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EUREKA! I didn't kill myself on the Greens

2K views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  v-verb 
#1 ·
So after several sessions of learning this sport and sticking to the learner (read bunny) hills, I was forced by my wife to goon greens only.

I did a few faceplants but didn't hurt myself in the least - I hurt myself more on those damn bunny hills.. I was linking turns and for the most part going pretty fast - that Evil Twin can really move even though it is an extruded base.

There was some brakng down the steep parts but my main holdup was some leg fatigue. I'll need to work on that.

Bottom line is that bunny hills are good for learning to stop and a bit of control - but you need to venture out and try those greens. I can see me on the blues and some blacks next season.

Cheers!
 
#3 ·
Thanks SnowBun!

You learned on Greens??? I would have freaked...

My wife skis as do my 7 and 10 yr old girls. My girls started this year and can do blacks no problem. I can ski but for some reason was drawn to boarding and they were tired of Daddy being stuck on the bunny hills.

Cheers!
 
#4 ·
thats awesome, I wish I had an evil twin. when are you gonna take your other two bataleons out? my gf did the same thing this weekend too. I took her out and she was working greens her second day which I was impressed, still kind of leafing on the heel but she has to get used to it and comfortable before I push her any farther.

anyways just some things to keep in mind

1) dont put your weight on your backfoot, it may seem more natural to sit in the back seat when you get some speed, but especially toeside this will lift your nose and make your board accelerate uphill when you try to stop. so youll end up wiping out. keep both knees evenly bent and if your riding down hill "flatbased" which is actually slightly on edge try putting a little more weight forward

2) make sure you accentuate your heel/toe lift to keep from catching edges when your turn, it helps that you have a bataleon, but its not impossible to catch an edge, I know from experience :cool:

3) if your having any issues initiating turns, again especially toeside, I see alot of beginners just drop to their knees because they expect their board to turn when they lift their heels, you can speed up your turn initiation by turning your upper body slightly into the turn. you may spin around 180 which is normal, but when you get to your edge counter rotate a little to hold where you are.

4) linking your turns is a gradual process. it starts by relaxing your lead foot until your nose is facing down hill again. then relaxing your rear foot while raising your toe/heel of your front foot depending on your direction. always make sure your not getting ahead of yourself, you will immediately bury your edge in the snow and fall on your ass or face. take your time and the linking will come, Im glad to see you already said its working but just some things to practice.

5) when you get to carving realize the difference is balance and control. mostly beginners "speed check" which is kind of an edge slide, if you balance your weight and lean a little farther on your edge it will hold instead of slide creating a nice easy turn, this may seem a little wierd or uncomfortable at first because you dont de-accelerate but by lowering your elevated edge youll speed check again. just something to play with.

These are the most common things I see beginners having problems with. Ive been teaching for two seasons now and am commonly asked what carving is, so I thought Id give a quick tutorial. try some of these out but dont take them as gospel, everyone is different and have their own style. so if this stuff doesnt work for you dont worry about it the rest will come. its always good to see someone with your enthusiasm when they start, stick with it and I bet youll be hittin the jumps maybe rails next year
 
#7 ·
hi RidePowder!

I may take my fun.kink out next season - I expect it won't be too different from the Evil Twin at 153 to the ET's 155 - both extruded bases. The Enemy at 161 and a sintered base will be 2 seasons from now - when it won't kill me because it's too fast and hopefully I'll have tons more control than I have now.

Your suggestions are spot on!! Here's my question - I found myself fighting to keep by weight even or more front foot, but when I was zooming it was pretty difficult and I found myself leaning back. How do you get that front lean? Just force it?

And again I really appreciate the points you listed. I can safely say this forum has helped me a ton!

Cheers

Nigel
 
#5 ·
I learned on blues. Sounds impressive, but it's not. The greens in Indiana are basically flat so in order to get any speed, you HAVE to be on a blue.

Once you get the basics down, you'll find that snowboarding is a lot easier when you're going at a decent clip.
 
#8 ·
Very cool! I was flying past my wife and daughters on skis yesterday. It was tricky trying to keep my weight forward but hope to do better next time. the asspads helped alleviate the fear of getting hurt a bit - believe it or not I didn;t do any buttplants - just faceplants!
 
#9 ·
I'll work on both edges and will look forward to doing that - thanks!

There was a kid yesterday lying under the lift. He had fallen and his helmet got knocked off. I shouted down and asked him if he was OK and he said "I don't know".

He was doing a blue run and guess he lost it pretty hard. So I may just wait on the double blacks for now:eek:
 
#12 · (Edited)
the best way to keep that weight in the front is being comfortable, its natural to want to lean back but I find that my keeping both knees bent helps, for stubborn students I have them touch their shin with their front hand in order to get in doing heelside and toeside turns on the bunny hill, then when they start to get it a little better and their confidence is up Ill take them up to the halfway on the green

a little speed does help progression but I wouldnt advise zooming, get comfortable with turning and stopping, then linking turns, it helps to balance weight by practicing leafing, then gradually work your edge faster and faster, your weight will be centered and youll be working on turn transition and stopping at least on the heel
 
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