 Poster: A snowHead
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Just booked a week of private lessons off piste with Nico Glize in Val d'Isere over the New Year and keen to do some pre reading / preparation
Any suggestions please? Never done off piste before, so something for dummies (I'm also a dirty boarder, so something that's relevant to boarding)
Many thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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trainee snowboard jedi, read the guides on pre-season fitness regimes for snowboarders and get as fit as possible. That and, have a root about on www.henrysavalanchetalk.com.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thanks, after anything I can get, have a thirst for knowledge on this so will look at all of them.
Anything that brings it to live usually works for me, when I bought some learner snowboarder books years ago, I found many to be very theory (as you'd expect) focused but couldn't then translate that into simple practical terms
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The technique isn't really different from piste skiing (or at least it isn't for skis so I imagine it will be the same for boarding). Except in light powder, which is easy, you can't get away with skidding your turns. But conversely the snow makes carving easier and stops you skidding.
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as well as usual fitness, try practising balance. Options for this include standing on a wobble board/bosu, and single-leg squats (i.e. stand up and sit down on a chair using just one of your legs at a time).
Problem with pre-reading is that it can leave your trying to think about too much, which is more confusing than helpful.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Snowboard technique in powder/soft snow is essentially the same as on-piste technique (assuming you do that properly!). The most significant difference is that you are using/pushing-on the whole of the base of the board, rather than just the edge. Feel the snow through your whole foot, not just the toes or heels.
If the snow is very deep/light, you will have to shift your weight back a little too. Make sure you do this properly, by sliding the hips back towards/over the back foot with your upper body remaing upright, not leaning your upper body towards the tail.
Crouch a little lower in your stance, to make up for the greater variation in the snow surface.
Stay soft in the legs to absorb the bumps.
Enjoy! There is nothing quite like snowboarding in powder.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| stevomcd wrote: |
If the snow is very deep/light, you will have to shift your weight back a little too. |
Interestng if true. This is NOT true on skis, though some people seem to think it is.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Poles.
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And an overview of the reduction method.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| snowball wrote: |
| Interestng if true. This is NOT true on skis, though some people seem to think it is. |
It depends precisely what you mean.
Personally I ride centered over both legs. Most powder boards have a mild set-back stance so I ride them on the reference stance. Occasionally I'll find a board which is more general purpose, and after the first run I may shift the stance on those back a cm or so.
The usual advice is to check the board so you know what you're starting with, and if in doubt start centered. Then if you keep pearling (falling over the nose), shift you stance back a cm at a time until you stop. One or two should be plenty. Your guide should have a cross head screwdriver for precisely this purpose.
You don't want to get "into the back seat".
As far as specific preparation, just going and doing it will work.
If I had to give one tip it would be: "use a correctly sized powder board" because it's easier/ more fun.
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What's "the reduction method"? Sounds like some contraceptive technique.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Pay attention to your surroundings for avy stuff, be prepared to find it difficult at first and spend some time flailing about in the snow.......bring a snorkel
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Trying to bite my tongue here and failing! Do you guys REALLY think that telling a powder newbie to stand centred is a good idea?
Sure, when you're riding at high speed and up planing on the surface, you can bring your stance closer to the centre, but shifting your stance aft is essential at lower speeds and when learning.
To put some theory on it, when riding powder the rear contact point of the board stays in the same place (i.e. at the widest part of the tail) but the front one moves back to just in front of the front foot. Your stance should be centred over these two contact points. This means being a little further aft than normal.
You don't need a special board to ride powder, or to change your binding position (unless riding a twin-tip with no set-back - then I'd move it back a little). These are things to experiment with once you're comfortable off-piste, not for learning.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| stevomcd wrote: |
| .. Do you guys REALLY think that telling a powder newbie to stand centred is a good idea? |
You need to read the posts in context and more carefully I think.
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