mister_tu

First off, I ride goofy and this is my first year.

So, I try to carve and sometimes I am able to do it fine for a short period of time, but than sometimes I have difficulty. When I am having difficulty it is normally due to my back foot not being able to kick out properly during the transition, especially going heel to toe. Now, I think this might be due to my stance on my back foot which is 0. I am wondering if I will have more success if I change it to a forward or duck stance? Any suggestions?

Also, should I consider moving my bindings? I set them up where they are sitting pretty even with the nose and tail of the board...should I set them back closer to the tail for more effective carving?

JiveTalkinRobot

I think your biggest problem is not stance nor setback... most beginners use the stance 15 / 0 and learn fine. Your biggest problem may be your weight distribution. I think you may be putting too much weight on your back foot.

apintojr

i had that same issue when i first started. my friend set up my board with a 15/0 stance. i couldnt do anything with it. i moved my stance to 15/6 and its so much better. i know people say its easier to learn with 0 but i found that to unconfortable.

mister_tu

So, basically just lean my weigh forward when transitioning the turns? That seems so simple and I never thought about it. I tend to lay back and rest on my back leg a lot, and sometimes I get too laxidasical when I do so and I catch an edge and tumble.

Apinto, I will try and move the bindings forward next time I ride just to see if it feels more comfortable.

JiveTalkinRobot

Yep, think about it this way. Hopefully you play some sports or this may not sound familiar. I'll use basketball: Think about the pivot foot you put your weight on your pivot foot and then the other foot is free to move around.

Same with snowboarding..it will feel a bit awkward at first because you are putting your weight down the mountain and will be afraid of flipping forward (please dont put THAT much weight on your front leg).

Over time you will get used to it and your weight distribution will be nearly 50/50 or 55/45.

Hopefully this helps.

AAA

For learning to link turns, you'll want to have about 65% of your weight on your front foot. Nose forward, and as your board begins to point down the fall line (don't panic when you feel a slight rush of acceleration), kick your back foot out on its uphill edge.

For carving, there is no kicking your foot out or skidding, and you need some degree of speed. Carving, essentially, involves pressuring the board into reverse camber and riding the edge as if it were a linear track. As you complete one carve, you initiate a direction change with a weight shift to your downhill edge. The transition from one edge to the other is seemless and a graceful trenched arc is left in the snow.