new to carving

[OlderBoarder]

hello all, i have been freeriding for 7 years, and just switched to a SIMS Carve II 167. since i already use K2 Yak boots and Clicker bindings, i got a set of Clickers for my new board as well. i know everyone is gonna recommend switching to hard shell boots, but i feel i'm getting good response/feedback/control from my current setup.
my biggest adjustment seems to be the forward stance, and carving as opposed to skidding my turns. i ride goofy foot, and i ride almost exclusively at Mt. Wachusett, in MA.. it's 35 minutes from work and 30 minutes from home, and they do a good job of illuminating it at night, the crowds are less, and it leaves the weekends free for more sane activities like ice racing motorcycles! Wa grooms all three summit trails in the evening, so i even get some decent cordouroy.
my questions are: how do i initiate turns so i spend more time carving and less time skidding, and how low (crouched) should i be getting so i don't feel like i'm gonna fall over, especially on my heel edge turns? at 47, i wear a ton of body armor, including hard shell knee protection, a kevlar trials helmet, and a Joe Rocket Phoenix jacket that has double armor on the elbows, shoulders and spine. i'm not afraid to crash in order to improve my skill sets; but i wanna feel as protected as possible. i also don't bounce like a teenager anymore. any advice/tips would be appreciated, and i'm always looking for other like minded carvers to ride with. Bob

[DruckenCarver]

Make sure to get some hip protection, too. You can get those from various skate or BMX shops. When I was learning to perfect that heel edge carve and when to start leaning I bruised my hip pretty bad because the fastest way to "get there" was to start leaning too soon. :)

And, that's the key I found to carving instead of sliding: you have to start trusting your board to flex and turn for you rather than pushing it out so much. That means, when you're perpendicular to the fall line lean downhill, put the board on edge and pray to your most-applicable deity. Repeat until you get it right.

When you do this, make sure the front of both your hips are facing the nose of your board, get your knees at 90 degrees and put your hands out in front of you, low to the ground. If done right, you could end up catching yourself with a hand before your hip.

That's all I got. I think there are some more-experienced instructors on here that could provide a better start than that, but it worked well for me last year (although I was 29 ... you're not that young, but I'm no 19-year-old, either :P ).

[Neil Gendzwill]

http://www.bomberonline.com/articles/feel_the_carve.cfm

[DruckenCarver]

Ooh. Good article! I remember accidentally doing this very thing on flat sections: easy, wide, slow, safe carves. I didn't realize it at the time, but those were my first real carves! :D

[deanj]

Originally posted by DruckenCarver
Ooh. Good article! I remember accidentally doing this very thing on flat sections: easy, wide, slow, safe carves. I didn't realize it at the time, but those were my first real carves! :D

You mean you can do better than that now? :D :D

[DruckenCarver]

Originally posted by deanj
You mean you can do better than that now? :D :D

... totally riding up the lift on the left from now on ...

[GeoffV]

Hey OldBoarder,

I talked to you on Sunday night, I was on a red Donek. There is a group of us that rides every Wed night.

Geoff

[OlderBoarder]

Geoff... yes i remember going up the lift with you. i wish i had taken the time to follow you down for a few runs. maybe i would've picked up a few pointers. by the end of the evening, my speed and confidence had picked up, and i was linking turns decently. i still wanna work on my longer arcing turns, and straight line stability at higher speeds. yes, i'm a speed junky. wednesday night works for me most weeks, unless i'm taking my daughter to karate. makes it hard to plan ahead. see you on the slopes... Bob

[Jack Michaud]

and in general, check out the Welcome Center (http://www.bomberonline.com/articles/welcome_center.cfm)