xevi89

So what is the proper way to slow down while going down a hill? Most times I would just kind of stop and keep going. I tried making wider turns but it just got to the point where it was hard to turn back the other way and it made things tough. So what is the big secret lol?

BT-S DH

practice...

there is no big secret... just have to get the feeling of toe and heel side...

rrrtx

have one of those parachutes runners use for exercise... kidding. Just take larger curves from toe to heel toe to heel toe to heel

PaoloSmythe

increase the sideways glide of your board..... so you slide more. kinda like half way between a turn and a stop. a turn is afterall a soft stop.....

don't think...feel!

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Just coz you don't understand it
Doesn't mean it makes no sense!

Snowolf

Well, the more your board sideslips the slower it will go. When you make your turns, you can speed check by skidding the tail of your board. Whether toeside or heelside, simply push the tail out across the fall line a little at a high edge angle and it will act like a brake.

In a true carved turn where you do not want any skidding, you simply make a shorter radius turn and angle back uphill more and gravity will be your brakes.

Another effective method on a narrow trail is to make rapid edge changes while the board points straight down the hill. These rapid edge to edge transitions, use the boards sidecutt to make lots of shallow turns and your track will look like a snake has slithered down the hill. Anytime you turn like this, it bleeds off inertia and slows you down. This is a more advanced style of free riding and you will need good solid edge control to get good at this.

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PaoloSmythe

when all else fails when on a narrow cat track..... you could, if trained by an adequately comprehensive school association use the (dare i say it).....?

FALLING LEAF TECHNIQUE!

__________________
Just coz you don't understand it
Doesn't mean it makes no sense!

xevi89

Haha that's one of the things I normally did.

Xakath

Do tell...

Snowolf

Oh God, please let`s not open that Pandora`s box again...

Okay, in essence a the falling leaf is zig-zagging across the hill without making an edge change. You simply ride across the slop, turning uphill to slow to a stop, then you start sliding the other way and so forth.

While not prohibiting it being taught, AASI has discouraged the overuse of the riding task because too many instructors would teach falling leaf and leave it at that. Now we have thousands of sideslippers, heel edging their way around the mountains..

The best way to control speed is to make lots of short radius turns and skid the tail to bleed off momentum.

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Xakath

Oh, I guess I did learn that technique when I was learning... its sorta terrible though, not sure why you would continue using it after you became semi-competent.