smat

Hi there,

I live in Vancouver, BC. I took up snoaboarding a couple of years ago as a 21 year old and only went up 6-7 times without proper lessons. My first time up, I took a 45 minute lesson with a group of 7-11 year olds! lol It basically just taught me to start and stop. Anyway, I did the green and some blue runs on my trips up to Mount Seymour and Grouse but I still can't carve.

My question: I have figured that for me to learn carving, I need:
1) A wide run
2) As gentle a slope as possible (so as not to catch too much speed or else all I do is brake-n-go-brake-n-go and don't actually take the risk of trying to carve)
3) As long a run as possible.

In sum: a very wide, barely sloping run which is quite long so that I don't spend 3 quarters on my time on a magic-carpet / chair.

Is this even possible to find in BC? I know Seymour's bunny hill is a mere 10 second long run and Grouse pretty much does not have a bunny hill. Someone suggested that the Collins run on Cypress would fit the bill. Others seemed to think Whistler would be ideal although I have widely heard that if you are not good, Whistler is not for you. What do you guys think?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Penzer

The couple times I've been down Collins to check it outs, it's been packed. I think this is a common problem you'll encounter, people who aren't quite confident/comfortable riding nicer blues and so the greens will be very busy, which is making it a lot harder to learn than if you were on something slightly steeper.

On Cypress, try Panorama or Jasey Jay / Maelle Rickers runs (I know they're blue, but they're a lot more open and not very steep).

On Grouse, try the cut or Heavens Sake to Expo. The cut would be ideal for you for learning, but often has very long lines.

Someone else can probably recommend runs on Seymour.

If you want something that is close but won't be as busy as the locals or Whistler and you have a car to drive, check out Hemlock mountain (near Abbotsford). I think it's a little bit bigger than cypress, but has lots of nice blues and greens and won't be nearly as busy as the locals or whistler.

http://www.hemlockvalleyresort.com/a...Winter-Map.pdf

Donutz

The Cut on Grouse is probably ideal for you. It's wide, flat (side to side) and doesn't have any trees or anything shooting up in the middle. And it's longer than most stuff on Seymour. As mentioned though, line-ups on Grouse on weekends are nuts. If you can go weekdays you're golden. Otherwise, first thing in the morning, and figure on leaving by noon.

__________________

Illegitimi non carborundum

Mountain Days: 30

smat

Thanks so much Penzer. Yeah, you're right - I was actually one of those annoying people doing blues. Last year on my solo trip up to grouse, I almost killed s skier bacause I took a rather wide garland-like turn (since I can't carve)... that's when I was like - enough of this; I need ot get better before I actually do these runs.

I don't have a car but Hemlock seems nice. Just checked out a Youtube video of it and it featured a really wide, gently sloping run. I'll see if I can make the trek out there.

smat

Thanks Donutz! Grouse is quite accessible so I will try that out. Last year I went during opening week and it was not operational then.

gjsnowboarder

First question because this happens all the time: Are you trying to toe to heel turns in a s-shape down the mountain? Or Two, are you able to already do that and are now trying to carve where the nose and tail of the board follow in the same path leaving a thin line in the snow? There is quite some difference between the two.

If it is one: save your self some heartache and a least take a one hour private. You can also watch SnoWolf's videos on learning how to ride. Just use the search function on this website.

If it is two: Think of blocking your upper body so that it stays parallel (nose to tail) over the snowboard ( i.e. if left foot forward left shoulder stays over nose and right shoulder stays over tail). To accomplish the carve Primarily use your both your feet together to tip/tilt the board up on edge. Make this movement progressively like a ratch bumping over each individual tooth of a ladder strap. You can find more details for carving by searching this forum.

Good luck.

unxetas

Collins is usually too busy to actually learn much, I think Panorama is much better, especially when it gets colder and everyone moves to Collins after lunch.

If you go during the week, they're both perfect to learn on..

The bunny hill at Mt Seymour is really too small, the other runs are maybe a bit too tight? Grouse I have very little experience with. The gondola and what not were just a hassle the one time we went up, never been back. I should try it again! But actually, I spent that one night helping my girlfriend at the bunny hill and she loved it. Lots of room, not steep at all.. But very short.

jello24

Collins at night on a weekday is usually empty. the most crowded parts of Collins at night is the hill at the top where beginners get caught with not enough speed and get stuck and the flat area beside the Easy Rider exit where everyone just picnics on. Other than those two spots Collins pretty much fits your bill.

The section after the hill is very straight, very wide, and really gentle. The snow in that section gets pretty ugly though, patches of ice, a few bumps, but its par for the course for a run that gets a lot of traffic. The run is long, constant turns will produce a run ~5 mins on average. Point it and you can go ~2 mins usually.

Panorama is slightly shorter, slightly more narrow (but not by a lot) but is more flat until you reach the hairpin, then flattens out again. The runout is VERY wide, and is usually the best place to get really wide turns going, albeit just 2 or 3 of them until you reach the bottom runout.

Cypress has really good, mild beginner runs. There's a reason why it's a popular place for beginners to go. The beginner runs are really well suited for the level, and even still the blue runs are very mild. Great mountain to progress through the beginner - low intermediate level. You'll eventually run out of terrain to ride if you want more progression, but whistler's just a drive away anyway.

smat

gjsnowboarder: Thanks for replying! You hit the nail on the head - it's the first problem. Actually, I am great with managing my heel edge. It is going from heel-to-toe to begin the process of turning is where I am stuck. I am pretty bad with my toe edge (when I am looking up at the hill while trying to go down backwards with my board horizontal to the direction of the run). With the heel edge, I fall on my bum which isn't so bad and thus I have gotten good at it. With my toe edge though, I tend to fall on my face which isn't fun lol

I think I should maybe get an instructor for an hour or so.

PS - I tried to follow this excellent blog by this couple from Colorado (your hood!) - Free Learn to Snowboard Videos | SnowProfessor - but everytime I tried to practice things at the bunny hill on Seymour, the run ended before I even did a part of what the video teaches. I'll try SnoWolf's videos as well.


unxetas and jello24: Thanks for the insight! Both runs seem to offer what I need... during weekdays anyway. I'll hopefully be able to manage school next term to have a day or two off in the middle of the week.

Thanks again everyone! Any suggestions for instructors and location? If you have anything else to add, I'm all ears!

smat

jello24 - "The OK part of Surrey" LMAO!