# A slow learner



## robotfood99 (Mar 19, 2016)

Doing good. Remember that it's all about having fun. If the lessons get too much, go easy the next day or two and go over the previous lessons. As you do you will no doubt have many questions, so take mental notes and ask the instructor the next time. Your body learns at its own pace so listen to it and make sure you get the basics down pat. Good luck!


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

*Tue, Dec 7th 2021*
To survive another 3h, I doped myself with painkillers. Legs are ok, but my neck is killing me. So mantra for today is relax upper body.

Same slopes than yesterday, I am getting used to them, I am able to do turns without major crisis in almost all the slopes. There are a few points that still frighten me too much, but this part is overall better than yesterday.

Two points bother me: flat+narrow paths are my enemy and riding one foot unloading from the chair always makes me fall.

I think I am truly reaching at the point where is stopped 10 years ago, so I can say that true laerning starts now.

Instructor tries to make me do smaller turns in not-so-mellow lopes, while he makes me do larger turns in easier slopes. Smaller curves are difficult, I can't grasp the feeling on how to start following turn. This skill still needs tons of practice (especially when transitioning from toe to heel), but at least I tried. Maybe I can search some videos to get some more hints on how to do it.
Larger curves, I am reasonably satisfied, even if I tend to slow down too much before I feel ready to do another turn and in mellow slopes I need to do better.

At the end of this session, my neck was hurting, but not as much as the previous day. But I badly fell 2 times while turning from heel to toes and I hurt my right arm. Oddly, this turn is the one I find easier.

After this session, I had two weeks stop. I needed it to heal a little my neck and arm.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

*Monday, Dec 27th*
Surprise session. I was able to do some organizational magic to find a ski lesson for my kid, a snowboard lesson for me and also someone to look after the kid because my lesson finishes later than his.

Snow status was much better, so I was able to go in a different part of the resort. Less flat and narrow paths, that allows me to save much more energy and to ride more.

Overall feeling was good. Turns in almost all parts of the pistes, almost no fear of steep slopes. I actually had fun.
But, I fell may times while going one foot, also at the end of the chair lift. Very annoying.

I was able to follow closely instructor when he was drawing big turns before me. I felt in control on my board for the majority of the time. I also did well in a narrow path that was not flat.
Correctly linking turns and smaller turns are far ahead. 

I need to ride more, but I am not confident enough to go by myself and paying an instructor as a riding buddy can go only to an extent.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

I want to go once more before end of the year, but: 

Weather is too hot, I expect daisies will bloom soon...
Mountain is too crowded, my instructor is fully booked
I have a bad cough (luckily not covid) that is bothering me and the kid
Hopefully my one week vacation in Trentino will not be cancelled due to covid.


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

Maya said:


> But, I fell may times while going one foot, also at the end of the chair lift. Very annoying.


One footing will show you how much weight you keep on the back foot and how much you're relying on that back foot for steering, control and balance. The trick with one footing is to get all of your weight up on the front foot. Steer with only the front foot. Get your balance point way more forward than you think you would need to. It can be kinda scary committing weight over the front foot when your raging down a steep off ramp, but you'll get used to it. 

Honestly keeping weight too much over the back foot is a super common problem all over the slopes. Getting your weight forward changes your riding dynamics and makes it much easier to turn and control your board. I think people are just afraid of gaining extra speed and try to stay in the backseat thinking it'll keep the brakes on. Get over the nose and control your speed with turns. 

Hopefully you can get back up this year!


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Two vids to watch: basic movements of static visualization and while actually moving on a snowboard

Neutral stance and basic movement - YouTube

How to make Short Turns on a Snowboard - YouTube


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

WigMar said:


> One footing will show you how much weight you keep on the back foot


I definitely agree on this. Last year I tried some exercises on that and there is a big difference when I think to put all my weight on front foot. I need to do more of that.
I was under the impression that this is an issue also in my normal 2 feet riding, but my instructor said no. Or at least, according to him, it is not a major issue. I am puzzled by this feedback.

I forgot to write about my board. I love it, it turns really easy and in 4 sessions I never catched an edge. Many times I felt I was going to, but I was able to correct my movement and it did not happen. With my previous board, it was happening too frequently for my taste. Suddendly I was thrown in the snow, without any understanding of what happened. Honestly I didn't think the board could make a difference at my level. Let's see if this feedback lasts all season.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Two vids to watch: basic movements of static visualization and while actually moving on a snowboard


Thank you for the links, @wrathfuldeity. I already sae them but I wasn't able to find them again. I understood body movements, I need to practice them in the slopes. My instructor told me to do the twisting of the board only in the heel to toe turn only, for the other one he was telling me only to open my arm more (same as Malcom Moore 'open the door').


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## Zjmorris (Dec 31, 2021)

Cat tracks are gonna suck for a while. Have a couple beers after you warm up (not too many don't get drunk) the more relaxed you are the better you'll ride. It gets you out of your own way and helps absorb bumps. Get your weight over the front of the board more the back will follow. Toeside carve is quads, heelside will feel the glutes and hamstrings in the front leg. Relax into the shins of your boots thats why they're stiff. For the short turns, you have cool art on the bottom of your board, show it to the mountain, you'll be on edge then for sure. Also, try to never ride your board totally flat base unless you're like popping off a jump or something or ollieing (however that's spelled). If you don't pick an edge your board will for you and it's often the wrong one (you only need to be very slightly on edge like hardly turning at all).


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## Zjmorris (Dec 31, 2021)

If you're not on the slope try getting in your snowboard stance, put your weight on your front foot and then look over your front shoulder until you feel your weight naturally transition to heel edge then do the same for the back shoulder for toe edge ( obviously you wouldn't look backwards while actually riding) this helps you feel going where you look. Try to feel how your shoulder naturally moves with your head/ eyes and transfers to you shifting weight on your feet.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

As a late bloomer myself, not hitting the slopes til 44. Thus more mature folks have a confluence of self-preservation, a body that is not twitchy quick/rather slow to pick up things and mentally wanting to understand how things actually work instead of just diving into something and figuring it out such as in our impetuous youth. 

However on the positive side, with maturity, we have a healthy understanding of anxiety, fear and persistence. After getting a basic intellectual/visual understanding of mechanics of how body movement effects the board. Then its a mere practice, rinse and repeat.

It becomes basically a mental/physical game of managing your fear/anxiety/arousal...and managing your mental focus and physical energy. Its like you know you want it, but don't want to get hurt...such as many things in life we have experienced...lol. Visualization/imaginal of seeing in your mind "it working" is useful and as is focusing on the positives, the small wins, having the attitude of pain is stupidity leaving your body, Breath and breathing is a major thing in dealing with and managing feelings of fear/anxiety/anger/disappointment/arousal. As you and your body gains more experience, it becomes a matter of trusting your body because it knows what to do...without you having to think about it...and thinking becomes is too slow...your body can react faster without your thought processing. At that stage you are looking further down the hill...noting where you want to go, turn and etc.

A thing that is often over looked is learning how to fall. Know how to fall is key in preventing damage and moving toward less anxiety/fear of falling...in actually once you develop instinctive maneuvers of falling you won't worry much about it. There are several good threads in the tips and coaching section.

Tips on falling? | Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

wrathfuldeity said:


> becomes basically a mental/physical game of managing your fear/anxiety/arousal...and managing your mental focus and physical energy


This is so true and so well described!

*Tue Jan 4th*
Overall feeling from today is: YEAH!

I am far from home, new location, new slopes, small skiing area. Snow conditions are much awful. There is only fake snow on a thin layer over ice or piles of snow.

I got lessons again and I had a much better instructor. His comments are targeting exactly what I think I am doing wrong. That is I must put more weight on my front foot, I must be more relaxed in upper body. Also he said me exactly when bending my knees in the toe-to-heel turn, that is the most difficult for me. This turn is really giving me issues because I tend to stay seated back. Also sometime I lose control of my fear on this turn and I freeze there just before putting the board downhill.
The heel-to-toe is a piece of cake in comparison. Easier to start, easier to turn, easier to finish. I fell a couple of times after finishing this turn because of ice. I felt I was going too fast. I tried to force the board to stop too quickly, I guess, so I ended up with my stomach on the snow. 

After a while my instructor was pushing me in trying to link turns. And I think I am slowly getting closer. This, for me, would be an incredibile accomplisment.
Also all the lesson he made me going faster than I ever di, or so it felt.
We did last slope in a hurry and it was horrible. I wasn't able to concentrate on my technique and I was again falling into old habits. Memo for next time: avoid this.

Tomorrow I will have another lesson, but on Thursday I don't. I need to gather my courage to go on the slopes by myself on Thursday. I need more time to exercise, the points to improve are clear. Will I be able to do that?


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

WigMar said:


> One footing will show you how much weight you keep on the back foot and how much you're relying on that back foot for steering, control and balance. The trick with one footing is to get all of your weight up on the front foot. Steer with only the front foot. Get your balance point way more forward than you think you would need to. It can be kinda scary committing weight over the front foot when your raging down a steep off ramp, but you'll get used to it.
> 
> Honestly keeping weight too much over the back foot is a super common problem all over the slopes. Getting your weight forward changes your riding dynamics and makes it much easier to turn and control your board. I think people are just afraid of gaining extra speed and try to stay in the backseat thinking it'll keep the brakes on. Get over the nose and control your speed with turns.
> 
> Hopefully you can get back up this year!


Kinda funny, I was having issues making my turns coming off the chair the past 2 days. Kept catching my toe or heel on my back foot. I was blaming on it bigger boots. Even after 20+ years of riding, I somehow forgot I just need to get my weight a little forward to solve that issue...


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

*Wed Jan 5th*
Today a big no. I think I am reaching the point where I cannot progress.

It was snowing a lot, early morning and all day. So literally opposite conditions than yesterday. A lot of fluffy snow everywhere, piles of snow in the slopes. And at the top of the mountain I saw nothing, all white around me.
Good side of thing was that I couldn't be afraid of slopes as I did not see them. But I fell a couple of times because I was not able to see where the slopes was.
Anyway, a little lower visibility was better and I felt less confused. But I fell a million of times, during turns, when crossing the slopes I was also hit by another person! All this falling fueled my fears and turing became more and more difficult.
Today big point is that I cannot shift my weight on my front foot. I know I have to do this, but it seems impossible. Of the many failed turns, the great majority is because the slopes was steeper, I was sitting in the back foot and I was not able to do a short turn. Longer turns means too much speed and fear, too little control and me on the snow. Wow. I felt as I totally forgot what I was learning yesterday.
If I have to find a positive of today it is that I had the opportunity to do a lot of exercise in snow conditions I am not familiar with.

How can I convince my body to shift weight in the front foot?


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

Maya said:


> How can I convince my body to shift weight in the front foot?


I'm a big fan of riding hard on easy terrain instead of riding hard terrain easy. I'd go practice my turns on a green that feels comfortable. You want to slowly expand your comfort range instead of just jumping into the deep end before you can swim well. 

I think getting weight on the front foot feels scary because you pick up a little more speed. Honestly, keeping your weight back doesn't really slow you down effectively. That's not how the brakes work on a snowboard. Get on a slope that won't generate too much speed, and work on linking turns and slowing yourself down. When that's comfortable and you can initiate turns with weight on your front foot, it's easy to get on steeper terrain. 

Riding powder is different, and requires a finer sense of balance- especially once it starts getting tracked out. Don't get down if you took some tumbles. My first pow day was very humbling.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Maya said:


> *Wed Jan 5th*
> Today a big no. I think I am reaching the point where I cannot progress.
> 
> It was snowing a lot, early morning and all day. So literally opposite conditions than yesterday. A lot of fluffy snow everywhere, piles of snow in the slopes. And at the top of the mountain I saw nothing, all white around me.
> ...


IMHO, it's mental. Anybody who has skied/boarded in the steeps has experienced exactly what you're going thru. Your brain is playing a trick on you and telling you to "lean back," which just makes you go faster with less control. If you think about it, when you hike down a steep slope, you have to lean back to keep from tumbling down the hill. Snowboarding it's the opposite and your brain has a hard time accepting that. So here's the trick to make your brain accept a new paradigm. 

You really just have say "fawk fear" and lean forward into the turn, then the turn will happen faster and you'll have more control. You weight starts on the front foot to initiate the turn, once your ~1/3rd of the way into the turn, then weight shifts to the center, then to the rear and then back to the center. You can practice this on groomers - there is a rhythm to shifting your weight tip to tail, with practice it becomes muscle memory. When you move to the steeps start by doing one turn at a time, then stop and mentally prepare yourself for the next turn (I see skiers doing this all the time). Then start linking the turns 2 or 3 at a time, but keep stopping and resetting your stance and reminding yourself that you need to start with your weight forward, you need to maintain form, etc. With enough practice, it'll become muscle memory and you won't have to think about it anymore.


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## Zjmorris (Dec 31, 2021)

It could've been all the fresh powder. If you're in deep powder or off piste you need to sort of "surf" it using your weight in your back foot or you will bury the nose and crash. Groomer front foot powder back foot. Sometimes it's just all powder if the storm is big enough.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

To be clear, riding groomed vs chop vs fresh pow...especially deeper pow involve different sets of skills and then if you add low vis whiteout its another skill set. Wig's suggestion is spot on at your level. Also as conditions and snow changes, it involves a slightly different skill set. Beginners/intermediates have not yet developed the eyes to read the snow, account for the terrain/slope and vis conditions they are riding and adjusting/finessing their skills/technique to match the hatch.

Also timing of the turn...turning is more like turning a boat...you start the turn early and if you hold the turn too much, you over steer. Many newbs over-steer because they are afraid of the speed...which essentially...you are steering via the back foot and end up having too much weight on the back foot and they stay in the back seat too long. In reality, you should be moving to the next turn when it seems that you are only in the middle of the current turn. Its a mental timing thing.

It might be of help, if you post a video of you riding...and we can armchair critque.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Maya said:


> How can I convince my body to shift weight in the front foot?


Bend just your front knee. It will shift your hips forward, and your whole center of gravity will follow. Technically you want both knees bent, weight forward, etc etc but that's easy to say as an old buck to a new rider. Bending the front knee is an easy way to get your weight on your front foot. It's my cheat when I'm riding lazy and fast and want to get back in control. Try it standing still on flat. Do it a bunch. So when you're riding and feel like you're in the back seat, you just bend the knee and take control.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Crusty said:


> Bend just your front knee. It will shift your hips forward, and your whole center of gravity will follow. Technically you want both knees bent, weight forward, etc etc but that's easy to say as an old buck to a new rider. Bending the front knee is an easy way to get your weight on your front foot. It's my cheat when I'm riding lazy and fast and want to get back in control. Try it standing still on flat. Do it a bunch. So when you're riding and feel like you're in the back seat, you just bend the knee and take control.


I had trouble with the front knee idea thing...because I would bend the front knee, lean my torso to the rear, stick out my butt to counter weight. Then I figured out to shift my leading hip forward toward the nose first (as in the creepy basement vid) and then bend my knee and voilà the magic happened.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

*Thu Jan 6th*
Today there were the best possible conditions. Good snow from yesterday and sun. Also in this location, slopes are never crowded.

A win of today is that I have been on the slopes alone. Ok, I hit always the same slope, but it is the first time I ride alone. After a first run full of fear, I was able to turn in almost all the parts of the slope I selected. That is classified as red, by the way. There was only one part too steep for me to turn, but it is not even that long. So this is another win. 

Going by myself means I used all my effort to try to put my weight on the front foot. Bending the front knee does not work for me, as I immediately bend the back knee more as well. What seems to work is to shift my forward hip on my front foot. My turns were not completely different from before, but I felt less on my back foot, especially in the most scaring turn that is the one from toe to heels. A couple of times I also felt like I was actually putting the weight correctly. 

Also, my turns are always like big Cs and I have this bad habit of over-turning, but today I also tried to practice a more linked way of turning. Sometimes I succeeded.

There were other things I would have liked to try more, but I have a limited number of points I can think of while riding. I think this weight part is very important now.

I'd like to get a video of myself turning, but there is no way I can have someone to do it.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

@wrathfuldeity, do I create some issues with shifting the hip? As far as I understood, it is not 'classical' technique...


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Maya said:


> @wrathfuldeity, do I create some issues with shifting the hip? As far as I understood, it is not 'classical' technique...


have no idea about classical technique...mine is geezer tech..lol. Ime, I only shift my hips sideways toward the nose ...maybe 2cm's. As you progress, you will notice that a lot of regular cruising the groomed runs requires very little body movement. In part the reason for doing the creepy basement vid with the tape was to show newbs the very subtle body movements that you can't see under layers of clothes and while a person is moving on the hill. And even in the vid my movements were exaggerated to what actually happens when you are moving. Btw the more speed you have, the easier it is to turn, link turns. Go back to the bunny hill and try just pointing straight down the fall line of a very mellow lowest angle slope...and be in basically in the "neutral body position" with upper body relaxed, aligned, stacked, knees slightly bent and loose...and your hips rotated over the midline of the board the hips with the rotated/tilted pelvis is the secret sauce...then combine it with shifting your hips toward the nose...you should be golden. By doing this you will get the feel of stability when your weight is on the nose. While doing this...straight lining, if you feel that your board is twitchy/sketchy...it is a clear indication that your weight is in the backseat. To remedy, just shift your front/leading hip toward the nose and it will feel much more stable...and in reality there is no edge to catch. You use the very same body movement/technique to exit the chairlift.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

*Fri Jan 7th*
Last day of riding for this small vacation.
There was a lot of sun, but snow is hard, like it was freezer. Today I had one lesson booked.

Overall impression for today is... I don't know. 
Weight in front foot seems a chimera. Finishing the heel-to-toe turn without overturning is impossible. I know both issues are ultimately the same. Of course in more mellow slopes I do a little better, but overall feeling is I can't do it.

[To be continued]


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Maya said:


> *Fri Jan 7th*
> Last day of riding for this small vacation.
> There was a lot of sun, but snow is hard, like it was freezer. Today I had one lesson booked.
> 
> ...


What do mean by "overturning?" Is the turn too tight? Does the turn initiate too quickly? Does the turn not finish when you want? 

Generally takes more effort to go toe-to-heel. If you're putting the same effort into the heel-to-toe turn, that may be what's causing you issues.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

*Fri Jan 7th, continued*
On the positive side, I understood when to extend and bend knees while turning. I knew before it in theory, but I missed the exact rythm of doing it. Today I was able to do it consistently in a mellow part of the slopes and it was amazing. Turns were suddendly with a small radius without effort.
Other positive point is that my instructor pusher me to go in many differenti slopes that I felt very steep, but I was able to turn without being scared in almost all of them.

On the gear side, I tore my pants and also a part of the board cover is lifted. I think I will open a topic for the board issue.

What's next? I will enroll the kid into a ski course for next 6 Sundays, so I can also get time to snowboard. I am not sure what to do myself. Yesterday I badly fell on an ice patch and my tailbone hurts. I need to check in next couple of days of it get worse.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Jimi7 said:


> What do mean by "overturning?


I do my turn and I am correctly on the new edge, but instrad of starting a new turn to change again edge, I go on until the tip of the board is up hill.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Maya said:


> I do my turn and I am correctly on the new edge, but instrad of starting a new turn to change again edge, I go on until the tip of the board is up hill.


When you're making your turn, you need to reduce board angle and edge pressure you go across the slope instead of back up the slope. It just takes practice.


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

Jimi7 said:


> When you're making your turn, you need to reduce board angle and edge pressure you go across the slope instead of back up the slope. It just takes practice.


I concur, practice but do not overthink it, relax and let it flow. If you end up pointing uphill, just jump up and do a 180 then keep going


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Not overthinking Is impossible for me. I mean not only when riding  

I am still debating with myself if I will ride next Saturday or not.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Neutral stance and basic movement - YouTube


That's one name for this video...


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

Maya said:


> Today big point is that I cannot shift my weight on my front foot. I know I have to do this, but it seems impossible. Of the many failed turns, the great majority is because the slopes was steeper, I was sitting in the back foot and I was not able to do a short turn. Longer turns means too much speed and fear, too little control and me on the snow. Wow. I felt as I totally forgot what I was learning yesterday.


This is suuuuuper common, OP. It would be helpful to see a video of you riding, but this one issue happens so often, to so many people, that there's a 99% chance we can diagnose it correctly in this thread without one. The reason you "can't" get your weight forward, and as a result "can't" get the board to turn quickly, is because your front leg is locked straight! I mean, stand up and try it in your house right now--bet you have trouble moving your weight forward with locked knees, right?

I had a very observant instructor once who cleared this up for me in a single lesson (for me what I was struggling with was uneven/bumpy terrain, but the cause was the same). She said something like, "you have all the elements of a correct turn present, but you sometimes do them out of order. You shift your weight to the front before bending your knees, so there's a lag between starting your turn and actually getting the board to come around."

Try this next time you go out. Every skidded turn has four steps that must be done in this order:

1. Bend knees. (Like, way more than you think.)
2. Shift weight over front foot.
3. Rotate front knee in the direction of the turn.
4. Extend knees as the turn finishes.

My thing was I had steps 1 and 2 backwards for some reason. That lesson was like five years ago and I still remind myself of the correct order every time I go out. *Knees have to bend first, otherwise steps 2 and 3 are useless.*

PS: just want to add that your approaching learning this way will vault you to the front of the line as far as progression goes. Unless you're an incredible natural athlete or a child, you just aren't going to improve quickly and with correct technique without making a point to study and practice intentionally. So kudos to you for having the patience and rigor for it!


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

Maya said:


> Not overthinking Is impossible for me. I mean not only when riding
> 
> I am still debating with myself if I will ride next Saturday or not.


understood, but if you keep overthinking what you're doing, it becomes a chore and would not be fun anymore. When you're debating on riding next saturday or not means it is frustrating you. If you are having issue turning because of the steepness of the hill, you need to dial back on lesser steepness and practice what MCrides suggested. Goodluck and have fun shredding.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Maya said:


> Not overthinking Is impossible for me. I mean not only when riding
> 
> I am still debating with myself if I will ride next Saturday or not.


Just go next Saturday, but with the plan...to have FUN! Don't set any goals nor make plans...just go with the intent to enjoy yourself, being outside and breathing in the fresh mountain air...go for your SOUL. You have been focused on doing lessons, improving, figuring things out....forget about all that. Don't think..."just do" as yoda states...no mind...just flow.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

The overthink today is much like "I spent a freaking amount of money in my vacation, can I really spend more?"


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Maya said:


> Not overthinking Is impossible for me. I mean not only when riding
> 
> I am still debating with myself if I will ride next Saturday or not.


The more days/weeks you can put close together, the faster you will progress. The advise to get lower than you think you need to is excellent and as @MCrides pointed out, that's ALWAYS STEP ONE in starting your turn.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Everything is booked for Saturday!

My target will be:

put weight in front foot
bend the knees


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Maya said:


> Everything is booked for Saturday!
> 
> My target will be:
> 
> ...


Reverse the order. Getting low/bent knees should always be the first step.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Jimi7 said:


> Reverse the order. Getting low/bent knees should always be the first step.


Hahahaha sure! it was not an ordered list!


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

The whole thing of what to do first and when can be very confusing and wtf. Part of the reasons are that at different stages of learning, progression or conditions on the hill there are differences. There are also the aspects of mental thinking vs physical doing vs reactive/strategic movements. And it all happens so quickly in milliseconds. Just be patient and relaxed with yourself...for moi its taken years...decades. One things that does help to understand something is just to focus on one drill and practice it for a few runs til your mind understands it and your body accepts it and then you learn to trust what you are doing.

One thing helped me understand about bending the knees is to practice/drill of riding crouched and then stand up, crouched and stand up...and repeat while on a easy mellow run that your are familiar with (with little kids we call it "big kitty little kitty"). Then do the same thing...but drop down quickly into a crouched position and stand up fast...repeat. After you get real familiar with these 2 drills, then start to understand that crouching is really absorbing the little bumps and imperfections of the snow and will help to set you up for learning to dynamic turns. I note this in the creepy video about using your quads as your shock absorbers. This will help with learning how to be dynamic with linking your turns...instead of being straight legged when turning.

edit: You can even practice crouching at home on the carpet...do it now! Strap in...just crouch/squat...do not bend over...get yer butt to the ground...up and down....yup it can even get creepier lol


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Maya said:


> Hahahaha sure! it was not an ordered list!


Just making sure.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

Not to overload you with things to think about, but sometimes the knee bend thing clicks better if you think about sucking your feet up instead of dropping your torso down. Especially when it comes to the shock absorbing thing mentioned by wrathfuldiety.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

MCrides said:


> Not to overload you with things to think about, but sometimes the knee bend thing clicks better if you think about sucking your feet up instead of dropping your torso down. Especially when it comes to the shock absorbing thing mentioned by wrathfuldiety.


That's interesting! Thanks for the suggestion!


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

MCrides said:


> Not to overload you with things to think about, but sometimes the knee bend thing clicks better if you think about sucking your feet up instead of dropping your torso down. Especially when it comes to the shock absorbing thing mentioned by wrathfuldiety.


How true. The "suck up" is an important part of snowboarding.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Yesterday I patched my torn snowboard pants with an adhesive goretex patch. I hope it stays put like this, otherwise I will sew it. If this trick avoid me to buy another pair of pants, I will be very happy.
I also have the epoxy to fix my board. Tonight I will try to fix it as well.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

*Sat Jan 15th*
Here I am at day 9. I was again at my home resort, that has a lot of logistics plus, but it is noisy and overcrowded. Before leaving the kid at his lesson I wanted to run away as fast as I could: too much people, too much skis, too much kids, too much sun. But I have booked a course of six lessons forntue kid so... I cannot change now and in tua place they are very good in kid lessons.

Overall feeling for today is twofold:
1. I took too many lessons, now I need time to digest everything, i.e. put in place suggestions
2. I didn't push myself hard enough and I am pissed (ok, ok, now my knees hurts and I have some bruises on my arms...)

I asked for an instructor because I wanted him to show me a good set of slopes for me so that I could go by myself layer on. I asked him this, but he did not trust me enough and he kept me in the first blue piste. I needed someone ti help me push my boundaries, instead I received a very technical lessons in snowboarding technique. It was not what I needed today or better what I expected today, so I am not happy. He kept me in this blue piste where I felt I was going too slow.
Ha. Maya that thinks she's going too slow, that's a new one.

On the bright side, he did acomment that clicker a lot regarding the whole 'weight on front foot saga'. He told me to bend my left knee pushing it towards the tip of the board. I had a tendency to bend the knees inward (like a cross, one knee towards the other, I hope this is understandable). On the toe-to-heel turn it really clicked. I still have to practice but I can do it. Wow. On the heel to toe, it is more difficile to implement this, but again I feel I can reach it.
Other positive point is that I had the feeling I am in charge of the board when turning. I decide when I change its side, it is not the steepness of the slope that decides when the board turns. And I decide that by bending my knees...

In day 8 I went down basically only in red pistes, today only blue. I felt like something was missing, like the speed. I know I could go uncomfortably fast also in mellow slopes, but my whole riding attitude has always been to reduce and control speed, so today was like 'what do I do now'. I took the chance to try to ride in a more advanced way, so not big c curves but smaller ones. I could have done it better, but I think I can cut my perfectionism away for now and just thinking it as a progress.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Ryan Knapton has a ton of great videos on carving/turning. 



https://www.youtube.com/c/RyanKnapton/videos


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Thank you for the faith, @Jimi7, but carving is far far away, maybe never  However I'll watch those videos anyway, they seems interesting.

The day after, I have a lot of sore muscles, even the quadriceps. It seems I actually bended my knees!


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Maya said:


> Tua k you for the faith, @Jimi7, but carving is far far away, maybe never  However I'll watch those videos anyway, they seems interesting.
> 
> The day after, I have a lot of sore muscles, even the quadriceps. It seems I actually bended my knees!


Carving is proper way to turn. Some of us are just doing it a lot cleaner and faster because we have the experience and know how.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

Maya said:


> Tua k you for the faith, @Jimi7, but carving is far far away, maybe never  However I'll watch those videos anyway, they seems interesting.
> 
> The day after, I have a lot of sore muscles, even the quadriceps. It seems I actually bended my knees!


Maya, as soon as you can link turns you can begin working on carving by learning how to subtly pressure your edges while riding straight! This will help you immediately with navigating narrow sections, car tracks, etc, with ease, but as you do it you’ll also be developing a feel for how riding along your edges makes you turn—which is all carving is!


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

I still cannot link turns properly. And also my turns are still big fat Cs...
I would really like to have someone making a video of me riding, but I can't find how.

On the bright side, finger crossed none gets covid this week, I have another slot possible next Saturday for riding.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

Ah, ok. Well keep working in turn linking in mellow slopes (knee bend, weight shift, knee rotation, knee extension), and when you feel like it’s coming along and you’re ready, we can walk you through how to pressure your edges. It’s very easy to learn and very important for progression, but most riders just… never learn how to do it!


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

It's almost time for me to setup some targets for my next ride, as usual in random order:

knee bending & knee rotation outward
pluck up the courage to go alone on a red piste, that is one chairlift up than where I went last week
not falling in first chairlift I have to use
That last point is a pain in the a**. They have done an annoyingly difficult slope at the end of the first chairlift: steeper than usual and short. Everyone that wants to ski or snowboard has to take that chairlift, so it is also crowded. I fell all the times I had to unload, but I was in good company: people on both snowboard and ski happily fell there. 
Why I fell? First time, I had too many people in front of me and I had to turn too fast for my skills. Second time a little better, but I did not trust myself enough.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Maya said:


> It's almost time for me to setup some targets for my next ride, as usual in random order:
> 
> knee bending & *knee rotation outward*
> pluck up the courage to go alone on a red piste, that is one chairlift up than where I went last week
> ...


You rotate (toward the tip) for heelside turns. Rotate the knee inward (toward the tail) for toeside turns.

Keeping your weight forward gives you more control off the chair. I assume the chair(s) aren't slowing down before unload, in which case, I suggest pushing off the chair with your hand as you unload. Get one side or the other and make a sharp turn in that direction as you get off the chair. 

Watch the Ryan Knapton videos, he shows how to link turns. You're getting big C (or J) turns because you're not transitioning from turn to turn. You're turning until you slow/stop and then starting your next turn. Instead of looking for steeper terrain, I'd suggest finding flatter terrain where you can learn to link turns (shallow blues). Turn and then when you get on edge, it's time to transition into the next turn. S turns not C turn followed by C turn.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Jimi7 said:


> Instead of looking for steeper terrain, I'd suggest finding flatter terrain where you can learn to link turns (shallow blues). Turn and then when you get on edge, it's time to transition into the next turn. S turns not C turn followed by C turn.


Yes, this is exactly what I will try to do in more mellow slopes. 
On the other side, I need to work on my speed sensitivity: I am too much worried about my board keeping speed. In my vacation at the beginning of this month I was forced to go into steeper pistes (no meaningful blue available) and I realize that I have actually pushed on this boundary of mine. I don't want to lose it now, so I need to do both: practice turns as you say, so linking them without losing all my speed in mellow slopes, but also experiment on steeper slopes, maybe with a less emphasis on linking turns the right way.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

I am also curious to try first exercise that is proposed by Malcom Moore in this video. It is a preliminary exercise to learn carving. I wonder if I can find a suitable palce to try. I fear it will be too crowded in slopes where I would feel comfortable doing it.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Maya said:


> I am also curious to try first exercise that is proposed by Malcom Moore in this video. It is a preliminary exercise to learn carving. I wonder if I can find a suitable palce to try. I fear it will be too crowded in slopes where I would feel comfortable doing it.


Definitely easier on a weekday.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

I am in my Wednesday mood 'I can't wait to ride'. It goes up this path till Friday when I start to question myself: 'Will I actually be able to ride on Saturday or Will I destroy myself in the process?'


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

I would like to organize another small vacation on the mountains before the end of this season, but sadly I don't think it will be possible. Easter holidays are too late this year and I am definitely overspending in January and February as well.

Also, I saw this video from Malcom Moore, and it is interesting!


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Maya said:


> I would like to organize another small vacation on the mountains before the end of this season, but sadly I don't think it will be possible. Easter holidays are too late this year and I am definitely overspending in January and February as well.
> 
> Also, I saw this video from Malcom Moore, and it is interesting!


Yup awesome drill. It simplifies a lot of the creepy basement stuff into 1 simple thing. Actually, I'm going to go out with my ski pole next time. Btw Maya, use the same thing getting off the chair, riding flats and to deal with terrain traps/holes where you got to straight line a dip to keep your speed to make it up the inclines.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Yup awesome drill. It simplifies a lot of the creepy basement stuff into 1 simple thing. Actually, I'm going to go out with my ski pole next time. Btw Maya, use the same thing getting off the chair, riding flats and to deal with terrain traps/holes where you got to straight line a dip to keep your speed to make it up the inclines.


That is a good drill, helps you open the shoulder a little without going overboard and flailing your upper body and arms around. Doing these drills makes a huge difference. I remember, when I instructed, we used to do all sorts of little drills to start the season and they would really help get your form and technique back after taking the summer off vs just going up an riding to knock off the rust.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

I think that drill would be even more interesting if he said to keep the stick between wrists and legs, not using hands. And it is also satisfying that his suggestions lead to the same outcome that our beloved creepy basement video.

Aside that I would really like to have a video of me riding. I will ask to hubby if se can arrange something, but logistics of that are complex. If I can get a video of me, I can answer the question: do I feel confident enough to show it to you all?


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Who am I kidding? I will never learn to properly ride I am just throwing away money running after my midlife crisis...

Everything is much easier for everyone but me, I struggle for the simplest things, just waiting to be again disappointed by how long does it take to learn the simplest skill.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Maya said:


> Who am I kidding? I will never learn to properly ride I am just throwing away money running after my midlife crisis...
> 
> Everything is much easier for everyone but me, I struggle for the simplest things, just waiting to be again disappointed by how long does it take to learn the simplest skill.


Geez, don't be so hard on yourself. Ya love riding...fuck what anybody thinks. At first it is a struggle, but it gets easier. Then you will hit plateau's...but then some other thing you will need to learn and your riding will explode to the next level. Hell, I started at 44 and beat the living shit out of myself for a while, at 60 was able to comfortably hit 100kph (never would I thought that was possible) and now at 63 living life.

It's not a matter of how long nor how hard...it's a matter of on these days when it comes all together and flows...fuck'n nothing better. Snowboarding definitely has an "addictive profile" of chasing the dragon. And once you get to ride that dragon...even for just a line...the pain drops away...and time becomes a single endless moment. I distinctly remember my first dragon...on the bunny hill...like 10-15cm of soft dry fluffy...turning and like floating on a cloud...quiet and effortless...oooh shit, this is what riding is about. Fucking dragon...addicted...and still chasing it...and still finding a few dragons each year.


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## Scalpelman (Dec 5, 2017)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Geez, don't be so hard on yourself. Ya love riding...fuck what anybody thinks. At first it is a struggle, but it gets easier. Then you will hit plateau's...but then some other thing you will need to learn and your riding will explode to the next level. Hell, I started at 44 and beat the living shit out of myself for a while, at 60 was able to comfortably hit 100kph (never would I thought that was possible) and now at 63 living life.
> 
> It's not a matter of how long nor how hard...it's a matter of on these days when it comes all together and flows...fuck'n nothing better. Snowboarding definitely has an "addictive profile" of chasing the dragon. And once you get to ride that dragon...even for just a line...the pain drops away...and time becomes a single endless moment. I distinctly remember my first dragon...on the bunny hill...like 10-15cm of soft dry fluffy...turning and like floating on a cloud...quiet and effortless...oooh shit, this is what riding is about. Fucking dragon...addicted...and still chasing it...and still finding a few dragons each year.


Do what you love and fuck the rest. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Thank you @wrathfuldeity and @Scalpelman, yesterday I had a drop in mood because I am physically tired and mentally stressed due to difficult work situation. 
However, today is much better and I am looking forward tomorrow: back on the slopes!


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

Maya said:


> Who am I kidding? I will never learn to properly ride I am just throwing away money running after my midlife crisis...
> 
> Everything is much easier for everyone but me, I struggle for the simplest things, just waiting to be again disappointed by how long does it take to learn the simplest skill.


Pics or it didn't happen


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

Maya said:


> do I feel confident enough to show it to you all?











Snowboarding Videos and Pictures


Wrong video maybe? Couldn't find it. Still doesn't work? It doesn't have any viewing restrictions :/ ouch ! The very bad, icy and uneven ground under the fresh powder. Lesson learned - do not charge in these conditions xD bruise




www.snowboardingforum.com


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Snowdaddy said:


> Snowboarding Videos and Pictures
> 
> 
> Wrong video maybe? Couldn't find it. Still doesn't work? It doesn't have any viewing restrictions :/ ouch ! The very bad, icy and uneven ground under the fresh powder. Lesson learned - do not charge in these conditions xD bruise
> ...


ahahah thank you for the encouragement!


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

Been coming into your thread for a while. First of all, snowboard is foremost something we do for fun. Some people counter rotate and slide down the fall line forever, while still having fun. You got to have some sort of perspective on this. Is ultimate carving your end game? If so.. good for you. Just remember that it's supposed to be about the fun. Being on the mountain. Falling leaf an entire day while enjoying the mountain is totally ok.



Maya said:


> How can I convince my body to shift weight in the front foot?





Crusty said:


> Bend just your front knee. It will shift your hips forward, and your whole center of gravity will follow.





Jimi7 said:


> You really just have say "fawk fear" and lean forward into the turn, then the turn will happen faster and you'll have more control.


A lot of snowboarding is about committing and doing things that are against what your mind is telling you. My first days of riding were painful. I got up out of bed purely by munching painkillers. And I was stupid enough to not take lessons... I was grabbing a snowboard in between skiing with my kids. Good on you for taking lessons!



Maya said:


> Also, my turns are always like big Cs and I have this bad habit of over-turning, but today I also tried to practice a more linked way of turning. Sometimes I succeeded.





Maya said:


> I still cannot link turns properly. And also my turns are still big fat Cs...


Basically you're already there. A big part of linking turns is committing to the edge change.

I've just this past month put my daughter on a snowboard. I spent a good amount of days just walking up and down the hill with her. Holding her hands doing the falling leaf of both edges. Then when it was time to start on the turns I let her start on one edge towards me, then grabbad her front hand and did a sling shot to get her around the C-turn.

*When you got the C-turn down on both edges you're basically there. You're linking turns. It's just about not stopping. *Do the turn... then it's like controlling the edges with the falling leaf... then do the next turn.

I know how hard this is. When I didn't have to hold my daughters hands anymore I got on a board and started riding switch. It was super hard committing to the turn. It took me a good while before I decided I was just having to come to terms with that I might fall and started "opening the door" and leaning more into the fall line. Click! Suddenly it just worked.

When I was going to learn my daughter to ride I watched this one and the other one with "opening the door".








*EDIT: *And to add... if you can do C-turns and do the falling leaf from one side of the pist to the other you have all the tools for doing basic turns.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Thank you @Snowdaddy, I really appreciate you post. You are right about having fun: I like the process of learning. If I were a good snowboarder, I would have fun by learning something more complex. This is why I insist on learning better technique and I am not statisfied of just going down slopes.
And with riding there is also the thrill of being able to overcome my "survival instinct", if you let me call it that way. I think I would be a fan of more adrenaline sports if I had less instinct for self-preservation. Given how I am, I can only skim a little into those sports, and riding is the compromise.

About tomorrow: it will be a sunny and hot day (-5/+5*C weather forecast, that usually means a happy +10°C at lunchtime), slopes will have only fake snow. I wonder when those slopes will see some real snow again.

I update my targets for tomorrow:


Maya said:


> knee bending & knee rotation outward + keep good posture with my body, putting more weight into front foot and keeping upper body as it should be
> do not lose all speed when doing a heel side turn
> be brave and go alone on a red piste, that is one chairlift up than where I went last week
> not falling in first chairlift I have to use: go one foot correctly and drag my back foot to reduce speed


I hope I can see some progress tomorrow!


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Maya said:


> Thank you @wrathfuldeity and @Scalpelman, yesterday I had a drop in mood because I am physically tired and mentally stressed due to difficult work situation.
> However, today is much better and I am looking forward tomorrow: back on the slopes!


I had a chronic work situation for a while several years ago. Snowboarding became my escape--a couple of hours where I didn't have to think about the shitshow at work.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

@Maya, sometimes expert terrain can hold you back. All those bad habits of leaning back, standing too tall, etc tend to creep back when you're more challenging terrain. Master your skills on intermediate slopes to the point that it becomes second nature and then move on to the reds.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Jimi7 said:


> @Maya, sometimes expert terrain can hold you back. All those bad habits of leaning back, standing too tall, etc tend to creep back when you're more challenging terrain. Master your skills on intermediate slopes to the point that it becomes second nature and then move on to the reds.


@Maya another idea...is go ride some expert terrain the best you can manage...take it slow and easy but do the best you can. Then go back to the intermediate slope and dominate it. Currently you have the fear of the intermediate run. But riding an advanced/expert run...you will have the "big fear". And then going back to the intermediate run, your perspective of the run will be..."I got this, no problem"...the fear/anxiety response will be gone. And you can relax and will be able to focus on just improving the skills of linking turns, riding and enjoying yourself.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

@wrathfuldeity, I think you expressed very well what I was thinking. I need to test myself on more difficult terrain so that I can be at ease in simpler one. Slopes I choose for tomorrow are part blue and parte red, so this should do the trick. Let's see if I can do it. I am always very brave when I'm sitting in my armchair. And I hate talking too much and riding too little.


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## garikgarik (Dec 15, 2011)

Here is a documented progression of a rider during 4 seasons i think. Notice how falls are on every step of this way, just get up and start over, also thinking how bad you are or what you did wrong is a part of the self-teaching, you do it to progress though not to be hard on yourself just for the sake of being hard


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

wrathfuldeity said:


> @Maya another idea...is go ride some expert terrain the best you can manage...take it slow and easy but do the best you can. Then go back to the intermediate slope and dominate it. Currently you have the fear of the intermediate run. But riding an advanced/expert run...you will have the "big fear". And then going back to the intermediate run, your perspective of the run will be..."I got this, no problem"...the fear/anxiety response will be gone. And you can relax and will be able to focus on just improving the skills of linking turns, riding and enjoying yourself.


Good point. I kinda did the opposite and was totally dialed in before tackling steep blacks/reds. Also helps to be in these big mountains in Colorado were you can find long a blue run with short black/red trails to the sides.


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## espressoinmybutt (Jan 17, 2020)

Maya said:


> Who am I kidding? I will never learn to properly ride I am just throwing away money running after my midlife crisis...
> 
> Everything is much easier for everyone but me, I struggle for the simplest things, just waiting to be again disappointed by how long does it take to learn the simplest skill.


Just caught up with this thread. Snowboarding in no way, shape or form is simple. Especially if you don't have a background in sports/athletics.

I think we all forget the best part of snowboarding is being out in the mountains, breathing the fresh air, playing around & having something to do in the winter LOL!

Keep at it Maya!! Some things take other people longer? Who are you competing with? The only answer should be yourself.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

*Sat Jan 22nd*
Today, a big fat no. I have struggled 2h with my survival instinct, fear and negative thinking.
I was very pissed by myself and I was not able to enjoy what I was doing.

Today conditions have not been ideal. All man-made snow, some fluffy spots, some hard packed spots, but more than that overcrowded slopes.
I know that all of this is part of the game and I should just accept that. But today I have been bothered by everything.

Anyway, let me try to count the positive:
I have been on the second chairlift, exploring a slope that I have never ridden before. So my point 3 is a check. New slope was red in first part, and blue at the end, so totally doable. In fact I have done it more than once.

About point 2, chairlift unloading, technically is a success: I was able to unload and safely go away for the unload area. But I have fallen while searching a spot to close my right bindings. Next time I will just sit down as son as I am far enough from unloading area, instead of searching the best spot to close the binding without sitting. And f**k off.

About point 1, technique, a mess. I was not able to shift my weight forward because I was scared. I wasn't paying enough attention to this because I was in full survival mode. It is a real pain, because I really feel I know what I have to do and I need to ivercome this point. I know when I have to bend and to extend my knees and I feel I am riding my board and not viceversa.
Overall today there was a lot of skidding, but I never froze dead in the slope trying to convince myself to turn. I also have done turns in the majority of the slope and I have felt more confident in the slope I was riding also last week.
In a couple of very mellow spots I have actually linked turns, starting a new one as soon and I was comfortably in the new edge.
I have also tried a better overall posture, mainly avoiding to stick my bottom out. I can do it, even if I mainly correct myself when I motive I am in a wrong position.

I have tried first Malcom Moore carving exercise a couple di times and in toe edge I can actually carve, until I realize what I am doing, I get scared of losing control and I shift my weight backward. A constant in my riding.

I am very unsatisfied by today, I would like to go tomorrow but it is not possibile: I am too tired (quadriceps hurt a lot), I am way overspending for snowboarding (and kid ski, as whenver I ride he has to ski) and I am already pushing my husband patience about weekend activities.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Maya said:


> In a couple of very mellow spots I have actually linked turns, starting a new one as soon and I was comfortably in the new edge.


That's good. Spend at least part of every session doing that, so you can get the feel for doing it right. And it helps prevent discouragement.



Maya said:


> I have tried first Malcom Moore carving exercise a couple di times and in toe edge I can actually carve, until I realize what I am doing, I get scared of losing control and I shift my weight backward.


That's pretty normal.



Maya said:


> I am very unsatisfied by today, I would like to go tomorrow but it is not possibile: I am too tired (quadriceps hurt a lot), I am way overspending for snowboarding (and kid ski, as whenver I ride he has to ski) and I am already pushing my husband patience about weekend activities.


Husband needs to get a hobby of his own.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

espressoinmybutt said:


> Who are you competing with? The only answer should be yourself.


Yes, myself. I hate to suck at things.

If I can't get a video of me asking my husband (just a little part of the slope is visibile by people at the restaurant) I think I have an excuse to do one more lesson and asking ti the instructor. But in February, as no extra expenses are allowed in Jan.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Maya said:


> *Sat Jan 22nd*
> Today, a big fat no. I have struggled 2h with my survival instinct, fear and negative thinking.
> I was very pissed by myself and I was not able to enjoy what I was doing.
> 
> ...


You gotta keep that weight forward or at least centered.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Maya said:


> *Sat Jan 22nd*
> Today, a big fat no. I have struggled 2h with my survival instinct, fear and negative thinking.
> I was very pissed by myself and I was not able to enjoy what I was doing.
> 
> ...


(see bolded above in the quote) 
Riding is about your passion and doing your jam.
Be positive! and don't think nor say negative things because it will become your focus and reality DROP THAT SHIT...instead focus on being positive.

As to lessons...ya done enough already. Getting better is part knowledge...but the real part of getting better is just riding more. Chat up folks of the chair lift and maybe drop a few runs together. If they are better...great just mob with them, try to keep up. Then on the chair back up, they might give you a tip to help. It has been a blessing for me (I have never taken a lesson...yup dum bass). And much of the creepy basement ideas were just tips given via the kindness and mercy of random strangers.

pm sent: Concerning your invoice for my consulting fee


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

I agree with @wrathfuldeity. As for overcoming the fear of getting your weight forward, if you put your weight forward on steep slope, you'll feel how it helps initiate the turn and keeps the board underneath you and allows you to remain in control. Putting your weight over the rear binding results in the board slipping out from under you and you have a hard time controlling the board. I fear the latter much more than the former.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

@Maya Another thing I did as a noob is to just focus on the next 5 meters, then the next 5 meters...repeat all the way down the run. When you fall (not if) you merely get back up and re-focus on the next 5 meters...just keep at it doing 1 little chunk at a time for the entire run. As you progress, expand the distance to the next 10, 20, 50, 100 meters....

Reasons being:
1. You are focused on a small distance and making a turn, then the next distance and turn....repeat. Thus you are not focused on the anxiety or fear...but on what will get you down the run.
2. Another part of being a newb, is that you have not learned to read/see the terrain and snow conditions. Therefore what you see on the run...is idk what?...which is translated or interpreted as wtf...fear and anxiety. Partly because you are probably looking at the whole run. Instead break it up into little manageable distances. It is a great feeling to get to the bottom of a run...stop and look back up...and go holy shit, I did that. So then you are seeing a big win that you broke up in to little chunks to make it manageable.
2.5 Part of this is because you have not learned to trust your body nor your board...cause you are new and learning.
2.75 Thus as you gain a bit of trust in your body and board, a good thing to do is to go mobbing with folks that are a bit better than you. By the experience of mobbing, you will gain confidence in trusting your body and board. You will amaze yourself that it felt like I was going to fall...but you didn't...a significant win in the confidence game.
3. There is a point of progression in riding, that you can not think fast enough to handle the terrrain and snow that is 2-4 meters in front of you. This is because you are riding faster than your brain can tell your body what to do. So you have to develop the confidence in your body "just knowing what to do without having to think about it."
4. As you develop the body and board confidence you will also be developing your terrain and snow reading abilities....and be able to look further down the hill. Picking where you want to turn or whatever that is 100 meters down the hill. So as you are flying down the hill, you will be able to pick up (read) little bits and adjust and prepare and innovate on the fly. A noob does not have these skills, they are developed by just riding, mobbing around. Thus in this unstructured learning, your conscious ego mind is learning to trust your mindless body mind that has progressed despite your ego needing to control everything. You mob a line...holy shit I didn't crash and burn...winner, winner chicken dinner...fuk the ego...just mob and flow...stepping into a single endless moment of riding the dragon. 

Much of snowboarding becomes just a mind game...fuck the mind...and just be.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

I'd like to thank you all for support you are giving me. I really appreciate it!


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

For what it's worth, I'll throw my hat into the no-riding-red-pistes camp. Obviously everyone's experience is different, but imho fear in snowboarding is conquered by technique, not by facing it down. So riding advanced terrain too early can be counterproductive for overcoming the fear you feel, since it will probably ingrain bad technique.

Which is not to say there isn't a time to push yourself. Just that at the moment, your progression will likely come faster on greens and blues.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

MCrides said:


> For what it's worth, I'll throw my hat into the no-riding-red-pistes camp. Obviously everyone's experience is different, but imho fear in snowboarding is conquered by technique, not by facing it down. So riding advanced terrain too early can be counterproductive for overcoming the fear you feel, since it will probably ingrain bad technique.
> 
> Which is not to say there isn't a time to push yourself. Just that at the moment, your progression will likely come faster on greens and blues.


That's what I found too. Once my form and technique was were I could ride certain terrain without thinking about it, then I'd move on to more challenging terrain. In my experience, moving on to terrain that was "above" my level just made all those bad habits come back so I wanted those bad habits out of my system as much as possible. 

I learned at A-Basin and the "main lift" overlooked the double blacks that I knew I wanted to conquer, but stuck to greens and blues until I had my shyt dialed in.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

*Sat, Jan 29th*
Overall impression: much better than last week.

The whole week I had bigger problems than overthinking my snowboard sessions, so I reached slopes with much less expectations. Also I was not sure until Friday night if I could actually go, thanks to out beloved covid rules.

Snow conditions as usual: all man made snow, some snow piles and some more packed parts. I think exactly like last week, but today I perceived the snow as good. 
Temperature was 10°C at the base, less on top, but basically as hot as hell. After a couple of runs, I was very thirsty.
There was a lot of people in the parking lot and at the base of the piste, but when I was actually running, I haven't had any issue. Slopes were not overcrowded.

I have never fallen when unloading from chairlift. Wow. Ok, I am not stylish at all and a couple of times I almost run into the end of the skis of people on the chair with me, but they haven't noticed  
I am getting more confidence in this.

I have been in the same runs of last week and I have turned in all the parts of the runs. I have done skidding here and there mainly to avoid other people.

I have chosed to think to put my weight on the front foot. No other distraction in my mind. I think I did much better than last week. When I put all my effort in having my weight forward, I probably reach a middle stance only. What I think I am doing is so different from what I am actually doing. 
After some runs, I tried to force a better body position (i.e. not bending at waist). It happens as an afterthought, but it happens.

The toe turn (i.e. the turns that end when I am on my toes) works significantly better. I can control the radius, even if my turns are too small in flat areas. I can also do something close to linking turns when I do a toe turn followed by a heel turn. 
On the side I can also produce a thinner line in the snow when I do previously linked Malcolm Moore exercise.

Heel turns are better in terms of forward weight, but I overturn much more in this direction, like until my board is pointing uphill. I have also much more issues in traversing the slope heel side. I think that this is due to me seeing the slope (fear kicks in) but also on this side I am not forced to keep a correct lateral body alignment as I don't need to look over my shoulder to look down the slope. On top of this, I tend to let the board flat for longer in this turn, so I gain much more speed than the other turn. When I tried to change side earlier, I was able to do less overturn.

I would really like to have someone in front of me that does turns to follow as sometimes I think I have no idea how to approach some parts of the slopes especially when there is a lateral gradient too (I hope this means what I think it means).


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Surprise! It seems this morning it has snowed a little bit in my preferred location! Nothing major, though.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Tomorrow on the slopes again. Shall I try to go in different chiarlifts and pistes? I don't know now.


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## ctoma (Aug 9, 2011)

Maya said:


> Tomorrow on the slopes again. Shall I try to go in different chiarlifts and pistes? I don't know now.


Maybe start on the runs you are familiar with, get loosened and warmed up, gain confidence on those runs and then later in the day try a few new runs.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Maya said:


> Tomorrow on the slopes again. Shall I try to go in different chiarlifts and pistes? I don't know now.


Yes...go adventuring. As posted before, going on and just experiencing a steeper slope is valuable because it changes your perception due to you pushing the envelope of your comfort zone. It doesn't mean that you will do well but looking back up at a challenging slope you survived...means damm I didn't die...yup scared shitless, but you proved to yourself that it can be done "thus you have been initiated".

And now you go back to the former mellower slope and slay it because you now have more confidence, more ability to focus due to less anxiety about the mellower slope and now you are also motivated to adventure further (a change in perspective/interpretation). Additionally, you obtain some feedback from the steeper slope on things that you will need to focus on in the future.

The win is, you can go back to the mellow slope to just clean up a few things and then move on. We all do this, at the beginning of the season or trying something new. If we notice something is not quite right...back to the mellow slope just to revisit and focus on a specific technique by doing a few drills and then adventure on.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

wrathfuldeity said:


> We all do this, at the beginning of the season or trying something new. If we notice something is not quite right...back to the mellow slope just to revisit and focus on a specific technique by doing a few drills and then adventure on.


Yep. Never stops.


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## Eivind så klart (Aug 30, 2020)

You need to stop overthinking this stuff. Snowboard is all about having fun, doesn't mather what skill level you are on as long as

you

are

having

fun.

Do what you want, when you want. Nobody is looking at you. Ride the slope you want at the speed you want. Don't ask the internet! Link turns or just ride it on your heels. When you over think and try too hard to progress your not having fun. Progression comes when your having fun.

If you want to be good fast and don't care for fun.. go for twintips.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Eivind så klart said:


> you want to be good fast and don't care for fun.. go for twintips.


What does this means? Honest question, not sarcastic. Sometimes I get lost in the way you all write in this forum.

*Sat Feb 5th*
No snow and too hot for the season. We are basically in a drought. Snow was very hard for my taste. If this is what you have in the North East of US, kudos to who learns snowboard or ski in those conditions. 
I fell on hard surface after 10 meters. I was going to give up, but I did not. I am proud of this, even if I fell on my a** too many times for my own good. Now my neck hurts from the knockback. 

Positives are that I pushed my limits in the usual slopes: I would have never thought to be able to ride in such conditions, honestly. 
I also think that I got at a point in which my weight is forward enough to allow me to proceed. I still need to think to throw all my weight forward and the result is something in the middle, but that's ok for now. I think I can move forward and putting my mind to something else technique-wise. 
What next? I think I need to practice better heel side traversing. My body is not well aligned, I am too much with brakes on. In fact, while I am able to create something similar to a basic carving circle on toe edge (i.e. basic exercise in Malcolm Moore video), I cannot do It on heel edge. Fun enough, on toe side I can do it also in switch.

After my normal laps, while kid was playing at the base of the pistes, I took the chance of doing some more exercise one foot. Well, this works much better than at the beginning of the season.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Eivind så klart said:


> Snowboard is all about having fun,


It is not the first time I give the impression of not having fun. I may not be the most adrenaline-seeker person, but I do have fun. Otherwise at my age, I would not bother to go riding at all. None of my friends skis or rides as regularly as I do. They hardly do it.
My fun is showing to myself what I can do, to improve what I can do, to push my limits both physically and mentally. I am very happy to ride every Saturday and I am waiting for it all the week. 
Why asking to the internet then? Because having this thread to report my session in is really motivating. Yesterday, while debating with myself if I wanted to give up or not, I pictured how this post would have been like if I gave up, and I did not like it. So I took one more chairlift. 
On top of it, reading all your comments is interesting and fun. So thank you all for taking the time to post here.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Maya said:


> It is not the first time I give the impression of not having fun. I may not be the most adrenaline-seeker person, but I do have fun. Otherwise at my age, I would not bother to go riding at all. None of my friends skis or rides as regularly as I do. They hardly do it.
> My fun is showing to myself what I can do, to improve what I can do, to push my limits both physically and mentally. I am very happy to ride every Saturday and I am waiting for it all the week.
> Why asking to the internet then? Because having this thread to report my session in is really motivating. Yesterday, while debating with myself if I wanted to give up or not, I pictured how this post would have been like if I gave up, and I did not like it. So I took one more chairlift.
> On top of it, reading all your comments is interesting and fun. So thank you all for taking the time to post here.


We're just a bunch of addicts..."oh come on...just 1 more hit." See what you can do, We knew you could do it. We are proud of ya!

twintips = skis


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Current weather forecasts say that next Saturday will snow. It is still a long time to go, but I really hope that. Otherwise, I am not sure if I will ride next Saturday. Today (2 days after) I still have my neck and my arms hurting a lot. 

While trying a correct position, I have tried also to avoid bending at the waist when on heel side. Instead I tried to bend my knees and lean a little backward. It works a lot better in having my weight on the heels, but on the other side my quadriceps are much more under stress in this position. I definitely need to exercise more, especially my quadriceps that are too weak. It has always been this way, so I don't have so much hope.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Probability of snow on Saturday is decreasing. Plus, Covid is interfering too much, unfortunately I think that I will not go riding on Saturday. On the bright side, it seems that next week there will be plenty of snow, so next time I will go could be very nice.
I am thinking to get 2h lesson next time, but I am still undecided.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Lessons can be pricey, but a few hours with a good instructor can make a huge difference. I've had good instructors correct things for me in a single run. Good luck.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Funny enough, this video is exactly whan I should learn now, according to me.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Maya said:


> Funny enough, this video is exactly whan I should learn now, according to me.


there have been some lengthy threads...there is one longer than below

Scorpioned while flat basing and now I can't anymore | Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

wrathfuldeity said:


> there have been some lengthy threads...there is one longer than below
> 
> Scorpioned while flat basing and now I can't anymore | Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums


LOL - to the newbie, it seems like it happens in an instant. For experienced riders, we see it coming from a mile away.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

That topic is good, but it is difficult to find info in all the statement "none does flat basing" "you don't know how to flatbase"  

However, no riding for me this weekend. Little one has to isolate due to covid, so no way I can go riding.
Hopefully, next time will be Feb 19th.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Maya said:


> That topic is good, but it is difficult to find info in all the statement "none does flat basing" "you don't know how to flatbase"
> 
> However, no riding for me this weekend. Little one has to isolate due to covid, so no way I can go riding.
> Hopefully, next time will be Feb 19th.


Bummer. Hope he gets better soon. Stay safe.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

We're barely out of covid since last Friday. So I brought the kid to his ski lesson on Saturday. But I was still too tired to ride myself. Also the snow is kind of non-existent: there was mainly ice, melting into water in lower parts. It was so sad, season seems almost over and we're on Feb 21st. I am frantically looking for a place within 2h drive where I can potentially go on Easter. But I cannot book now, because it is still too early to say if there will actually be open until April 18th as they state.
Little one has another lesson next Sunday, I really hope there will be a better situation snow-wise, but I doubt it. Now it is snowing in there, but the rest of the week will be hot and sunny.

On Saturday, I did one hour of exercises at the end of the slope. I mainly did one foot riding and also I tried to do a little of a carving exercise. I have possibly understood what I am doing wrong on heel side, but I need to go on a real piste to check if my idea is correct. 
Does this count as a session? I think I can count it as a quarter of a session


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## rachelcoles (11 mo ago)

Hi Maya,

I saw your post and started reading it and I thought I was reading about myself....I have a Jones Dream Catcher 2021 board 154, but I'm slightly older at 51  and took up snowboarding end of last year for the first time in my life. I had private lessons for 6hrs over two day in January this year and 3 days on my own at Kitzsteinhorn (I live in Austria) and then every Sunday this month been snowboarding at a small resort closer (1hr) to where I live. I also was scared of the speed in the beginning and also battling with doing S turns. I also watched loads of Malcolm Moore video's as I think he's good. I also realized I was not bending my front knee into the turn and actually this last weekend it all started to click and don't get me wrong, it's not perfect but I'm getting there slowly and cannot wait to go again to practice more.

Just wanted to say, as everyone else as mentioned, don't give up, it takes time, and just go out and have fun. I go out and try to improve every time but the most important thing for me is having fun, laughing loads and smiling, no matter if I fall or not


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

rachelcoles said:


> Hi Maya,
> 
> I saw your post and started reading it and I thought I was reading about myself....I have a Jones Dream Catcher 2021 board 154, but I'm slightly older at 51  and took up snowboarding end of last year for the first time in my life. I had private lessons for 6hrs over two day in January this year and 3 days on my own at Kitzsteinhorn (I live in Austria) and then every Sunday this month been snowboarding at a small resort closer (1hr) to where I live. I also was scared of the speed in the beginning and also battling with doing S turns. I also watched loads of Malcolm Moore video's as I think he's good. I also realized I was not bending my front knee into the turn and actually this last weekend it all started to click and don't get me wrong, it's not perfect but I'm getting there slowly and cannot wait to go again to practice more.
> 
> Just wanted to say, as everyone else as mentioned, don't give up, it takes time, and just go out and have fun. I go out and try to improve every time but the most important thing for me is having fun, laughing loads and smiling, no matter if I fall or not


It does take time. Even after 20 years, today was the first day this season where I felt really dialed in.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

It seems I have found a solution for this Sunday: collective course for the kid and single lesson for me in another location, slightly furhter away than my usual way, but with a little more snow. Yes, yes, all man-made snow. But this is the best my closest locations have to offer without blowing big guns and go to the glacier.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

My two cents regarding flat basing, since absolutely nobody asked for it: don't even attempt it for a while. Beginners tend to think it's a fundamental skill, but it's more like an optional, advanced technique--IMO you can shred at a fully intermediate level without doing it at all.

Work on pressuring your edges instead when you need to go straight; flat basing will come much later.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

MCrides said:


> My two cents regarding flat basing, since absolutely nobody asked for it: don't even attempt it for a while. Beginners tend to think it's a fundamental skill, but it's more like an optional, advanced technique--IMO you can shred at a fully intermediate level without doing it at all.
> 
> Work on pressuring your edges instead when you need to go straight; flat basing will come much later.


You do see a lot of newbies eat it up on the hill because they're flat basing. You really need all your form, technique and skills dialed in before flat basing so you can recover quickly when you catch an edge.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

Jimi7 said:


> You do see a lot of newbies eat it up on the hill because they're flat basing. You really need all your form, technique and skills dialed in before flat basing so you can recover quickly when you catch an edge.


Yeah, if you haven’t learned how to get onto an edge when you need to, it’s virtually impossible. What’s funny is once people figure out pressuring edges, flat basing tends to just click on it’s own.

I’m huuuuuge on edge pressuring. I’d almost say it should be the very first thing taught after linking turns, but so many people go years without even knowing it’s possible to do.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Jimi7 said:


> You do see a lot of newbies eat it up on the hill because they're flat basing. You really need all your form, technique and skills dialed in before flat basing so you can recover quickly when you catch an edge.


Or because your hill requires flat basing...or walking...eating shit is the motivation to learn your form, technique and skills so that you don't catch an edge nor perform the walk of shame. at baker, despite popular misconception, there is some flat ass and uphill terrain. Immediately after learning to link turns, you learn to straight line and flatbase or you are forced to do the walk of shame. And no self-respecting rider in the holyland walks...we float and glide like angels with wings.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

MCrides said:


> Yeah, if you haven’t learned how to get onto an edge when you need to, it’s virtually impossible. What’s funny is once people figure out pressuring edges, flat basing tends to just click on it’s own.
> 
> I’m huuuuuge on edge pressuring. I’d almost say it should be the very first thing taught after linking turns, but so many people go years without even knowing it’s possible to do.


For the most part I stay on edge unless I need to flat base.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Or because your hill requires flat basing...or walking...eating shit is the motivation to learn your form, technique and skills so that you don't catch an edge nor perform the walk of shame. at baker, despite popular misconception, there is some flat ass terrain. Immediately after learning to link turns, you learn to straight line and flatbase or you are forced to do the walk of shame.


I hate the walk of shame.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

I am so pissed for today session.
I went in a different resort trying to chase a little more snow, but since I never went there I decided to have a lesson. Bottom idea was having someone showing me a couple runs, maybe pointing me out and patches or runs not so good. I got a 24 yo that had no clue on how to teach grown up people. And he was sick, literally sick, I mean. He throwed up a couple of times in two hours.
I am even ashamed to write this here. It has never happened to me something so unprofessional before. Today resort is well known place with tons of people and a number of ski schools. And I paid the same fare I usually pay for well rounded lessons, so I really was not expecting such an experience. I mean I felt sorry for him, I was also worried for him. If I wasn't able to do my lesson, he could have just told it. I could have complained a little, but yk, with a bonus lesson, I would have been more than Happy.
On top of this, really he has no clue what to teach to me. First run I was happy, there actually was a little bit more snow, wow. I started well, turning without big issues. I was a little scared in some steeper parts of the runs, but nothing that could not be solved by running again the same runs again. I told it to my instructor, so he decided to bring me in the farthest part of the resort. I thought it was because he knew good runs, maybe more snowy, so I trusted this guy. I due wrong. Not only the runs were more difficult for me, but also all snow was hard packed and I was terrified. WTF!
At some point I also asked him if he was sure se could go back intime and he said yes. Guess what? We did not and he left me on top of the mountain at the end of the hours. After wearing me out and throwing at me non-consequential suggestions. He tried to propose me different types of exercises, from basic turns (i.e. turning using upper body) to exercises for counter rotation, without letting me the time to catch up and understanding what to do. So I was constantly trying to do weird stuff, feeling more and more insecure.
Plus he has this weird habit of staying too close to me, like less than 1m. Maybe with little kids this is the way to go, but I am 75kgx175cm, I need my f*cking space! Think of riding with a sick buddy always almost on your board...

My self esteem was definitely crushed and when he said he has to go to the other lesson I sent him away becuse I was crying in the middle of the run, I kid you not.

This serves me as a lesson: I need to get rid of this fear of 'I have never ridden here'. I would have ridden much better alone than what I actually did. Today I have just burnt time, money and self esteem.


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## Manicmouse (Apr 7, 2014)

Did you complain to the resort about the lesson? He must have had a killer hangover... At least get your money back.

Some instructors are basically just tour guides. Once in Aspen I got a full day lesson to brush up on my skills, ended up getting an all day tour of the resort with no technical help. Was fun, but not really what I was after...


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## rachelcoles (11 mo ago)

Hi,

I am total shocked and appalled by the behaviour of your instructor, that is unacceptable. The minute he threw up the first time, I would have politely told him to f%$£& off and would of gone directly to the company, complained and asked for my money back. Got back on the slopes and enjoyed the day on my own. 
To leave you at the top crying is absolutely unacceptable...

This is the problem with the younger instructors, they go out drinking all night and think they can just wing the lessons the next day. I saw this first hand last month when I was on a snowboard trip for a week. Four instructors came into the hotel I was staying at, they where already drunk, considering they skied down the slope in the dark to the hotel.....I presume they were on a ski drinking run...
They just carried on drinking making loads of noise, and basically making fools of themselves, one actually threw up in front of everyone and they were then asked to leave, so they got on their skis and carried on down the hill in the dark...The one that threw up was actually phoned by his boss and told he was to do a lesson at 7am the next morning...I felt sorry for that client. 

I think you to get over the fear of riding somewhere new and needing an instructor all the time, just go along on your own. You have enough skill to hit the slopes on your own. I constantly talk to myself while snowboarding, basically telling myself what I'm doing wrong or right and then I correct that on the next run. You have the skills and knowledge from the lesson, just apply them yourself.

Look at the piste map of the resort before you go and see where the blue and red routes are and work out which you think will be ok for you. Even look at their website, most have webcams on the slopes so you can get an idea of the slopes etc. or even google maps. When you get there, you can automatically see what some of the slopes are like. Start on one of the short blue runs or even the training one to loosen up and get into the flow. Then try a different blue one once or twice and by then you'll be able to judge the steepness of the slopes from that. 
That's what I do, gives you a chance to just relax, get into it and off you go.

Don't be afraid to try the unknown, it will boost your confidence and skills and don't let what happened over the weekend stop your from going out there again. 

Stay strong and go snowboarding again --- have fun, even if it's on your own. 
(Apologises for the long message)


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Maya said:


> I am so pissed for today session.
> I went in a different resort trying to chase a little more snow, but since I never went there I decided to have a lesson. Bottom idea was having someone showing me a couple runs, maybe pointing me out and patches or runs not so good. I got a 24 yo that had no clue on how to teach grown up people. And he was sick, literally sick, I mean. He throwed up a couple of times in two hours.
> I am even ashamed to write this here. It has never happened to me something so unprofessional before. Today resort is well known place with tons of people and a number of ski schools. And I paid the same fare I usually pay for well rounded lessons, so I really was not expecting such an experience. I mean I felt sorry for him, I was also worried for him. If I wasn't able to do my lesson, he could have just told it. I could have complained a little, but yk, with a bonus lesson, I would have been more than Happy.
> On top of this, really he has no clue what to teach to me. First run I was happy, there actually was a little bit more snow, wow. I started well, turning without big issues. I was a little scared in some steeper parts of the runs, but nothing that could not be solved by running again the same runs again. I told it to my instructor, so he decided to bring me in the farthest part of the resort. I thought it was because he knew good runs, maybe more snowy, so I trusted this guy. I due wrong. Not only the runs were more difficult for me, but also all snow was hard packed and I was terrified. WTF!
> ...


Bummer. Maybe it's time to start practicing without an instructor.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Today I have had possibly the nicest session of this season! So, so happy, but let me start from the beginning.

*Saturday March 5th*
We have been to out usual resort, as the kid has 3 more lessons to go. I did my usual 2h. Snow was terribly hard, I tried to do as usual, but I fought so much with feat, so I did only basic, without challenging any technical aspect. At some point in One of my favorite spots, I found a patch of ice, like in ice cubes, and I haven't found a way to pass it. I was falling constantly, so I dis the sensible things, I walked downhill until this patch ended. 
When I had enough of fighting my fear, I decided to go back at the base. The bunny hill was not too crowded, so I did some laps there. This gave me some confidence. 
My husband was also so kind of doing a video of me, so at least I can match what I feel with how I look while snowboarding.

*Sunday March 6th*
Surprise session today. I went to ski with my brother in law, my niece and my kid. We went in France, just out of the border, to Montgenevre. 
It is an average flat resort and it is much higher than my usual one, so there was almost perfect snow for me. I can't believe how much confident I was while riding. Since my niece is new at skiing, we just did blue and greens. Greens are a thing in there, I am not used to that, but they are flat and large and I loved it. Blues were steeper, like the red that I am used to, but I did all of them containing my fear very easily. I turned almost in all pistes and I also had the chance to really linking turns, that means starting the following turn without putting the board transversal to the slope.
Wow, I can't believe that. 

Also... I actually rided with my kid. My brother in law is a very good skier (like the ones who raced in high school) so I accepted all this arrangement because I knew he would be able to follow my kid as well. But after a while, my niece was lagging behind because, poor girl, it was her first day after 2 years and she was just a super beginner also before covid. 
So my brother in law stayed with her and I went down with my kid. I am so happy of that, I would have never thought to be able to do that. And I saw forn the first time my kid skiing. He is good, like so good that he gets bored in the pistes that I like  He did all the blue pistes without batting an eye, turning with parallel skis!
Also there were a couple of steel jumps, very little, just for kids and he was thrilled of doing them...


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Badass! Sounds like you found your new snow hill and your lifetime riding buddy. Just wait till you start teaching your grandkids and ripping around with them.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Maya said:


> I also had the chance to really linking turns, that means starting the following turn without putting the board transversal to the slope.


I am still elaborating feelings that I had after my toe-to-heel turn. I overturn because it seems that I don't think I am on the heel edge, until my board is transversal (or even more) to the slope. When I try to avoid this, it seems to me that I do not reach the edge, but I just stay flat and then I am back to toe edge. Like beginner exercise to draw Js in the slope. I need to do this more, to get what I am actually doing.

Also, it seems that I grasped the concept of "edge pressure". It seems that there is a middle point between being on an edge and flat basing. Yesterday I had to follow some flat-ish, narrow runs (not exactly cat tracks, but indeed smaller) and it was not the pain I was expecting. Of course my kid was always faster than me, but, hey I did it without pushing with my feet!


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

So what you're saying is that despite your initial pessimism, you _are_ getting it.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Current weather forecast says that in my home resort will start snowing on Friday morning. Very good news. Look at it! Unbelievable! I hope this forecast proves itself true.








Of course Sunday will be a much better day, but we're scheduled to go on Saturday, as little one has his lesson.
So next time my target will be to concentrate on heelside traversing, to avoid kicking my back foot.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

*Saturday March 12*
Today it was snowing. I can't believe it since last time I saw real snowflakes was January. My home resort was much more fun to ride. There was a significant layer of snow on top of the ice. Some icy parts, but I don't complain.
I out my mind in trying to link turns everywhere I was comfortably to do it. In mellow parts of the runs I did something definitely close to linking turns. I still have this lack of feeling on the heel side, but I am overall happy of today performance.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

I am.l back on the forum since very long time. A lot of changes in between, so many that I should probably change the flag in my profile. I will do it as soon as I can ride in the new country.

First snowboard day of season 22-23 is on Jan 1st 2023. We are on our home resort for one week. It is a poor choice because there is no snow. I knew this from the beginning, but I was able to organize the vacation so late that there were no other options. 

So, the conditions are so poor, that the snow is brown on many places and on the steepest places you can se the rocks with some snow on top. Clearly falling on the hard rock is not the most encouraging, but here I am and I need to play with what I have.

On to the good news, the board turns as easily as last year and I have not forgotten how to go down from a chairlift. Also, I am totally unprepared physically, and my muscle are hurting, but not as bad as the first few times last year.

In the mellow slopes I can do something very similar to linking turns, on the steepest ones not. My body position is not the best, the cereal box gets broken many times.

Today I will do the third time of the season. I plan to stick to easier slopes, because of the snow conditions.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

So third day today. Sun was shining, temperature just a couple of degrees below than yesterday, so the snow was slightly better. However, I chose to stay only on a small blue slope, where there was a much better snow. I tried to go back to basic on turning. I did a lot of turns in almost all the length of the slope. Bad points are that I still overturn when going from toe to heel and I always tend to do big Cs and my board is rarely towards the slope line. Exactly like last year, talking about not forgetting. 
Good point is that I usually look where I am going and not so much at my feet. On mellow slopes, the turn from toe to heel is almost linked. But the big win is that in this blue slope I had minimal fear today. 

As aside note, I was not able to bring with me my boots, so I rented a pair. Burton boots size 27 (mine are woman 26.5), clearly man boots. Not the best boots, but I feel anyway comfortable in them, they are not too wide for my non-Cinderella feet.


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## SushiLover (Sep 17, 2020)

post some videos of your riding and I'm pretty sure you'll get a lot of pointers


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Unfortunately that is not possible, as I ride alone unless I pay for an instructor. Also I am not sure if I want to be teared down by all you super-experts.

Today is last day of vacation, but I can't convince me to go riding. Snow conditions always bad, but today is vacation, so there are too many people for my liking. I mean, this is a busy period, I am not expecting empty slopes, but today is overwhelming. 
I want to organize next ski day, but in a new country it is overly complicated.


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