Running gates - request for beginner tips

[jng]

I just started racing GS in a rec league, mostly against skiers.  On course, my riding totally goes to crap.  When I freeride, my mind is fully focused on my technique and making clean lines.  On course, I am fixated on the gates and my turns are an embarrassing sliding mess.

 

Is this a common newbie racer problem?  Any technical and mental tips?  

 

 

Thanks!

[alpinegirl]

Yes it happens....

One simple tip is to force yourself to look at your turning point above the gate as opposed to the actual gate.

It's similar to looking at the space in between the trees. We tend to end up where we are looking. Once we get fixated on a gate we tend to be drawn to it and have to "jam in a short turn really fast" which results in a myriad of less than ideal outcomes.

Despite the mantra to look ahead a few gates at a time, take some time to focus on the gate you are approaching and shoot to set yourself up well and make a good turn around that gate with what may feel like an overly high line. Do that piece by piece and start to link multiples together.

That's one approach. It is by no means an entire solution or a gospel truth, but it is something accessible that will make a positive difference. In time you can bring it in closer to the gate, but make good turns before you start worrying about that. Have fun out there!

[jng]

Great tips!  I will need to tone down my competitive nature so I can focus on one turn at a time.

[SunSurfer]

Pick an appropriate board SCR - links below to Jack Michaud's equipment winning a USASA GS. SCR 12-14M VSR. Not necessarily a full blown GS board, more like the equivalent to a NASTAR "cheater" GS ski.

http://forums.bomberonline.com/index.php?/topic/42695-usasa-race-at-sugarloaf/#entry434342

http://forums.bomberonline.com/index.php?/topic/41873-2015-2016-new-board-porn-new-purchases/page-7#entry432566

 

The best musicians don't just play the notes (gates), they perfect the gaps between.

Here Ted Ligety blasts through a NASTAR course (POV). He's motoring, yet the turns seem to be made with plenty of time.

 

Teach your brain and eyes to find the right place to be between the gates, then there'll be the time to make the turns.

Ligety practising at Sochi

Hirscher practicing at Vail

 

Where's the right place? The series of videos Midweighting have some suggestions and other tips for the snowboard racer..

https://www.youtube.com/user/mcirigliano52/videos

 

I've also watched lots of YouTube NASTAR course runs by skiers (and the occasional boarder) trying to train my brain & eyes to visualise the point between the gates I need to be, to be properly set to make the next turn. The most efficient would be halfway along a straight line between the next two gates, a bit higher gives you more leeway if you stuff up the turn you're about to make. The tendency for us to end up where we're looking when we ride is very powerful.

 

I've had a lot of fun (& frustration as I also struggle with exactly your problem) testing myself in NASTAR courses when I get to visit North America. On snow practice is the most important thing, but making the most of it by off snow prep should help you progress.

[MikeC]

Are you racing a course set with ski gates?

 

That's always an adventure.

[Beckmann AG]

 On course, my riding totally goes to crap.  When I freeride, my mind is fully focused on my technique and making clean lines.  On course, I am fixated on the gates and my turns are an embarrassing sliding mess.

Is this a common newbie racer problem?

 

Very common. Free riding generally doesn't demand actual proficiency at platform manipulation.  The clock doesn't care about clean lines, and the course merely reveals your riding for what it is. 

As mentioned previously, it's too easy to focus on the positive, rather than negative space.

 

As a novice gate smacker, you have a choice:

Try to go fast; or try not to go slow.  For the time being, go with the latter.

—-

Line and tactics are only valid when you can ride well enough to make use of them.

 

Take the line you’re capable of, and keep your teeth away from the plastic.

Send the light parts on the long line, and keep the heavy parts on the short line.

 

Assuming you're running full gates, get some armor for your hands/forearms/face.

 

Read up on cross-over, cross-under, cross-through; understand the differences and where each is applicable.

 

If you feel rushed for time while in the course, you’re probably trying to do too much.

 

Be light on your feet: Try not to move any more snow than necessary while ’turning’.

 

Get comfortable moving through space with your feet out from under you. 

 

Practice direction change on sketchy footing. Take the time to run laps on snow that has been poorly groomed: Icy, frozen, chopped, the race hill after the course has been pulled, death cookies, tumbling baby skulls, bumps, seeping water ice, etc. 

Groomed surfaces are fun, but they make liars of us all, and fail to reveal technical deficiency.

 

And try not to take things too seriously. It's negotiation, not combat.

Edited February 8, 2016 by Beckmann AG

[jng]

Thanks for the great advice!  My schedule has conspired to keep me off the course since I posed the question.  Meanwhile, riding at ATC may actually have a negative impact on my race performance.  Will post some follow-up when I get back on the course likely next week.

 

BTW, gates are ski gates, which were surprisingly not that painful when I drove through them.

[darko714]

"BTW, gates are ski gates, which were surprisingly not that painful when I drove through them."

 

That hasn't been my experience.  When I've hit a ski gate, I've hit it too low for it to flex out of my way.  It stays planted, like a 1" sapling, and I end up cartwheeling into the safety fence.  

 

I don't think I can improve on Beckmann's post, except to

 

1- stress that it's not only okay to skid the board, but in some circumstances it's absolutely necessary, and

 

2- transition early --  after completing a turn, get over to the other edge quickly and decisively.   If you hesitate, it’s easy to be “late” and then be stuck having to carve uphill to round the next gate,    Practice aired transitions when you’re out freeriding.