Skidded carved turns (if that's what you call it)

[kjl]

How does one go about making those skidded turns that still end up taking you around in an arc like a properly carved turn would?

I don't know how to explain them - I see good skiiers making turns like these all the time - the tracks they leave are big circular arcs just like my carved turns leave, but the tracks are fat because their skis have been offset from the direction of travel by a bit the entire time and they've just been slightly skidding the entire way around.

I ask because this weekend in Tahoe conditions were pretty tough (really wet, a little bumps, and generally really, really sloppy), and there were a few slopes that I just couldn't quite handle with a full, real carve. But there were good skiiers all around me making these nice semi-carved turns, eating up the entire width of the slope, but controlling their speed through just the slightest bit of skidding. They were going quite fast, too.

For me, when I start to skid I end up just going straight down the fall line. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a snowboarder make those half-carved/half-skidded turns - they do what I do when I'm not carving - bomb the fall line while occasionally switching edges to make it look like they're not sideslipping.

A related question: I also see good skiiers sometimes start a turn skidded but finish carved (they are travelling across the fall line, then they switch edges but also point the skiis a little bit downhill and bleed a little speed until their skis cross the fall line, at which point they engage the edge and carve the last half of the turn). How do you do a turn like this? Once I start skidding a turn, I don't think I can get the edge to hook up again, especially on heelside. This seems like another excellent technique to control speed on slopes that are too narrow/bumpy/slushy/icy to carve on.

Anybody know what I am talking about?

[Neil Gendzwill]

Just turn like normal. If you want to skid, drop the inclination a bit and push the tail.

[lonerider]

Originally posted by kjl

How does one go about making those skidded turns that still end up taking you around in an arc like a properly carved turn would?

For me, when I start to skid I end up just going straight down the fall line. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a snowboarder make those half-carved/half-skidded turns - they do what I do when I'm not carving - bomb the fall line while occasionally switching edges to make it look like they're not sideslipping.

A related question: I also see good skiiers sometimes start a turn skidded but finish carved (they are travelling across the fall line, then they switch edges but also point the skiis a little bit downhill and bleed a little speed until their skis cross the fall line, at which point they engage the edge and carve the last half of the turn). How do you do a turn like this? Once I start skidding a turn, I don't think I can get the edge to hook up again, especially on heelside. This seems like another excellent technique to control speed on slopes that are too narrow/bumpy/slushy/icy to carve on.

Anybody know what I am talking about?

It's really easy... and you basically do what you think you should be doing... angulating and pressuring the edge just like a carved turn, just not as much so that you skid a tiny bit as you feather the edge. I'm surprised you haven't gone through this phase as you try to carve your freeride board as on steeps it's a little difficult for me to initiate my edge immediately without a jump turn, so my path will be wide at the start as the edge hasn't hooked up yet (my weight isn't setup properly) and I'm also bleeding off some speed from the end of my previous turn, I'll get to a speed I'm comfortable with and have my body setup and then just inclinated/pressure my edge and quickly my track will narrow into a thin carve... it's really easy to do big wide skidded turns, you just need to be aware about people bombing down behind you.

[kjl]

Hmm... perhaps I'll work on it next weekend. I'll try using less edge angle...

I guess I should clarify my question a little bit. When I saw these skiiers doing their full skidded turns or those skid-at-first-then-carve-at-the-end turns, they looked like experts. At the turn initiation they threw their bodies downhill and rode a clear arc around, as the skis tracked a perfect skidded turn. They looked just as smooth as the skiiers who were laying down real trenches - they just weren't going as fast or tracking as wide.

If I try to do a rounded, skidded turn, I feel really clumsy, not smooth - instead of travelling around in a circle I might bleed a bunch of speed in a huge skid, then suddenly take off in the direction my board is pointing, or I might just chatter a bunch. I certainly have no way of getting into a rhythm and doing turn after turn of these.

[Slim]

I think it has more to do with steering movements than it does reducing edge angle. After all, you can skid or carve or sideslip with the exact same amount of edge angle--what determines if the board skids or carves is the direction in which you steer it: if the board points exactly in the direction it is travelling, it'll carve. If it points across the direction it is travelling, it'll skid.

In 'skarving' turns, you make gradual movements of both feet (and legs) to guide the board through a round arc. If your skarves are more sideslips than round arcs, I think it 'd be helpful to focus on using smaller, more gradual and precise movements of the feet to guide the board through a round arc, rather making a big movement, all at once, to steer the board through the turn.

Mi dos centavos.

[D-Sub]

ouch

[ar(angel]

That contest (Maverick) is just flat crazy! I was nervous riding 7 footers at Lahaina, can't imagine something like that......

Paul

[lonerider]

Originally posted by kjl

If I try to do a rounded, skidded turn, I feel really clumsy, not smooth - instead of travelling around in a circle I might bleed a bunch of speed in a huge skid, then suddenly take off in the direction my board is pointing, or I might just chatter a bunch. I certainly have no way of getting into a rhythm and doing turn after turn of these.

Interesting... I guess it might be a weird side effect of learning to carve too early and not being used to control the snowboard in a non-carving situation. Another TC'er mentioned a somewhat similar difficult in riding very soft bumpy snow where committing to an edge at high inclination isn't possible (because you'll hit a mini-mogul and get knocked off your edge).

I think both of you will quickly learn how to feather the inclination of your edge to let it slide when you want to and hook up when you want to if you practice it. It's just a matter of experience and feel for the snow

(although I admit it's a little weird since most people I know learn it in the reverse... sliding, then carving steeps).