# Moving beyond intermediate... I need some advice



## evilfeline007 (Dec 16, 2010)

Hi y'all!!

You may remember me from last season just learning how to snowboard and being fearful of blue runs. Well, I've managed to move beyond that and ended last season on some diamonds on the "soft landing" type days... lol

Anyways, my skill set seems to be stuck so I'll take any advice from drills to binding changes...

Here's where I'm at:

I'm now finding I prefer the steeper blues... I tend to hurt myself on shallower runs... and I'm really uncomfortable going fast on a green or flat traverse type part (its like i'm worried about losing my edge and catching an edge). I can link turns on steep runs for sure but I'm constantly mentally pushing myself to do so and not "chicken out" and skid to a near-stop. I actually like the runs under the lifts because I feel I'm being watched so I push myself and mostly swoop fluidly down, maybe slowling down significantly a couple of times and then picking up speed again.

Those are skidded turns though.. I can't seem to carve. I think I'm not getting enough speed and I KNOW I'm supposed to make speed my friend but it's not something that's natural to me.

Also, once I have a good fall, it completely rids me of any sort of skills... I think I stop leaning forward enough.

So, in the end, I can't seem to carve AND my steering is also not precise enough. I can negotiate people but I can't negotiate trees or moguls and I have a hard time on the narrow cat trails that traverse between two lifts.

That being said... I went on the bunny hill with my friend (who is on day 4) and I found that I was suddenly using my rear leg as sort of a rudder and just going straight switching from edge to edge...

Is there more than one way to turn?

Anyways... youtube wasn't being a very good instructor so I figured I'd go to this forum. I was considering booking a lesson but I really don't have the money for that right now (but I do have a seasons pass )


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

Here > http://www.snowboardingforum.com/tips-tricks-instructors/4480-snowboard-lessons-video.html


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## evilfeline007 (Dec 16, 2010)

I think it's all in my head. Those vids are awesome btw.

I can do all of those things... skidded turns, pivot turns, those carve turns snow wolf shows in the cat track video.

I think I totally psych myself out like I have no faith that I can do it when I have to. It seems like whenever I fall I wipe out really good with zero control or even knowing what happened and whenever I get good speed I think "this would hurt if i fall now". Liquid courage doesn't help either.. one beer and i become a flailing unco-ordinated mess. lol.


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

evilfeline007 said:


> Those are skidded turns though.. I can't seem to carve....
> 
> ...So, in the end, *I can't seem to carve* AND my steering is also not precise enough. I can negotiate people but I can't negotiate trees or moguls and I have a hard time on the narrow cat trails that traverse between two lifts.
> 
> ...





evilfeline007 said:


> I can do all of those things... skidded turns, pivot turns, those carve turns snow wolf shows in the cat track video.


I can sympathise, I know what you are talking about but i'm a lot less help than the link I posted. Sometimes going back to fundamentals can help. Highlighted a couple things above, you seem like you are contradicting yourself :dunno:


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## evilfeline007 (Dec 16, 2010)

yea i can confuse myself on the best of days...

what i meant is when i see/hear the technique i go "oh that thing" because i think i do it without much thought. I took lessons a while ago but ended once I could link turns.... now I'm just riding and figuring out that there's more than one way to control the board and it's confusing me because I guess I also don't know what is right/wrong and when/when not to apply certain techniques. That combined with a fear of falling or rather crashing because that's what I do... I crash...(i had to get XL snowpants so i can fit all my crash shorts, knee pads, etc underneath)


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

:laugh: Ha, yeah all good, I know what you mean. It's difficult to translate theory into practice sometimes.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Start riding with folks who are better...forget everything and just try to keep up. And if you fall, its fine, just pop back up and mob. You need to get your head out of the way...thinkin is too slow...your body is starting to know what to do...so if you start to fall...struggle to keep going...let your body do everything to keep going, you'll be suprised.

Another thing is to pick a spot further down the hill to end up at and then is getting used to reading/anticipating the terrain infront of you...start looking at the terrain 50 yards down the hill and trust your body to deal with what's flying under you at the moment...you can't think fast enough for that...and if you do...its too late, you've already rode it. Its about staying ahead of the game and your riding becomes more stragetic or tactical...how are you are attacking the line instead of reacting to the line.


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Start riding with folks who are better...forget everything and just try to keep up. And if you fall, its fine, just pop back up and mob. You need to get your head out of the way...thinkin is too slow...your body is starting to know what to do...so if you start to fall...struggle to keep going...let your body do everything to keep going, you'll be suprised.
> 
> Another thing is to pick a spot further down the hill to end up at and then is getting used to reading/anticipating the terrain infront of you...start looking at the terrain 50 yards down the hill and trust your body to deal with what's flying under you at the moment...you can't think fast enough for that...and if you do...its too late, you've already rode it. Its about staying ahead of the game and your riding becomes more stragetic or tactical...how are you are attacking the line instead of reacting to the line.


This is good advice for me too, thanks Wrathful.

I rode by myself on sunday and realized how crap I ride when I'm not keeping up with my buddies (and gf). Riding with people who rip def helps :thumbsup: Less thinking, more just hitting shit


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## lisevolution (Sep 20, 2007)

Yeah I agree with this also... my riding has sort of plateaued at this point because I don't ride with anyone better than me anymore. The only time I find myself being pushed is when I go out west and ride with some of my friends that made that move out there.


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## evilfeline007 (Dec 16, 2010)

I think that's great advice. I went out a couple of days ago when conditions were pretty good and I took your advice and rather than slowing down and being like "OH GOD! A LUMP" I tried said to myself "let your legs do their thing" and it totally worked!

I always ride with my boyfriend who is better than me even though we started at the same time... maybe not better but more fearless.

Today I had less luck but it was icy out...


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

evilfeline007 said:


> Hi y'all!!
> 
> You may remember me from last season just learning how to snowboard and being fearful of blue runs. Well, I've managed to move beyond that and ended last season on some diamonds on the "soft landing" type days... lol
> 
> ...


One thing that gave me tons of confidence learning was wearing protection. ( Helmet, wrist guards (or protective gloves) and most of all padded shorts. Falling and NOT getting hurt is the best way not to be afraid of falling, therefore commit more.


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

KIRKRIDER said:


> One thing that gave me tons of confidence learning was wearing protection. ( Helmet, wrist guards (or protective gloves) and most of all padded shorts. Falling and NOT getting hurt is the best way not to be afraid of falling, therefore commit more.


second that.my second season too,but i bought azzpad for tailbone protection and i commit more while practicing my weaknesses(really steeps terrains,moguls).too bad it did not help me when i hit a tree and bruised my ribs last saturday:laugh: anyways,i still ride,just staying away from trees for now until i heal:thumbsup:


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## lonerider (Apr 10, 2009)

evilfeline007 said:


> I'm now finding I prefer the steeper blues... I tend to hurt myself on shallower runs... and I'm really uncomfortable going fast on a green or flat traverse type part (its like i'm worried about losing my edge and catching an edge). I can link turns on steep runs for sure but I'm constantly mentally pushing myself to do so and not "chicken out" and skid to a near-stop. I actually like the runs under the lifts because I feel I'm being watched so I push myself and mostly swoop fluidly down, maybe slowling down significantly a couple of times and then picking up speed again.


I always prefer blues to green because like you said... you need speed to turn properly and greens on most mountains (not all greens are the same) are just really, really flat and slow. One thing I recommend for speed control is to do wide S-turns so that your turns begin and end with you going almost completely across the fall line... this really helps keep you from accelerating to "ludicrous speed" the moment you forget to link another turn after you last one (which happens when you start/end each turn with your board pointing down the fall-line). Once again, I'm going to use a video of my wife (hopefully she doesn't mind me showing these early-year videos of her). This is early in her third season of riding, down a pretty decent black slope on the West coast. One important thing to note is that her head (and shoulders) point in the direction she is turning (not always looking downhill). This lets her body move as one unit with one purpose AND let's her *LOOK UPHILL to WATCH OUT FOR STRAIGHT-LINING SKIIERS*. Very important when you are coming across the fall line like that








evilfeline007 said:


> Those are skidded turns though.. I can't seem to carve. I think I'm not getting enough speed and I KNOW I'm supposed to make speed my friend but it's not something that's natural to me.
> 
> Also, once I have a good fall, it completely rids me of any sort of skills... I think I stop leaning forward enough.


Once you develop good "natural" speed control (i.e. not panicking and doing a shutdown heelslide), you will feel more relaxed and then you won't "rush" the turn... that will help you get that board carving. As people also mentioned... wearing protective gear will also dramatically improve your confidence. I recommend Level gloves which have a built-in wrist guard and Azzpadz (tailbone protector)... you can PM me if you have more questions about protective guard as I have tried a lot of brands.



evilfeline007 said:


> So, in the end, I can't seem to carve AND my steering is also not precise enough. I can negotiate people but I can't negotiate trees or moguls and I have a hard time on the narrow cat trails that traverse between two lifts.
> 
> That being said... I went on the bunny hill with my friend (who is on day 4) and I found that I was suddenly using my rear leg as sort of a rudder and just going straight switching from edge to edge...


So the first type of turn I talked about is called a "crossover" as you can see the turn happens as the upper body crosses back and forth over the toeside/heelside of the board. There are a few other techniques for turning as well... one is called a cross-under, where all the action is going on with your ankles and knees (your upper body is very quiet), it's a bit of a more advanced manuever. So I would suggest what I've seen people call a "pivot turn" which is what you kind of discovered yourself... you unweight you backfoot and kick it out.

Here is a decent video on pivot turns






Here is a "ok" video of how to do cross-unders


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## evilfeline007 (Dec 16, 2010)

i do wear protection... wrist guard, knee pads, helmet and RED impact shorts. I have an azzpad but I stopped wearing it because it hurts my azz. lol. when i fall on it, it protects my tail bone but hurts my seat bones


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## tremur (Feb 6, 2012)

evilfeline007 said:


> Hi y'all!!
> 
> I'm now finding I prefer the steeper blues... I tend to hurt myself on shallower runs... and I'm really uncomfortable going fast on a green or flat traverse type part (its like i'm worried about losing my edge and catching an edge). I can link turns on steep runs for sure but I'm constantly mentally pushing myself to do so and not "chicken out" and skid to a near-stop. I actually like the runs under the lifts because I feel I'm being watched so I push myself and mostly swoop fluidly down, maybe slowling down significantly a couple of times and then picking up speed again.
> 
> ...



I'm a newb, so take my reply with a grain of salt.. (3 days practice, then just got back from 3 solid days at Jay Peak in Vermont). Been told I'm doing 'incredibly well' for so little experience, but still consider myself more or less a beginner, with a touch of talent left over from skateboarding as a kid.

You sound similar to me in the sense of being a 'technical learner'. Wanting to understand the physics..

I think you've accurately diagnosed some of your own sticking points.. The losing confidence from a fall can make you keep your weight back (for stability) and cost you your turning ability. Try to 'reset' your brain before a run, KNOWING that to do what you want to do, you HAVE to be moderately aggressive, keep your weight centered and forward when needed. 

Shallow runs are the hardest. Coasting on the flats requires a fair bit of edge control that I'm not sure I've got yet, it will come. Don't let that spook you. Some experienced riders are telling me it can be one of the tougher things to feel comfortable with. I'm avoiding most green runs just to keep away from the too slow stuff

You do seem to have a 'speed issue', but I wouldn't worry about it. That middle phase when you're switching edges at high speed is where you cant be tentative. If you 'linger' in that float zone on the flat of the board, you're just asking to catch an edge and get thrown down hard. Commit to that turn and get thru the middle quickly

One thing that helped me is squatting more at higher speed, it helps get your legs out from under you quickly when switching edges. Commit your weight transfer and use your shoulders to help with your weight shift. 

Cheers,


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