Technique question - How would you carve those waves?

Post by **WinterGold** » Tuesday 11 January 2011, 18:12

In Japan there are events where the riders perform technical carving runs (some riders on softboots and some also on hardboots). They are judged for their performance and they get a certain rank. It is a real honor to reach a higher rank (like e.g. Demonstrator).

Here is one of these runs which forces the rider to go over waves of snow -

https://www.youtube.com/user/Masa10#p/u/22/O7GHo72CCIY

How do you like it?
And which technique would you use to carve those waves?

Post by **KTManni** » Wednesday 12 January 2011, 16:34

ja, die Idee ist gut, gefällt mir!
Schau mal hier, wie zerschnitten die Piste ist: https://www.youtube.com/user/Masa10#p/u/20/Ur3NjPbleh0
Sind scho coole Hund, die Japana...!

yes, nice idea, I like it!
Look at this slopes how carved they are:
https://www.youtube.com/user/Masa10#p/u/20/Ur3NjPbleh0
Cool dudes these Japanese...!

Post by **koldo** » Wednesday 12 January 2011, 17:24

in this video there are some waves at 1:52. They seem to ride them differently than in the video you´ve posted, but that may be just because the waves are somehow shorter..
Just, I ´ve never seen the waves on the slope before

Post by **pstalder900** » Wednesday 12 January 2011, 21:56

Well, this 'technical carving' as it can be seen in snowboard races as well looks pretty much like toilet style to me. Sorry, zero points from my side.

For sure, it is faster and more controllable in races but for free carve I rather prefer the push-pull technique as shown here: https://www.extremecarving.com/films/de ... pull_j.wmv

Post by **WinterGold** » Wednesday 12 January 2011, 22:16

pstalder900 - good race technique has nothing to do with "toilet style", which normally refers to a mistake concerning the hip position.
But let´s not get into this kind of discussion ...

I wanted to know how YOU (and others on this board) would carve over such bumps!

I´m really interested in the possible techniques you can use to carve these waves well.

Post by **Tiger** » Thursday 13 January 2011, 0:19

WinterGold wrote:I wanted to know how YOU (and others on this board) would carve over such bumps!

As long as the bumps are hard enough you can clear them when you stay flexible in your knees. just avoid full extension of your legs and do not do any counter-rotation. It's the same technique when you ride a worn-out slalom track and "swallow" the bumps between the gates. It's all about flex and tension of your body. You can practice this very well on a slalom board on a bad slope in foggy conditions. You don't see the bumps anymore, you have to feel them

Post by **WinterGold** » Thursday 13 January 2011, 15:55

Excellent observations, Tiger!!!
I can imagine absorbing bumps (which most of us do quite often), but with these "waves" you would need a different timing and maybe a bigger range of motion?
"avoid full extension of your legs" - I like that very much

.
What do the push/pull riders say about "absorbing" the bumps? What position would the upper body be in?

Post by **frunobulax** » Thursday 13 January 2011, 19:43

koldo wrote:

in this video there are some waves at 1:52.

That's how those waves should be ridden. Adapt your line depending on the terrain! Transition and maximum flexion on the highest point of the bump, like we learned it in skiing school.
As long as you got the best line, you can do whatever you want, you can jump and slide and lay down, slow down and accelerate.

I guess what you want to say: maximum rotation on backsides puts a limit to flexion/extension. If you need the full flexion/extension range you should always face the same direction as your feet.

But have you ever seen bumps like these on a normal slope? SBX courses don't count.
And I believe that as long as you don't need the full range, you can do proper rotation which helps you with stability and edge grip.

Additionally: as long as you can SEE the bumps, there's no reason to limit your body extension.
A more flexed basic position is needed when you DON'T see the bumps.

Post by **Tiger** » Thursday 13 January 2011, 21:19

WinterGold wrote:What do the push/pull riders say about "absorbing" the bumps? What position would the upper body be in?

You can push/pull in the rhythm of the waves. You have to be in the lowest position on top of the wave then push between them. As fruno said, it's a little bit like skiing on a mogul slope, your upper body maintains its height and the board is moving below. Your upper body should be in a neutral position, always rotating with the board (slight pre-rotation). As soon as your body is twisted, especially when counter-rotated, the whole system is loaded like a spring. When the board gets hit by a little bump the tension of the body pushes the board out of the right direction and you loose your edge-grip. Just read and feel the slope and keep your movements adapted to it. Try to ride as smooth as possible.

Post by **WinterGold** » Friday 14 January 2011, 16:12

frunobulax - I can´t really follow you ... I didn´t want to say anything!

I just saw the video and thought that this looked like real fun. I have never been on such waves, but I´d love to try them.

A famous EC guy (:D ) thought that there should be a better way to carve on the waves than the Japanese guy shows here. So I started the thread.

So far we can only speculate as none of us has actually tried them. I assume that you would have to use a very special timing, unlike just absorbing bumps, and you would need a very stable position and a good reaction.

Tiger, again your input is great!