Ankles are meant to be bent. Stiff ankles mean no balance. When strapped into your board, any sudden extension of both legs will probably be followed by a falling movement to heelside and a prompt landing on your buns. Avoid being a “Jack in the Box” by keeping your ankles flexed and only extending them enough to apply edging and steering movements of the board.
Archive for the ‘Snowboarding Tips’ Category
The use of a gliding wax like Swix F4 Glidewax will protect your gear and improve your sliding fun!
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Sugarloaf’s own Seth Wescott finished a disappointing 5th in the Men’s Boardercross event at the 12th Winter X-Games on Saturday, January 26.
Seth was favored to win the Boardercross event and held the early lead with an excellent move out of the starting gate. He was passed about a third of the way along the course by by Nate Holland, who held on to win the crash-filled event. Seth was later bumped from behind by one competitor and then knocked down by another. 
In all, a rough and disappointing race for the Maine native. Winter X 12 was Seth’s 11th attempt at a X Games gold medal, but it wasn’t to be this year.
How will skiing green circle terrain make you a black diamond skier?!? Because the pitch, width, and typically good snow conditions of easier trails will give you the opportunity to break out of your present habits. A green circle trail will provide a comfort zone to allow you to try out new movements and modify ones that have grown too familiar.
An ideal practice trail would be relatively wide (100 ft.), an alignment directly down gravity (without sloping to either side), and have relatively little other traffic. Try working on these improvement tips on green terrain in the morning and then move to black terrain in the afternoon: you’ll find a new level of control and be more successful at changing your skills to match a steeper pitch.
Half your day of skiing and riding is spent on the lifts. While safety is an issue all day long, riding the lifts represents a time to be more vigilant, especially if you’re riding with the lift with a child.
One of the keys to good balance in skiing and riding is to understand that your balance is not built on the base of the skis, but on the edges:
Unless youre in the lift line, youre almost never standing on the flats of your skis/board; a skiing turn occurs only because the skis are on edge. If the ski/board is flat, it has no grip. You can put your gear on and stand in your living room all day long, but practicing your stance on the bases on a firm, flat, and stationary surface is basically worthless.
A mental image of a stance at a standstill has only limited value and the sensation of a stationary posture doesn’t equal what you feel on the slopes. Building good balance must happen on the hill and is most effective if you work on it while moving.
Try some easy turns on easy, groomed terrain. Focus on balancing your weight on the sides of your feet (skiers) or toes and heels (riders) and use that image to concentrate your energy into the snow through the edges, not the base(s). Skiers will feel their balance along their boots on the little toe/big toe, alternating from side to side. Focus on tipping the boot back and forth without twisting it. Riders will feel the balance at the ball of their foot and heel by moving their ankle, similar to the way you push toward and pull away from the gas pedal while driving.
To improve snowboard turns, let’s focus (for the moment) on the movements that won’t result in a balanced, carved turn. A common movement that many beginning snowboarders make is turning the board to an edge, in lieu of setting the board on an edge.
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The 7th item in the Responsibility Code is: Prior to using any lift, you must have the knowledge and ability to load, ride and unload safely.
The 6th item in the Skier’s/Rider’s Responsibility Code is to Observe all posted signs and warnings. Keep off closed trails and out of closed areas.
The fifth item of the Responsibility Code is Always use devices to help prevent runaway equipment.