paappraiser Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Ive been trying my hand at carving and im having a blast, Ive not been yet been able to lay down like the EC guys do. Im sure it will come with time. (the season is over here in a week or 2 anyhow) I do have a few questions mabey someone will be able to answer. How important is the board? I have several board-- 2 BX boards, a race board and a burton alps. (yes I buy to many things). Im sure a swoard is the best, but im on crappy east coast mountains and I can hardly turn here to begin with. How steep of a pitch is need to EC? next, what is the best way to learn to lay down? I can hold a edge much better now, but its a learning curve as to how much pressure you can put on it. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdboytyler Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Check out this good discussion at TahoeCarvers.com about board selection and extremecarving. http://www.tahoecarvers.com/riders/forum/read_TC.php?f=1&i=4858&t=4858 From trying out different boards, I agree with what was said on the TC thread. Wider alpine board, with bigger side cut radius makes EC easier. I've got small feet, so my Oxygen Proton 164 GS makes a decent poor man's Swoard. I've also gotten a lot of laid-out turns on a Proton 149 SL, but it's definately easier on the 164. I find it easiest to do EC on steeper blues. I've tried EC on a Burton Alp 157 with no luck, just could not hold an edge, even in good snow. Had better luck with a Donek Incline 160, but snow conditions had to be really good. I've also gotten fully laid-out carves on a Burton Balance 152 (freestyle), but snow and pitch had to be perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paappraiser Posted March 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 what are the wider alpine boards? Ive noticed that all the "all mountain" ones are the widest boards Anyone have some suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Marty Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 Try making bigger turns... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pepe Le Pew Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 I don't know that there's a right kind of board for EC. I've never liked wider boards but that has not been preventing me from being successful with EC style turns. During SES04, as I was demoing a Donek 180+ GS, I requested a tip from Patrice before I tried. He said that the key was to extend early during the turn. It helped quite a bit. As far as optimal condition, I believe you need a decent pitch (especially if you want to link) because you need the speed. Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdboytyler Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 Check out Jack's buyer's guide. You can see the waist width and side cut for most of the available alpine boards. http://www.bomberonline.com/JackM/buyers_guide/buyers_guide.htm If you've got small feet, mondo 25 or smaller, then any one of the Oxygen Proton GS boards would probably work pretty good. Some Burton Ultra Primes have waist widths of 20+ cm and pretty big side cuts (12m or so). But I've never ridden any Ultra Primes. Some guys at TahoeCarvers.com like the Coiler EX which is a Swoard clone. But then you have to deal with the Coiler back log. Or look for a Wild Duck Knifer (predecessor to the Swoard) on Ebay. Not a whole lot of choices. If you don't find a board that you like or can afford, then just ride more, improve your technique and get laid out carves on whatever alpine board you've got now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAD1 Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 “but im on crappy east coast mountains and I can hardly turn here to begin with.” Without a doubt to EC you do need very good conditions/hero snow. But if you “can hardly turn here to begin with” maybe, just maybe you’re taking a bigger leap than you are ready for. Personally I like the East coast hardpack; it’s fast, it hurts like hell when you fall on it and it forces you to have your **** together tight to carve on it. Everyone wants to get a stick, hit the slopes and start rippin perfect TV box carves. Before you can do that you might just need to put in time on the snow (lots of time), work on technique, tweek your equipment, take your lumps and earn your carves. Honestly though, the conditions in the past couple of weeks here in the northeast have been any thing but crappy. So if you are still having trouble carving in these conditions maybe it’s time for a serious reality check. Walk first then run. Happy carving and good luck on your quest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paappraiser Posted March 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 “but I’m on crappy east coast mountains and I can hardly turn here to begin with.” I went to CO last year and was blown away by the size! I was more taking a poke at out verry narrow trails here in the east coast :) and yes the pack hurts like h^ll when I fall. I’ve already cracked a rib this year, last year broke my tail bone. Don’t want to do that again. I’m doing ok, Its a learning curve, im not expecting to make perfect carves right away.. But I can hold my own so far. it is a rush when you nail a great run. just looking to see if the equipment can help or be a hindrance. Conditions here have been pretty good for the past few weeks. I go once a week, and have been truly working on my hard boots. It has been work to get yourself not to slide...But very gratifying! .. Thanks for the input, on the equipment everyone. I think I’m just going to stick with what I have for now, I’m just trying to get a extra set of bindings, and a few other random small items. The board info is helpful; obviously you can EC on most any good board. Maybe Ill go to a demo day in VT next year. "I find it easiest to do EC on steeper blues." That’s what I felt, I was trying on some medium greens and was getting frustrated. .. Sad to say the season is over here for the most part about the 19th,.. If It stays open to the 26th ill be very excited. . Thanks everyone for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Personally I find EC easiest on steeper slopes. Otherwise I have a hard time regaining enough speed in between the turns. I also have a much easier time with a 13m sidecut radius than with 10m. It takes a lot of speed to lean that far into a turn, and turning that hard eats up a lot of speed. IMO the solution is to do it where it's steep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menno Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Originally posted by MAD1 Without a doubt to EC you do need very good conditions/hero snow. That is a misunderstanding that keeps coming back again and again. When you look at some of the videos on extremecarving, you can see that they were not shot on hero-snow. Much of it is on hardpack. Off course, it's easier to learn it on hero-snow. But once you get the grip, you can do it on most snowtypes. Blue ice is not the favorite snowtype for EC-ing, but not for bombing down the slope either.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAD1 Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 I stand corrected. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zone Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Doing EC in Eastern Canada, I can confirm that you do NOT need hero snow and perfect conditions. However, it is a lot more pleasurable in such conditions. On ice, it is do-able, but your technique (and edges) needs to be bang-on, as you very quickly find out otherwise (ouch and slide....). On cruds and chunky snow, forget about dragging your hands, unless you don't mind popping your shoulders back in their sockets afterward...:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrokel Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 "Hero snow and perfect conditions" is a DEFINITION of pleasurable:D You could probably do ANYTHING;) on hero snow and in "perfect conditions"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 As we found out, it is easier to do EC turns on 13m radius when you are tall. Shorter guys can decrease the radius to 12m something.. Below its still possible, but linking the turns gets tricky, and over 13m you need too much speed to control things :) Nils Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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