Jump to content
Note to New Members ×

What did you learn this season so far (2022-2023)?


pow4ever

Recommended Posts

On 2/21/2023 at 1:47 PM, Jack M said:

Umm... don't do that.

I should probably clarify that statement. When I say stiffen my front leg during a heelside turn, what I'm really doing is driving my front heel hard into the snow through the whole turn, especially when initiating the turn. I wasn't doing that before and as a result my heelside turn would start with me skidding the turn before the edge would grab hold. My front knee still flexes to absorb shock while I'm focusing on pressuring that front heel though...

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, dhamann said:

i think the reference is to this. https://www.instagram.com/p/Co5dUyyABcw/

recovering from collarbone injury incurred i believe March '22. original treatment did not go as planned. reoperation November '22. team of docs, specialists help but patience is tough to overcome when you're an athlete of this caliber. the clip above is from about a week ago. 'it's a long road to the top if you wanna rock 'n roll'

everyone can win, not everyone can lose 2/26/19

Goddamn, I feel I could watch that video for hours! With a skin suit you get to see exactly how she’s moving….you can isolate her head, shoulders, knees, etc and focus on just one thing! What a machine.

It’s way more helpful than watching someone in a snowsuit, and way better than watching a race where you feel they are cheating on the ragged edge half the time! 

It goes without saying but she is such a picture-perfect rider. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, pow4ever said:

Good shot of boot lean angles here I thought.

 

 

Screenshot 2023-02-28 at 2.29.04 PM.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not something I learned this season, but just further confirmation:  Ester Lidecke is way out of my league in more ways than one!

As far what I did learn.  I've been doing this for a number of years, but sticking to my little local hill since my wife doesn't do winter sports.  Short season, limited days, limited terrain and I've never had a chance to ride with anyone qualified to assess my riding.  This year, for the first time a skier friend offered to follow me for a video and I learned that I don't look terrible.  But I need to keep working on the same things many of us beginner/intermediates need to do:  bend the legs more; keep the shoulders more parallel to the hill (i.e., don't lean the whole body); rotate to keep the shoulders facing more forward toward the front of the board.  And I'm sure there's a lot more that I'm missing.

267222530_WHSnowtrails1a.jpg.c396384f001461dbd2b00f4207d4a195.jpg

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My 8rw is amazing.

I don't heal as well as I used to

Post ride protein is a must, I wish I had started this years ago.

How important the mental aspect is in this sport.  After a wicked crash at MCC on Tuesday afternoon, I could not make a turn to save my life for the rest of the session I was so sketched out that I lost all of my confidence.

Its coming back with each ensuing day on the slopes

 

Edited by big mario
  • Like 1
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, Odd Job said:

I am realizing how important it is to work the fore/aft of the board aggressively. Really aggressively;

Do you find that in general? or any other specific condition? 

ex on plate? or race board? or softboot? on steep?

Finding the "reference" point on when to start shifting is still elusive.  i can do it but not able to articulate/explain it.  (no clear single signal but multiple subtle input tell me it's time)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, pow4ever said:

Do you find that in general? or any other specific condition? 

ex on plate? or race board? or softboot? on steep?

Finding the "reference" point on when to start shifting is still elusive.  i can do it but not able to articulate/explain it.  (no clear single signal but multiple subtle input tell me it's time)

Both softboots and hardboots. I've been playing with timing of shifting along with other things to make more sure, that I am indeed doing what I'm doing; because I definitely am not doing what I think I'm doing 99% of the time.

I have no experience really with freecarve setups. GS is freecarvy for me, so is SL. Otherwise I can carve almost as well on softboots with substandard equipment for my aggression.

I'd rather have specific markers for telling me where I am vs something telling me sweet lies in a turn from giving me a handout. When the truth is, if I was better, that handout would be a boat anchor and hold me back.

Boat anchors are bad.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/28/2023 at 2:16 PM, pow4ever said:

Did you take it down? Not working for me

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/27/2023 at 3:58 AM, ShortcutToMoncton said:

Does Ledecka have a channel? Anyone have a link? Haven’t seen it on YT

She's got a Facebook page. Not a lot of posts, just occasional updates.

Better signal-to-noise ratio than most of my actual friends. 🙂 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some things I have learned this year:

1. The Virus that I bought earlier this year has NO TAIL. None. The topsheet actually curves downward as the board gets thinner. One look and you're like "hey, this probably won't go backward."

2. Truly it does not go backward. I learned this the hard way because I am an idiot. "Well it's nicely groomed here so maybe just a little [WHAM] okay bad idea."

3. For years I've been fully laying out toeside carves, but for heelside I only get my hips down - my shoulders stay off the snow. Last weekend I made a big leap forward in getting my shoulders lower in heelside carves. Couple more weekends of practice and I might get my shoulder onto the snow consistently. The key (for me anyway) is to enter the carve crouched low, extend my legs mid-carve, and then pull my legs in again at the end of the carve. I remember Jacques and Patrice talking about "push pull" back in the day, but for some reason it took me about 20 years to actually try it. 

4. Backside 180s. I've been doing them for years, but I tend to slide 180 shortly after I land. I always thought that was due to over-rotating on takeoff but realized last year that it's got more to do with the fact that I just haven't committing to riding switch when I land. Last weekend I started hitting a small roller pretty at high speed, sliding 180 degrees, and then focusing on setting my edge to halt the rotation and continue riding backward for a bit. Just mentally rehearsing what I need to do to make backside 180 airs work. After a bunch of iterations of that did the same thing but hopped a little to actually get airborne for the 180, and kept riding backward after I landed. A tiny victory but it feels like real progress.

I've been doing frontside 180 slides and airs forever and continuing riding in reverse, but for some reason I almost always follow backside 180s (slide or air) with another 180 slide to get forward again. It's been a gap in my skill-set, and I'm finally closing it. Going to try to scale that up to bigger jumps over the next few weeks.

5. Upper buckles not tight enough -> shin pain. I rubbed my shin raw on the first day of the season. I didn't realize how bad it was until I got home and removed my socks. Yikes. 

Edited by NateW
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today, something didn't feel right on my rear boot. I was definitely clipped in, but transitioning out of heel side turns felt "off". I pulled over to look more closely  and good thing I did. To my horror and surprise, the screws holding the rear binding had become very loose and were starting to back out. 

Check your equipment regularly, folks! I'm making a point of a quick inspection the night before of board, bindings, boots, helmet and other protective gear and clothing. Why the night before? Because if I find an issue, I want to sort it out without affecting my start time in the morning. 

Stay safe. Have fun. 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...