The Secrets of Snowboard Carving: Part 1 - The Nine Elements 

James, I've been on a hard boot/alpine board for more than 30 years now. I've been chasing that pencil line for all my snowboarding life. Some of the knowledge you share here took me decades to understand, through experimentation, trial and error. This is a video for the ages, fantastic work, there's almost nothing around that thoroughly and correctly explains everything. And for the millions and millions of snowboarders I've seen on the slopes that have never carved a turn in their life, I hope carving gets taught and spread more and more. It's such an amazing feeling.

With that cute kitten, that's definitely the best carving tutorial ever

One tip I would ad is have a friend film your riding. Sometimes you think you are doing it right but when you see yourself on video, you can spot the problems and work on correcting them the next time you go out.

Yesssss!! This is the deep stuff the snowboard world is missing!! Thank you!! 🎉

I’ve watched this countless times, and today, I decided to bring the video with me to the hill. I got to the top, watched parts of the video that focused on the parts I needed the most help with, and tried honing things in. Such an invaluable resource. Thanks for making such a comprehensive but concise breakdown of the different aspects of carving.

James, your level of knowledge is unparalleled, but your ability to teach it to others is out of this world! I just wanted to drop a huge thanks for your efforts in making this video! I've watched thousands of carving videos, but yours is on another level. This is pure gold. Never seen anything like it before. You absolutely nailed it! P.S. Please add "thank you" button on this video... I guess that many would like to thank you for your efforts and valuable information!

This is definitely the best snowboard craving tutorial video on RU-vid. From now on, I will check your channel everyday during the snowboard season and hope to see more video from you. Thank for sharing your knowledge. Really appreciate your effort.

This is absolutely amazing. I cannot wait for the rest of this series. Thank you SO much. I’m sharing this everywhere.

Straight stuff, no BS, complete and clear. Thank you for your time

Outstanding contribution to the community. My respect!

Thanks for the amazing carving tutorial video James, very well done!!

Awesome stuff. So refreshing to have yourself and Lars @Justaride-Snowboard-Channel re-open my eyes after 30 years snowboarding to the ways I was originally taught but seemingly "lost" over the last 20+ years of duck footed freestyle - can't wait for part 2 so please keep up the great work :)

James, thank you so much for this. I found your channel after watching a video of you with Ryan Knapton and was blown away. Thanks a lot for putting this together, I am very grateful. I truly appreciate the knowledge, time and effort that went into this. All the best.

Oh baby… can’t wait to take this to my local groomers. Thank you for sharing ❤

I will definitely be watching this on repeat alot to unpack. I just picked up a dedicated carving board. supper excited to try some of this. Thanks for putting this video out.

Thank you so much for your detailed explanation. All the best

James, I wanted to let you know that this is my first comment on RU-vid. I can't adequately convey how grateful I am for this video. I've watched countless videos and tutorials, and none have come any close to the way you explained everything. Thank you so much! I appreciate your wilingnees to share the knowledge that was aquired by you through so many years! Not many people willing to do something like this :). Million times THANK YOU FOR THIS LEGENDARY VIDEO! P.S. I envy folks you`re training ;)

I feel like I need to watch this 3-4 more times to absorb it all Great explanation man…. I am going to try to incorporate as much as I can High level stuff Thank You 🤙🏻🤙🏻

Best softboot carving video out there! Thanks for this!

This is one of the greatest carving tutorials out there!!! Looking forward for part 2...

You said "pencil lines". That's exactly how I always described it. It's the only way I could figure out how to explain it to people who thought they were carving - but weren't.

Спасибо! Очень полезно и круто! 👍👍👍

This is by far the best carving video I have ever come across!! Thank you :)

Hands down the best Carving Explanation anywhere ever!!!!!

I snowboard for 35 years already. Learned it old school and still boarding old school. Now with soft boots back to 30 front and 27 back. Took me a long time to understand carving well. This is the best video ever I have seen with such a terrific explanation. Thanks. I immediately subscribed to your channel. Looking forward to more great content. I am now 61 of age and still love snowboarding.

Such a wealth of knowledge here! Thank you. James has been coaching me in Revelstoke for the past two seasons so my carving has greatly improved. Transitioning to steep/er terrain has been a humbling experience and go-back to the basics in many instances. I didn’t think it was possible to carve a steep black run on soft boots until I saw James doing it.

great video, huge thanks for all the work you put into it! Finally someone who actually teaches snowboarding at it's finest. Can't wait to get back on the slopes to try everything you suggest!

Absolutely perfect! Thank you so much for that video! I watched it yesterday and tried to apply myself today using what you explained - the results were immediate! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

This is pure gold!!! I can't express enough how much I appreciate you sharing all this knowledge! Really nice explanations and great drills. I've been riding for 20 years now and for the first 5 years I didn't even know that carving is a thing, but I always aimed for "pencil lines" because it just felt right ❤ Could you maybe make a video on the carving gear as well? I come from a small country where my only chance to try out a board is to buy one, so I rely a lot on the information and reviews I can find online. What makes a good carving board? How does different board characteristics impact how the board turns? Any pro tips on selecting the right gear for you? Cheers and happy turns!

6:41 Goodbye dreams of duck-foot soft-boot carving! Hello 12/27.

James this is one of the best contributions to carving I've seen so far. Thank's a lot for sharing! I'll try to incorporate this knowledge in my riding.

Many thanks for taking the time out to make this video! I’ve been trying experimenting with a more positive stance and how to manage my weighting the board this year, and this is the most comprehensive tutorial I’ve seen! It’s definitely where I want to go with my riding, had been a diehard duck stance rider wondering about how to avoid juddering out of faster turns.

Nice! I must admit, I just bought an all mountain board (capita mega merc) and am still rocking duck stance. But I am trying to improve my carving skills and have made some progress. I am not quite ready to switch to posi posi (again, started with hard boots back in the day). There are some great tips in there that I can adopt nevertheless. Kind regards from Switzerland

Good, but not secretly. From Russia with love 😉

Thank you! Holding a tray tip was golden!!

Wow. Great training vid, especially for aspiring to tackle the steeps. Nice mix of vid examples throughout . Thank you. Trying these techniques asap.

Bloody good video. Well done!

Such valuable insights! Thanks for this! 🍻

Thanks. I learned a lot watching this video. Some things I have been doing right and will focus on. Some things I've haven't been doing right and will focus on. Can't wait for part 2.

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 watched the fantastic session with the black cat. Next day I put it into practice. Astounding! Thank you so much James.

I appreciate videos like this so much. It is akin to attending a physics lecture without the boredom accompanying one. Many other videos I have seen have been the shortest, most basic explanations and made me believe I was above average in carving. I have always wanted to hit that carve that circles back up the piste, and now I have a lot to work on and try out to hopefully get there :)

Thanks for keeping the art of carving alive 🎉 well done 🤙🏻

Awesome vid, thanks for sharing man! That was legit with great tips, I can't wait to get out and try them.

Thank you! Currently in japan on my first ever snowboarding trip and I am hooked

This video is so technical and well explained...thanks!

Very nice video, I really appreciate that somebody cares about carving so much to make a video about this topic. Regarding the pencil carve as an ultimate goal I must say that it’s a matter of taste. Especially in very steep terrain Eurocarves are the thing to master the slope. The less steep the slope gets I am keeping my hands out of the snow. One thing I am always doing is avoiding counterrotation. Turning your shoulders and hips the direction where you are going gives you unique stability in the turn. One also has to differentiate between hard- and softboot carving. Riding softboots you’ll never get as much pressure on the heelside edge as with hardboots.

I’ve been looking for a good and thorough carving guide for a few years and I’ve finally found it here!

I usually not post any comments but you have the best carving skill I ever seen and your tutorial video is the best to learn carving!!! Thank you for your thoughtful videos and please continue teach us!!

Just the first minute of this video made me reconsider everything i know about snowboarding - you were on point with every word and your carving prooves it. The next day i switched my 12:-12 to 18:-6 and had some of your technique elements in mind. It immediately felt like i found the words and key points to describe a good carve (Although i don't carve nearly as good on a green run as you do on black) . Thank you for this!

I have finally found my master in search of the perfect pencil lines. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with everyone!

Thank you very much for the effort you put in and sharing all the knowledge, its much appreciated and looking forward to more! Happy and safe riding, cheers!

Dude you are a freaking awesome teacher! You solved lots of, basically all the core problems I have trying to learn from other videos! Tipped $5 my man! You the man!

The world needed that video… can’t wait for more man 👍🏼👍🏼

What a video - the algorithm DOES work. Appreciate all the work and passion you've put into this video!

Awesome. This video was missing and had to be created. And the right person did it.

Great video, so refreshing. Way back in 1993, when coaching alpine, I had aspiring carvers/racers carry and keep forward and level a bamboo pole. In retrospect, it was a bit draconian (failure was punishing), but it worked. The knee-touch is an excellent idea.

Thanks James for sharing your knowledge ! Will practire on your different steps as soon as I can. Cheers from France

Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to provide such a useful arsenal of well explained fundamental points and practices to help the likes of me returning back to a forward stance that I was all I knew back then in the early 90s,trying to recapture some of the addictive feeling I had then when, much through trial and error and from watching a carving VHS, I occasionally managed to ‘properly’ carve once in a while. It all makes sense now seeing it so well explained. It’s great to see somewhat of a resurgence of this style with yourself and Lars from @Justaride sharing your knowledge. Thanks again!!!

Great video! Quite clear and concise. There's opinions and information all over RU-vid, but this video was actually helpful.

Beautiful description of the carve! I’ve intuitively arrived at the same motion over 20 years of riding, right down to the binding angles. I look forward to applying some of the intention you’ve laid out here to improve my carve. Thank you!!! Old school carving is the way!

Great tips! Going carving today. You've given me some stuff to work on. Thanks.

been riding for 21 years, but sadly never got into carving.. I'm very excited to start my journey to the pencil line! Seeing you ride in those clips is just satisfying to watch and a huge motivation! I had good teachers for bein a kid learning back then, but I gotta step it up. Thank for this knowledge!

Epic bro. Thanks for sharing. Winter waves are waiting

This is so interesting, thanks for taking the time putting this all together.

Killer tutorial, James! Well done, Professor 👊

Aw man, thank you for this! Nobody explains this in any of the tutorials I’ve seen! I’ll be giving it a go tomorrow 🎉

James! I love your explanation of transition at 14:30 into the video! Both board and center of mass must follow Newton's law of momentum, so they tend to travel along their old trajectory respectively. You putted in such a crystal clear way to show us how to leverage the G force!

Excelente!!! Thanks so much for ur time and it is the best explanation of what carving should be. ❤

I was really worried this was going to be something else when it started, this video is great. Thanks for taking the time to share this knowledge with everyone.

Thx ! I was looking for this kind of information for some time now and You explaind every thing 100% Great film 💯

Killer video!!

Hello James!! Long time rider, new channel viewer. Thanks for the time and effort that you put into this. I used to ride plates and ski boots way back, then soft set up since my kids started to ride. The past two years I have been working back up to the carve and and am very stoked to have stumbled onto your video. Great content and instruction.

This is gold. Very interesting everything makes sense. Nice one doc !

Love this! I was taught this technique back in the early 2000’s by a buddy of mine that was an aspiring snowboard slalom Olympian. These skills changed my snowboarding forever. My girlfriend just started snowboarding and was set up by others with a duck stance, took lessons from resorts, and ended up with the back hand flailing behind. Finally she listened to me and I’ve got her on a posi posi stance (back +5, front +18 as a start to get her used to posi posi) with both hands reaching down hill. NOW She’s starting to progress super fast. I’m going to have her watch all your videos and practice your drills. Glad I found someone who translates these techniques far better than I ever could describe them myself. THANK YOU!!!

My favorite feeling is when the board's camber lifts me off the snow during edge transition. It's like flying. There's an empty space between the pencil lines. I've experienced it on steeps, but consistency with this requires a lot of space around me, which is hard to get in my riding circumstances. I also seem to naturally speed check at anything above 30.5 mph. The board's uphill path can always help with speedbut only if the run is clear. I love slower snow because I can experience the range of movements without putting on the brakes, but I never let steeps stop me from trying. I liked how you explained the difference between where the board's path is, verses center of body mass. You said it's a natural motion into the next carve. It's like a pop and a dive, but yes, no leaning to pet the snow. I remind myself to keep my posture up and let my knees brush the snow. Looking uphill is the only way to stay safe. Thank you for your explanation.

I've been riding Snowboard since the 1990th and have allways been training (trial & error) for the perfect pensil line with my hartboot / raceboard setups. Never tested softboot and since i bought a Kessler Alpine 2 years ago i think i will not change in this life anymore :) I will try to implement some of your hints to my carving skills, when i go on holiday in 2 weeks. Really nice video. Thanks! Carve on

Been waiting for something like this! thank you much.

Great Video. Thank you for taking the time to do it and I look forward to more. I will say however, that you, like Ryan, and the Japanese, all have a different style. Cant say which is best, although I am partial to Ryan as just the top pinacle of board control and style. I am also intrigued by the Japanese style. Look forward to more of your videos. I really like the ability to ride switch and will just have to keep duck. Love your pencil lines and I will keep watching. subscribed!

Someone who truly understands the body mechanics involved/required for a perfect carve. Thank you for putting this tutorial together! I will definitely pay attention to what I’m doing when I’m back out this weekend and see if I can sharpen up my heelside turn.

Best carving instructional video on RU-vid! No one out there is giving this kind of detailed information. Thank you James and see ya soon!

I went out yesterday with my new angles of +27 and +12 (was 27 and 0) and I couldnt believe the difference after just a couple runs. Was able to make very crisp pencil lines. Also found that it was so easy to control and steer that toeside turn by pulling that back knee in. An added bonus was how much more control I was in on the bumpy-small mogul runs as I was facing more downhill than normal. Hadnt had that much progression in one day in a long time and was really stoked. Now need to add the weighting and unweighting piece of it. Thank you, James!

Thank you for video and knowledge!! I learned from one of the original carvers (Enos) but he is retired now and in Florida for the winters!! I need someone with his knowledge, and I found him!! Thank you!!

I needed this video over 20 years ago! Yes, if you're going to carve, setup your downhill screamer, dig in those rails, and lose your phantom girlfriend. I learned some of this from GS racers but this tutorial is exceptional and really ties it all together. Thanks for sharing your expertise!

Wow lot's of content. Have to check it a couple of times between ride days and add new thnigs. Thanks a lot. Watched it, took notes, changed my stance, ready for tomorow !!

Really awesome video. Exactly what I needed. Thanks!

This is exactly what i was looking for. Everything I felt was wrong about my early lessons coming to this. Thank you sir.

Amazing lecture!!! The only one available on internet.

Damn....This is SUCH a good video mate. Thank you so much!

amazing details and demo!

Awsome detail and thank you for sharing

This is the best video I've seen in a while. It's so good!

Great video tutorial, liked, subscribed, follower and eager for the next installment!

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!

Thanks for this amazing video!

That's a great video ! Everything anyone needs to know about carving. I''ll be waiting for the other parts :P

Awesome breakdown of technique

I love it.. you're great!

The best conceptual explanation of carving I've ever seen

One of snowboards best of the best ..... go get em James