# Dropping into the slot!



## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

Glad you're stoked about riding. Your insights into carving are accurate, but, what's wrong with skidding? It's not the skid causing your board to chatter with the resulting crash.

The skid is a highly useful maneuver and what you see used most of the time at the hill.


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## tboooe (Mar 16, 2008)

Grizz said:


> Glad you're stoked about riding. Your insights into carving are accurate, but, what's wrong with skidding? It's not the skid causing your board to chatter with the resulting crash.
> 
> The skid is a highly useful maneuver and what you see used most of the time at the hill.


First, let me first say that I did not mean to disparage anyone's riding style. You are right, there is nothing wrong with skidding. I personally want to avoid it as much as possible since I get I more enjoyment from carving. 

Secondly, for me skidding does lead to crashes especially on a bumpy hill. When I am carrying too much speed and skid, the chatter makes me feel more out of control than when I am able to control my speed through wide carves. Add to this a bumpy or rough hill, and I will crash. You are right, it is not the skidding or chatter that causes me to crash. Its being out of control as a result of the skid and chatter. Carving to me induces more of a sense of stability and thus confidence. 

Anyway, just my opinion.


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## Willy36 (Dec 29, 2008)

Skidding has a tendency to make me crash on steeper slopes where going faster and actually carving makes me more stable. So I know what you're saying...


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## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

tboooe said:


> Secondly, for me skidding does lead to crashes especially on a bumpy hill. When I am carrying too much speed and skid, the chatter makes me feel more out of control than when I am able to control my speed through wide carves. Add to this a bumpy or rough hill, and I will crash. You are right, it is not the skidding or chatter that causes me to crash. Its being out of control as a result of the skid and chatter. Carving to me induces more of a sense of stability and thus confidence.


If all other factors (turn shape, radius, slope) are equal, carving will be a faster turn and skidding slower. What is preventing you from skidding a turn in control?


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## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

Willy36 said:


> Skidding has a tendency to make me crash on steeper slopes where going faster and actually carving makes me more stable. So I know what you're saying...


If you are on a steep slope I doubt you are carving turns.


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## Willy36 (Dec 29, 2008)

Grizz said:


> If you are on a steep slope I doubt you are carving turns.


I said steepER... like steep blue or mild black... when I skid those, I hit a little bump and end up in the air for a few feet and when my board comes back down, it kinda tends to slide a little quick and I often have to bounce off the snow to get back up sometimes.


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## jmacphee9 (Nov 11, 2008)

Willy36 said:


> I said steepER... like steep blue or mild black... when I skid those, I hit a little bump and end up in the air for a few feet and when my board comes back down, it kinda tends to slide a little quick and I often have to bounce off the snow to get back up sometimes.


dont you have more control when your skidding? anywho dont be ragggin on skidding, im a park rider with no need for carving:laugh:


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## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

jmacphee9 said:


> dont you have more control when your skidding? anywho dont be ragggin on skidding, im a park rider with no need for carving:laugh:


How about gaining amplitude in the pipe?


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## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

Willy36 said:


> I said steepER... like steep blue or mild black... when I skid those, I hit a little bump and end up in the air for a few feet and when my board comes back down, it kinda tends to slide a little quick and I often have to bounce off the snow to get back up sometimes.


Again, it's not because of the skid.


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## tboooe (Mar 16, 2008)

Grizz, for me skidding causes me to feel like I am losing stability. When I skid across a bumpy hill, my board tends to plow through the bumps, sometimes causing me to get some air (as willy36 pointed out too). Once this happens, all bets are off for me and I usually cannot recover. On the other hand, when I carve, my board tends to cut through the bumps, allowing me to maintain more stability.

So it is not the skid but my inability to have stability while skidding down a steepish hill vs carving. Again, I am not disparaging skidding. As Grizz mentioned, alot of people snowboard this way. I happen to prefer carving as I feel I snowboard better when I carve.


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## jmacphee9 (Nov 11, 2008)

i must be thinking of something else, are you talking about like slide turning? or like your board actually hopping while carving?


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## tboooe (Mar 16, 2008)

hi snowolf, I ride on Socal where conditions are usually ice! I also agree with you about the pow or popcorn...actually in those types of conditions, turning anyway is fun!

jmacphee9, I think I am referring to what you call a "slide turn". The board is actually sliding or skidding during the turn instead of getting the slot and carving a nice thin rail. I hope this makes sense.


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## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

tboooe said:


> When I skid across a bumpy hill, my board tends to plow through the bumps, sometimes causing me to get some air (as willy36 pointed out too). Once this happens, all bets are off for me and I usually cannot recover.


Sounds like an inability to manage fore/aft pressure and lack of independent leg/foot action to me. Figure those out and you will be able to carve or skid anywhere without loosing control.


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## Birk (Jan 28, 2009)

Willy36 said:


> I said steepER... like steep blue or mild black... when I skid those, I hit a little bump and end up in the air for a few feet and when my board comes back down, it kinda tends to slide a little quick and I often have to bounce off the snow to get back up sometimes.


Thats the most fun part! When youre suddenly in the air, and youre forced to adapt quickly. What a rush!
Had one of those last week on a steep slope with snowy weather. Most scary thing, but still awesome. Thats how you learn to trust your instincts and yourself!


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2009)

Grizz said:


> How about gaining amplitude in the pipe?


When YOu skid across the flat bottom of the pipe you lose speed and line. If u skid on the vert of the pipe you may crash and burn, fall towards the trannie or worse get thrown out of the pipe.

Carving, not skidding is the pipe riders best friend, and is whats required to ride the pipe efficiently and as Grizz states; develop amplitude and make your edge change and turn above the lip and carve back down the trannie on your new edge.


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## max_tm (Dec 7, 2008)

IMO Grizz is completely right here. If you can't do a skidded (sliding turn) down a black slope without chatter, you are not carving that slope instead. If anything what you probably feel to be a carved turn on that slope is probably a proper sliding turn. What a lot of people I find don't grasp about a sliding turn is that at turn completion there is no side slipping involved; all the skidding occurs at the middle (and as you progress, higher and higher up) in the turning arc so your traverse across the hill at turn completion should be more or less in a straight line. Bumps, crud, steeps, all that stuff will not be more stable in a carved turn vs. a solid sliding turn.


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## arsenic0 (Nov 11, 2008)

Grizz said:


> If all other factors (turn shape, radius, slope) are equal, carving will be a faster turn and skidding slower. What is preventing you from skidding a turn in control?


Only issues i have with skidding is sometimes ill hit some choppy shit or ice or something and my board will start hopping, i fully understand what hes saying..im learning to try and prevent skidding as much as possible because i typically only fall if im skidding and my feet come out from under me when im not expecting it.


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## max_tm (Dec 7, 2008)

I would have to say that it's not an issue with the fact that you're doing a skidded turn, but *how* you're doing it. Carving is not the riding style of choice on ungroomed terrain from the standpoint of stability or ease of riding. For example, last time I was on course we did all of our carving segments in the morning on groom, and all of the skidded segments when it got chopped up and bumpy and on the runs where the conditions were sub-par to begin with, not the other way round. The key to becoming a proficient free-rider is not being able to carve everything (well I mean, that would be awesome!) but to be able to execute a proper sliding turn.


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## SB4L (Jan 12, 2009)

tboooe said:


> hi snowolf, I ride on Socal where conditions are usually ice! I also agree with you about the pow or popcorn...actually in those types of conditions, turning anyway is fun!


Wait, SoCal has ice??? I have never been there, but my impression was powder & spring corn... or if anything packed powder. Are we talking east-coast ice here??? Because here in Western Canada, what the locals refer to as "ice" is usually just hard-packed snow. In the east, we are literally talking about a sheet of ice. So honestly, is there ice in SoCal???


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