Usually these cat tracks are put into the side of a mountain and wind their way down gently. They are typically not steep at all, relatively flat. I am sure you have discovered already that flats are harder than moderately pitched runs on a snowboard, especially because it’s so easy to catch the downhill edge when the board is sideways. When these sorts of trails are cut into the mountain, they are not totally level. Kind of like with a bicycle, the key is to keep up some speed (but not too much of course) so you can balance and make your way.
TO KEEP ENOUGH SPEED
On narrow cat track trails, there’s an uphill side (wall) and a downhill side (cliff). You want to ride mostly on the uphill side. This is very important since speed (momentum) is precious here. If you get stuck on the downhill side and it is too flat, you might have to frogger hop to the
Usually these cat tracks are put into the side of a mountain and wind their way down gently. They are typically not steep at all, relatively flat. I am sure you have discovered already that flats are harder than moderately pitched runs on a snowboard, especially because it’s so easy to catch the downhill edge when the board is sideways. When these sorts of trails are cut into the mountain, they are not totally level. Kind of like with a bicycle, the key is to keep up some speed (but not too much of course) so you can balance and make your way.
TO KEEP ENOUGH SPEED
On narrow cat track trails, there’s an uphill side (wall) and a downhill side (cliff). You want to ride mostly on the uphill side. This is very important since speed (momentum) is precious here. If you get stuck on the downhill side and it is too flat, you might have to frogger hop to the uphill side of the trail to get going again. So balance on your uphill side edge and try to stay on the uphill side of the trail. If you are cruising nicely and you encounter a person or thing that is blocking your way there, you will have yo steer to the cliff side temporarily, go around it, keeping your speed and then back to the wall side. When you see a really flat spot coming up, evaluate ahead of time and take it with more speed than you think. That way you do not get stuck, or loose so much speed that it makes you fall over.
TO SLOW DOWN
Some of the spots on the narrow cat track are going to be a little steeper. You are going to have to take it at a speed that you are confident with. If it is a crowded area then you need to consider the comfort and safety of those around you as well. A great way to slow yourself when there is limited room it to do speed checks. They involve turning your board a certain degree sideways while still traveling forwards. To do this, use the torsional flex of your board by moving your feet to twist the board slightly. Stay light on your edge. Once the board gets mainly sideways, you can at weight and increasing edge angle (uphill edge of course) to slow you down. Then twist the other way to straighten back out. Another way to perform a speed check is to use your back leg to fan around to the side, give a little edging, then straighten out. You will find that this way is about the same as the way mentioned first, but just a different way to think about it.
