stiff softies makes it easier to presure the heelside edge. If you stand in your setup on the livingroom carpet and try rocking the board from heelside to toeside, while keeping your balance, you'll see what I mean. I would guess you'll be able to get the toeside 3 to 4 inches off the carpet and only get the heel side off 1 to 2. There are different ways to compensate for this, toe lifts, more angle to your bindings so you can side to side it, stronger calf muscles to overpower the boots, or get your weight further out over the toeside edge. Anyway I think after you do the carpet thing, you'll be able to figure out where your problem lies and what it will take to get more pressure on your toeside turns.