Tricks on a carving board

[clebner]

So while taking Jorg's Pureboarding clinic at ECES he encouraged us to try some tricks such as the wheelie king and a heelside nose roll spinning in the opposite direction. The wheelie was pretty easy to do and fun to watch, but that nose roll trick he pulled knocked the wind out of me when I tried it.
Part of the reasoning behind doing these tricks is to encourage the growth of our sport by making it look more fun to the general public, the other reason is to break up the monotony of carve left carve right carve left carve right.

Yesterday at my local hill it was really slushy and not very good for carving so I started working on a nose roll off the heelside spinning the same direction as the turn then popping up half way through and spinning around to land in a toeside carve. I have been doing the nose roll for years but only landed it into a carve a couple times on accident. I landed it a number of times yesterday and got lots of stoke from the lifties as I slid past.

Who else has some tricks up their sleeve?

[Pat Donnelly]

I just don't bounce as well as I used to?

[BlueB]

Love mixing it a bit when the conditions are as you described. I normally step onto one of my "play-carvers" for that.
Few things I do:
Toe-to-toe and heel-to-heel carving (180 spin or jump in between carves);
360 or 720 flat spins;
Olie or nolie to next carve, landing hard on the edge;
Use of the terrain for airborne transitions;
Switch carving (not that I'm really good at it, but it is fun);
All failing, I always manage to pull off the "Face Plant", the evergreen favorite of the spectators

[Alaskan Rover]

I am just wondering...how easy is it to land switch on an alpine board after doing something simple like an Air-to-Fakie? The tails don't exactly have a lot of lip to them for switch. Also, it would seem that the cant and lift that most people ride with would sorta screw up the landing. Does it? I would think it would be a good recipe for having a nice cold snowburger with a side of blood. Jes' wunderin'.

Gravity IS Life.

[KingCrimson]

I am just wondering...how easy is it to land switch on an alpine board after doing something simple like an Air-to-Fakie? The tails don't exactly have a lot of lip to them for switch. Also, it would seem that the can and lift that most people ride with would sorta screw up the landing. Does it? I would think it would be a good recipe for having a nice cold snowburger with a side of blood. Jes' wunderin'.

At least in the park, the answer it's no problem. Not unless you're knuckling the jump (which happens more often switch) in addition to coming down front heavy. Just like the nose of your board has nothing to do landing normally.

Powder may be a completely different story, I've never tried. Keep in mind modern race boards have rockered tails as well, so the square tail doesn't sit flat. Otherwise, Black Pearls would never work..



As far as cant goes, keep it mind it's there to keep your body position as stable as possible. That said, you're still within the contraints of a forward stance that throws you in the back seat on a hard landing.

[Alaskan Rover]

KingCrimson:
Yeah...that's what I mean...seems a twin-tip would be a little more forgiving when you DO happen to land off-plane. I've had Air to Fakies where I screwed the landing and was sure I was going to eat snow and windmill...but I actually landed on the tip and was able to adjust my weight just enough to stick it. I think I would have had a problem digging that tail a little more. But the initiation of that particular ollie was pretty lame making my balance WAY off. Nearly bonked it pretty bad. Wouldn't have been pretty. But what about the cant and lift COMBINED with the 55/55 (or what-have-you) stance??

My hat's off to anybody sticking a good switch landing with all four (less tail rise; cant; lift; 55/55 stance) of those factors at hand!!

[KingCrimson]

KingCrimson:
Yeah...that's what I mean...seems a twin-tip would be a little more forgiving when you DO happen to land off-plane. I've had Air to Fakies where I screwed the landing and was sure I was going to eat snow and windmill...but I actually landed on the tip and was able to adjust my weight just enough to stick it. I think I would have had a problem digging that tail a little more. But the initiation of that particular ollie was pretty lame making my balance WAY off. Nearly bonked it pretty bad. Wouldn't have been pretty. But what about the cant and lift COMBINED with the 55/55 (or what-have-you) stance??

My hat's off to anybody sticking a good switch landing with all four (less tail rise; cant; lift; 55/55 stance) of those factors at hand!!

It's obvious a twintip board gives the safety net you're talking about, otherwise twintip skis and boards never would have been made; it's a waste of length.

I only do little baby jumps switch, the stuff big enough to do a 180 I ride normally..I don't do any tricks in the air. I actually find there is a band of really bad angles to ride switch, and it's around 35-55 degrees. Anything above or below works out okay. Actually in general, I'm terrible with those angles. Normally I get off lifts facing the nose with my back foot just hanging and I can do heel and toeside skids, but I can barely get off the lift with my powder board mounted around 47 degrees. In fact, the last time I was on that board I fell and the lifty said "Easy rookie!"

I have about 80 days on plates. Doh!

[patmoore]

I tried 360 spins on a GS board at Davos on a club trip a couple years ago. Here's a short video of a "over 60" rider having too much fun on board and skis.

[Alaskan Rover]

patmoore wrote:

"My last ever standing backflip on my 50th birthday, Oct 25, 1996."

Kudos to ANYONE performing a standing back-flip.....50 OR 16 !!!

Now let's see you do one with the board strapped on...

I saw your youtube Tampa, Fl weatherman vid from 1976...you look a sorta like Dick Smothers of the Smothers Brothers in that vid....and I was AMAZED at the size of the cars that show up in that video...like battleships!!!

Davos is cool...we used to live in Geneva when I was a little kid....great mountains...too flat around Geneva, though

[BlueB]

I actually find there is a band of really bad angles to ride switch, and it's around 35-55 degrees. Anything above or below works out okay. Actually in general, I'm terrible with those angles. Normally I get off lifts facing the nose with my back foot just hanging and I can do heel and toeside skids, but I can barely get off the lift with my powder board mounted around 47 degrees.

Good observation, Theo!
At those angles (front foot in particular), body is confused if the "hip-to-hip" or toe-to-heel" technique should be used, in any direction of riding. Going forward, we somehow deal with it, but at switch, or a single leg in, all hell brakes loose!
I ride my "play-carvers" and freeride/pow setups mostly around 50/30. I have to make concious effort to ride switch using the same motions as going forward. Otherwise, I end up counter-rotated, especially on the heel side. With higher stance, it is more natural keep the body allignment as it should be (switch), but it is really sceary as you don't see where going. With very low angles, one can just switch to "softboot" technique, without much penalty.

Pat, you do those spins better on your GS board then me on a small AM stick!

[b0ardski]

All I do are multiple flat spins and 3s either side, and I love to pop 180 to switchcrave, toe is cleaner than heel. The video is riding a 167 Kildyflex with stiff Nitro stepins at 38*r, 50*f, & soft 124 Raichles,
and of course I bumps

[KingCrimson]

Good observation, Theo!
At those angles (front foot in particular), body is confused if the "hip-to-hip" or toe-to-heel" technique should be used, in any direction of riding. Going forward, we somehow deal with it, but at switch, or a single leg in, all hell brakes loose!
I ride my "play-carvers" and freeride/pow setups mostly around 50/30. I have to make concious effort to ride switch using the same motions as going forward. Otherwise, I end up counter-rotated, especially on the heel side. With higher stance, it is more natural keep the body allignment as it should be (switch), but it is really sceary as you don't see where going. With very low angles, one can just switch to "softboot" technique, without much penalty.

Pat, you do those spins better on your GS board then me on a small AM stick!

That makes sense. I always figured it worked out well at the higher angles because your hips end up open and toe-heel becomes the technique, but of course it ends up being super vague and underpowered so the board doesn't respond well.

I find I can't spin my GS board a full 360 (I usually just spin it back on the toe edge making it two 180s) unless I'm about to hit something with it going switch!

[Puddy Tat]

I've got to practice these next year. A couple of times this year I dove hard into a heelside turn, with my forearm down. My weight got a little far forward during the tur, and I had rotated my body a little hard into the turn, this caused the laid out carve to accidentally turn into a nose roll as the carve expired, it felt really natural and got some cheers from the lift.

I've got to practice the switch carving next year so I can gracefully continue riding (a la Kasper Carver) rather than flat spining a 180 to get back to my normal postion.

While we're at this is there any reason a high end free carving board couldn't be a twin tip? It would make this type of riding easier, at least mentally anyways. Actually I'm going to take that back I think as my HB jibstick I'd want something non-metal about 167 length with a slalom sidecut, medium to soft stiffness (for HB at my weight), 22 cm waist, and twin tipped for this type of riding. A long high end carver is going to be to stiff to lay a good long nose roll into anyways. Can be done, just requires way more commitment.

Dave

I just realized I described a BX board.

[tpalka]

I don't have a video with all the tricks I play with, but the list is close to BlueB's. This season I've been trying to incorporate tail spins into regular carving runs (throwing a 360 tail spin as a transition), air 180's to landing switch... fun stuff, and makes carving a lot more enjoyable for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG8ckiV9pl8&fmt=18

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsVFOtU8Deg&fmt=18

And some early attempts at nose rolls and airs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD9Nj8tZMCI&fmt=18

All in fun

[NateW]

I am just wondering...how easy is it to land switch on an alpine board after doing something simple like an Air-to-Fakie? The tails don't exactly have a lot of lip to them for switch. Also, it would seem that the cant and lift that most people ride with would sorta screw up the landing. Does it? I would think it would be a good recipe for having a nice cold snowburger with a side of blood. Jes' wunderin'.

Gravity IS Life.

It doesn't take much of a tail to ride switch on groomed terrain, I've done plenty of 180s on my Donek FC 182 and F2 RS 183 and never caught the tail on anything. Cant, lift, and stance make no difference really. Riding switch is 90% in your head. Once you get past the mental block and start to practice riding switch, it turns out the riding switch is still just riding - if you practice, you'll learn. This was all done on an all-mountain board that has a tail very similar to a Donek AX or Coiler AM:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJJuvqmqsU0

I have been doing 360s off mid-sized park jumps for 3-4 seasons, and started doing switch 360s this season - take off switch, spin, land switch. Managed a half-dozen of them last weekend, some sloppy but some clean.

Trying to work up the nerve to go for a 540 before this season is over. I've said that in other seasons before, though.

[patmoore]

patmoore wrote:

"My last ever standing backflip on my 50th birthday, Oct 25, 1996."

Kudos to ANYONE performing a standing back-flip.....50 OR 16 !!!

Now let's see you do one with the board strapped on...

I saw your youtube Tampa, Fl weatherman vid from 1976...you look a sorta like Dick Smothers of the Smothers Brothers in that vid....and I was AMAZED at the size of the cars that show up in that video...like battleships!!!

Davos is cool...we used to live in Geneva when I was a little kid....great mountains...too flat around Geneva, though

Never tried a backflip with a board strapped on but did try a handstand. Wasn't easy to do with a 168 Burton Air. That was a heavy board!

Ron Burgundy had nothing on me.....

[Jack Michaud]

omg! we are going to have to get Crispin Glover to play you in the BOL movie!

[Snowman]

Tricks are for kids!

Think Snow!

[b0ardski]

I've been turning on a couple of local parkrats to carving on hard boots and I see the future of hardbot tricks goin thru the roof
wider free ride shapes, i.e. dual, gforce, and twin tip bx, will rule the all around applications.

[Steve Prokopiw]

You looked good enough to make Frank Sinatra look like a hobo!

[bobdea]

omg! we are going to have to get Crispin Glover to play you in the BOL movie!

LOLOLOLOL

[patmoore]

omg! we are going to have to get Crispin Glover to play you in the BOL movie!

Oh Gawd! My secret is out! Never before revealed: my transformation from TV Weatherman to weird Hollywood character.

Now click here to see what I became.....