# Freeride tips



## Riley212 (Nov 9, 2011)

your riding looks a little choppy, i don't know any other way to describe it. you have the motions right but you seem to be a little high and stiff legged.

focus on riding lower to the ground, letting your legs do the work rather than your upper body. I find i ride much more fluid and can soak up the bumps better when i do this. it almost feels like riding in a crouch but when the balance evens out you aren't you are just lower. 

im not an expert a dynamics of snowboarding but i do know that most of the work is done with our legs and very little upper body. they are the biggest muscles in your body and work the best over time. your upper body stays relaxed and your legs are very flexed when riding straight then push out into the turns to work the board. 

once you get it you will know because everything feels more fluid and less jerky.

you do it when riding the roug stuff but not on the groomed parts.

sweet tunes in the vid too


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## lonerider (Apr 10, 2009)

You are right... your upper body should be leading your turns. Currently, you front shoulder arm is dangling limply or madly flailing to keep your balance. Try to point/swing your arm (and thereby your shoulder) in the direction that you want your board to go in.

This is what you want to progress towards (realize that this is just an example, you will need a lot of lessons/practice to get to this level). Jump to 0:35 to see how an expert rides moguls and bumpy powder. Look at how he uses his arm and shoulder rotation to initiate his turn.


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## IdahoFreshies (Jul 9, 2011)

you were flailing your arms around all over the place (im sure you knew that though lol). i mean a few times your arms were almost spinning in circles. i have found that can be avoided by knowing very confidently what you are doing at the time. for instance, there is no reason to move your arms for stability after doing a little jump if you KNOW you are going to take off clean, and you are centered up to land clean, you can just focus on keeping your arms at a neutral position and stomping the landing clean. When i start riding like that i start thinking how im starting to get a bit sloppy and either slow it down a bit so you can react to all of the sudden changes better, or make more of my own turns. when its choppy like it was in some parts of the video when riding across all of those lines you are at the mercy of the chopped up terrain. if you initiate more of your own turns at least you know where you are turning, whats happening, and what the board is doing so you can tense up and relax for it, instead of just riding over the rough stuff and reacting late the unexpected movements. as stated before staying lower and being a bit more "aggressive" stance will help you react better to those sudden changes, and you wont need to flail your arms if your legs are taking the pounding and doing the reacting. i noticed a few times when you went on the side of the trail or changed terrain you didn't really prepare for where you were going, and the board almost got pushed up into you, instead of you bringing the board up yourself. crouching down a bit more there would probably help more there, allowing more travel of your legs (sort of like the suspension of a car:dunno looking at some of your little jumps it almost looks like you are just waiting for the board to land and see what happens, instead of knowing how you are going to land clean, mostly you are hopping off, leaning back (or not leaning at all and landing how you took off, which will end up landing tail) and landing tail, which forces you to overcompensate forward to balance back out, which makes it looks a bit sloppy. i tried:thumbsup:


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

I appreciate both responses. I know how to get low and flex my legs, I am mostly standing up taller on the piste to save my legs for the deeper steep stuff. This was my first outing of the season and the vids are from the end of the 3rd day. I needed to rest my legs by standing up taller when I could (on the piste).
Its a valid point, but I am really not worried about that I am getting low enough when I need to IMO.

I think lonerider has it which is that I need to initiate my turns with my upper body more effectively.
I am aware of this too and have been working on it and will continue to do so. 

Flailing madly :laugh: is a nice description (and accurate). It wasn't exactly a mogul field more irregular bumps and pretty steep. I was working hard to keep my balance for sure. 

Hell of a lot of fun though.

Will post up more vids as the season progresses and I will be working on both these points. 
Staying low all the while is just a matter of getting my legs back in condition.
I will be working on using my leading arm and shoulders more to lead my turns.

I am kind of looking for an instructor that I feel I want to learn from. Just anyone is no good for me. Ideally someone recommended by a friend.

Again thanks for the input and more from anyone else is welcome. 

Just saw your response Idaho. Thanks and I like what you said about anticipating the landing on the jumps more.


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## Hellude (Nov 12, 2010)

I would say as a snowboard instructor that the problem is not your arms, at least it's not the main problem.

The problem is your upper body leaning way over your toeside wich makes you very unbalanced and forcing your arms to flail around like crazy.

Try to think of a straight line along your shoulders, knees and feet. That means bending your knees to get a low position, NOT THE HIPS!

A lot of people make this mistake, trying to get down low by leaning their upper body over their toe-edge rather than bending the knees and showing off their Bodompodom domp =)

Look at the body position of this guy
Advanced Snowboarding Tips : How to Go Fast on a Snowboard - YouTube
That is kind of what you have to strive to achive, he is riding groomers but the same position is used for all terrain (of course a little more weight on your backleg in pow)

Good luck!


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

Snowolf said:


> Dreampow,
> 
> First off I am super jealous of such good powder. Meadows tonight was bulletproof ice again and no snow in the forecast.
> 
> ...



lots to work on here, much appreciated:thumbsup::thumbsup:.


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## jlm1976 (Feb 26, 2009)

*Shifting your base*

Lot's of good, spot on advice already given but I wanted to add one thing. To accomplish more of a down unweighted transition and really start to kill it in the crud you need to shift your base of support. 
Right now, for the most part, you are moving your body around, relative to the board to ride. In order to really kill it in uneven terrain, and in my opinion make the transition to more advanced rider, you need to start moving the board around relative to your body, namely your core. Stiffen and flex your core and focus on using your legs to manipulate the board rather than your weight/body. In the example of up unweighting vs. down unweighting, in up unweighting you extend your legs to move your body upward from the board to unweight it. The board roughly stays weight it is and the body/core moves away from the board. In down unweighting, you contract your legs quickly such that the core/body stays where it is and to board moves upward to become unweighted(this is part of the reason I dislike the term down unweighting as i find it misleading, but that's another thread). 
Watch the CASI Level 4 video that Lonerider posted and you'll see what I am talking about. Their upperbody/core barely moves while the board is in constant motion, almost always moving relative to the riders core. 
Understanding this, IMO, is the key to getting the advice above.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

Thanks a lot guys, really happy with all the helpful advice. I know some of these things will improve a lot as I get into boarding condition, especially bending at the hip. Here is a shot of me last Feb in mid season which is more my usual stance.










I know I do bend at the hip sometimes especially on challenging terrain and I will be working on that as well as the other points.

Keeping my arms calmer is something I really want to work on, again this comes out more on challenging terrain.

I will definitely take some lessons and will do some research into that today.

This trip puts me at 55 days on a snowboard, not that much so I think I can still change my form quite easily.

This unweighting concept is something I am just starting to understand (mentally).

I learned the basics from a friend and have never had a lesson. 

This year I bought a season pass for this mountain and I hope to get many more days on the snow.

I really do appreciate the advice and think this is one of the best parts of our forum:thumbsup::thumbsup:.

Its a shame some of the threads turn into ego battles :dunno: because I think most people on here just want some useful advice and help.

Still I realize its pointless to tell people to be more respectful to others. 

I will definitely post up more vids here as the season goes on and I look forward to more advice and help.

If any of you have the means get over here for a trip.


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## lonerider (Apr 10, 2009)

dreampow said:


> I know I do bend at the hip sometimes especially on challenging terrain and I will be working on that as well as the other points.
> 
> Keeping my arms calmer is something I really want to work on, again this comes out more on challenging terrain.
> 
> ...


Cool, good luck and definitely post more videos as you progress. You have the proper attitude for getting better.

Too many people just want to hate since they can't post "video responses" since they suck at riding and just like getting their LULZ on the interwebz.


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## AIRider (Dec 25, 2010)

keep up the good work, I love this forum just for the fact that people are helpful, especially if you show that you want to improve !


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## IdahoFreshies (Jul 9, 2011)

I THINK... i need some goddam snow so i can film some and get the community's input.


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## Bayoh (Dec 17, 2010)

Snowolf said:


> Idaho....I feel your pain. Today I just jibbed a 50 foot section of bear grass when it should be under 80 inches of snow. Do what I am doing and fly to Arizona; they are the only place in the country with snow. Sunrise has 60 inches with another 2 feet coming. I-40 is closed from Flagstaff to Albuquerque due to blizzard conditions. I am going there the 10`th through the 14`th. $99 each way to PHX on Southwest. You know it`s a shitty year when someone is leaving Mt. Hood to go ride in Arizona...


With how things are going you'd think this is an el nino instead of a la nina year. :laugh: I was at Sunrise on the 13th. 2ft of powder the day/night before and it snowed all day long. Was one amazing day of boarding and very few people at the hill.


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## IdahoFreshies (Jul 9, 2011)

Snowolf said:


> Idaho....I feel your pain. Today I just jibbed a 50 foot section of bear grass when it should be under 80 inches of snow. Do what I am doing and fly to Arizona; they are the only place in the country with snow. Sunrise has 60 inches with another 2 feet coming. I-40 is closed from Flagstaff to Albuquerque due to blizzard conditions. I am going there the 10`th through the 14`th. $99 each way to PHX on Southwest. You know it`s a shitty year when someone is leaving Mt. Hood to go ride in Arizona...


oh that's terrible, i never thought i would have had to tell my friend to cancel his plane tickets for Christmas time out here because we can't ride ANYWHERE. the latest date for the first snowfall over .5" in boise is Dec 28th...in 5 days we are about to break that record next week its supposed to be around 45 degrees...so we are thinking of just going dirtbiking, might as well...this is honestly the shittiest winter by far in the 6 years i have lived in boise.


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## Matt166 (Oct 19, 2011)

lonerider said:


> You are right... your upper body should be leading your turns. Currently, you front shoulder arm is dangling limply or madly flailing to keep your balance. Try to point/swing your arm (and thereby your shoulder) in the direction that you want your board to go in.
> 
> This is what you want to progress towards (realize that this is just an example, you will need a lot of lessons/practice to get to this level). Jump to 0:35 to see how an expert rides moguls and bumpy powder. Look at how he uses his arm and shoulder rotation to initiate his turn.


I disagree strongly. The upper body shouldn't be used to initiate turns. It is time and energy consuming, which will lead you into problems later on when you try and ride bumps/trees.


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## lonerider (Apr 10, 2009)

Matt166 said:


> I disagree strongly. The upper body shouldn't be used to initiate turns. It is time and energy consuming, which will lead you into problems later on when you try and ride bumps/trees.


Yea... cuz those Canadians don't know anything about snowboarding :laugh: Check out the video at 0:50 for riding bumps between a few trees.

I think I know what you are trying to say, that for an intermediate rider, trying to initiate the turn with you upper body can lead to a lot of bad habits if there is no instructor around to keep an eye on their form. That is a valid concern.


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## Matt166 (Oct 19, 2011)

lonerider said:


> Yea... cuz those Canadians don't know anything about snowboarding :laugh: Check out the video at 0:50 for riding bumps between a few trees.
> 
> I think I know what you are trying to say, that for an intermediate rider, trying to initiate the turn with you upper body can lead to a lot of bad habits if there is no instructor around to keep an eye on their form. That is a valid concern.


Actually I don't like the casi system at all, I think they teach bad habits at lower levels then have to undo them later on. Shoulder position will always be important to discuss in turns, but you are talking about using them as the main method of initiation, which is wrong for any level.


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## lonerider (Apr 10, 2009)

Matt166 said:


> Actually I don't like the casi system at all, I think they teach bad habits at lower levels then have to undo them later on. Shoulder position will always be important to discuss in turns, but you are talking about using them as the main method of initiation, which is wrong for any level.


LOL, well you can argue with CASI people all you want... I don't really bother with these philosophical/stylistic/political battles (like you said it takes too much "time and energy"). I take it you are a AASI guy, or have you developed your own secret undefeatable martial snowboarding technique while riding high up on a secluded mountain as a hermit?  Do you have any videos of your own like Snowolf?

I actually have very little upper body movement in my own style... was thinking about trying the style the CASI riders have to change things up. Here's my messing around (not the best form... particularly because I was trying to lay out my cross-over carves... plus it's really hard to point a regular camera at yourself (no fisheye)


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

Interesting discussion on the use of upper body here. 

Just to bring it back a little to how that relates to my riding. I am clearly using my arms to flap around to keep balance particularly on sketchy landings and going over bumpy terrain which is OK I guess. Problem is I flap around more than I need to just riding regularly and as Snowolf said above I often have my rear arm out over the toe edge.

Here is a vid from early last Feb. No music but lots of little whoops. Something about pow that makes me do that.

This is pretty much how I ride and more reflective of the conditions I usually ride.
I really want to get my arms quieter and get more extension and flexion as well as down unweighting.

Anyway your MA is appreciated.

Lonerider seems you are bent at the hip more than you want to be in your vid there.


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## lonerider (Apr 10, 2009)

dreampow said:


> This is pretty much how I ride and more reflective of the conditions I usually ride.
> I really want to get my arms quieter and get more extension and flexion as well as down unweighting.
> 
> Anyway your MA is appreciated.
> ...


So for any aerial... the easiest way to avoid flapping is to grab (your board, or your foot/knee). Otherwise, try to keep your front hand in your field of view... if you see your hand, you will be more conscious of keeping it quiet and controlled... if it is out of your view, it is out of mind and probably doing something you don't want it to.

In my video, I am definitely bent over at the waist more than I should be for my toeside carves. That is more due to me trying to film myself with a non-fisheye lens as I found that unless I get the camera within a few inches of the ground and as far in front of me as possible... you only can see either my feet and the snow... or my head and just the sky.

For the heelsides carves, I am correctly bent at the hip as ideally your upper body should be upright (allows you to get the maximum pressure on your edge). When I mean "ideal," I mean it is the more dynamic posture and lets you absorb ruts and changes edges quickly, which is what racers like to have. Stylistically... some people prefer to lay out across the snow... check out the extreme carving video below:


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## ThunderChunky (Oct 1, 2011)

When I learned to separate my upper body from my lower body I became way better at riding and in the park. It mainly allowed me to save myself from slams. When you can use one of these without it affecting the other at all you can really get good. Really helps a lot in the park too. Like when you get on rails and need to counter spin. Without having the ability to separate these, it would be pretty hard to do. Just a small tip, helped me.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

Snowolf said:


> Watching this video, I see a couple of things.
> 
> First, you are obviously a pretty decent advanced rider so you have some good foundational skills. All you really need to do is refine some things. The reason you are "flapping your arms" so much to regain balance is because some other things are going on. Don`t focus on the arm, rather the root cause of the imbalances. In all of the vids I see you doing the exact same thing I am working on and has been pointed out to me by clinic leaders. You ride almost all of the time bent to some degree at the waist. Even on your heelside slash turns in the pow, you maintain this bent at the waist posture. My guess is that at your level of riding this is an unconscious habit. Riding this way creates a ton of balance issues that really only show up when you have to get aggressive in your riding.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the advice Snowolf and Lonerider and Thunder. 

I will be working on standing up straighter from the hip and returning to a neutral position. I will try to be more aware of my arms too and keep them quieter, but as Snowolf said if I have a feeling its a symptom not the cause so it should improve.


Interestingly Thunder I recently ordered the snowboard addiction set and did my first board slide successfully on this last trip. I have never been into park but I will do a little more this year. It actually felt easy with the advice from SA.

I am looking for an instructor at my local mountain and have a good lead on that.

Any good videos where down unweighting is explained well?

Woke up this morning to a light dusting of snow here in Kyoto which is pretty rare. 

It continues to dump in the mountains and I will be heading up after the busy new years season is over.
Hope January brings you guys better conditions.

Merry christmas to you all.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

Don't need anything fancy, some drills would be great. Have been playing around with dynamic carving on mellow groomers but somehow don't have the right rhythm of when to stand up tall and when to squat.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Hey Dreampow, watched your last vid and about the arms. I was told to keep the elbows glued to my side or keep your hands on your crotch for more relaxed big bowl/groomer carving...like the michael jackson grab. Or up by your chest like boxing; and to use your head and shoulders kind of like a boxer doing the duck and weave thing, e.g, dropping and tucking/driving your leading shoulder for toeside turns. And for heelside raising and opening the leading shoulder for heelside turns...i'd imagine what Snowolf is talking about for anticipatory rotation.

I used to flallying my arms all over...hopefully better now...but found that with my arms all over the place, I was often not in position to snap the next turn or take off on a bit of air. In away the more compact your upper body is the quicker and more power you have in snapping turns and you start to feel how important it is to have some core strength. Anyway the boxing...duck and weave thing really made sense to me.


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## lonerider (Apr 10, 2009)

dreampow said:


> Don't need anything fancy, some drills would be great. Have been playing around with dynamic carving on mellow groomers but somehow don't have the right rhythm of when to stand up tall and when to squat.


Squat as your start the turn, stand up once the board is turning... 

A few drills i've heard of (not sure if they are AASI or CASI approved) for quiet upper body...

Snowboard holding your hands together behind your back... you should be able to control your turn just with your knees and ankles. If you have to let go and use your arms to balance yourself... you are not using your knees and ankle correctly.

Hands in your pants pockets (not quiet as severe... or weird as putting both hands on your crotch as wrathfuldeity suggested :dunno


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

The crotch grab will go perfectly with the sounds I make in the powder:laugh:.

Thanks for these, will do on groomers as you all seem to call them:dunno:. In the pow I guess I will struggle to do those drills, but will try to keep my arms more out above the board and at the same height not flapping scooby doo style.

I have been working on my core muscles in general this year. I do backflips and frontflips and simple gymnastics moves and hope to try some into powder landings with a board on. 

The thing I notice doing the gymnastics is my abs are a lot stronger than my lower back which seems to also come out when I am riding. Doing lots of exercises to build up my lower back muscles more. That should help too.

Will be sure to post up vids of all these things as potential for lots of comedy wipeouts too.

Still the pow here is so deep its perfect to try new stuff.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

Squat as you start the turn and stand up taller through the turn right? 
Then before initiating the next turn drop down (unweighting?) then initiate the next turn low down and start getting taller through the turn again?

Add to that a little fore aft shift through the turn with more weight to the front foot as I get taller?

Thats how I am understanding it right now.

please correct if thats wrong.


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## lonerider (Apr 10, 2009)

dreampow said:


> Squat as you start the turn and stand up taller through the turn right?
> Then before initiating the next turn drop down (unweighting?) then initiate the next turn low down and start getting taller through the turn again?
> 
> Add to that a little fore aft shift through the turn with more weight to the front foot as I get taller?
> ...


Yes... that is the basic idea. Although obviously all of that is easier said than done.



dreampow said:


> The thing I notice doing the gymnastics is my abs are a lot stronger than my lower back which seems to also come out when I am riding. Doing lots of exercises to build up my lower back muscles more. That should help too.


It might be your psoas muscle (hip flexor). It is tight/weak in anyone who spends more than 2 hours a day sitting at a desk. It connects your leg to your lower back - so if it is tight your back will feel sore tight


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## Sick-Pow (May 5, 2008)

lonerider said:


> Yes... that is the basic idea. Although obviously all of that is easier said than done.
> 
> It might be your psoas muscle (hip flexor). It is tight/weak in anyone who spends more than 2 hours a day sitting at a desk. It connects your leg to your lower back - so if it is tight your back will feel sore tight




I just tell my masseuse to spend extra time working on my ass, to loosen up that muscle.:cheeky4:

cool videos. would be fun to make some turns together.


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## Ryan_T (Oct 18, 2011)

I was getting bored doing vanilla downhill runs, but now I got a lot of stuff to work on. I screwed myself trying to learn alone. 


Love this thread.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

Snowolf said:


> You have the idea. Before doing it riding, do it stationary on your board in a flat area. As you are standing, just collapse your legs completely (some people find it easier to think of it as sucking their legs up like after taking off on a jump) when you do this quickly, there is fraction of a second where your board will actually lift off the snow a tiny bit before your body actually drops. That is the exact moment when riding that you would make the edge change (you of course have to be carving).
> 
> As soon as you set your new edge and begin the next turn, slowly begin extending through the turn. The goal is slow this down so that you can extend all the way through the turn so right at the end of the turn, you can drop briskly and make another edge change and do it all again.
> 
> ...


Again thanks everyone, seems this thread is useful to quite a few people on the forum which is great.

Will be working on this and my stance this year. Makes it much more fun to me when you know you have an area to work on and you get to see and feel the improvement. I definitely won't forget to just play and ride. The pow here is so epic its hard to stop smiling on a good day. My jaw muscles get as sore as anywhere else.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

Too bad. Can't argue with mother nature, she does what she does. 

Hope you get some snow to make the vids, and just snow in general.

I will be going on another trip soon and I will work on what we've talked about so far. Will strap my board on and practice.

They hire instructors over here by the way. Quite a few foreigners come here for the pow and want lessons so only very basic Japanese required (don't have to teach anyone in Japanese).

Maybe a good way to spend a winter. Its one of the most reliable places on the planet for snow. Almost never bad years. Even in "bad" years there is still plenty of snow compared to bad years in other places.


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

Snowolf said:


> While I respect and acknowledge their skill, this kind of riding to me is so unappealing....:dunno:


How can such a complete and perfect carve be unappealing? I would ride the pow first...but enjoy fast carving as well!


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

true. It can look repetitive after a bit. I don't have a hard/alpine board, my brother does, with hard boots too. I try to get as close as I can to that... with my A-Frame and Driver-X boots 
Damn if it doesn't snow a bit Friday I'll go insane.


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## jlm1976 (Feb 26, 2009)

I was a dedicated hard booter for about 5years. I loved the speed and searching out the perfect carves. But then I started trying to branch out and become more well rounded as a rider and teacher. Once I did that, I started phasing out the hard boot gear. I have found that with goo technique, you can carve very aggressively in softboots(my profile pic is me on a Salomon Special with my bindings set duck) but still have a versatile enough rig to hit the trees, park, and carve groomer in the same run. Soft boots inhibit your carving for sure, but I found(and this was my own experience) that the hardboots, even mounted on a freeride board) inhibited every part of snowboarding but carving so I phased them out. 
I agree, unless it's a race course, watching freecarving videos can be repetative. 
Having said all that, one thing that doesn't come across in the videos is how fast those riders are going. They are hauling serious ass!


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

Just wanted to thank everyone for the tips, especially Snowolf as your explanation was really clear and easy for me to understand.

Anyway the pow is epic here and I just had an amazing 3 days in Nagano working on the points people brought up.
Don't have footage but the down unweighting thing has been a revelation. I am still working on getting the timing down and getting it more fluid but it helped me turn when I wanted to on 40 degree steeps through the trees. I really felt more control and more balanced.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

I am working on keeping my arms still too. Will definitely post up some vids but the pow was so amazing we just couldn't be bothered this time.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

Just came back from another trip. Had 2 meters of pow the 3 days I was there. Struggled to get footage as the weather would not allow and my riding partner this time doesn't do trees yet, which is where I spend a lot of time.

Powder was so deep and fairly heavy so mostly just cruising through with mellow turns on a full setback.


Have not managed to organize a lesson yet but am working on it. I have 2 guys in mind but they are not always available and I usually go on the spur of the moment when the pow is falling.

I am mostly just enjoying riding, but I am trying to be aware of the things you all pointed out last time.







Again your constructive comments are welcome.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

Any tips? I guess its hard to see because of all the pow but I think in general my arms are quieter and I am bending at the hip less. Lower and upper body separation? 

Throw me a frickin bone here guys.


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## gchyld308 (Dec 9, 2011)

I'd say it looks good. At this point I wouldn't take the time to break out the camera. I would be to busy enjoying the powder.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

gchyld308 said:


> I'd say it looks good. At this point I wouldn't take the time to break out the camera. I would be to busy enjoying the powder.


Thats exactly why there is so little footage from a 3 day trip. 

Still want to improve and posting vids has been very useful.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

dreampow said:


> Any tips? I guess its hard to see because of all the pow but I think in general my arms are quieter and I am bending at the hip less. Lower and upper body separation?
> 
> Throw me a frickin bone here guys.


the pow ur riding is the boner

:thumbsup: not flapping and bending as much


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

My back arm is like a snake in the tail press there, tail presses are a pretty new thing for me so still working on balance there. Quieter than before in the turns though, I think. 

I am not straight lining but making very mellow turns while staying in the back seat. I made turns with a small angle left and right because of the depth of the pow and the weight. Its hard to see from the vid. Any big angle and the speed just drops to almost nothing. 
Trust me even though it looks steep there if you slow down too much you don't carry enough speed to get back to a groomed area at the bottom where its flat and its entering a world of pain. The pow is pretty heavy, bottomless and very very hard to move in if you do stop before making it back to a groomed area. 

I passed many people in just that situation that day.

In general I don't find making turns in powder a problem. On other runs I didn't get on video have been working on the down unweighting we talked about. Still needs a lot of work but I am definitely beginning to get a feel for it.

This was so much fun.


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

idk man,but i think his playing us:laugh: his doing a tail press as he goes by the camera. anyways we need some of that snow here please. seriously though,it looks good from my standpoint but i'm only been boarding for 2 season so... good job


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