toes side turn troubles - Techniques & Styles Forum

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toes side turn troubles

Wednesday 17th December 2008 at 7:05:52 PM

fastjohnie
Rank: Bunny Hill Material
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this was my second snowboarding trip, i live about 85 miles from sugar mountain nc.. the first time out there was fresh powder and i didnt have too much trouble doing toe side turns or heel side.. well this time out it was hard and icy....it seemed like the board would just all of a sudden bite and face plant me when trying toe side turns... i was trying to practice making my s ... i could turn mildly to the left( im goofy footed) but when i tried to carve toe side i would just drop... any suggestions...

i now have a new board that i pick up in a couple of weeks.. bought a 08 rome flag 157, forum grape ape bindings and some good boots... i was using rental burton cruiser 155..... dont get me wrong i only fell unexpectantly twice.. the other 8 or 9 times was more of a sitdown... i was able to go down the beginner slope without falling at all...(easy street)

Friday 19th December 2008 at 9:58:39 AM

gjsnowboardr
Rank: Blue Slope Beginner
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Two things, check out post made by SnoWolf with his video links in them. and two, try to make sure you're not pressing down your toe edge until the nose of your snowboard is almost pointed straight downhill. As you get more comfortable with this start pressing down the toe edge of your snowboard earlier and earlier. make sure you are practicing this on your heelside(but with your heels this time) turn as well so that your turns mirror each other.

Friday 19th December 2008 at 4:48:25 PM

kkat2156
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I had trouble learning toe side turns as well. I'm not a pro or anything, but here are a couple suggestions:

1. When riding powder, one tends to lean into the back foot more. It may be that you got used to this, and are having problems now that you're riding hardpack/icy conditions. Make sure your weight is centered over the board, and this will allow you to have more control and dig in with your toe edge.
2. Make sure your knees are bent! The most helpful piece of advice I ever received in snowboarding was that when turning, your knees should be bent outwards (so it feels more like a squat rather than just bending your knees like you are sitting down). As soon as I heard this and tried it, I could suddenly turn after almost a year of frustration.

I hope that helps! Also remember to commit to the turn, with your whole torso initiating the turn, not just your shoulders (which can cause you to side slip, expecially when it is icy).

Good luck!

Saturday 20th December 2008 at 4:57:37 PM

fastjohnie
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thanks for the info

.im going to check out those links and videos..i wish i had videos that way i could see, or somebody else could see what i was doing wrong... i plan on going back to the mountain jan 8-12th.... i cant wait i have all new gear to try out too...

Monday 22nd December 2008 at 11:32:34 AM

gjsnowboardr
Rank: Blue Slope Beginner
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When you go back in January take at least a half day lesson with an instructor. At some snowsports schools they will even video tape you upon request or have use of a video camera.

Thursday 15th January 2009 at 1:37:20 AM

fastjohnie
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i spent 3 days on the mountain this past week.. toe side turns and stops was my main goal..( i wasnt being aggressive enough with my rear foot and turning with my shoulders and waist). im now carving good tight s turns and can stop pretty good toe side... i think one thing that helped was having the same boot/bindings/board combo.... i love my rome flag 157... i bought everything new also.... wouldnt you know i picked up another board tuesday.. i bought the lib tec 09 travis rice 157 mtx blunt with forum republic bindings.. couldnt pass up the deal .. brand new board and bindings 400 bucks... the board was 250 bucks on sale......

Thursday 15th January 2009 at 1:39:39 AM

fastjohnie
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thanks kkat i definitely wasnt rotating thru my turn... once i commiited to it, it all came togather... .

Sunday 25th January 2009 at 10:26:26 AM

Snow Wolf
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For a slightly more advanced technique when you are ready, try making these edge changes with a weight shift of your hips. With board in the fall line, push your hips forward over the toe edge of the board while arching your back to keep your upper body stacked over your board. When you do this, you will feel your heels lift up off the snow and your board will transition to it`s toe edge.

To transition back to a heelside turn, shift your hips back toward your heel edge as if your about to squat down. This will transfer your weight to the heel edge and lift the toes up off the snow. Again, arch your back a little to keep your upper body erect over your board.

In these edge change drills, you want to practice them on a gentle slope that you are comfortable straight lining. You do not want to allow the nose of the board to rise across the fall line and ideally, it should not really rise more than about 30 degrees off the fall line. These turns will be shallow, open ended turns, not the complete C shaped turns you have been working on. Instead of using torsional steering by twisting your board with the front foot, you are switching edged by shifting weight and both feet are used simultaneously.

Thursday 29th January 2009 at 3:16:50 AM

fastjohnie
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thats the technique i am doing now.....ive come a long way in the past month.. just this pastweek i spent 4 days on the slopes... im riding the blues and carrying good speed.. toe side turns come naturally now.... nothing like seat time.....i want to try and hit some boxes next.... ive been hitting the mountain at 8 am and riding untill 4 pm with a 20 minute lunch break...

Saturday 31st January 2009 at 3:37:32 PM

Rome_Rider
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Well this is something I've seen alot of beginners do and that is sticking there butt out when they go on there toe edge. Try sticking out your belly because then to get more edge you can just bend you knees.

Monday 2nd February 2009 at 11:58:51 AM

plin924
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Hi,

I'm having problems with my toeedge as well.

I can traverse fairly well with my toes. However, they just don't feel as comfortable as my heel edge.

My biggest problem is toe edge J turns. For some reason, I just can't do it. I tried to complete the toeside J turn by bending my knees and leaving my weight on the upper part of my snowboots. It's not the most comfortable position and it doesn't really turn.

I can do heel edge J turns easily. I just lift up my toes and it turns beautifully. I thought since I lift my toes during a HEEL edge, I'll just lift my heels during a Toe edge J turn. It doesn't really seems to work.

I tried trusting my hips forward but my shoulders will fall back and it counter balance the weight shift not allowing me to fully lift up my heel edge.

My friends are saying that I'm not leaning towards the mountain enough. The funny thing is when I traverse on my toes, I can lean towards the mountain all i want. For some reason a toeside J turn is much more difficult and I can't lean towards the mountain when I want to...

and advice/suggestions/ or things i can do at home so i can work on it? help!!

much thanks

Wednesday 11th February 2009 at 8:40:13 AM

andy966
Rank: Blue Slope Beginner
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One reason may be that you don't have enough speed going in and coming out of the turn. When entering the turn, place most of your weight on your leading foot, about 70-30. At the apex of the turn or the middle of the turn, your weight should be centered and equal on both feet, 50-50, and your knees should be bent. Try to push your shins against the upper part of your boots instead of lifting your heels. This will do 2 things: 1. lower your center of gravity 2. allow you to get on your toe edge without calf burn.
As you come out of the turn, you want to place most of your weight on your back foot and lean towards the mountain side, about 30-70.
The weight distribution will help you speed into and out of the turn allowing you to lean more into the mountain without falling. The centrifugal force is what keeps you upright during the turn, even though you are leaning heavily.
Hope that helps.

Wednesday 11th February 2009 at 6:22:18 PM

plin924
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andy, great tip! thanks.

I found out what my problem is. I added a little forward lean. I moved my binding a little wider and move my bindings a little closer to toe edge. Also, I reduce the binding angle. I used to ride -15 +15. now i ride -7 +10. it feels much more natural... thanks guys!!!

however, now i have a whole new set of problem...

When I lean forward towards my toe edge, i can sense my knees locking up. I can't do fast heel to toe carve. usually i have to slow down with a little heel stop just before i transition to toe edge.

my toe to heel comes much more naturally. no problem there. the turn is sharp and crisp and i dont need to slow down at all.

Friday 12th February 2010 at 5:34:39 PM

chava007
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I am having the same problem, and had been considering moving my binding a bit closer to the toe edge, my board is pretty wide so I dont think ill drag my toes..... has your heel edge turns been afected by making this change?

Wednesday 17th February 2010 at 7:41:53 PM

LouG
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"One reason may be that you don't have enough speed going in and coming out of the turn."

Nope. Nope. Nope. You can turn from a dead stop if you understand board control. That and speed is a beginners worst enemy. For newer riders more speed = more panic = less control = disaster.

"When entering the turn, place most of your weight on your leading foot, about 70-30. At the apex of the turn or the middle of the turn, your weight should be centered and equal on both feet, 50-50...
As you come out of the turn, you want to place most of your weight on your back foot and lean towards the mountain side, about 30-70."

Again I disagree. You should always be either centered or with a little weight on the front foot. The second you shift your weight back you lose the ability to initiate turns. The only time I shift my weight to my back foot is for park and powder.

"The centrifugal force is what keeps you upright during the turn, even though you are leaning heavily.
Hope that helps."

Ridiculous. That doesn't seem right at all. You don't sling new riders into high speed turns, and centripetal force isn't what keeps you upright during a toeside turn. A proper toeside or heelside turn digs your edge into the snow creating a platform that you can stand on whether you are speeding into a death carve or standing completely still.

plin924, here's what I think:

1. Your boots are too loose in the ankles - and you press and press but those boots are too loose to translate that pressure to your board.

or

2. You aren't following through the turn - First I want you to pick a target across and maybe even a little higher from you on the slope (tree, lift tower, snowgun, bamboo stick, whatever) and just be aware of it for now.

You want to have nice bent knees, a good athletic stance (like you are a soccer goalie, guarding a basketball player, sumo wrestling, etc.).

Once you get going a little (pick a gentle slope, there is no record for world's fastest beginner) do the same thing you have been doing. With more weight over your front foot, rotate your front knee over your front toes to pressure into the tongue of your boot and begin the turn.

Now, LOOK AT YOUR TARGET!

...That's it. There's way more to turns, but I'll be damned if that doesn't start bringing your toeside turns around.

- - I vent my frustrations at Angrysnowboarder.com

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