A great turn leaves only a pencil line track in the snow, maximizing g-force and energy return by minimizing snow displacement and dragging body parts. Speed is controlled through turn shape rather than by braking or scrubbing snow.
It feels like riding a rollercoaster, only better because you are the power source! It's intense, committing and dangerous on the Revelstoke steeps but it's just so soul satisfying... The feeling is addictive, and when the groom is good you'll just want to do it faster with bigger sidecuts and stiffer boards on steeper, narrower runs with more angular acceleration and more g-force!
Notwithstanding the recent resurgence of carving and the availability of wider boards, it's kind of a lost art. It's really not that hard to learn but good instruction is very hard to find; not that many people can consistently carve smooth heelside turns on steep black diamonds, even fewer can teach you how. This is my specialty.
I had to look up "stank" in the urban dictionary to see if there was another meaning... Still not sure which meaning was intended above, but I would like to think there's some truth to both. Say hi to DTB for me and check out the secrets part I video, that one is more popular.
I've watched a lot of basic carving content but alway noticed that the likes of Jones do something different with their upper body. You explained it well here with the tray technique. Will definitely practice this next season!
Hey James thanks for an excellent video and I'm definitely going to gives a lot of these tips a red hot go when I'm next on the slopes. I've got a couple of questions: You mentioned that a dedicated carving snowboard should be about 2cm wider at the waist than you mondo boot size. My mondo sizing + 2cm puts me at 30cm waist width which is basically custom made territory like Donek. Some Jones and Koruas come in at about 270ish at the waist. Is this correct? With a posi/posi stance angle wouldn't you be effectively decreasing the boot width on the board because of the angle itself? Keen to understand this particular point. Thanks!
Yeah, correct on both counts. Some people get away with carving narrower boards by using a down-unweighted turn technique and/or bending excessively at the knees. My personal style requires a wider board and risers to avoid boot out. A posi-posi stance won't help much to reduce boot out or overhang. Whether your back foot is 12 degrees positive or 12 degrees negative, your overhang will be about the same. Also, there's very little difference between 12 and 15 degrees in terms of boot overhang, whereas the difference between 27 and 30 degrees is much greater. I think this is part of the reason we see Asian carvers riding super steep stances like +45/+30. I prefer a wider board and a more relaxed stance, like +27/+12. Another good way to reduce your overhang is to use a binding like Flow without a heelcup. Changing to a Flow binding can reduce your overhang by 1.5 cm to 3cm depending on what you're changing from. (See my Secrets Part II - Interface video for more details about the BO factor.) But even with Flow bindings, I ride mondo boot size plus 3 to 4cm. @RyanKnapton rides mondo size plus 6 to 8cm! Check out Exegi Snowboards if you're looking for a basic custom carving board. They're way better than Doneks for about the same price. If you want to go right to the top of the line, get on the waitlist for a JJA C4 here: carversconnection.com/product/jasey-jay-working-title-snowboards-copy-2/ You'll run into boot out issues pretty quick when you start practicing the tips and drills, and you can get your board higher up on its edge.
Amazing. Found this video yesterday and I'm already on my second watch through Also. Fun sidenote "slarving" is very close to the Swedish word for being sloppy/careless
@@cherrycarves Thanks for making this type of content. I'm 34 now and I've never been interested in park riding, only carving (it's also what I like to do on skis). I've always felt disenfranchised by the snowboard community because of me not wanting to do park stuff, so I've kept to skiing instead where it's easier to talk to someone about your love for carving. Thanks to you and Lars from Just A Ride I've decided to get back into snowboarding the upcoming winter! You're doing snowboarding a great service! I guess the noun would be slarve/slarv in English/Swedish and slarving/slarvar for the present continuous verb form. A very good term in both languages! And it works as a combination of sliding and carving in both languages too.
@SuperPhelix Nice! Rumour is that another 20 JJA C4 166 boards will become available to purchase sometime this summer. If you're interested in riding the only wide titanal free carver anywhere, and likely the best soft boot carving board on the planet for intermediate and advanced riders, get on the waiting list at carversconnection.com.
I think that's a West Coast board. Stranda makes carving specific boards too, one of those would definitely be better for east Coast carving. Rumour is that a second batch of JJA C4s will be announced this summer. Get on the wait list here: carversconnection.com/product/jasey-jay-working-title-snowboards-copy/
I used to carve a 360 around a Slow sign 20 years ago at Solitude in softboots on a Winterstick Severe Terrain 166. And then once got a skier a talking to from Ski Patrol because he followed my carve under a slow area staggered rope line. Patroller didn't see me and then the skier pointed me out in the lift line. He knew me and gave me a grin and shook his head slightly and let the skier off with a warning. "Don't follow that guy."
I was carving my Coiler Nirvana in a similar situation. A Ski Patroller pulled me over and said I was going too fast in a slow zone. I said I was going slow. He laughed and said I could see you were under control and have a Nice Day!
man I just switched to a posi stance after watching the secrets of carving video but the season was coming to an end and only got to test it out on solid ice. man those turns are smooth!
hi , i see you have a never summer proto fr. this board is good for any kind of snow? i meant ice conditions, groomers, soft snow. and this board carve well? i need a board to go all day in any conditions of snow and at the same time to learn how to carve well. thanks
Yes, I would recommend this board for everyday all mountain riding. It's not the best carver but it's pretty good, and it's one of the widest production boards on the market so it reduces boot out. It's somewhat slow for carving but that can be a good thing for steeps and for learning.
@@carloseduardovivasparra1727 Not really. This is what I use for all mountain, the base profile lets me make tight turns in trees and the extra width allows me to carve once I come out of the trees and hit the groomers. If you want a dedicated carving board then I recommend you go to to this page: carversconnection.com/product/jasey-jay-working-title-snowboards-copy-2/ and get on the waiting list for the next batch of C4 boards from Jasey-Jay Anderson. These are incredible boards for learning to carve; unmatched on ice, soft snow and chopped groom, but not so great off piste.
Not saying James is wrong about any of the advice, but duck stance freestyle carving is possible if you really want it. Check out Ryan Knapton, it's incredible to watch.
I think I said that it's way harder and it is, especially on steeps. Ryan is a friend, a visionary and an inspiration, but he doesn't carve steeps (yet). You can struggle for years to smooth out the heelside chatter, or try it my way (posi-posi, 27/12).
Bummer, looks like powerride boot stiffeners aren't in the game anymore! Or at least their website is down. Seemed like a simple enough concept that I wanted to check it out. Cool to hear of Coiler as well. Always interested in high end carve focused shred stuff. Sounds like the dude won't be making any new stuff for rando folks anymore though. BUMMER!
You will be able to get boot stiffeners at carversconnection.com in the fall, as well as canted risers and flat risers. And coated mittens that last (almost) forever. All the metal carving boards are sold out but you can get on the waiting list for the next batch in the store on the website.
Thank you sir for the high level instructional video. I don't ride any ware as good as you but I wanted to be able to carve decently. I hope you get more subs and private lessons request
Hahaha... That's Turner Mountain Montana. Me and 99 of my closest friends rent out the whole mountain for a week every winter so we can carve, carve, carve... Check out montuckyclearcut.com
Hey James! what are you’re favorite board brands? It’s basically impossible to really tell how good a board for carving is when the websites all say that theirs is the best. I’m just getting into the world of carving and only have a couple boards, one of them is too small, and the other is the korua Cafe racer which once again, I can’t compare to any others because i’m not even old enough to get a job ;-;
Well, count yourself lucky that your parents are still buying your boards then! To recommend a board, I will need to know your height, weight, and boot size. And your budget, since the best carving boards are not cheap! Best to sign up and start a topic in the forum at carversconnection.com. Add any video you might have or even some photos of your setup. We can get into more details there. The Cafe Racer is decent, but it's more of an all around board than carving specific.
@@cherrycarves My parents told me the next board I would get would be with my own money, but i’m only a year away from being able to get a job. Like you said, carving boards are not cheap but i’m willing to work for basically however long it would take, so I’ll make my budget $1,500. Im 5,9 currently and weigh about 65 kg (145lbs). My snowboard boot size is 10. Thanks for being one of the few creators who responds and gives expert advice!
p.s. I still haven’t reached my full height so i’d like one that i can ride for basically my entire life. I probably will grow 2-3 inches more in high school also.
@user-nz7te2bo7f Hey Jake. 1500 USD should be enough to get you a high performance board. There are only two custom builders who make wide titanal soft boot freecarving boards, Coiler is no longer taking new clients but Jasey-Jay Anderson is still going strong. So that's what I recommend and there really aren't any other similar options right now. Carversconnection.com is currently sold out but there may be another small batch released this summer or fall. There's a waiting list you can join at the store on the website. You can also go directly to JJA himself for a custom board but that might blow your budget. And I would say you're never too young to make some money. My eight year old daughter sells baby chicks from our incubator, and when she can reach the tractor pedals, she'll be plowing the neighbours' driveways through winter too, for example.
@scndlrider Yeah you do. A new board and change your stance to posi posi 27/12 degrees will do wonders for your carving! The first batch is sold out but get on the waiting list and you'll be the first to know when the next batch is available.
@scndlrider Yes, you can choose some specs but not all. Jasey-Jay Anderson can make you a full custom boards but it's more expensive. Keep an eye on the "JJA Working Title" section in the forum at carversconnection.com, I'm gonna release a video there next week explaining more about the boards and the options available to the 30 buyers. By the way, I like your custom risers! I had something like that before I upgraded. The long screws can be a bit dangerous. There's a lot of leverage on your inserts with that setup. I rode like that for a season on a big board and didn't break anything, but I did bend some of the screws.
Excellent tutorial and breakdown. I don't snowboard often, it's actually been 8 yrs but this is my style of carving for sure. As a surfer, this pencil line carving feel like surfing to me and although I have broken down surfing in a similar way as you have with snowboarding, I have never thought to do it for myself in snowboarding so this was eye opening. Thanks so much.
I've been riding for over 20 years and realized recently I don't know how to carve properly or even at all. Being over 50 w two total hip surgeries doesn't help but I'm determined to get better. Watching video of my self I learned I've been making skidded turns my whole life. So bummed...
As a beginner rider, this video was definitely a game-changer. The way you break down the entire turn into simple yet detailed steps is amazing. I made huge progress in just one day after watching this. Thanks!
Thank you for the tips. But... The last one, I'm sure it is a , commonly known as, fals friend. I mean, you don't go down to the snow by flexing knees but by tilting on very high angle. I can't put here a screen shot but if you stop frame at the apex, in your film, the legs are almost straight, especially the front.
Yes, mine look straight in the video but that's because I have excellent style and so my kneee bend is almost imperceptible in video on good surface. But now look at my position in the start of The Rant video on chunky snow. In poor conditions I bend my knees a lot more, and I encourage you to bend your knees too if you're learning. Good luck!
Maybe your bindings are overhanging too much on the heelside? Anyway... on my new board I'm carving 720s now. Haven't got one on video yet, but I have some cool still photos of the tracks.
Have you ever ridden a Rome binding such as the cleaver? Curious how this would hold up to your riding. Asking because I am looking for an overall generalist binding on a budget. Instead of listing them all I figure I will just ask about specific one. Thanks for the videos.
Hahaha... No, not Donek. These are full custom metal boards from Jasey-Jay Anderson and Coiler. You can get on the waiting list for a board at carversconnection.com.
I normally ride a -6 +6 stance, but I have incorporated things you have taught, and I've been able to carve super deep using those techniques, at least on greens and blues. Just wanted to say thanks for this series
I would love some softboot risers that had built in cant and were not super expensive. Kind of like the Donek SBX, but with some cant. If you make 'em I will buy them!
