RobertAlexander Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 A few weeks back I met and rode the lift w/a soft booter who had a plenty of good questions. he followed me and I showed him the drills and techniques. . After a couple runs he went from duck stance to 45/45. He was doing very well and seemed to like it. A few more sporadic days of riding w/him and I saw he was still at 45/45. and he said that he really likes this new way of doing things. He is now totally following my tracks just about every where, just not as quickly, depending on conditions of snow, and I am holding very tight turns,(insert modesty here) at least I think so. So after a bit he tells me he is/was a pro in the soft boot world, something I know little of. And that at events he usually places, wins a board or wins, if I remember correctly. So, I sent him a link to Casper Carvers vids, and a few more, of well you know the good ones. The next time I see him at the hill, I was following him and see him, on a toe carve, get himself into the air and do a 540 and land on heel cleanly in a clean direction, very nicely landing in that carve, and continue that carve , and then continue to carve toe, heel, toe, etc. I have never seen this done before in person. And considering that I do not watch any softboot vids, I do not know if this is any great accomplishment, So I am asking, Is it? We plan on doing some vids next week, and he already has a youtube account. I am going to lend him some old hardboot gear and would like to film his first run, and more. This may perhaps show some of the softboot talent on the hill , that hardbooting is not that difficult. I think that the biggest intimidation of getting softbotters to hardboot is the stance and the perception of difficulty of said stance. I see so many softbooters that are really good/excellent carvers and wonder why they do not get into hardboots. Thanks for reading my ramblings and any opinions are welcome, Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Buggs Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Cool story, Im envious of your friends softboot skills and for years wished I had done more on soft before I went alpine. He might be a candidate for the Pureboarding style since they advocate more tricks and such. Softbooters might be more comfortable with the lower back foot so they can still have some kick turns. To me its more natural to have the front foot up the board and the back lower. I look forward to seeing his progress but worry he will be better than many of in short order Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertAlexander Posted March 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) He thinks I am good, and I am telling him that he already is better than me, he is doing this on gear that is not really carve worthy. I may have old boots for him if they fit, and some raceplates, but I think that the correct board will bring him to his top game quickly. I am thinking a FC1 in 164 to 172 or the similar, I think he really wants to carve hard, and throw a trick in here and there. Another story, on that skill demo run That I was showing him, I was doing quick carve drills w/o sliding, with him and came across a casual private lesson of 6, who joined, then about 4 more skiers joined the group, It was a good day. Edited March 1, 2015 by RobertAlexander Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I agree with Bobby, He may really benefit from lowering the back foot 5-10* especially for switch toeside turn initiation, butters, and 540 landing stability. 540s from rebound thru transition is pretty sick , I've tried and 360 is the best I can do to avoid the dread body slam(too old for that schite). That said I know a guy(20+yrs exp) here that rides softies anywhere at 45/45 and only switches to hard on perfect carving days when the off-piste is crap.(like most of this season ) I can't do parallel angles w/out feeling my shoelaces are tied together and am about to trip. I think that feeling and the loss of accustomed lateral/medial range of motion are the biggest adjustment for soft-hard converts. ymmv Also boot fitting is of primary importance, sore feet will ruin the expirience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertAlexander Posted March 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I do believe that he lowered his rear angle a bit after a day or 2. Thanks He was telling me how he taught himself how to do a forward flip as I was telling him to be careful not to bury your front tip and go over the bars. That is how he taught himself, bury the tip and when you go over the bars , figure it out from there. Oh, and please, give me any advice for this guy, as you see fit. I am just gently showing him whats up, and he is following me, I think only to watch, and he will figure it out from there. I am at the point of twisting and reaching into the turn, and also how much to dive into the nose will determine the amount of turn rad. and when to pull back on that, and he seems to grasp the idea. He is still on soft, but I think first run on hard will be just a survival get down the hill drill, with maneuvering tech only. Then we will see,... camera, Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowboardingJ Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Looking forward to see some vid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gossamer Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 (edited) Always love a watching a soft boot carver. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M6tAOLVXGgM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Edited March 2, 2015 by I_LOVETT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertAlexander Posted March 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Today I got the soft boot talent on an alpineboard, Liquid ARC 164 11.5 scr, old boots and race plates, He took to it like a fish to water, carving right away, no need for maneuvering skills, he just started carving the first 10 feet and went on from there doing very well on a blue run. It was quite choppy due to 4 to 5 inches of light stuff the prior night, and getting him on the snow at noon. Although the piles did not offer much resistance to bash thru. Still a bit of a challenge to go thru and carve. So after an hour I see him go switch and he is carving backwards, heel , toe, etc, for about 150 yards. In this other than perfect snow with piles In his way that did not seem to bother the carves at all. Sorry, no vids, due to not a good time for vids because of the fresh snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 (edited) Good on him careful I love switch and will never buy a square tailed board again because I know from experience when that square corner digs in life instantly sucks Edited March 3, 2015 by b0ardski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecshredder Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 Always love a watching a soft boot carver. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M6tAOLVXGgM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertAlexander Posted March 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 Got some vids yesterday, of him and myself, w/his camera, up to him now, I will post a link to his youtube when they are up. Should be some good footage in there somewhere, hand held camera. He was on an old nidecker 174 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lafcadio Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 Hey Robert, where are you guys riding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.