# Catwalks scare the crap out of me.



## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

When you're going straight on a cat track, try bending your knees so your shins press into the tongues of your boots. This will get you on your toe edge just enough to be riding on an edge instead of flat basing. That's my default cruising straight position.

I think CRC like on your Lady West can feel loose and unpredictable when flat basing. Get your weight on your front foot and weight the front camber zone.


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## Snow Hound (Jul 21, 2012)

On a board like the Lady West I found it helpful to not be completely flat. I'd nearly always be on edge just a tiny bit. Mostly toe edge but switching to heel as and when required. Other than that and making sure your weight is far enough forward, just give it time. Don't beat yourself up, it'll come. At the village I learned to ride a narrow switchback path makes up a fair chunk of the home run. It was my nemesis and I absolutely hated it. These days I laugh in it's face and race skiers to the bar. It took a while though.

Edit* So yeah what Wigmar said...


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## BoardieK (Dec 21, 2015)

Easy to sympathise but difficult to recall the "fear", you will get there. I do remember once thinking I was doing really well only for the shock of a fast skier shooting by to put me in a pile on the ground. 
Perhaps put a lot of practise in on easy slopes performing constant turns. That's how I ride them now, constantly going from edge to edge in a succession of mini carves with a lot of looking back over my shoulder. It is much easier to start a turn, even if you are going to stop, if you already have the motion of turning; same surfing. If you are on one edge you can kind of get "locked in" a bit and it takes a moment to move the body to change edges.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

The Lady West can perfectly fine ride flatbased straight on cattracks IF you put your weight on your front foot. It's a must.

No board likes to be weightened on the back foot, specifically on cat tracks that's a perfect recipe to catch edges, and the Lady, with its pronounced middle rocker, can show a sway going flatbased if weight is on the back foot. Don't do that .

Your main problem is that you are afraid, and it's a natural reaction that one goes into the backseat (put one's weight on hind leg). Sure, CRC boards are less likely to catch edges, but even they can if too much in backseat. So that's your exercise: concentrate on your weight distribution. Deliberately put weight on front foot. The above hints with avoiding to flatbase but go edge to edge all the time are good as well, but no help if you're still in the backseat; you'd still have troubles to get on edge and catch edges. Thus, correcting the weight distribution really is the main thing to solve first. You'll get there


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

BTW: I don't think the Lady West is the best board choice for you. Yes, it's a CRC, and as such almost catch free, but it's not a beginner board. It's rather a freeride deck with a certain stiffness. Sure, not as unforgiving as other freeride boards, but... meant to freeride, I.e. ridden with a bit determination. If your weight distribution on cat tracks is still off, you're not freeriding soon so you don't need to ride a freeride deck with a pronounced rocker and certain stiffness and a sway if off-balance obviously making your life harder. The Prototype 2 from NS would be a better decision, IMO.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

PSPS: and invest into a private lesson. Your issue with cattracks is both, technical, and mental. You're in a down-spiral atm, which is frustrating. Your fear of falling causes your falling (fear leads to backseat leads to lack of control. And thus you fall. Also fear leads to slowing down to a point where any board gets hard to balance - it's a bit like with bicycles... the momentum gives stability. If too slow? Balance gets super hard - so your going super slow also makes it only harder).

And a last PS: don't go riding blacks. I don't mean to sound mean... but IMO you don't profit from scraping down a black ATM. Go to easier runs where you can actually exercise to balance on edge, and let your muscle memory learn to do those mini adjustments all by themselves at one point. Do long drawn out carves heel and toe side going all the way through the slope, stay on the edge as long as possible, repeat, repeat, feel the sidecut, learn to balance on different degrees of tilt, then begin to do short quick turns, increasingly shorter and quicker, and don't forget to stay on front foot (your mantra now). You'll see, that soon, those cat tracks will become peanuts you become confident and light-footed.

It's all a question of repetition of good movements. A instructor can help you to memorize those good movements so much quicker than a forum can. The longer you are repeating your bad habits, the harder it gets to erase them out of your muscle memory... (I know we'll as I'm a self-tought rider and had a huge rucksack full of bad habits which took a decade to get rid off; wish I had taken some lessons years ago! Would have spared me many bruises)


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## Bambii (Jan 24, 2021)

Thank you guys for this information. The other thing I thought about as well is that I start of doing toe edge a bit. But I don't understand that typically when I'm on toe edge it's pushing to the left and heel edge is pushing to the right. On a cat walk using a bit of toe edge while balanced and not moving the board at all besides going straight is messing me up because it is technically in front of me. In my head it should be heel edge but obviously this won't work, I may be naturally trying to do this because I'm not comfortable. I even give up and start full blown carving sometimes just to feel a sense of control.


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## Bambii (Jan 24, 2021)

Also, what do you think of group lessons? Is it worth it over a private lesson?


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Bambii said:


> Also, what do you think of group lessons? Is it worth it over a private lesson?


Imo, group lessons are only fine for the very first days. To correct an individual problem, group lessons are a waste of money. I rather have 1 privat than 5 group lessons 🤷‍♀️

If you have afriend with the similar problem, a shared lesson would be good. But a group of strangers, everyone with a different issue? Sounds like wasted coins and time.


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

Lots of good advice already, but took me a while to figure out I wasn't bending my knees and it was fucking with me. 

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk


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## Grunky (Mar 21, 2019)

As Neni said, I think a private lesson would be helpfull. 
Tell the instructor exactly what your struggle is and he will be able to focus on this problem and give you advices. 

On the forum, without seeing you riding, we can only give general advices, not as specific as someone seeing you. 
Or if you can't afford a lesson, maybe an experienced friend with good pedagogy.


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## freshy (Nov 18, 2009)

A private lesson would be the best short term solution. Practice would be the best overall. Sucks that's it's a mental thing now cause that's a hard thing to get over (I used to have an issue stepping on to an escalater going down, lol). I don't know how much you get to ride in a year but spending a half a day or at least a run or two practicing flat basing is what you might need to do. Like mentioned there is not much we can offer except to say get low and weight on front foot. Or since your just kinda learning just avoid cat tracks if you can till you get more confidence.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

OHHHH, I have a free on-line lesson for ya...bwahahah. Pay close attention to the creepy, weighting the nose, getting stacked and being in the cereal box. If you are really interested, someone will post the link or you can look for the creepy basement vid. Make some popcorn and get prepared to be entertained, horrified and schooled. 

some other related threads
(1) Catching An EDGE | Page 4 | Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums 

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


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

wrathfuldeity said:


> OHHHH, I have a free on-line lesson for ya...bwahahah. Pay close attention to the creepy, weighting the nose, getting stacked and being in the cereal box. If you are really interested, someone will post the link or you can look for the creepy basement vid. Make some popcorn and get prepared to be entertained, horrified and schooled.


I'll bite... Here's @wrathfuldeity dropping some knowledge.


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## RayzTheRoof (Mar 10, 2014)

wrathfuldeity said:


> OHHHH, I have a free on-line lesson for ya...bwahahah. Pay close attention to the creepy, weighting the nose, getting stacked and being in the cereal box. If you are really interested, someone will post the link or you can look for the creepy basement vid. Make some popcorn and get prepared to be entertained, horrified and schooled.
> 
> some other related threads
> (1) Catching An EDGE | Page 4 | Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums
> ...


I am very confused, what video?


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## Snow Hound (Jul 21, 2012)

RayzTheRoof said:


> I am very confused, what video?


WigMar already linked it but...


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## RayzTheRoof (Mar 10, 2014)

Snow Hound said:


> WigMar already linked it but...


didn't realize that was a link, thanks


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## ctoma (Aug 9, 2011)

Oh noooooo, the creepy basement video!!! What has been seen cannot be unseen!!!!!


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## Grunky (Mar 21, 2019)

Nightmares...... again........


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

Wrath on the catwalk in that outfit would certainly turn heads.


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## Manicmouse (Apr 7, 2014)

Never heard them called catwalks before! Is that common? As opposed to cat tracks.


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

Now that's he's famous for snowboarding it's fun to see Wrath's older music videos.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

Stay centered and loose, get an edge engaged you should be fine.


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