In a carved turn, you need to have the snowboard up on a higher edge angle than a skidded turn; this tends to make it hard to maintain balance due to gravity. The higher speed in the turn, increases centrifugal force and that cancels out the force of gravity, allowing you to maintain balance the way a motorcycle rider can lay the bike over in a high speed turn.

So, when learning to carve, pick a wide open area that allows you plenty of room to make very wide turns. At first, you will enter, maintain and exit these turns very gradually as you learn the feel of true carving. With moderate speed, shift your body weight from your centered 50/50 postion between the bindings slightly forward to say the 60/40 position. Turn your head to look at where you want to go and gently rotate the shoulders to place the front shoulder over the edge of the board you are turning to. Pressure the edge you are turning to with the FRONT foot only. This is called torsional steering; you are literally using your feet to twist the board along it`s longitudinal axis (length). The turn will begin to establish itself and as it does, gradually follow through with the rear foot to tilt the entire board up onto it`s edge. You will really need to maintain flexed ankles, knees and hips to keep your upper body over the top of the board. Shift your hips, not your entire upper body. For heelside, shift the hips back by "sitting down" into the turn. For a good toeside carve, you need to shift your hips forward and arch your back to keep it over the board. Try to avoid getting into the bad habit of bending at the waist and leaning over on the toeside carve.

As the turn progresses, gradually extend and shift your weight slowly rearward to the 40/60 position as you exit the turn. Doing this all gently helps keep the edge engaged without breaking free and starting the skid. The skid will start with the tail and move forward, so be ready to recover. The tighter the turn radius, the more likely a skid will develope so as you learn to carve, keep the turns wide and gentle.

The trickiest part for the new carver is dealing with the edge change. In carving, you actually transition to the downhill edge before the fall line. It is a scary concept for the new rider, but remember that your snowboard does not care if it is pointed down the hill or accross the hill; the only thing it cares about is if it is moving in a straight line with no sideslip going on. As long as this is the case, it is perfectly safe to transition to the down hill edge. This makes the turn a point of rapid acceleration so be ready for it. To maintain speed or even slow dow without skidding, increase turn radius and even finish the turns slightly uphill. Avaoid skidding.

True carving takes lots of practice; kee[ working on it.