# How to be in control while going faster



## justdust

I'll leave the technical stuff to people who can explain it well like Snowwolf. But you say this is only your third season. For me, muscle memory made a huge difference in my comfort level riding at speed...so the more you ride, the more comfortable you will become as your feet and legs develop a mind of their own and you give less conscious thought to avoiding catching and edge or slipping out. The answer to everything...RIDE MORE!!!


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## Donutz

I agree with justdust, plus I found that what helps me a lot is riding on the roughs, i.e. off the groomed slopes. I made a point of always hitting the sides of the runs this year, and the payoff has been a huge improvement in my stability and my ability to recover my balance when things start to go south.

When you're going faster, bumps and jogs on the slope hit you harder and faster and more often. At some point you start to feel like it's coming faster than you can react to, and that's when you shut it down. But practicing things that improve your reactions will improve the speed that you can handle.


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## gravityhomer

Yeah, the ice has definitely magnified ever little bump tremendously. This is something that I read online and I think it might apply to me, I over think things, "The harder you try and more tense you are, the worse you're going to do. Just relax and try to have fun and really feel it out as you ride."


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## jyuen

if you really wanna get some good speed, you have to avoid riding lazy and get a nice squat going... especially in the ice coast when you're not really floating on powder. really gotta dig those edges into the groomers or crappy ice tracks and just ride it out. personally i hate bombing it cause my quads and hamstrings get real tired from squatting... i'm a pretty lazy rider and the only time i really get a nice squat going is when i'm on a box or going into or landing a jump


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## Hellude

Try to put some angle on your highbacks, it will force you to a lower position and bent knees which will help when riding on bumpy terrain. Also if you find rollers (shaped like ~~~) try to practice there. Bend your knees over the bumps and extend between. Try to keep your upper body in a straight line and you legs working. Straightlining through rollers is a great exercice to get your riding more dynamic. 
As for the ice some speed might actually help you since you wont slide out and fall. Try to look for buildt up snowpiles on the ice, aim for them and make your turn there. Also keep your edges sharp.
Carving on steeper hills is a challenge, in the beginning try to make a C shaped turn, in the beginning and end of your turn your board will be traversing across the hill. This will keep the speed down which is important at the beginning, as you progress try to ride more down the fallline as you get more comfortable with the speed. Riding fast is also a lot in your head, you need some mental toughness to be relaxed at high speed so take it in small steps and dont try to race everyone else. Ride just outside of your comforzone all the time.


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## HoboMaster

Balls out halling ass on ice is more like a death wish then skill. Sure, there is a certain level of skill required where you actually feel somewhat comfortable doing that, but ice is highly unpredictable and if you can't hold an edge, you can't snowboard, regardless of how good you are. Knowing conditions and how your board reacts to them is essential in snowboarding. You ride different types of terrain differently, and accommodate your speed to them. In fresh powder or crunchy groomers, I can go as fast as want because I know how the snow is going to react. On ice or chewed pow however, I check myself and ride with a certain level of caution, because all it takes is once inconsistency to throw you off the horse.

Snowboard progression is weird too, because you always feel like your not progressing that much, or not fast enough, but take a look back at your skills like 1-2 years ago. Big difference right? Just takes time and practice, the more time you spend programming your brain, the better it will naturally react.


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## gravityhomer

Thanks for the replies and advice everyone. I really appreciate it. And realize I need to not be so hard on myself with the ice. Today started out like a nightmare, no control, no confidence, braking all the time, afraid I was going to take another bad fall like I did earlier in the week so I sat in the lodge mopping for an hour. Than smacked myself out of it and forced myself to go back out there. Basically I just wanted to get back to the bottom of the half pipe so I could watch some more runs, made it there eventually, not happy. After all the sessions were done, and getting ready to leave I start talking with this older guy on a snowboard who was apparently one of the officials. He asked me how things were and I told him horrible, but that I'm a beginner, so I'm not handling the ice well. He offered me a piece of advice, not having seen me ride at all. Told me to really sit into it more. Keep the upper body straight and just sit my butt down more toward the board, knees bent. Even told me to do it, just standing there. Had me compare my ankle mobility while standing up straight vs a knees bent sit down position more, and yeah, it is way easier to move my ankles when I am sitting down into it. I was kind of amazed, because here was a guy that didn't know me at all, and in the matter of a few minutes he gave me some advice and had me try movements that demonstrated the advice. He was an older guy who has been snowboarding for 25 years. 

So my wife and I went for two more runs and even though it was still the same ice out there, I actually felt more comfortable trying to do what the guy said. It made a huge difference. On the steep parts I had to brake mostly anyway, but I went from 90% of the time breaking, to 50% of the time breaking, this is a huge change of speed. I'm sure I knew about this proper form before and did it, but I don't think I was really aware of it. 

Definitely because of the ice I was tensing up and standing to tall and not bending the knees to absorb. And I've never heard about the sitting into the board, that is a great way to think about it. And really it looks like what most of the people just riding straight are doing. I still find it tough to ride mostly straight while switching edges. But thinking about this form, I can at least imagine it happening now.

Hellude, I'll take your advice on the lean, that will hopefully help with keeping my knees bent. 

Snowolf, you're right, I am really hard on myself. I guess part of me just feels, that because I'm older, I'm so behind on the sport and I just want to get better so much faster. 

Hobomaster, just to give you an idea of scale, I didn't want to go all out on the icy trails. Just ride a normal pace, basically not be a hazard skidding sideways for everyone to try to avoid.


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## AdamBQ

I only started going really fast (relative to me) this season and I am about 3 seasons in.
BIG thing for me, as another poster said, was don't be lazy and bend your knees. If I really want to bomb I get real low. It's not for wind resistence or anything like that, but my knees can absorb anything that comes up.

The other one for me is the board. I went from an all moutain freestyle board to a Never Summer Raptor, which is a great charging board. I am way more stable at fast speeds on that.


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## Donutz

HoboMaster said:


> Snowboard progression is weird too, because you always feel like your not progressing that much, or not fast enough, but take a look back at your skills like 1-2 years ago.


That's why I started blogging about my sessions on the mountain. When I look back next year, I'll be able to get some sense of proportion on my progress. Gravityhomer, you might want to consider doing the same. Might help you to set goals better, too.


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## wrathfuldeity

As Snowolf notes "Bombing these runs on ice like this is 90% lack of fear and 10% skill really."

Imho, its the other way around...you have to REALLY like/enjoy speed. And the skill is like driving on ice...you have to drive and look waaaaaaaay ahead, use subtle...feather-like touch...no hard turns, just big arching turns and no hard/quick stops/breaking...its like downshifting/or going through phases to slow down...and you don't worry about the bumps and imperfections....cause they happened 1 second ago and 50-75 feet back....you float over them....let your loose body absorb the minor things. Its kind of a different mind/body set...you got to be loose...but quiet...and percise with a feather touch...and totally focused on the big picture and let your cat-like (no mind) intititutive instincts take care of the little things.

I ride with a couple of tuck and point skiiers who love ice...they clock 70+ mph on this one run...me hitting 50 mph. But toward the bottom of the run it gets narrower and the turns get tighter so have to start downshifting way before getting to that area. Part of the control is knowing the run well enough to do things like pre-ollie before the top of the rollers so that you don't get tooo launched....and while airbone...remaining compact, relaxed and quiet....no flapping.


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## qUikSiLvEr

Ice was always one of my biggest fears to ride when starting out because I always ended up eating it. Even though my skills progress after starting out, I was always hestitant to ride on ice. I would avoid trails with ice or ride down it very slowly. One day, I just said f it and rode it with "no fear" and I completely surprised myself on how well I did. You do have to have some skills obviously to ride through ice, but I think fear is a big factor for a lot of people that I talked to, including myself. A lot of people can enjoy riding at high speeds, like on pow or groomers, but it's usually a different story on ice as it was for me. I'm no where as tense/nervous about riding on ice I use to be so my body now is a lot more loose and I feel much more comfortable as well as in control when riding on ice, while occasionally bombing it. 

I recently upgraded my board to a LibTech with magnetraction earlier this season and I have to say, it makes a huge difference when riding on ice.


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## KIRKRIDER

gravityhomer said:


> Thanks for the replies and advice everyone. I really appreciate it. And realize I need to not be so hard on myself with the ice. Today started out like a nightmare, no control, no confidence, braking all the time, afraid I was going to take another bad fall like I did earlier in the week so I sat in the lodge mopping for an hour. Than smacked myself out of it and forced myself to go back out there. Basically I just wanted to get back to the bottom of the half pipe so I could watch some more runs, made it there eventually, not happy. After all the sessions were done, and getting ready to leave I start talking with this older guy on a snowboard who was apparently one of the officials. He asked me how things were and I told him horrible, but that I'm a beginner, so I'm not handling the ice well. He offered me a piece of advice, not having seen me ride at all. Told me to really sit into it more. Keep the upper body straight and just sit my butt down more toward the board, knees bent. Even told me to do it, just standing there. Had me compare my ankle mobility while standing up straight vs a knees bent sit down position more, and yeah, it is way easier to move my ankles when I am sitting down into it. I was kind of amazed, because here was a guy that didn't know me at all, and in the matter of a few minutes he gave me some advice and had me try movements that demonstrated the advice. He was an older guy who has been snowboarding for 25 years.
> 
> So my wife and I went for two more runs and even though it was still the same ice out there, I actually felt more comfortable trying to do what the guy said. It made a huge difference. On the steep parts I had to brake mostly anyway, but I went from 90% of the time breaking, to 50% of the time breaking, this is a huge change of speed. I'm sure I knew about this proper form before and did it, but I don't think I was really aware of it.
> 
> Definitely because of the ice I was tensing up and standing to tall and not bending the knees to absorb. And I've never heard about the sitting into the board, that is a great way to think about it. And really it looks like what most of the people just riding straight are doing. I still find it tough to ride mostly straight while switching edges. But thinking about this form, I can at least imagine it happening now.
> 
> Hellude, I'll take your advice on the lean, that will hopefully help with keeping my knees bent.
> 
> Snowolf, you're right, I am really hard on myself. I guess part of me just feels, that because I'm older, I'm so behind on the sport and I just want to get better so much faster.
> 
> Hobomaster, just to give you an idea of scale, I didn't want to go all out on the icy trails. Just ride a normal pace, basically not be a hazard skidding sideways for everyone to try to avoid.


3 things helped me best in icy conditions, besides avoiding them altogether.


My padded shorts cp2500 My protective gloves:level-super-pipe-pro

And following the "flow" on icy slopes...riding that patch instead of turning on it, and look for spots in the sun where the base would be softer.

Protections will give you more confidence, and being able to bounce your azz over ice instead of suffering for 2 minutes after a washout, makes a big difference.
WE use our hands as tools, instead of poles, a bit of protection for your hands is a smart thing, considering how many bones you can break in your wrist.
All that and more riding should do it.


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## gravityhomer

So today was interesting. Went from ice the last 3 days to thick heavy snow this morning. About a 6-12 inches it seemed like on most trails and more falling all morning. At first I was having just as much trouble. My nose was diving straight in and then I would bite. The changing conditions were so confusing. Eventually I worked it out and I was able to work on getting use to some speed in a forgiving environment. The whole time I thought about slicing the snow and not spreading, that and my knees being bent the whole time really made it easier to keep some speed going. Had to lean back a little too. After the first run, I did decide to switch from my camber board which I was using for the ice, over to the rocker board I just got. That made a huge difference in staying above the powder. Although I feel i should be able to do just fine on my camber board, most other people had them. But another good learning experience. 

Of course the snow switched over to sleet and freezing rain at noon and that kept up all afternoon, ruining the nice powder. It will rain all night and into tomorrow. Oh well. hopefully the sky will be all rained out by sat.


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