I'm learning how to snow board, how do you make a carve with it ?

Question

I have the basics of riding it figured out, but I crash or wipe out trying to carve with it

Answer 1

The way that we first learn to link turns is the "skidded" turn - which is draging the back of the edge while letting the front of the edge slip which allows the board to rotate and turn. In this kind of turn, you must wait for the board to pass the fall line (straight down the hill) before transitioning your weight to the opposite edge. These are skidded linked turns. and they make a wide "skidded" track in the snow.

Carving does not involve any skidding or the board edge sliding down the hill. Carving requires you to put more pressure on the edge which arcs the board so the entire edge is in contact with the snow. This cause the board to track along its natural turn radius and the board will leave a narrow line in the snow - the entire edge will track through this same line without skidding sideways.

As you are traveling on this one edge, the board will make a large radius turn and once you are about 45 degrees across the hill you will transition to the other edge (before the board is pointed down the hill!). Don't try this if you are skidding your turns as your downhill edge will dig in and you will tumble. This works in a carved turn because you are not skidding and you are traveling fast enough that when you transition to the other edge your weight puts enough pressure on the other edge to force it into the snow and arc it in the other direction - which starts your next turn.

The interesting thing about carving is that the turns don't slow you down - each turn carries the speed from the previous turn and without skidding there is very little to slow you down.

Good Luck

Answer 2

1) I usually tell people to take a run down the hill on the heel edge doing the “Falling Leaf” all the way down. Meaning Heels in the snow moving left to right like a falling leaf all the way down the hill.

2) Then Do the same but on your toe edge. Falling leaf all the way down, basically you need to get comfortable with your back facing down hill.

3) Then once you are comfortable with that, get back to your toes, use your shoulders and hips to swing you to your heels. Then back to your toes, then heels….


Take it slow. After each transition from toe to heel feel free to stop a second. Your transactions will get faster and easier.

Remember to give yourself a little speed, but not too much.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Terry M has a very good answer... the easiest way to actually get to the point where you are capable of carved turns you should take lessons. While snowboarding can have a lot of individual style, there are many technical details to get true performance.

Answer 4

ok so if you know what toe side heel side is you basically just do that, but carving is to slow yourself down and why would you want to do that. Take lessons they do help a lot, i did when i started out.

Answer 5

What Cheri said

Answer 6

ok umm so you want to swich your wieght from foot to fooot or slightly mve your hips from side to side