# tips for newbie on controlling speed



## schroern (Feb 8, 2014)

So I bought a used board recently and been riding on it twice so far. I've got turns down on the bunny hill, but started on greens today and struggled controlling my speed. And then using my edges. A friend I was with said it might be cause I'm skinny (I'm 5'9" and 117 lbs) and can't get enough weight on the edges to turn when I'm going at a faster speed (which makes controlling my speed an issue. No clue if weight can be a factor in edge control and speed, so I was wondering if anyone has tips on just controlling speed in general, or if any particular binding setups help with edge control. Its the only thing tripping me up really right now. I'd love to be able to link my turns like I do on the bunny hill.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

That doesn't sound right to me. I mean unless your on some 160+ cm stiff assed cambered deck. Even then, I would think more speed would give you more inertial "weight" so to speak to flex into the sidecut/edges when turning. I would suspect it is likely more of a technique/skills issue myself. 


...but then I'm still pretty new to all this myself, so I'm no expert. Just my first impression of what I would expect. What size and profile type is your board?


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## schroern (Feb 8, 2014)

chomps1211 said:


> That doesn't sound right to me. I mean unless your on some 160+ cm stiff assed cambered deck. Even then, I would think more speed would give you more inertial "weight" so to speak to flex into the sidecut/edges when turning. I would suspect it is likely more of a technique/skills issue myself.
> 
> 
> ...but then I'm still pretty new to all this myself, so I'm no expert. Just my first impression of what I would expect. What size and profile type is your board?


Yeah see I agree. It felt like an excuse to me, which is funny considering it came from him and not me. I know I'm a beginner and definitely am working on my technique/skills which suck, but learning anything new takes time. I'm probably just not comfortable with speed yet. 

I'm on a 148 cm board, and I have no clue about its profile. It's a Ride Catalyst (with Flow bindings) from like 03-04 maybe if that helps any.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Imho, its normal...getting used to speed and working on technique to control the board, i.e. getting in the front seat, bending your knees and turning more often. Take some lessons, very likely you are way too stiff legged and go try some blacks for comparison. Today, I nabbed a couple of gals off the bunny hill (riding day 4) to a steep blue and they did fine....got over some fear and got some perspective.


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## lambar (Jan 14, 2014)

having the same issue as a beginner as well. seem to be fine on a bunny hill, but trying even some of the greens, the change in steepness and speed throws me totally off and i fall the whole way down lol. my thinking is the more subtle moves that easily initiated turns on the less steep bunny aren't enough on a regular run. 

any other tips would be appreciated!


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## MelC (Mar 6, 2012)

Most of it is psychological, fear of speed. I remember the first time an instructor took our class to the lip of a double black and thinking no effing way am I going over that thing. No choice though so you just had to trust the turn and amazingly I discovered everything that worked on the easier hills worked here too once you got past the mental barrier. If you have mastered the bunny hill, stay on the greens until you have mostly masterd them then throw in some blues and go back to the greens and you will be amaxed at how simple the greens suddenly seem. And so on and so forth.


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## lambar (Jan 14, 2014)

yeah definitely think there's a mental aspect to it.. doesn't help the confidence also when i get off the chairlift the first time and faceplant lol. 

i think i also probably tend to lean back instinctively and not bend my knees enough so will need to work on that.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

Skinny people can't snowboard, proven fact, that's why I'm so awesome at it.....


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

snowklinger said:


> Skinny people can't snowboard, proven fact, that's why I'm so awesome at it.....


+1. Lol! :laugh: 
...I was asked, "You wanna go shred?" I heard, "You wanna get Fed!" :eusa_clap:


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## DevilWithin (Sep 16, 2013)

Here are a few basic tips that I found helped me:
1) Stretch and exercise your legs, back, shoulders and neck regularly - this helps when you're on the mountain. Using your own body weight for squats, etc helps a lot...no need for heavy weight lifting. Throw in some cardio so you don't tire as easily at altitude. Getting sore and tired is main reason people crash.
2) Relax your shoulders...don't tense up.
3) Maintain good posture - when you are new there is a tendency to bend over forward at the waist, which throws off your balance. Push out your belly button and pull in the small of your back to keep good posture. If you get tired...take a break until this feels natural.
4) In the beginning, keep your eyes focused ahead and where you want to go. Don't look at your feet to see if you are engaging your edge...you will fall. Keep your head up and ride in a confident posture.
5) Make sure you always have 51% of your weight on your front foot - don't ride on your back foot.
6) Put pressure on the tongue of your boot to engage your toe-side turns. 
7) Check to make sure your bindings are set up properly (no toe or heel drag). Lace up your boots without your feet in them and place them in your bindings. Ratchet your bindings on them and look to make sure they are centered on your board without too much overhang on either side. 

Most importantly, get a lesson! The instructor will be able to help you with all of this a lot faster than you can figure out on your own. 

Good luck!


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## lambar (Jan 14, 2014)

DevilWithin said:


> Here are a few basic tips that I found helped me:
> 1) Stretch and exercise your legs, back, shoulders and neck regularly - this helps when you're on the mountain. Using your own body weight for squats, etc helps a lot...no need for heavy weight lifting. Throw in some cardio so you don't tire as easily at altitude. Getting sore and tired is main reason people crash.
> 2) Relax your shoulders...don't tense up.
> 3) Maintain good posture - when you are new there is a tendency to bend over forward at the waist, which throws off your balance. Push out your belly button and pull in the small of your back to keep good posture. If you get tired...take a break until this feels natural.
> ...


Thank for the great tips. We have had two lessons so far and have another one planned this week so hoping for some more progress!


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## schroern (Feb 8, 2014)

chomps1211 said:


> +1. Lol! :laugh:
> ...I was asked, "You wanna go shred?" I heard, "You wanna get Fed!" :eusa_clap:


So of course I replied, "Hell yeah, free food."

Thanks for the tips guys. Towards the end of the night I was getting better at looking where I wanted to go. Which really helped. Excited to go again next weekend and work on everything more.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

schroern said:


> So of course I replied, "Hell yeah, free food."
> 
> Thanks for the tips guys. Towards the end of the night I was getting better at looking where I wanted to go. Which really helped. Excited to go again next weekend and work on everything more.


Cool! Yeah, you know there's no need to rush going fast. Get comfortable and confident with your skill level and speed will come as a natural result. Not that you shouldn't push your limits at times to progress. But knowing where your limits are, can help you avoid getting injured over a stupid mistake. 

Sounds like you're doing just fine. :thumbsup:


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## Crankthat (Feb 9, 2014)

Most moving from the flatter terrain have not really learned to dig in the edge of the board yet.
This is because you need a bit of speed to dig it in.
On the beginner terrain you learn your balance for the most part. 
See the curves on the front of your board.
While learning to stop flex a bit of weight on that front curve and bend the knees to add some weight on the total edge.
As you put/flex some weight on that curve the snowboard will pull you in that direction.
Now as it starts turning you need to dig the rest of the edge in while putting weight on it by more flex of the knees, lean down and over the top of your body also and add weight for faster stops.
Getting the board sideways with the upslope edge firmly dug in.
While learning to ride my first day of transition from the bunny slopes was difficult indeed.
My next trip out I had a plan and it worked great.

I sat on the snow out of the way towards the top and waited for somebody with slightly better skills then me and followed there lines and moves to the best of my ability.
As the day progressed and I mimicked more people that had a better idea then me my skills climbed very quickly compared to the first people I followed. 

I agree with the post that most people are to stiff at first.
A lot of people are to stiff to advance even after they have become goodriders.

It is my opinion that the people who know how to bend and loosen up the most and are not afraid to hold their hand over there heads and still skim the snow with it have the best control.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Crankthat said:


> I sat on the snow out of the way towards the top and waited for somebody with slightly better skills then me and followed there lines and moves to the best of my ability.
> As the day progressed and I mimicked more people that had a better idea then me my skills climbed very quickly compared to the first people I followed.


I've done this too. Works great. Just make sure you don't follow the same group twice in a row, you may get reported for stalking. :laugh:


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## JamesX (Feb 26, 2012)

Weight doesn't have much to do with it other than determining the size of your board.

one problem, which I had when I started, is the terror of that moment when you straighten out your board and is starting to gain speed and yet don't have the balance to fully commit to an edge. You just see that giant lake miles down the slope looming.

That fear caused me to shift my weight on my hind leg and makes turning even worse. I ended up having to maintain an iron grip on my front pant leg to force myself to stay forward leaning. Just took a short while after that to realize it isn't as scary as it seemed.

Maybe that will help you as well.


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## lambar (Jan 14, 2014)

JamesX said:


> Weight doesn't have much to do with it other than determining the size of your board.
> 
> one problem, which I had when I started, is the terror of that moment when you straighten out your board and is starting to gain speed and yet don't have the balance to fully commit to an edge. You just see that giant lake miles down the slope looming.
> 
> ...


I think this was my experience the other day for sure. I'll definitely make the conscious effort to not lean back when picking up speed down a steeper hill.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

you need speed to dig in the edges and make the board flex to turn hard.
also the transition is very important. the more perpendicular to the slope, the smoother the transition needs to be or your board just gonna chatter.


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