67kmh 0 Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 Whats the best way to learn for someone who's never ventured into it? Without annoying everyone else? Or is it just a case of get in there and just annoy everyone else as little as possible? Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 But first question do you ski or board Link to post Share on other sites
67kmh 0 Posted November 19, 2003 Author Share Posted November 19, 2003 I can do both. Link to post Share on other sites
Siren 0 Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 I thought the first question is if you fall how do you get up elegantly without vomiting. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 Ok then first you need to practice, just jump in and try. IF you fall back then your balance is too far back. If you go head over heals your balance is to far forward. It all sounds stupid but pow is about fighting and finding your balance. When sking youll feel the sweet spot in the ski. keep your balance centered but relaxed. Feel the ski along the whole length of the boot. On groomers we want to drive the balls of are feet down and to the side the harder you push the more arc. this is what you dont want to do in powder. Also keep your upper body facing down the hill dont twist your waist. unweighting of the skis should be smooth and done together. Powder is a 2 ski ride. Youll fall but relax it just gets better and better. Link to post Share on other sites
mogski 0 Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 Just to add to FT there, you might want to try on something with a nice slope so you have perpetual momentum to avoid the sink and stuck trick of the beginner. Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 And let the first time be when its not a super deep day. Maybe 15-20 cm is the best time on a nice slope. Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 Best way to learn powder: Spend a week at Niseko Hirafu. You won't be sorry! Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 There's usually pow to be found at the side of the gelende (if you go anywhere decent). Just jump into that as the feeling takes you. The benefits of this are - it's usually not too deep - it's not a long way to walk out (less vomiting ) - you can enter at speed - you don't annoy people by spoiling quality pow Once you're confident about jumping in at any time, go and wallow with the powder pigs. Link to post Share on other sites
Siren 0 Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 Agree with Ocean. That's the way to go. Link to post Share on other sites
mogski 0 Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by Ocean11: - you don't annoy people by spoiling quality pow Just to qaulify this remark so that don't get scared off entering quality powder, go to quality powder, just don't chicken out and slip slide the whole way down the got damn slope!!! Try to turn and if no got immediatly remove ones sliding equipment, walk to the side(if available and then come on down.) Tis all about manners. Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 Ocean, I tried it last winter in Hokkaido! So, I already took the first step into powder. That was fun enough for me! Link to post Share on other sites
crazyski 0 Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 Lets see, 15-20 cm, hmmm.., thats what in inches..., hmmm..., ok, i get it, yeah that's about right. It's especialy good if its groomed underneath (but this is rare), because then you can always carve/skid a turn if you need to, and you can get the feeling of the 2 ski powder ride. Fattwins mentioned falling over backwards, but I've never done this before, nor have I ever heard of it unless you're on snowskate things, or whatever they're called. Your weight should be a bit farther back in powder (read - centered), but if it gets too far back you'll 1.) get really tired and but some strain on your legs and 2.) work like hell to initiate a turn. Grr..., all this talk about skiing, esp. powder, just makes me want to ski more...grr!!!!!!!!!1 Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 Falling back.... The misconception of sking is.. You have to lean back ride your tails ie if you jump in leaning back youll fall back or to the side. As you progress You will find 90 % of falls will have you going over the handle bars. Do your self a service and buy skis with a width of 80mm at least. Those skis should help you get the hang of it. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted November 20, 2003 Share Posted November 20, 2003 Take it slowly at first. But before that even, you've got to find it. Link to post Share on other sites
OzOzOz 2 Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 Just get stuck in there man Link to post Share on other sites
IM 0 Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 If you don't mind hiking up a bit, try these guys http://backcountryclub.com/ They are located in Niigata between Naeba and Tashiro Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 dear 67kmh, I "learnt powder" last season at Hakkoda. Well, that is at least where I started to learn it. My best advice is to: a) don't take it too seriously, just get in there (did you think about sex before starting that?) go really fast when ever it looks like it will get a little flat. Don't get caught up in trying to make the powder line last by doing heaps of turns. They just slow you down and in the beginning you will get bogged. c) Do not stop. Go really fast (just in case you forgot) d) if you get bogged then take your board of right away and start walking. Do not try sliding again until it is steeper than you would have thought necessary. e) if you fall over then take your board of to stand back up. Unless it is quite steep it is almost impossible to regain the desired vertical posture with your board attached. f) go fast. Do not focus on the tree, focus on the gaps between the trees. g) do not try to slow yourself by grabbing onto a tree trunk. h) Do not get all scared about the tree branch that is under the snow that you didn't see. When going really fast, there is a chance that your board will go under the branch. If the branch doesn't snap then it will feel like your shin did. i) I cant comment on the actual technique much. Just go really fast. It certainly helps to hang back on the board to raise the nose. After one or two runs this will just come naturally. j) put both your bindings on a reasonably decent forward pointing angle. This aided me in going fast and maintaining control. k) with all this chatter about going fast, it should be noted that you will feel like you are going fast where in fact you are not really going that fast at all. This is because you cant feel the ground, you are floating. It is like being on drugs. l) If you breath the stuff in then don't panic, the frozen lung tissue whilst choking sensation passes pretty fast. m) if you can, try to get a run up before entering the powder. It is ideal if there is some wind pack or groomed run at the top of the powder line. This helps with initial stability and also..... going fast. There is nothing worse than falling over in the first 10 feet of a powder run. It sucks and can take 10 minutes to get going. Your mates will not wait. n) I may be wrong here, but don't try to turn with your edges. Try to turn with the bottom surface of the board, plus some edge. You can really ride the base of your board and feel the difference it turn dynamics. It feels cool. But remember: don't turn too much. Just go fast. o) Once in Switzerland I was the only guy that realised a distant T-bar lift had started after There had been a blizzard for a few days and the snow was great. When I got over to it my head just exploded. I was able to belt down the T-bar drag strip (naughty, I am told) to build up speed and then fly off the edge and into the powder. When I hit a flat patch I just went back onto the drag strip. This did not work so well in fact as I was the only guy on it for about 2 hours so the drag strip was not compacted. When you rode the T-bar back up you were getting dragged thru knee deep powder. It was cool. After a while I realised that the very nice and steep groomed runs where also covered in powder and had not been groomed for over 24 hours. The remainder of the day was spent on the groomers that had close to knee deep on them. This has nothing to do with learning powder, I am just bragging about my 4 hours of one man powder. p) - z) go as fast as you can. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 S'right, turns in powder are made more by pivoting with the flat of the board. Getting the hang of this difference is one of the keys to not wiping out when you go between the groomer and powder. While a certain amount of speed is required for powder, I would avoid getting into anything too steep that just frightens you. If you have learned good balance, you can actually go through powder at quite a leisurely pace. Link to post Share on other sites
bilmur 0 Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 I started wakeboarding before I did snowboarding. Is the weight distribution close to the former - with a tad more weight in the back leg but without the rope. Also, the wakeboard nose is always above water (or it's going to get messy) so you're kinda edging on the back 1/2 of the board for edges that are (say) 30 degrees to the direction of boat travel. I'm asking cos I wanna try hitting some pow when I'm in Niseko end-Dec but right now it looks like the condition is going to be a greater hurdle to that wish than my lack of pow skills. Any thoughts on that fellow shredders? Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by .db.: a) don't take it too seriously, just get in there (did you think about sex before starting that?) Are you kidding me? That was all I thought about for the 4 years prior. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 yes, but like me, that was because you wanted to jump into it, not because you were thinking about how to jump in, or what to do once in. You work that out as you go. (here is where a girl steps in and says "well, it seems most guys are still trying to work it out) Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts