A little advice on technique please?

[icebiker]

Each season I try to focus on getting better by reading and re-reading all the great advice on BOL, Carvers Almanac, watching countless vids of all the great riders on this board, and applying what I observe. But as several of you have said you don't really know how you're doing until you see yourself on video. My wife and kids got me a GoPro for my birthday so my son and I broke it in yesterday.  I'd appreciate your feedback on where I can improve by watching this short clip.

 

(select 1080 for best resolution)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZM9-mNIk-s&feature=youtu.be

 

My goal is to ride in a more compressed and low-to-the-snow style like many of the best of you.  Among the areas I've been trying to focus on are:

 

1) Bend at the knees more (I can see I'm not doing that enough?)

2) Keep chest facing nose of board (I've been working more on this this season, see 0:43...is this right?

3) Align hips to face nose of board (finding this tough to do)

4) Keep shoulders more in line with slope and don't reach for snow

5) Lean forward on turn initiation

 

Any input on these 5 areas, as well as anything else you think I should work on are much appreciated. Going out west with my son in a few weeks and want to apply your tips there.   Forgive the brief skidding mid-way through, had to scoot around a lesson in progress ;-)

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Beckmann AG]

[iLikeSnow]

What really helps when you are learning to change a habit in the way you move, is to exagerate the change.

 

Align hips to face the tip of the board? I find that hard to do in a snowboarding stance without being strapped to bindings - that completly locks my hip and feels horrible in my back knee.

Edited February 2, 2015 by iLikeSnow

[icebiker]

What really helps when you are learning to change a habit in the way you move, is to exagerate the change.

 

Align hips to face the tip of the board? I find that hard to do in a snowboarding stance without being strapped to bindings - that completly locks my hip and feels horrible in my back knee.

Agreed, I find it difficult to as well, however  I gleaned that advice from Jack's "the Norm, part 2" (http://www.bomberonline.com/resources/Techarticles/norm_part2.html)

 

"You want your shoulders to be square to the board, that is, your chest should be facing the nose of the board, at all times throughout and between each carve. At the same time, you want your hips to be just about square to the board as well."

 

I had deduced hip alignment to be central to getting one's weight over the carving edge, but perhaps shoulder alignment is the more critical (it certainly feels better).

[lafcadio]

I had deduced hip alignment to be central to getting one's weight over the carving edge, but perhaps shoulder alignment is the more critical (it certainly feels better).

 

I think hips aligned is crucial to getting your weight over the edge.  However getting the shoulders (and torso) in the right place will certainly help with the hips.  I like to start by turning my head and looking into the carve, which brings my head around, then shoulders, torso, and finally hips.  

 

Another thing to think about along with shoulders and torso is arms/hands.  Try not to let the outside arm fall behind (I'm working on this, too).  Most of your heel side turns are great, but some toe side turns, your outside arm is falling behind (e.g., around 0:33), which opens up the shoulders.  Try to keep both arms in view or practice boot grab drills to work on it. 

 

Looking good! 

[Beckmann AG]

My goal is to ride in a more compressed and low-to-the-snow style like many of the best of you.  Among the areas I've been trying to focus on are:

 

 

 Equating postures with outcomes/degree of proficiency is putting the cart before the horse. Riding in 'a more compressed...style' is an option that comes with skill development, whereas doing so as a presumed means-to-end won't ensure the development of the associated skills. 

1) Bend at the knees more (I can see I'm not doing that enough?)

Knee flexion in the video is proportional to the needs of the turns you are making.  Any more in those circumstances (barring stylistic considerations) is a waste of effort/calories.

2) Keep chest facing nose of board (I've been working more on this this season, see 0:43...is this right?

Outside of specific drills for specific purposes, no need to rotate past the angle of your front foot.  As with the knee flexion above, rotating further and 'holding' simply makes your posture more complex, and may also affect weight distribution from front to back foot.

What you might consider is making those same turns without the upper body rotation at initiation.  The upper/lower body awareness/discipline that allows you to rotate the entire body as a unit will serve you well further on when the dynamics of a turn demand upper and lower body separation.

3) Align hips to face nose of board (finding this tough to do)

See #2.

4) Keep shoulders more in line with slope and don't reach for snow

Most of your shoulder/torso movement is reactionary/compensatory.  Kick your rear binding mount back 2cm and see if that changes anything. This (and further stance widening) will also allow you to get 'more compressed'.  As stands, your stance is on the narrow side of optimal.  When, in the not too distant future, you tilt the board further and develop more rebound, it will become ever more wobbly.

5) Lean forward on turn initiation

Whyfor?  The dominant issue (at least in this clip) is a lack of stability.  Leaning forward won't likely help much with that.  To the contrary, you are doing a number of things well, one of which is a nicely centered/neutral relationship to the board, and for the most part, a posture suitable for the task at hand.

 

"You want your shoulders to be square to the board, that is, your chest should be facing the nose of the board, at all times throughout and between each carve. At the same time, you want your hips to be just about square to the board as well."

 

I had deduced hip alignment to be central to getting one's weight over the carving edge, but perhaps shoulder alignment is the more critical (it certainly feels better).

 

 

 

On the origin of specious:

Waay baack when, we spent a lot of time riding around holding a length of bamboo with both hands outside of shoulder-width.  

As a means of reinforcing the means to, and the effect of angulation , the task was to ride and ensure the shoulders were perpendicular to the board, while the 'boo was parallel to the snow surface.  The 'perpendicular/parallel' relationship ensured that; 1. the rider's hips would move easily 'sideways' from the inside of one turn to the inside of the other, and 2. the timing of that lateral movement, and thus the rate of change of 'angulating', would be such that the rider could move out of the old turn with ease, rather than getting 'stuck' inside near the end of the arc.

 

Once the subject 'got the feeling' for how the joints could articulate, and how the various body segments could stack up' against the loads of the turn, said subject would then rotate everything back slightly to a more comfortable relationship to their feet/ board. 

 

These principles were then carried forth into the NORM series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 3, 2015 by Beckmann AG

[Neil Gendzwill]

Icebiker, I can only say that your shoulders are a tool to get your hips lined up right.  If your trailing hand is back on a heelside carve, it is unlikely that your hips will be correct.  If it is forward it is more likely but your hips could still be out of whack.  Try sitting on the snow with your board in front of you.  If both cheeks are on the snow, your hips are not aligned correctly.  Change so that you are sitting on your hip.  That is more the feeling you want.

 

You would benefit from a trip to SES this year or ECES next.  From the video you are already doing pretty well but just hanging out with better riders for a week will make you better by osmosis, never mind all the tips you will pick up and the fun you will have.

[pmorita]

What ski area is in the video?  Looks like a fair amount of traffic at the top.

[Guest]

I'm with Beckmann in widening your stance.  Your knees are practically on top of one another.

[icebiker]

Guys, thanks a ton for the great input!  You've shared a number of observations that help a lot and I'll put your advice to work this coming weekend in VT.

 

Lafcadio, good point about my outside arm. I hadn't really focused on it before. 

 

Beckmann, great dissection. I will definitely widen my stance rearward and see what it does. As for leaning forward, my impression from various tutorials was that one should begin the turns with weight momentum forward and gradually shift back as the carve completes, no?

 

Neil, I had actually hoped to get to ECES last year but time didn't permit.  Was bummed to learn we've gone to every 2 years, but I'm planning on being there next season.  I tend to learn best visually (by observing others), but don't often run into other hardbooters, so ECES will be a real help.

 

pmorita, that is Windham Mtn NY, and yes it does get busy ;-) ...have to weave (carefully) around the crowd. Thankfully Superbowl Sunday wasn't too bad. I've seen worse there!

 

Jim, thanks, will do that.  Also, your avatar is an idea of the "compression" I was referring to in my original post.

 

 

One additional question for you all:  I understand the notion of aligning/rotating hips as square as possible to the nose on heelside turns.  However, I'm confused about whether same is necessarily true to the same extent on toe-side.  One one hand, several tutorials/articles indicate this to be the case (including the Norm, reference above). On the other hand,  when I watched the video in Acoustic Boarder's thread, which relates a "+" and ""- position, with "-" being for toe-side turns, it shows shoulders in line with the board instead of square with the nose (see 0.08)

 

Thread  here: http://forums.bomberonline.com/index.php?/topic/41038-basics/

Video link here:  

   (see 0.08)

 

Perhaps it depends on what form of carving one is aiming for? (e.g. EC, Pure, etc)?  I may be overthinking it, but any clarity on shoulder/hip position on toe-side turns would be a big help.

 

Thanks again

Edited February 4, 2015 by icebiker

[AcousticBoarder]

 

 

One additional question for you all:  I understand the notion of aligning/rotating hips as square as possible to the nose on heelside turns.  However, I'm confused about whether same is necessarily true to the same extent on toe-side.  One one hand, several tutorials/articles indicate this to be the case (including the Norm, reference above). On the other hand,  when I watched the video in Acoustic Boarder's thread, which relates a "+" and ""- position, with "-" being for toe-side turns, it shows shoulders in line with the board instead of square with the nose (see 0.08)

 

Perhaps it depends on what form of carving one is aiming for? (e.g. EC, Pure, etc)?  I may be overthinking it, but any clarity on shoulder/hip position on toe-side turns would be a big help.

 

Thanks again

 

 

Yes, it depends what technique you are trying to employ. The video is on the EC (ExtremeCarving) form, where as most people here use (what to call it? Standard/ Normal/ Bomber/ Angulation?). When I went a couple weeks ago and made that post, I was having a lot of difficulty because I was trying to employ different techniques that were contradicting each-other. When I went last week, I made much more progress just focusing on one. Sadly, I have been unable to find any good beginner instructional videos besides Corey's Intermediate and Steeps clinics on the "standard" technique.

 

Lessons are great if you have access to them (I do not). Otherwise make sure your gear and bindings are set up correctly, and focus on your sholders, hips, weighting, driving the knees, and moving directly across the board to initiate turns. Thats what I am doing atleast, so correct me if I am wrong :)

Edited February 4, 2015 by AcousticBoarder

[kipstar]

I have taken a long break from snowboarding, and got back into it, and after spending some time with a decent coach, I have an inkling of some of the things you might like to consider on improving your riding. In general you are using the edges, and looking reasonable, but a few things will help get you 'to the next level'.

 

In terms of set up, widen the stance up, as when you ride, think in terms of if you were jumping up onto something or jumping down into loose gravel/uneven surface; you would have your legs apart, arms apart to ensure you could handle whatever the surface ended up like.  That's a good sort of mindset for snowboarding; don't ride with your arms at your sides, don't ride with a really narrow stance, keep them spread out and with a wider stance; your balance will improve a lot as a result.

 

For alignment (where to face), I don't agree with facing the nose with your hips is necessary; instead you might like to think about aligning your hips and shoulders at the same angle as your front bindings as Beckmann recommends; this is a more stable position.  When you turn try to think in terms of (to start) 3 basic positions.  the centered position (align shoulders and hips to face the same way as your bindings, weight centered, arms in the 'ready for anything' position meaning angled outwards at about 45 degrees at your shoulders); the heelside position - weight drops to the inside of the turn with only enough rotatation of your hips and shoulders (and your arms follow) to basically matching the radius of the turn or less (meaning the rotation movement is very small); weight centered, arms still in the ready for anything position); the toeside position opposite of the heelside turn (rotate your hips and shoulders and your arms follow) with a rotation again matching the radius of the turn); weight centered arms in the same position.

 

As you start each turn, think in terms of the steps being going across the slope; start the turn by dropping your weight into the inside of the turn downwards and pressure the edge it feels down into the snow; the harder you drop and press the tighter the turn.  You are not leaning out and your upper body doesn't break (like in EC).  You don't need forwards backwards movement, don't need rotation, definitely don't need counter rotation, you just keep it all simple.

 

There are more types of turn but this is the simple and basic starting point and things stem from there; it is close to what you are doing, but you have developed the addition of a few other movements which aren't so necessary.

 

Specifically, you might like to think about the hand position as outlined above, you are doing an odd movement in some turns where you kind of use your upper body to start the turn in heelsides you are pulling your right hand across your body and in toesides you are letting your right hand drift way out to the right almost like a slight counter rotation; maybe you don't know what to do with your hands; please look up (for some reason I cannot post it here) the video called Ride With Me Sigi Grabner.look at 0.36sec or 1.15; you will note how little extraneous movement is needed once you have a stable platform (wider stance, good arm position, centered stance, minimal unnecessary rotation, no leaning in just edge pressure and dropping the hips into the turn with a nice quiet and fairly vertical upper body).

 

If you can also look up a guy called Marc Cirigliano on youtube, he has a series that breaks down the modern way to ride the board in a racing style which is (IMHO) the most effective all round technique for riding in a variety of conditions, and opens the path to EC and other styles later on.  He has a series starting with Midweighting 1 all the way to 16.  Also look up a guy called Masaki Shiba on youtube, his riding is very stable and powerful and also you can look up a thing called installer 15 which has the Japanese style of riding (strongly derived from basic modern technique used in racing) when they free ride.

 

In all of these you will see the much less 'busy' way to ride the board; simple works and is more efficient.

 

In terms of drills you can try a few this:

start with a centered stance and practise dropping weight into the turn:

choose groomed intermediate slope without excessive slope and no people; ride straight down the falline, arms in the correct position as you pick up speed drop your weight downwards until you can touch the cuffs on your boots on the outside (left hand left side of left boot, right hand right side of right boot), facing same angle as the bindings and the bending down should occur at your knees and hips so that the alignment of your upper body is basically the same standing up as when you are dropped down, think of almost arching your back so your butt pokes out (don't break at the waist to get down there); stand back up again weight still centered and no rotation in either direction arms back to the neutral position; then drop your weight the same way into the inside of the turn with weight centered between your feet (either toeside or heelside), no counter rotation no leaning into the turn with the upper body and arms in the neutral position rotation only aligned with the radius of the turn; and as you do the board will turn under you and across the slope.  Ride to the point that the board is traversing, think of what you did, then point the board downhill, and repeat again with the opposite turn; in effect you will only be doing half the turn at a time (from the falline through to the end of the turn) and it teaches you to quiet effective way to turn

 

I go through this drill first day now for each time I ride at the beginning of the season, as I picked up a lot of bad habits when the swiss rotational style was what was taught; this drill really helps to lock things in for my mind.

Edited February 4, 2015 by kipstar

[Beckmann AG]

As for leaning forward, my impression from various tutorials was that one should begin the turns with weight momentum forward and gradually shift back as the carve completes, no?

 

Not so much, really.  This is largely a holdover from the days of both skis and boards that were too stiff for the user, such that one had to pound on the front half of the plank in order to get some reaction/ change in direction.

 

Assuming you are on a board suited to your 'weight', with the clampy things mounted sensibly, turn initiation should be possible while comfortably 'centered'.  As soon as that turn begins, however, the pressure change under the front foot (on account of centripetal acceleration v momentum/inertia) will create the impression that you are front-weighted.

 You can then affect the bend in the board (and the nature of that turn) by varying the 'net' pressure from one foot to the other.

 

For a clean turn exit, sooner or later the rider needs to move the bend from the middle of the board, to the tail.  

 

However brief this action may be, at that moment the pressure is under the rear foot, simply because there is no longer resistance at the nose of the board, and the board is 'moving out from under' the rider.

 

Re: rotation,videos etc.   Learning to ride well isn't so much a random buffet as a set menu.  Select your cuisine, and from that an appetizer and entrée.  Wait until the sorbet before challenging the palate.  

 

BTW,  'moving' to the front foot @ turn initiation is one of the more common misconceptions affecting rider performance that I run into on a regular basis.  

That and rotating various body parts at the 'wrong' time, for the 'wrong' reasons.

 

 

 

'Weight momentum'???

Edited February 4, 2015 by Beckmann AG

[Lucasgo]

Looks like you're enjoying some carves.  So don't beat yourself up too much.

 

Thought I'd throw it in there... the pureboarding guys would tell you to widen your stance, get that back knee out away from the front knee (likely helped by reducing the binding angle on back), and get low.  Bend your knees, and with them apart, you create a more stable stance.  Also, they'd say to turn your head further in the turn- look across and up the hill.  Exaggerate this on heelside by reaching forward with your left (back) hand.  Get your shoulders squared to the board (heelside), and drop down and try getting hips to go with the shoulders, perpendicular to the board.  As mentioned above, a couple drills for this technique:

-Lie down on the snow, plant the edge on heelside.  Are you sitting on your butt?  If so, you're wrong.  Rotate so that while on heelside edge, your right (front) hip is on the snow.

-Reach for the boots or board.  On heelside, try reaching your left (back) hand right up to the curvature of the nose of the board.  Can't reach?  Get low.  On toeside, reach with right (front) hand, likely just slide it along the outside/front side/right side of your right (front) boot.

-Do one carve at a time (maybe while doing the holding drill) and ride the carve all the way until it's done.  Yes, until you stop dead with no speed and you're lying there looking like a noob on the snow.  See just how stable you can be during the entire execution of the carve, where you'd like to release, etc.

 

I enjoyed learning those drills and have practiced them, they certainly change things up for me on the icy chop I call home.

 

*I ride mostly like you do, maybe a bit stronger into my turns like I used to ram gates.

[icebiker]

 

When I went a couple weeks ago and made that post, I was having a lot of difficulty because I was trying to employ different techniques that were contradicting each-other. When I went last week, I made much more progress just focusing on one. 

 

Yes, I made that same "mistake" by reading too many different things, and got myself a bit confused. Based on what's been shared with me on this thread, I'm going to focus first on a couple of things (stance width and arms) this weekend, then go from there.

 

Kipstar, thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed summary of tips. Very helpful, and certainly consistent with others on this post. Will look for those vids.

 

Lucasgo, advice noted and encouragement much appreciated!

[AcousticBoarder]

Yes, I made that same "mistake" by reading too many different things, and got myself a bit confused. Based on what's been shared with me on this thread, I'm going to focus first on a couple of things (stance width and arms) this weekend, then go from there.

 

Kipstar, thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed summary of tips. Very helpful, and certainly consistent with others on this post. Will look for those vids.

 

Lucasgo, advice noted and encouragement much appreciated!

Yeah, small steps, one thing at a time, it is a lot of things to remember. My next step is keeping my weight even and moving directly across the board I think. Good luck this weekend!

[kipstar]

Best wishes; if you have the opportunity to video it again (after you have tried riding a bit) then we will offer further advice to confuse and confound :-) similar to the conductor in Whiplash :-).

 

A lot is finding a rider style you like, and choosing and getting that style sorted first; however for me I think the style used in modern racing style (face across the board, very stable, centered) is the universal starting point from which you can then start playing around with EC and push/pull, rotational, cross through turns, etc etc.

 

Once you really learn to be able to pressure the edge by dropping the hip inside the turn while keeping your body stacked over the edge (and not leaning out) which both angulates the board more and also loads up the board so it bends in a tighter radius, you learn how to really be able to adjust the turn radius tighter and tighter, which in turn enables you to ride steeper and steeper slopes.  If you are starting to wear through the seat of your pants on your right 'bum' cheek and your left hip then you will know you are getting somewhere, that to me is the part that should be touching the snow with the upper body basically vertically above it, not leaning.

 

Then from there, you can start to play around with the EC style which is as above, but with a lot more rotation and the upper body is no longer over the edge, instead it is inside the turn and the board carves up under you through the fall line.

 

I must admit my own EC riding is awful as it feels quite odd (I can lay it down but only a turn at a time and not able to link them, the heelside feels very unnatural).

[KIndustries]

Feedback for your hips.

 

I race slalom and gs and I have found that the best way to have your hips is aligned with the angles of your legs. This will allow you to drop your hips easier on heel sides and drop your knees on your toe sides.

[Rob Stevens]

I watched your video and read the comments pretty much back to front. There's some great advice in there, which I might repeat, but in my own words.

 

-You're definitely flowing. Nothing jerky about the way you're getting after it. I'd say the traffic holds you back a bit, but what are you going to do? I guess you could move here and rida Nakiska a lot, mid-week.

 

-A few have commented on upper body movements... I think they can get in the way, where you might be better off just seeking alignment with your stance, as others have commented. Seek this alignment to such a degree that you force the boards reactions, and your bodies acceptance of those reactions, to be dealt with from your core, and from there, down to sensations under your feet. Trying to make your board do things by manipulating your upper body is definitely the "long" way to do it and can throw you off, if you do them "wrong". If you rotate, think of it as a way to create alingment and stability, not how you steer your board.

 

-Forward... This is not so hard, once you realize where "forward" is. In your clip, you appear to be making an effort to sqare yourself with the fall-line at the edge change; Especially from heels to toes. Other than your twisted waist, my biggest visual cue that you're fall line focused is thet you always seem to be looking straight down the hill. The bottom is your ultimate goal, but that's not "forward", in terms of the track your board will take. "Forward" for you is more an anticipation of where the board will be pointed a moment later. While I'm not into the more stylistic interpretations made for EC in the video shown above (like the head tilt of the men. The woman seems more natural), I do like their anticipation of the new direction and edge change. A pal of mine made a good point one day in telling me that "as you switch, your focus should be the apex of the new turn". If you're "open" to that general area, via looking at that spot, and maintaining alignment with your bindings (which will maintain your "open-ness") You'll pretty much go there, without being "wound and bound" at the waist. Again, that tortional twist in your abdomen probably comes from continually looking, and trying to move "forward", down the fall line. Remember... That's not "forward".

Edited February 6, 2015 by Rob Stevens

[MikeC]

I will not be much help here as I have always been coached in terms of racing but:

 

Lean forward more, you seem to have quite an arch from the head to your waist.

 

You mention wanting to get lower to the ground like the extreme carvers do, my number one tip here is that you should never bend at the waist to try and reach the ground (on toeside turns), this will do all sorts of bad things to your form.

 

Toeside is a bit harder but heelside isn't too bad.  Try initiating your heelside turn and reaching toward your toeside edge.  This will drive your butt down and the heelside edge into the snow.  It may take some commitment and you might skid out the first couple of times.  Once you get the feeling right you can manipulate how hard the drive is by how hard you reach.

 

As others mentioned you might try widening your stance.  Once this is done the last thing I can recommend is to try and overpower the board, it seems as though you are just along for the ride in the video.  Being aggressive goes a long way in terms of turn performance.

 

 

A racers $.02.

[icebiker]

So I had the chance this weekend in VT to put your advice to work. Widened my stance by 4cm by shifting the rear binding back. Kept the same angle.   Found it more comfortable than I anticipated, but also found the board squirelly when pushing toe turns.  I suspected some board twist was in play, so rotated the rear binding angle in by 3 or 4 degrees.  Then it was magic! Made a noticeable difference. My heelsides in particular were much stronger,  hips closer to the snow and I found myself initiating more quickly.   I even got my first hoot/holler of appreciation from someone up on the lift (complete with an expletive for added emphasis ;-) at Pico. 

 

Thanks for the added input Kindustries, Rob and Mike: 

 

"my biggest visual cue that you're fall line focused is that you always seem to be looking straight down the hill. The bottom is your ultimate goal, but that's not "forward", in terms of the track your board will take. "Forward" for you is more an anticipation of where the board will be pointed a moment later. "

 

I began working on that a few seasons ago but agree it's not innate yet.  I do find I do it more on heelsides, mostly out of necessity (always looking over my shoulder for uphill skiers). I find I do it better when the trail is groomed and therefore predictable. When it's a bit more chopped up, though, I find myself looking only about 10 feet in front of me (so I can anticipate any bumps, icy spots, etc) instead of further ahead. Will continue to work on this. 

 

"Try initiating your heelside turn and reaching toward your toeside edge.  This will drive your butt down and the heelside edge into the snow.  It may take some commitment and you might skid out the first couple of times."

 

Yes, I experienced a couple of skid-outs practicing this weekend but was able to correct them by focusing on where my butt/hips were stacked.

 

"As others mentioned you might try widening your stance.  Once this is done the last thing I can recommend is to try and overpower the board, it seems as though you are just along for the ride in the video.  Being aggressive goes a long way in terms of turn performance."

 

Definitely found myself getting more aggressive on heel carves this weekend with the wider stance and, indeed, the turns came around that much more sharply.  Need to do so more on toe-sides, these are not as quick to come around. I think your advice on leaning forward more may help, especially since my stance (and thus weight distribution) is 4cm rearward now than it was on that video).  

 

Am thinking of adding some Gilmour bias to the rear binding (moving it closer to toe edge).  Only concern is, will it lighten up the rear on heelsides and thus re-introduce the skid-out referenced above and/or re-introduce any board twist.  Thoughts?

[MikeC]

Glad to hear you had good results.  I find the biggest hurdle for most people is committing to the turn, it can be a little scary leaning all the way over and hoping the edge holds.

 

Like you say toeside is a little more tricky.  When I am freeriding or racing I always take my heelside hand and reach toward my front boot/heelside edge.  This must be done while bending your knees, if you bend your hips to make the reach you'll load your nose and bad things can happen.  By reaching toward the front boot slightly you will put some light pressure on the nose, however it will be balanced out by the fact that your crouch is forcing the entire edge into the snow.

 

This can be progressively done down the hill on a low piste trail, start slow and increase aggressiveness as you make your way down the hill.  Once you progress (and ride try slalom sized board) you will realize that you can carve very aggressively on very low piste trails, as the G forces help to drive you through the turn.  It is a little harder on a steeper trail/longer radius board as you need the speed to keep from falling over.

 

Hope that makes sense?  I've never tried to explain things in words, only by show. 

[Beckmann AG]

There you go.

 

 

 

Definitely found myself getting more aggressive on heel carves this weekend with the wider stance and, indeed, the turns came around that much more sharply.  Need to do so more on toe-sides, these are not as quick to come around. I think your advice on leaning forward more may help, especially since my stance (and thus weight distribution) is 4cm rearward now than it was on that video).

 

 

Your heelsides likely feel more solid on account of the enhanced stability of the wider stance, and also the steeper rear foot angle. Both provide the ability to move pressure further aft, a means of to reducing the tendency to skid a heelside.  That your toeside isn't as quick is likely a result of your newfound heelside awesomeness, and a reluctance to let go of that sensation in favor of the next turn.  Also, the further in you sit, the longer it will take you to get back out, and this often translates into late toeside turn initiation, a lower net edge angle, and less of a bend in the board.  

 

That you've moved your rear foot back does not mean that your center has moved back by the same amount.  Work the accuracy and timing of board tilt before experimenting with upper body/digital gymnastics.

[Guest]

There is some REALLY good advice in this thread, but with all the theory and advice it can be hard to know what to prioritize. I think greens and blues are fun, but I think they can also hurt your technique if you stick to them too much. I learned the most when a fellow carver coerced me onto a black diamond and told me to pull hard carves. I see a lot of hardbooters on blacks that either skid or S turn down them, which is fine - to each his or her own - but if you want to really get low through using good technique you need to be able to stick C carves down blacks/double blacks. Obviously, sometimes conditions just make it impossible, but to really get good fast you need to leave that comfort zone (that was my experience, at least).

 

Try doing C carves down a black or steep blue and you will chatter or skid out or fall. But that's the point. Find one aspect (whether it's driving knees, leaning forward more, pinching more) and try to dial it in. Use the advice in this thread and just try your best - you will get instant feedback that you wouldn't otherwise get on a blue or green. The black will simply tell you that you did it wrong. So try again. Once you can survive the blacks/double blacks then when you return to the blues and greens you can use those techniques you learned on the steeper stuff absolutely shred.

 

As always, YMMV! I'd love to ride in the poconos with you some time!

[Neil Gendzwill]

If you are sticking linked C carves down a real double black I will eat my hat.