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Just got back from a week in Morzine. I was pretty pleased with my level considering it was only my second week snowboarding. However I had some pretty major bit fit issued that caused loads of pain and ultimately reigned me in and reduced the amount of time I could snowboard for. The hire shop seemed surprised I was in pain and couldn't do much/anything about it as apparently the boys are like slippers.
I'm on a mission to understand the problem so I can solve it before next season comes around. My right (lead) foot is a bit smaller than my left so firstly I ended up with boys slightly too big. I had a lot of movement in my right foot and a little heel lift on the left foot. I had to crank the boa up really tight to try and reduce movement but that then seemed to cause pain in my calf's, and a pressure point at the edge of the tongue on the right shin. There was also quite a bit of pain in the soles of both feet.
Is my only realistic option to buy some boots and have them fitted properly? If so does anybody have any experience with Ellis Brigham/TSA at Tamworth Snowdome?
You didn't scan that did you?!
Sounds like boots too big to me. Bindings should be snug but boots shouldn't be mega tight. That's the trouble with BOAs IMHO.
Ha ha, that could be taken the wrong way if read in isolation.
I quite like the neatness of boas as whenever I have used normal leaves they seem like a real faf and you have to tuck them in. However it's so easy to just keep turning the boa and not realise just how tight you have it.
Is my only realistic option to buy some boots and have them fitted properly?
Yes, Having your own [snowboard] boots is imperative.
If so does anybody have any experience with Ellis Brigham/TSA
EB/TSA will be able to sort you out for sure. Like buying a decent pair of walking boots, just take your time and try on as many as you can. Forget about pretty designs and colours - fit and function is the key.
Decent day @ Glenshee today although it was a bit thin / icy / rocky in places.
[URL= http://i.imgur.com/47YUOEs.jp g" target="_blank">
Following on from the drone posts, how about just whirling an iPhone around your head on a bit of string?
Stay safe everyone - prediction of bad, bad avalanche day tomorrow. New snow on v icy base. half term and lots of people searching out fresh snow off piste
Really good first day in Sauze, had a one on one ski lesson at 9am and then spent the rest of the day skiing with my wife. Getting the snowboard out now for the next couple of days, can't wait!
Regarding the avalanche risk, the last snowfall we saw in Peisey on Sunday morning was more like polystyrene balls, about 2" thick. It's going to crate a very unstable layer when more snow falls on top..
Careful out there.
8 days back to back powder riding in Val D'Isere!!!
I Ache, see if you can try on some Vans Aura boots. Dual Boa, mid/soft, very comfy boots and won't break the bank. You can usually find a deal on t'internet and S&R will price match.
As said above, sounds like your rental boots were too big.
Also, when you are learning, you do tend to keep tightening boots as it feels it will give you better control.
I_Ache I can recommend Ellis Brigham for boots. The guys in the Castleford branch must have helped me try on every different boot in the store. It really surprised me how much the fit varied between brands.
I found the Burton Rulers the most supportive and comfy. The others just felt not quite right.
Thanks guys.
I had a look at the TSA website and was surprised that most of the boots seemed to be between £150-£220. I would have guessed that the low end boots were that sort of price. Obviously you can get much more expensive boots.
Also, when you are learning, you do tend to keep tightening boots as it feels it will give you better control.
I found myself doing this. My right foot was moving around so I felt i needed to crank them up tighter.
I quite like the neatness of boas as whenever I have used normal leaves they seem like a real faf
Most modern boots of a descent level will have dual zone lacing and a cinch system. You won't be doing up laces like on your trainers. I have Burton Imperial boots and the lacing is quick to do up and easy to get the right amount of tension over the foot and around the shin.
I'd try not to have a wish list of features or looks before trying anything on. Go in with an open mind and buy what fits best.
Not checked this for a bit. Thanks stevo and digby for thoughts on angles and turns. Will bear it mind next time I'm out and have a play.
ho ho! sounds familiar!'cos I was SO freeride!
My back knee also collapses in sometime, partly because I've got had a dodgy ankle on my left, (back) leg which has ended up with my foot turned out more. I've not wanted to go less than -3 on the back because I thought it might encourage this, rather than improve it - problem is partly lack of flexibility in the achilles/calf. Just been concentrating on keeping my knee over my toes.
Worth a fresh look, definitely! Cheers!
Yea that's going to be my approach. I'm not even going to go in and discount a pair because of a horrible colour, if they fit they fit.
Something I've found with boots, whilst buying mine and helping others choose theirs is this:
Boot manufacturers seem to be split between ones that suit wide, flat feet and ones that suit narrower feet with high arches. Bear this in mind when you're looking.
I've found Salomon suit my narrow feet, and a friend with wide feet hates them. He suits things like Vans, 32. Burtons appear to be more of an all-rounder.
Spend ages choosing, and spend as much as you can. Boots can totally spoil a holiday.
This week cannot go fast enough, on the 21st I'll be driving a Dodge Ram 1500 through Washington State to get to Beautiful British Columbia.
My back knee also collapses in sometime, partly because I've got had a dodgy ankle on my left, (back) leg which has ended up with my foot turned out more.
If I'm understanding you right, your left foot is turned-out more (i.e. more "duck") than most people because of your injury?
To me, it would be logical then to have the binding on that foot MORE duck than otherwise, as this would accommodate your deformed foot, while leaving your leg/knee in the "normal" place. Artificially turning your foot in would mean really forcing your leg/knee to twist inwards?
i.e. If I normally ride 18, -9°, but I then injure my back ankle so that the foot is turned-out by 6°, then to get the same riding position, I should now set my bindings to 18, -15°??
Could be worth playing with...
18, -9. The one thing my board riding has in common with Stevo I suspect.
6 weeks until my tour de force of mediocrity hits PdS. Still, I can read a piste map and I'm perfectly capable of getting from bar to bar - and I know how to ask for draught beer.
igm, I actually ride 15,-15 - that was just an example! 😉
stevo, can you just explain "more duck, less duck" please. Trying to work out what it means when I see people saying it here.
I've found Salomon suit my narrow feet, and a friend with wide feet hates them. He suits things like Vans, 32. Burtons appear to be more of an all-rounder.
Salomon do specific wide boots too. I've got some and I really like them.
I found Ellis Brigham in Manc really good for service as well.
Darcy more 'duck' just means feet more splayed out, ie if heels were in the same place then toes would be further apart.
Hi Darcy, as grum says, just more angle between the feet.
E.g. 15, -15 (30° between the feet) is "more duck" than 9, -9 (18°) and much more duck than something old-school like 21, +9 (12°).
Ah, cheers fellas.
And what's the thinking behind the various more, less duck arguments? (or is that a whole new thread by itself?)
Mostly personal preference.
Most serious riders these days are riding a duck stance of some sort (i.e. negative angle on the back foot). Biomechanical advice is to have an angle between your feet of 21 to 30°, which in itself mostly precludes a "forward" stance.
Yeah, but forward rools!
+21 +6 weirdo here.
Ah, ok. Think I'm 15, -6/-9 (can't remember).
EDIT: I am shit though...so it doesn't really matter. 🙂
igm, I actually ride 15,-15 - that was just an example!
Ahh, 18,-9 will be what's holding me back then. If I could only find a screwdriver I'd be world class. Imagine how good I must be to ride at all with those shonky angles. 😉
Seriously though, I've ridden forward and it probably makes carving on a nicely groomed piste easier, but it's also probably less fun and makes everything else harder, starting with a cut up piste. Less stable too. Blame the Swiss (Saas Fee to be precise).
These days I ride directional duck (if that exists) more angle on the front than back and adding to 27 degrees - any more and I feel it in my knees.
Play around. It's like tweaking the roll on your handle bars - you can ride with them at any angle, but some angles will just feel better, or more stable, or less tiring, etc. If you don't try something else how will you know?
3 sleeps until Val di Fassa, I am soooo excited 😀
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A pretty good way to spend the morning before work
These days I ride directional duck (if that exists) more angle on the front than back and adding to 27 degrees - any more and I feel it in my knees.
As Stevomcd said, the optimal/personal preference 'angle' for most folks is down to biomechanics. i.e. the natural slightly 'splayed' foot position that you make when you squat down and you knee cap 'tracks' over your feet/2nd toe.
too wide an angle when 'squatting' and your knees might 'track' in between your feet, possibly putting strain on the medial knee ligaments etc - too narrow an angle and your knees might 'track' to the outside of your feet, possibly putting strain on the lateral knee ligaments etc.
The key for me was playing around with the angle and the stance width to try and find a natural, balanced and stable position that allowed me to 'foot peddle' ...
I'm still tinkering! 😉
7 sleeps to Whistler. 🙂
Talk to me about foot pedalling. I had a quick search with Goole as I'm not familiar with the term but everything it threw up was years old.
Talk to me about foot pedalling.
Foot pedaling:
In simple terms it's applying 'pressure' to the toe, heel and outside edges of your feet in order to 'steer' the board in an 'arc' - transitioning from a toe-side turn to a heel-side turn etc
Naturally there are numerous variants in teaching and pedagogy, but the aims are pretty much the same: Using your feet* you 'steer' the board from one edge to the other whilst being able to safely maintain and control speed
*as performance is added to turns other body parts/techniques are utilised, but the core of the idea is that you keep a quiet, stacked, and balanced upper body whilst steering/pedaling with the feet.
Thanks Digby. Is that in conjunction with upper body rotation (not counter rotation) or is the idea you solely use pedalling?
or is the idea you solely use pedalling?
Pretty much - when foot steering/pedaling, there is no need for upper body rotation*.
Like I said the idea is to maintain a 'quiet' upper body that remains aligned with the board i.e. any excessive upper body movement has potential to throw you off balance and result in skidded turns rather than carved turns in nice arcs.
Some courses (e.g. CASI to the best of my knowledge**) taught whole body rotation as a way of initiating beginner turns, but they then introduce 'pressure control' for intermediate carved turns and 'foot steering' for advance freeriding and short radius turns.
BASI on the other hand introduce foot pedaling/steering early on - stevomcd should be able to clarify this! 🙂
*when advance riding on steep terrain, you use whatever body movement you need in order to initiate and complete a turn
**my knowledge/reference may well be out of date now
Cheer Digby. I'll have to hunt around for an example/tuition video.
Body rotation is a bit like snowplough for snowboarders. It allows you to control and turn at very low speed. It's also useful for riding moguls.
I did my CASI level 1 in the mid 90's and that's exactly how we were taught to teach back then, although things ought to have progressed a little. Parabolic skis didn't pitch up until the following season!
bluebird: the much cited "Go Snowboard" book describes everything via foot pressure and comes with a DVD - worth a read. Helped me move away from a twisty body and poor stance.
Yep - I can definitely recommend the 'Go Snowboard' book GrahamS refers to!
Body rotation isn't completely "out", but the BASI view is certainly that it's something to add back in once you're already riding with a strong stance and steering the board with your feet. Once you're trying to make tight, round turns at high speed, some rotation can help get the pressure where you want it.
7 sleeps to Whistler.
Woop. Conditions are pretty good out here at the moment. We've been getting a fair few storms rolling through but luckily the freezing level has stayed pretty low.
If you've not been out here before, or have but are looking for more detailed maps with runs that aren't on the official maps check out [url= https://wmmi.ca/ ]Whistler Mountain Mapping[/url]. The maps are high res and geo coded so you can get a GPS marker of your location and use it to track your runs. As I said, it's also got a lot of zone and runs marked on there that aren't on the official maps and until recently you might of struggled to find, or not gone head down due to not know where you'd end up.
Flaine in 16 days for me. Off piste guiding / instruction trip with UCPA via action-outdoors. bit excited...
Good week in Morzine / Port Du Soleil . very busy as expected - my top tip - get out of the middle of the resorts to the outlying Reds, a lot less busy. Snow not bad but could do with another dump now. Final 100m of Morzine/Les Gets a bit of a mess.
Chatel is worth the long ski/lift around, barely anyone on the runs over the back.
[b]whatnobeer[/b] – Thanks for the tips. I know it pretty well to be honest and have spent a lot of time there. Half the time we'll be in bounds, the other half hiking. Hope to get to a few areas that I've not got to before. Friends tell me the temp is dropping so hopefully the stability is improving.
[b]GrahamS/Digby/stevomcd[/b] – I will have to check that book out. I had my riding ripped apart in a brilliant lesson about 12 years ago in Whistler. I was your classic 90's euro snowboarder, all high stance angles and tucked in back knee. It all focussed on a centred stance/weight over the edges, but some body rotation was still OK. I remember at the start of the lesson the instructor saying, "Well you guys can obviously ride, it's just that we don't ride like that anymore." In 3 hours he completely rebuilt the way we ride.
classic 90's euro snowboarder, all high stance angles and tucked in back knee
Aye .. that style was still really popular when I had my first lessons at Sheffield Ski Village.
I watched 'Let it Ride: The Craig Kelly Story' again recently and that whole dropped/tucked in back knee seems kinda 'kooky' now, but it was obviously incredibly effective with the boards they were riding at the time!
Yes, those old videos look a bit tame compared to the stuff being put out now. My first board was asymmetric, my front foot was something like 45°. How things have changed.
Well Winter finally rocked up last week but won't be hanging around. Don't forget the sun cream and +6°C wax.
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BBC Sport have posted a nice 360 POV video of Graham Bell doing the Kandahar.
Very nice being able to look down at his skis chattering along or just admire the view 🙂
Jnr has returned home from a week in Kuhtai with school. He has enthused about the conditions, which for him to enthuse about anything is a miracle.
He returned with a certificate for best skier of the week, but more impressively with one for best flirt of the week - dunno where he gets either qualities from!?
Last day in the office, then off to Whistler tomorrow. Just want the temp to start dropping over there now. How's it holding up [b]whatnobeer[/b]? Would like to see the Avy risk drop a bit.
[b]Rone[/b] - good to know. We're out in Chatel for a week from 5th March. Which runs are you referring to? Was the snow still holding up?
Love old fashioned v modern technique stories
I learnt first in Austria in 70s - all shoulder position and legs locked together, then France in the 80s - angulation, dynamique and legs a little wider and then along come carvers and its legs wide apart like a cowboy with the squits. So fun to mix it all up, except in the deep whet the old tried and tested techniques suit me best.
I have to consciously imagine a beach ball between the knees to avoid slipping back into good old Austrian style though!! Not the best for carvers!!
Gapping a helicopter, nice.
Brilliance. Utter brilliance.
Last day in the office, then off to Whistler tomorrow. Just want the temp to start dropping over there now. How's it holding up whatnobeer? Would like to see the Avy risk drop a bit.
Freezing level has dropped right down over the last few days, and it's a beautiful clear day at the moment, but it's meant to start creeping back up over the next day or two. Snow conditions are decent though and we should be due a bit more snow around the weekend.
liked the tree bonk in that ski vid, thanks for posting.
That Candide clip is, as usual, absolutely mental.
Seeing that they put the birds in using a bit of trickery last time around, would it be too much for them to stick a shark in the lake for him to jump at the end of this one to round off his trilogy properly? 😀
Thanks [b]whatnobeer[/b], we'll be there this time tomorrow (sort off with time difference). Can't wait, it's been a couple of seasons since we were last there.
Rone - good to know. We're out in Chatel for a week from 5th March. Which runs are you referring to? Was the snow still holding up?
Don't know the names but the runs from the Morgins direction.
Snow was great apart from last 100m or so.
3.5 sleeps (bloody stupid early flight) til Avoriaz. Woo hoo. New area for me so quite looking forward to just cruisy exploring this year.
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Candide Thovex has single-handedly almost made skiing cool. [i]Almost.[/i]
Duuuude....
[b] Glen Plake [/b] was so cool it made his hair stand up on its own with no help whatsoever 😉
Met Plake once. Lovely chap.
Massive hands.
Me too - he signed my videos (yes that long ago). Very nice bloke and loved the two falls (1) at Grands Montets over the crevasse and (2)down the gully on the Aiguille de Midi - the good old days of K2 extremes (I think??)
I wonder how his knees are now?
How are conditions in the Alps shaping up? might try and sneek a quick trip out in next few weeks...
I thought no. 4 was may favourite until I saw no. 1 😯
I think the term is.....'hang time'! 8)
How are conditions in the Alps shaping up? might try and sneek a quick trip out in next few weeks...
I'm based in Montriond outside Morzine in the Porte de Soleil. It's been a frustrating season so far... no snow, snow, rain, snow, rain etc. If the temps had been consistently a few degrees lower it would have been an epic season. As it is every time we have good snow we seem to get a thaw and rain immediately after. Consequently the off piste base is fairly thin with a lot of sink holes about.
Last Friday was a lovely powder day over in Linga, Plein Dranse and Lindaret. Sunday was heavy crust over porridge in the Vallee de la Manche. Last night was heavy wet snow and today it was raining most of the way up the mountain so snow was heavy, wet and slow. A lot of slides in the off piste areas too.
So usual advice for a spring trip out - go high.
thanks - was thinking 3V, Espace Killy or Peissey (club med) or take THM mini to Chamonix for V Blanche - but not sure on timing conditions for that this season
Schnullelieber, where are you in the village? I'm back out in a couple of weeks to L'Orée. Are you working out there?
Yeah those fancy freestyle crashes are good Rockape, but you'll never beat this classic:
OUCH!
Stoner,
I ski (board) bum for 3 months a year. Two doors down from the Marmotte d'Or towards Morzine.
Aha.
I know just where you are.
I'm to be found in Fleck and Aisha's company most nights when I'm in the area.
PM me if you get a chance, would be fun to meet for a pint of ibex.
Rockape63 - Memberwww.youtube.com/watch?v=yRPTF_nRLlk
I thought no. 4 was may favourite until I saw no. 1
I think the term is.....'hang time'!
#9 He broke his back, you know
89cm of snow forecast in the next 9 days in Grimentz where I'm doing an off-piste/touring instruction week......
IN 9 DAYS TIME!!!! GET THE **** IN!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀
where are you getting 9 day forecasts from 😉
http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/snowreports/snowreport.aspx/Grimentz#.Vs7gtMfdvgo
Don't care if it's not accurate, it's what I'm choosing to believe!
[i]#9 He broke his back, you know[/i]
No..Thovax? Surprised he hasn't broken his neck by now!
As for crash no. 8.....that was just ****in mental! Just asking for disaster. 😯