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I've been out twice now (did an intro lesson on first trip and just tooled around second time) and am starting to get a feel for the basics but am clearly still missing some things. One area that I noticed as a problem was in areas that were straight/downhill and narrow or just crowded. I either didn't have space or didn't feel like I could use the lateral space to skid off speed and anything else seemed to want to put me into the back of the people ahead of me. I just put myself down a few times on the side and waited for the crowds to pass.Any tips on maintaining a straight line but minimizing speed? I've heard digging in on one edge more helps but am not 100% clear on how to do that without initiating a turn (both heal and toe? flexing the board?). Something less than sideslipping as I don't want to be a complete obstacle myself.
Thanks for joining Daniel. Great post! Straight narrow runs, although easy as pie for beginning skiers thanks to the V-shaped snowplow move (pizza vs french-fry), can be very challenging for those new to snowboarding. It takes a great deal of skill to navigate these cat track areas because they are usually so narrow. Most of the time all you want to do reduce speed, and keep from falling over or catching an edge. I will put together a few tips and put them up here in a reply.
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
😆 Nice picture.You pretty much nailed the scenario. I'd be where your Mr. Frosty is depicted just trying to get down the mountain and the more skilled skiers/boarders would be whizzing by on the left. I seem to have no trouble picking up speed and hanging on, but effectively speed checking (I was trying the fanning of the tail method) without putting myself into the leftmost pass or into the hill is where my problem was. I guess I'll practice that a bit more next time I'm out on the open slopes.. perhaps doing it faster or with more of an angle to avoid turning it into a skidded turn. I just want to feel a bit more in control in these scenarios. I can handle falling, but I really don't want to take someone else out with me. :-)Thanks!
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