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New member in Michigan - looking to get set up and carving.


Ekuhn

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Binding purchase from @Alexey was great. And I was surprised how quick they got here from Europe. 
I’ll prob mostly be riding up at schuss but do weds night race league at cburg. Will send you a pm. Any and all tips will be appreciated. 
now just some snow…

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  • 2 weeks later...

Looking at the photo I can't see any rear foot heel lift or front foot toe lift being used. Most/many riders, esp those using Intec bindings will use this. European EC style riders tend to ride flat bail bindings but they are probably the only group who ride with flat bindings.

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13 hours ago, Aracan said:

UPZ boots come with more than enough ramp angle to start with. However, some toe lift on the front foot will probably make things easier

If you want a flat front foot you need the toe lift to counter the boot ramp. Without the lift you run the risk of straining the leading side of your front leg and it will remind you for the rest of the season.

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  • 2 weeks later...

First day out today at Schuss mtn michigan today. 
Big fun, sunny and warm, a good day to try all my new gear. 

felt pretty good if a little weird to start, a big difference from my normal soft boot and 5 and -5 degree set up 🙂 or my ski set up.

a dozen or so runs (according to slopes app), only one hill open today, pretty mellow but narrow run, kept my on my toes  

felt pretty skiddy, but had a couple decent turns, much to learn yet! 

video proof below, this was pretty late in day and it was getting slushy and a little chopped up (sorry for the shaky, 12-year-old-girl follow cam), I told her she had to film one if she wanted a ride home  🙂 

thanks all for the gear and advice so far! 

 

 

 

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Nice!  I used to teach there and haven't been back in a while.  Decent turns ya got there, especially for early in your carving journey- good carved turn segments!  It's hard to tell exactly, but it seems a little wider stance, combined with some heel and toe lifts, would loosen up your flexion.  This would allow you to sink downward before pressuring the edge, which means you wouldn't be as "locked in" on each turn.  Try modeling your current stance, in your boots but without the board, on a carpeted surface.  See how much range of motion (up and down) you have before your rear heel lifts.  Also see if the front surface of your front and rear patella are on the same plane.  Now add maybe 1/2 to 3/4" of shim under your front toe and rear heel and then repeat the movement.  Some riders don't care for the front toe lift, but it's worth checking out.  Even in hard boots, a good stance will give you a bunch of freedom of movement which in turn will help with balance and recovery.  

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@Deuxdiesel Thanks and yeah, I was definitely feeling that "first day out for the season, i should have done more leg and cardio work in the offseason" stiffness. And yeah i set everything up pretty stock- bindings centered and 50-45, the boots i left pretty much as they came from @gpg760 except for adding my own ski boot inserts(they felt great by the way), and bindings with preset cant inserts and nothing else really adjusted. Also thanks @AgassizSkidder- the board felt great and i think it will do me really well. 

Now some fine tuning. I am definitely thinking about some heel lift in back foot, About 5 years ago i broke and badly dislocated my right ankle in a skateboarding fall, and my forward range of motion is pretty much crap, and never gonna get much better. I'm thinking a little lift to push that heel up may be good to offset that. With bindings came a tall lift and a short one- will probably try the short one under front foot to see if i like it as well. Will also be playing with boot angles and canting as well now that i have a first day done. 

@Neil Gendzwill thanks for that, i've always tried to get some good carving in on my soft boot set up, and one of my favorite things for past couple years has been really working on getting switch carves down, I need new challenges to keep it interesting here in the midwest on our small hills (which is one of reasons i've pursued the hard boot set up this year). 
 

@icebiker I fully agree, the knowledge i've picked up on this thread and reading many others on this site have been invaluable to getting this going. And yeah, I am generally not one to obsess over every angle, adjustment and gear tweak, but focusing on getting things set up well and having some fun!  

IMG_1057.jpeg

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@EkuhnThe thick and thin wedges are used on one binding only, as a pair. The thick wedge under the heel and the thin wedge under the toe piece for heel lift. That way both parts are tilted at the same angle.  

You can either buy another pair for your other foot or, find the thread describing the 3D printing of F2 pattern wedges.

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11 minutes ago, SunSurfer said:

@EkuhnThe thick and thin wedges are used on one binding only, as a pair. The thick wedge under the heel and the thin wedge under the toe piece for heel lift. That way both parts are tilted at the same angle.  

You can either buy another pair for your other foot or, find the thread describing the 3D printing of F2 pattern wedges.

AHHH! 
Good to know! The instructions were not clear on that, but makes total sense. And now that i look back at the picture - makes even more sense- Thanks! 

 

Edited by Ekuhn
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The zeppa angle (footboard slope, down from heel to toe) is pretty steep in UPZs. 

You may get more benefit from front foot toe lift with only one wedge. To increase your ability to bend your rear ankle and knee try softening the spring setting on the back of your rear boot.

Watching the video you look like you are trying to tilt the board on edge by leaning your upper body into the turn, especially on toeside.

When you carve you balance against the 2-3cm of board base that is pushing against the side of the groove formed in the snow. So, try to tilt the board more with the soles of your feet and remain balanced over that lateral 2-3cm.

Look at the slowmo videos Nevin Galmarini has just posted and compare with your own body position. Keep on side with your videographer. Her contribution will help speed your progress, which is pretty good for a first day on a carving setup.

There's also a recent thread where Pew asks for guidance in getting started. Lots of good advice there.

 

Edited by SunSurfer
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@SunSurfer Thanks - yeah i saw that other thread- and will be going back into to do some studying.  @lowrider thanks - i may take you up on that. 

And figured i would also post my other big lesson learned from day 1...

Was busy effin around with my phone at top of hill to record a run. And not paying enough attention to bindings.

Snow was getting sticky as it warmed up. Boot had snow on bottom of heal, so mid way through first real toeside turn, damn boot popped out of binding... and I went full belly flop to the snow... end scene.

If you listen closely you can hear my soul leave my body for a quick second as the video ends.

I won't let that happen again. 

 

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ok so I’ve had a couple more days in. Feeling a little more comfortable and feel like I’m getting into my turns a bit more and trusting the edge  (still pretty sloppy Towards end of this run).
I think I am over the trust issues I had with my back binding (I am know super attentive to make sure it’s properly Clicked in). 
every day is feeling a little better and looser, enjoying the challenge for sure. Next up, putting in the toe wedge and seeing how that might change things.  
 

 

Edited by Ekuhn
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You're dropping your shoulder and upper body into your toeside turns reaching for the snow. One way to break that habit is to consciously raise your right arm on your toeside turns. 

Try focusing pressure on heels & toes (not boot cuffs) with both feet in your turns. Stand on your toes, balance on your heels. The upper body automatically angulates to keep from falling over. It will feel like more pressure is on the rear foot's toes on a toeside, and on the heel of your front foot on a heelside.

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Looking good!
On your front side turn you have a tendency to dip your right shoulder to the snow (maybe because you are reaching for the snow with your right hand) and your left hand is over rotating forward.  A great exercise to overcome this is to have your left hand reach for and hold hold the edge of your board at the same time - also keeping your shoulders parallel to the snow. This will leave your right hand further from the snow initially - this is ok.

It’s clear from the video that you are starting to feel relaxed in your turns.  Keep it up 🙂

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@Eboot and @bigwavedave thanks for the feedback! And yeah I’m seeing that back shoulder dropping now when I watch the video. Putting that on my list to work on. I read in another post about pressing back knee towards snow on toe-side and front knee on heel side. Was working on that and felt like it helped (and gave my brain something to focus on). Will try the tip about reaching front hand to edge (may take some more dedicated yoga work to get there but I get the idea). 
really appreciate the tips and yeah it’s super helpful to have video to review, got my wife to film this time so it’s less shaky 🙂

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  • 3 weeks later...

Update on progress after some more days and laps. 
Things i've learned. 

  1. Wedges for toe and heel lift helped. Took the advice from a few of you, added toe and heel lifts on respective feet. Felt more natural and I think helped with issue of my bad ankle on rear foot.
  2. I've Been keeping the feedback about shoulder and upper body positioning on the top of mind and that has been really helpful (also watched a few times a great video from Donek rider Lexi Bullis with some really clear explanations on exercises to help focus on body position https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOJ3u64cvgU
  3. Conditions matter! We haven't had great snow here in the midwest this year- and lots of REALLY hard/icy man-made conditions (a Michigan specialty 🙂) have had me feeling pretty nervous about loosing an edge, and speed control. I was at Nubs Nob yesterday after they got about 5 inches of fresh snow on Saturday, so i was able to ride some really nicely groomed and a lot softer conditions than i have seen so far. I almost immediately felt more confident and trusting of the board, and my ability to adjust to conditions- without worrying so much about a crazy ice patch sneaking up on me.
  4. Still learning on every run- but yesterday was the most fun i've had on this set up, and was able to get on some steeper pitches, add some more speed, and was able to keep track of some of my good turn lines from the chair. 

Posting video to remind myself to loosen up a bit (both upper and lower body, not sure why my rear arm is frozen in the same spot for this entire stretch of a run, must have been thinking about something else- and left it dangling out there 🙂.
 
And open for more feedback. 

 

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