http://www.snowboardingforum.com/blogs/seriouscat/ Snowboarding Forum is a free snowboard enthusiast forum. Learn to snowboard, trade tips, and exchange photos on our Forums for Snowboarders. Join Snowboarding Forum today! en Wed, 22 May 2013 13:23:55 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.snowboardingforum.com/images/SnowboardingForum/misc/rss.jpg http://www.snowboardingforum.com/blogs/seriouscat/ http://www.snowboardingforum.com/blogs/seriouscat/501-feb-5-day-5-week-3.html Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:10:02 GMT Got up late on Sunday after messing with the bindings. I didn’t think I progressed enough for the next lesson, so I decided to go for a afternoon... Got up late on Sunday after messing with the bindings. I didn’t think I progressed enough for the next lesson, so I decided to go for a afternoon practice run . The new malamute boots are much much stiffer, and press on some weird pressure spots while just walking and standing. however they would prove to be extreme comfortable while riding. This the first day I felt no discomfort on the feet. They do however, have a much larger footprint than the Burton boots.

The 3 hour session was pretty uneventful. I focused entirely on linking turns. While the lean factor on heel to toe turn has been much better, the turning still isn’t as smooth as I like it to be. Upon further self analysis I found I’m not bending the front knee enough while turning, resulting in a stiff leaning motion. Focusing on the knees more made the linking flow much better.

Surprising enough I found the heel to toe turn is now easier initiate than the tow to heel. However I tend to have better control of speed out of the turns with the heel edge. With the much improvement turning control i ventured to a small steep gap. Turning was still in control with the increase inclination, but since I am now going at higher speeds, the radius of turn is getting big again. Hopely it will getter with practice. I also tried some dynamic turning on a cat track type area. Felt strange at first, but I was going in the direction of my shoulders. Wiped out on a toe to heel again. Not sure if it’s my knees still not bouncy enough, or just impatience waiting for turn to complete.

Areas for improvement for next session are knee motion, and rhythm in following the turn. I don’t know if it was the boots or more riding time, but I could feel the contour of the terrain vs board better and identify more of what’s going on under my foot.

Total hours spent:
3 hours practice

Falls/fatigue factor:
Couple falls right onto the right hip where I fell last time. Didn’t feel fantastic. No abnormal fatigue. ]]> seriouscat http://www.snowboardingforum.com/blogs/seriouscat/501-feb-5-day-5-week-3.html http://www.snowboardingforum.com/blogs/seriouscat/500-jan-31-day-4-week-3.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:45:00 GMT After work practice on turns. The first hour was not very smooth as I think I am a little fatigued from other exercises. The form wasn’t as good as... After work practice on turns. The first hour was not very smooth as I think I am a little fatigued from other exercises. The form wasn’t as good as the last session. The boots are actually bothering me a lot. Finally found a place in town with right Salomon boot sizes in stock. I am going to test them tomorrow.

Last two hours was a lot better, slowly getting the form back together, and was able to link a few turns together. Generally the turn distance has shortened. Near the end of the night I ate a big one turning into heel side. It didn’t hurt the tailbone but I could have used some butt armor I still think turning into the toe side could use some more forward lean on my part. Interestingly enough while the chairlift got stuck for a good 5-8mins, I was able to observe some boarders below, and found even the people who are turning consistently do not use enough forward lean.

I identified some other areas for improvement. Poor turning on relatively flat ground, especially near bottom of the hill. Poor judgement of fall line and speed. Hoping learning dynamic turns next session would help in this department.

Total hours spent:
2.5 hours practice

Falls/fatigue factor:
Smoked the hill on both turn sides. Knee pad took the bite out of the front, but the one on the back really hurt as the angle didn’t let it slide. This is the first time I don’t feel tired at all. So even though my form is still not perfect, I think I am no longer fighting the board. ]]> seriouscat http://www.snowboardingforum.com/blogs/seriouscat/500-jan-31-day-4-week-3.html http://www.snowboardingforum.com/blogs/seriouscat/499-jan-29-day-3-week-2.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:43:57 GMT Got up late but I was able to book the same instructor for another private session. I put on some rollerblade knee pads since the knees are still... Got up late but I was able to book the same instructor for another private session. I put on some rollerblade knee pads since the knees are still bruised from last session, and G-forms still have not arrived. Got a stomp pad as well. Did some traversing to warm up and showed him my turns so far. We headed to the development area for turn training. My problems are mostly related to not leaning forward enough. He also wanted more upper body rotation into the turns. The turns on the development area were uneventful and with decent form. So up the hill we go.

This run had a tow rope and it took 3 - 4 tries for me to get up on that Remainder of the lesson consisted of turns and I had perfect form on the toe to heel, but heel to toe was still coming along slowly. Still not leaning enough even though it was getting better. Ate a few including a spill on a banked turn. I think my rappel instincts related climbing are working against me here.

After lunch I worked on nothing but turns all day. Chairlift was now easy toe or heelside. The stomp pad probably helped. Or it could have just been a placebo. Skating feels more natural. The progress was come on slow until I visualized the speed skater’s leaning position at the start line for my heel to toe turns. It was actually easier to initiate the turn with more speed as it generates the momentum. But this was not very controlled. I was able to generate some good turns both sides for the last couple hours and can finally dodge all the falling/sitting people on the hill with easy.

Total hours spent:
1 hour lesson
3.5 hours practice

Falls/fatigue factor:
Lot of falls. But the most annoy thing came was straining my left leg while strapping in. Again very tired from trying all the different motions. ]]> seriouscat http://www.snowboardingforum.com/blogs/seriouscat/499-jan-29-day-3-week-2.html http://www.snowboardingforum.com/blogs/seriouscat/498-jan-26-day-2-week-2.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:42:47 GMT Went to the hill after work to practice. Lots of kids around, so getting off the chair lift was a bit of an adventure. Just can’t turn well enough... Went to the hill after work to practice. Lots of kids around, so getting off the chair lift was a bit of an adventure. Just can’t turn well enough yet on one leg to dodge all the loligagging people on top of the hill. Skating was much improved.

Again I went down couple times on heelside traverse only for some confidence. Worked on traversing toe side for the next hour. No major issues. I got tired of sitting down to switch between toe and heel, so I started to experiment with turning. Toe to heel side was easy if not smooth even the first time around. I was able to do the same turn riding switch. Heel to toe was another story, a lot of of falls and ugly turns. I even jumped into a turn once.

After slamming on knees really hard into the hill with the jump, I paused for a sec and got really pissed off. This was probably the turning point for me as I am now determined to get this down no matter what happens. What followed was a bunch of the ugliest and untechnical heel to toe turns you will ever see. I used the back foot to power thru a lot of them. However I did make the turns,and was really able to enjoy myself for the last hour of the session. Thinking back this last hour is the probably the first time I ever enjoyed snowboarding for the sake of snowboarding, and not the scenery or the experience of the trips.

Total hours spent:
2.5 hours

Falls/fatigue factor:
Smoked my knee once. Not as tired except on my left calf. Probably from powering thru the turns in-properly. ]]> seriouscat http://www.snowboardingforum.com/blogs/seriouscat/498-jan-26-day-2-week-2.html http://www.snowboardingforum.com/blogs/seriouscat/497-jan-22-12-day-1-week.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:41:10 GMT Going to do it properly this time. First I watched the wolf and snowprofessor videos at home. I got a private lesson right off the bat to evaluate... Going to do it properly this time. First I watched the wolf and snowprofessor videos at home. I got a private lesson right off the bat to evaluate how much I still remember.

Skating sucked, stepping is easier due to familiarity, T-BAR was brutal, par for the course. Standing up was still easy, heel side traverse and garland was still decent. Toeside traverse was terrible, very unequal pressure. Though this is partially due to the boot discomfort. At the end of the hour I was able to pendulum on heelside and get by traversing on the toe side. Instructor left instructions to practice toe side traverse and pendulums. Next lesson will be initiating turns.

Practice: As we only used the T-BAR for the lesson. I had trouble falling the first two times on the chairlift. after that I was able to make it down the chair on the heelside.

I worked on heel side only without falling for two runs to get the feel of the hill. No falls. Spent rest of the day working on toe side assignments. Did one toe to heel turn. Definitely getting better by the end of the day.

Total hours spent:
1 hour lesson
4 hours practice

Falls/fatigue factor:
No major / uncontrollable falls. Feeling very tired, so I know I am fighting the board. The ugliest thing was falling off the T-BAR once. ]]> seriouscat http://www.snowboardingforum.com/blogs/seriouscat/497-jan-22-12-day-1-week.html http://www.snowboardingforum.com/blogs/seriouscat/496-noob-diaries-1.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:38:15 GMT Thought I’d document my progress getting back into snowboarding after 6 years, and taking it seriously for the first time. Maybe this will help... Thought I’d document my progress getting back into snowboarding after 6 years, and taking it seriously for the first time. Maybe this will help someone else in the same boat. Any advice and comments are welcome

First some back ground information. I am from Alberta Canada, and head to the mountains frequently during the summer to backpack and scramble. I do some winter activities like snowshoe and ice climb, but these never held my interest for long periods of time. I thought snowboarding (split board being the eventual goal) would be a great way to “enjoy” the six month snow season. Now I did do a couple seasons of boarding (weekend warrior type) during the college days, but it was more along the lines of messing around with friends. Never got better than half way linking some turns down the mountain. This time around it would be a commitment to become an advanced rider for the back country. I also go to the gym 5-6 times a week, so fitness is not a factor, just the skills.

Gear:

Board - Thought I’d try this rocker thing. Burton Prime EZ-V
Binding - Large Burton Customs.
Boot- Burton Moto. Though I am in the process of purchasing a Salomon boot. The moto is super comfy walking, but doesn’t seem to fit too well when I am actually on the board.
Helmet: Smith Variant
Google: Smith Scope

Have a boatload of layers from other outdoor pursuits, and my old snowboarding pants, so this is covered. But I did order some protective gear (Azzpad, G-forms pads, and Level gloves.)

I mounted my own gear this time around. Figured out somehow I switched into goofy foot. Probably due an injury a while back.
__________________ ]]> seriouscat http://www.snowboardingforum.com/blogs/seriouscat/496-noob-diaries-1.html