It’s disappointing to be in the middle of pulling off your finest move while riding the slopes, and suddenly you’ve done a face-plant on your board that knocks the wind out of you. Splat! Or just as bad, you catch an edge on one of your skis, and there you are, sliding down the trail with no control whatsoever and heading towards a pile of rocks or a bunch of trees.
The most important way to prevent this scenario is simple: Bend your knees. If your knees are bent, your ankles will also bend. Push your ankles to the tongue of your boot, so that you’re in an athletic stance. Be dynamic, adjusting to the terrain. Every part of your body should be constantly flexing and unflexing, including your arms. Never be a gliding statue.
One of the top places where people biff it in winter is a patch of ice. The best advice you can have is this: relax and ride it out. Don’t panic, and above all, don’t stiffen up. If fear makes you tense your joints and muscles, you have no way of reacting to the terrain. A fear-stiffened body will not absorb tough snow conditions, and you’ll get bounced around by the ice.
But here’s what to remember: a patch of ice is probably no longer than 20 feet. If your edges aren’t sharp, there’s no point in trying to carve a turn. Within seconds, you’ll be past the ice. Since most people ride down the center of the trail, they send the snow flying, leaving only the underlying ice. The snow will be much softer at the edges of the trail.
If you find yourself sliding down the trail without control, get your skis or board heading downhill. This is done with a strong move of your core and upper torso. Once your gear is downhill and your head uphill, gradually dig in with your gear until you come to a stop, Don’t suddenly dig in forcefully; you might pop upright only to slide out and fall over, with your head on the downhill side.
Next is something that experienced guys like to do to guy friends who are new to snowriding. The experienced guy will take his novice friend to the biggest, meanest, black diamond slope on the mountain, then say something like “You’ll make it down OK,” and ride away, while showing off his chops. This gives the experienced one a chance to ride around without being held back by someone who can barely snowride.
Here’s a good solution that allows everyone to stay happy: tell the novice friend to take a lesson. He or she will be taught by someone who is trained to teach new skiers or snowboarders. When you meet up after the lesson, the novice will have learned the basics of turning and stopping, and you can go to lunch, still friends.
If you are a relatively inexperienced snow rider and you find yourself on a slope that’s way over your ability, start taking “S” turns. That’s where you ride at a slight downhill angle from one edge of the trail, turn and ride to the other. This works to take the vertical out of the trail and make it much less steep.
One last tip: if you’re renting gear, ask the shop tech to sharpen the edges and give it a hot wax. If they want to charge you for the hot wax, reply that the shop is going to eventually have to wax all their rentals, so why not do it now, on the stuff you’re renting.
Wax won’t necessarily make you go faster. What it will do is allow your gear to glide over the snow more easily.
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Wina Sturgeon is the editor of the online magazine Adventure Sports Weekly
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