Tag Archives: intermediate snowboarder

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Snowboard Tips For A Lone Wolf

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This online snowboard lesson will give safety Snowboarding Tips For A Lone Wolf. Snowboarding is a sport that you can do solo. Nothing is wrong going out on the mountain by yourself. I’ll give you some snowboard tips that will keep you safe. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride teach how to pick the right snowboard gear best for you and drills to improve your skills. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you sign up that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard safety on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos;  Building Rhythm, Advanced Snowboarding Getting Air, Superman Eruo Carves, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, Advance Snowboard Lesson: Dropping Cliffs, Snowboarding Off Piste, Snowboarding Chutes, Snowboard Lesson Navigating Trees & Obstacles, Active Passive Absorption, Eruo Surfer Carves, Basics For Freestyle Features, Advance Snowboard Carving: Surfer Turns & Grab Carves, Snowboard Responsibility Code #1, Snowboard Responsibility Code #2, Snowboard Responsibility Code #3, Responsibility Code #4 Look Uphill, Snowboard Responsibility Code # 5, #6 Obey All Signs, Snowboard Responsibility Code #7,Funnel Turns For Navigating Obstacles & Snowboarding Moguls.

There’s a saying for a lot of snowboarders, “no friends on a powder day.” When there’s a fresh storm everybody calls in sick and hits the slopes as soon as they open. Common excuses are the white flu or the powder bug and bosses expect employees to hit the slopes for a couple hours in the morning. The first few runs the snow is untouched and those runs are something you’ll never forget. The snow gets tracked out and lots of snowboarders are done by noon. Those days are epic and worth taking a sick day. You may not tell your boss where you are but let somebody know if you’re going up as a lone wolf.

Keep your phone charged and stay inbounds if you’re going at it by yourself. You’ll need a way to call for help if something God forbid, goes wrong. Sometimes you might be with someone but they’re slow so you can get 2 runs in the time it takes them to do one. A lot of powder can make it difficult for lower level riders so think about that if you’re taking someone at a lower level. If you’ve ever experienced a powder day you probably have been hooked on snowboarding because of that day.

Stay safe out there and have the right gear to make you experience one to last a lifetime. If you’re not at that level signup for a lesson with me and use my online school to get you to Ride Right™! Get Hooked On Snowboarding with Snowboardclass/Flowing Freeride’s techniques by going back to other snowboard videos that teach how to improve your skills, improve your knowledge on equipment, safety, terrain and weather. You can sign up for the full course to gain access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark Contact Me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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SNOWBOARDING UTAH POWDER

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This online snowboard lesson will Highlight Snowboarding Utah Powder. What makes Utah so good? There is the lake effect up around Salt Lake and Park City. The Great Salt Lake is a huge body of water that is very salty and it doesn’t freeze over in the Winter. That makes clouds dump their moisture to get up over the Rockies. We get tons of light powder that makes snowboarding Utah Powder amazing. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride teach how to pick the right snowboard gear best for you and drills to improve your skills. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard safety on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos;  Building Rhythm, Advanced Snowboarding Getting Air, Superman Eruo Carves, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, Advance Snowboard Lesson: Dropping Cliffs, Snowboarding Off Piste, Snowboarding Chutes, Snowboard Lesson Navigating Trees & Obstacles, Active Passive Absorption, Eruo Surfer Carves, Basics For Freestyle Features, Advance Snowboard Carving: Surfer Turns & Grab Carves, Snowboard Responsibility Code #1, Snowboard Responsibility Code #2, Snowboard Responsibility Code #3, Responsibility Code #4 Look Uphill, Snowboard Responsibility Code # 5, #6 Obey All Signs, Snowboard Responsibility Code #7,Funnel Turns For Navigating Obstacles & Snowboarding Moguls.

You may have seen Utah’s license plates that say “Greatest Snow On Earth” and it holds up. The snow is dryer here with less water content making it crisp, light and fluffy. Snow that has more water content is heavier and harder to move around. It takes more muscle to move it and wetter snow is slower. You have more friction with wet snow and it compacts faster turning into ice quicker. Utah snow is known as Champagne Powder and this keeps conditions better longer. There are less people is Utah also that helps runs to not get tracked out as fast. Utah also has the biggest ski/snowboard resort in the U.S. Park City Mountain with over 8,000 acres of terrain.

Utah mountains get more than Colorado and that makes the snowpack deeper. Utah is further West getting more of that moisture first. I love snowboarding in the Big Rocky Mountains. I’ve worked and lived in many states like California, Washington, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming & Utah. Snow conditions make all the difference. I do like going out to Colorado because they do have bigger mountains but Utah has the better snow. Colorado is at a higher elevation making folks coming from sea level get altitude sickness. Utah powder is something you need to experience first hand.

Getting to Utah mountains is fast since there are 7 resorts you can get to within 30-60 minutes of the airport. The roads get salt brined before storms and salted during making the roads clear and safe. Hope you get to Rip Some Utah Powder Soon! Get Hooked On Snowboarding with Snowboardclass/Flowing Freeride’s techniques by going back to other snowboard videos that teach how to improve your skills, improve your knowledge on equipment, safety, terrain and weather. You can signup for the full course to gain access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark Contact Me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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How To Make The Mountain Better & Our Climate

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This online snowboard lesson will go over How To Make The Mountain Better. There are a lot of things you can do to keep winter clean. In mountain cities there are mountains and valleys. This can cause an inversion where the cool air gets trapped in the valleys. It’s warmer in the mountains because the cold is trapped along with all the pollution and temperatures are opposite or inverted. The only way to clear it out is to have a storm system come through. During these inversions try to drive less or carpool. Some cities have no burn days or even months. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride teach how to pick the right snowboard gear best for you. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard safety on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos;  Building Rhythm, Advanced Snowboarding Getting Air, Superman Eruo Carves, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, Advance Snowboard Lesson: Dropping Cliffs, Snowboarding Off Piste, Snowboarding Chutes, Snowboard Lesson Navigating Trees & Obstacles, Active Passive Absorption, Eruo Surfer Carves, Basics For Freestyle Features, Advance Snowboard Carving: Surfer Turns & Grab Carves, Snowboard Responsibility Code #1, Snowboard Responsibility Code #2, Snowboard Responsibility Code #3, Responsibility Code #4 Look Uphill, Snowboard Responsibility Code # 5, #6 Obey All Signs, Snowboard Responsibility Code #7,Funnel Turns For Navigating Obstacles & Snowboarding Moguls.

I had a great 2018-19 season getting on snow for teaching, filming, coaching, training or hiking 204 days! That was a record for me. I’ve been able to hike up at Alta, Utah several days this 2019-20 already. It’s good to get snow in October and for the weather to stay cool up in the mountains. I wanted to do something to give back to the mountains. I saw a lot of garbage when I was hiking up on June 21, 2019 the Summer Solstice. The snow had melted and all the rubbish folks had tossed was very visible. I decide to make a quick snowboard tutorial on making the mountain better than when arriving. I picked up all the trash on my ride down and recycled it down in the recycle bins at the bottom. I did sacrifice on having a line with rhythm but making things better takes work and sacrifice. Almost everything I found was recyclable. I found ski poles, clothing, plastic bottles, cans and other winter items. There events where you can go volunteer your time to clean your local mountain or you can just go up on your own. Alta has an Annual Event To Clean Up Alta, Utah that you can attend. It’s great just being out in the mountains, especially when they are clean.

Picking up garbage or not littering is a good way to keep winter clean. We can do a lot more though. I’ve lived in places like London, England and Los Angeles, California where stores charge you to buy plastic bags. It wasn’t much but it has already cut the number of bags they’ve found on beaches in half. Bring your own reusable bags when you’re going out shopping. It makes my life easier when I only have a few grocery bags to bring in and a lot of stores give you a credit or discount when you bring your bags too. That makes it a win win. Sometimes it’s not possible but when you can take transit instead of driving. Cars cause a lot of pollution and if you live in a mountain city you probably deal with inversions and that air can be like smoking cigarettes! I know a lot about air pollution here in Utah because I was hired by the Division Of Air Quality DEQ to make a documentary on air pollution It’s Up To All Of Us. You can watch that video if you’re interested in the science of inversions.

We can make a difference by using clean energy, installing solar panels, driving less, using reusable bags, not littering and joining protests that fight for climate. September 20-27, 2019 there were Climate Strikes Around The World to protest the actions a few greedy folks that impacts everyone. You can get involved and join organizations like On A Mission that are fighting for our climate. Snowboarding needs to have snow and over the last decade I’ve noticed that our winters are getting warmer. Polar ice caps are disappearing and places like India and islands are sinking due to the ocean levels rising. Climate is changing and we need to do something about. We can change things for the better and elect officials that will make a change.

I love being up on top of a mountain looking down at fresh powder field. I love to share my passion of being in the mountains with others. I created Flowing Freeride to give peeps an affordable way to learn snowboarding. I even have one snowboard video that tells you How To Snowboard For Free.

I want people to be able to snowboard in the future and shred the deep powder. Join the fight on climate and do your part. Get Hooked On Snowboarding with Snowboardclass/Flowing Freeride’s techniques by going back to other snowboard videos that teach how to improve your skills. You can signup for the full course to gain access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark Contact Me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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Learn Snowboard Jibbing

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This online snowboard lesson will go over Snowboarding Jibbing Tips. When you’re able to flow around the mountain you use everything out there as your playground. When you’re in the park there are man made features and jumps. There are similar features on the mountain that are natural. Train your eye to spot these treasures and jib them. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over proper ½ pipe, jumps, freestyle and riding the park techniques. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard safety on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; Building Rhythm, Advanced Snowboarding Getting Air,Superman Eruo Carves, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, Advance Snowboard Lesson: Dropping Cliffs, Snowboarding Off Piste, Snowboarding Chutes, Snowboard Lesson Navigating Trees & Obstacles, Active Passive Absorption, Eruo Surfer Carves, Basics For Freestyle Features, Advance Snowboard Carving: Surfer Turns & Grab Carves, Funnel Turns For Navigating Obstacles & Snowboarding Moguls.

When were out riding and we jump up and hit something it’s jibbing. You can use it as a verb to to jump off of something or to jump over an object. The object that you’re jumping over is jibbing it. Now as far as a drill what I like to do for jibbing is to go out and find as many things that I can jib off of, jump over use it as an actual a feature that I’ll jib off of. Maybe it’s a branch or I’ll be going up a quarter pipe and at the top I jump up and maybe twist and tweak my board to hit a branch or something. A lot of parks have a jump setup where there’s maybe a ball or some barrels something where you get the speed off it and then you actually bonk off of it jib off of it.

There are a few different phrases when you hit these objects but a good drill is to go out and find natural features outside the park. Maybe you find a little stick or logs whatever and try to jib off of them different ways. You can jib things with a flat board or your edge. Maybe you’re actually tweaking it and hit it with your board. Maybe you actually are going off a jump and you’re spinning one way and then you hit it and switch yourself back the opposite way. I’ve talked about some features outside of the park but the man-made features you might see a gong, big old bells, mail boxes and cars. You’ll even see urban rails with steps in there. You might see a lot of the metal objects and you’re like Wow! There are boxes and and all types of rails. These are great but I would recommend that you go out and first practice outside the park and as you feel a bit more comfortable gradually progressing in there.

One thing I really like about jibbing is once I get to my apex if there’s something I can jib off of and actually create more bounce. You’ll get a little bit further. It actually looks really cool and it makes you feel good. There are a lot of things you can do. It’s a fun little drill to go out and just jib over anything. You will gain these snowboard talents by training with Flowing Freeride. You can learn more about Snowboarding Jibbing Tips and get Hooked On Snowboarding with Snowboardclass/Flowing Freeride’s techniques so go back to other snowboard videos that teach you about hiking the backcountry. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark Contact Me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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Riding Jackson Hole Powder January 2019

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This snowboard video will give you tips on Riding Deep Pow At Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was a long drive in a blizzard to get to Jackson Hole, Wyoming but it was worth it. There was 1 ½ feet of fresh powder when we arrived. Our first day was short due to the storm but it made the conditions epic. We almost slid off the road several times. We were on a highway with cars cruising in the other lane. Snow plows created white outs where we couldn’t see for 3 seconds and then seeing a line of cars. The snow drifts were a foot deep. We saw plows go by and a few miles down the road the drifts were back only allowing one lane of traffic through.There was a large group of AASI Level 3 Full Certified snowboard instructors training together. We ripped this steep mountain doing tons of trees, chutes and cliff drops. To get you prepared to ride this steep mountain watch this snowboard tutorial on steeps and alignments.

There is a resort in town called snow king that we could see from our hotel. The town has a great vibe and is fun. We drove up to the village catching some amazing views. When Jackson Hole gets tons of snow conditions are epic.

It’s important to really move fore and aft on your snowboard in these conditions. Build up your fore and aft riding skills before you get into powder and steep mountains. Jackson is one of the steepest mountains around having over 4,000 feet of vertical from the top of the tram to the base. To help you train yourself to move fore and aft on your snowboard watch the snowboard video Dolphin Turns.

This progression will help you move towards the front of your board at the beginning of your turn then to move towards the tail at the end of your turn using your whole board as it was meant to be used. Your core is moving fore and aft from edge to edge making a circular motion. Start to flow down the mountain with more rhythm getting dynamic on your snowboard. You can submit video clips to get movement analysis back of your riding by clicking here taking you to Flowing Freeride.

I strongly recommend that you ride Jackson Hole, Wyoming at least once to see what we saw. We met some cool people at Franco Custom Snowboards and you should check out their shop. It takes a bit of a drive through steep passes to get there but it’s worth it. Riding with other high skilled riders pushes you to ride more aggressive. This will improve your riding. Seeing how others ride the mountain and the lines they take will train your eye to survey the terrain. I hope that the snow gods are sending snow to your mountain. 2019 is off to a great start! You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard right online with flowingfreeride.com. My name is Blake Tholen Clark Contact Me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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Learn Snowboard Carving

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This online snowboard lesson will go over Snowboard Basic Carving. Carving is something you want to be able to do so you can turn without skidding and slowing you down. You want to be able to carry that speed to get you through flat terrain. Carving is when the back foot follows the exact same path as the front and there is no skid. You are balancing on your edge using the sidecut of the snowboard. The sidecut is a circle diameter of 8M or 10M that is cut into the board. Your edge has that diameter circle shape that makes your edge arched and not straight. This helps to make Circle Turns. That’s what we’ll be working on in this snowboard drill. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over proper snowboard alignments, movements & techniques to get you flowing with freeride carving rhythm. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard safety on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; Building Rhythm, Advanced Snowboarding Getting Air, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, Advance Snowboard Lesson: Dropping Cliffs, Snowboarding Off Piste, Snowboarding Chutes, Snowboard Lesson Navigating Trees & Obstacles, Active Passive Absorption, Upper/Lower Body Separation, Eruo Surfer Carves, Basics For Freestyle Features, Advance Snowboard Carving: Surfer Turns & Grab Carves, Funnel Turns For Navigating Obstacles, Snowboard Jibbing & Snowboarding Moguls. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right! Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right!

When you start carving find mellow terrain. You don’t want it to be too steep because it’s hard to hold your edge on steeper terrain and it should be very wide to make big turns. It should have no obstacles on it and very low traffic because carving takes a lot of space and you turn back up the mountain. The snowboard terrain should be groomed and flat without bumps so that you’re able to keep your balance better. Fresh groomed snow creates a firm top layer that allows you to really hold an edge and conditions are usually best for carving in the morning. The terrain choice is huge groomed, mellow slope, very wide, no obstacles and low traffic. Go out and scout your carving terrain to find these kind of conditions. Once you find this type of terrain we can start trying to practice Circle Turns.

You need to have enough speed to balance on your edge. I have my students point their boards parallel to the fall line to gain speed. Keep your snowboard flat to increase momentum. I have them start lifting their edge up bending their ankles and knees, focusing energy to these joints and balancing on their edge. Start to turn up the mountain and see how far up the mountain you can get. Your turn shape will start as a J-Turn and progress into a full Circle Turn. Try to drive your pressure directly down on your edge. That’s what you want to do. Don’t try to complicate it with extra movements. Focus in your feet and Steering From The Bottom Up and once you’re getting that you can get Dynamic Flex & Extend. Get enough speed to be able to turn up the mountain and lift your edge up keeping your ankles nice and soft. S-turns are two half circles and when you just keep turning you make Circle Turns.

It’s very important to find the correct carving terrain. I love finding fresh groomed corduroy in the morning getting the best conditions. Carving eliminates the pivot movement and the board doesn’t rotate to eliminate skidding. Balance on the edge of your snowboard using minimal movements to use your sidecut to make arching turns. You can practice efficiently and get Hooked On Snowboarding with Snowboardclass/FlowingFreeride’s techniques so go back to other snowboard videos that teach you about other snowboard equipment. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark Contact Me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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Learn About Snowboard Camber Technology

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This online snowboard lesson will go over Snowboard Camber Technology. The shape of you snowboard is the camber and the shape of your edge is your side cut. There are different types of camber shapes. There are regular shaped, reverse, hybrid and flat camber shapes. Flat and reverse shape camber are better for beginners or park riders because that shape makes it harder for you to catch edges. Regular and hybrid shaped camber are more responsive and better for holding edges for riding the whole mountain. Snowboard technologies like camber will help you ride your snowboard better with efficient movements. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over proper snowboard alignements, movements & techniques to get you flowing with freestyle rhythm. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard safety on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; Building Rhythm, Advanced Snowboarding Getting Air, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, Advance Snowboard Lesson: Dropping Cliffs, Snowboarding Off Piste, Snowboarding Chutes, Snowboard Lesson Navigating Trees & Obstacles, Active Passive Absorption, Upper/Lower Body Separation, Basic Carving: Circle Drills, Basics For Freestyle Features, Advance Snowboard Carving: Surfer Turns & Grab Carves, Funnel Turns For Navigating Obstacles, Snowboard Jibbing & Snowboarding Moguls. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right!

I love what snowboarding has brought to our winter mountains. One technology is the shape of your snowboard. Snowboarders shaped the board like a bow. When you pull back the bow it flexes and then when you release it creates a pop generating a lot of energy that is forced shooting the arrow out. What is so cool about snowboarding is that we can move fore and aft on the board and create pop. Skiers can’t do that. They are fixed on one ski with one foot. We can move fore and aft along our board to create the magic of pop. Camber technology is really intensified in our sport. Skiers can’t butter and spin like us because we can change our pivot points much easier than skiers. They have to spin from the center of their skis and god bless them, but they can’t do what snowboarders do because they don’t have two feet on one board. Camber is a fun technology that makes snowboarding skiing tons of fun and if you know how to use it if can be like unlocking a cheat code to a video game.

There are different types of camber shapes that if used correctly the snowboard snaps and reacts to providing maximum energy. Regular camber or traditional camber has a convex rise in the center. Reverse camber, banana or rocker camber is just the opposite of the that. Flat camber is just that flat and no shape. Then there are different kinds of hybrid cambers usually having regular camber under your feet and reverse between and tip/tail to foot. That’s great to know so how will that help you? If you like to ride park or a beginner then a flat or reverse camber snowboard will help you out because they’re more forgiving. The shape makes them harder to catch edges but out on the steep mountain it’s hard to hold the edge and they spin out more often. Riding the pipe and steep runs you’ll want to have a regular camber or hybrid camber shaped board. The reverse combo helps you float on the snow but I really love riding regular camber boards to rip through my turns keeping my speed.

I suggest you go out and demo boards to give you different options. While you ride other boards with different camber shape really push your riding skills to the limits. That’s how you’ll know what is different about the boards. While at the Rider Rally 2018 at Abasin we had Never Summer and Burton come out and did demos. I tired the new step on system. I got stuck to it and we had to pull out the screw driver to get be out. The boards were great and it was supper stoke to ride so many different boards. Find what shape of camber you like and start ripping! You can practice efficiently and get Hooked On Snowboarding with Snowboardclass/FlowingFreeride’s techniques so go back to other snowboard videos that teach you about other snowboard equipment. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark Contact Me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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Learn Snowboard Freestyle Basics For Jumps, Boxes & Rails

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This online snowboard lesson will go over Freestyle Basics For Snowboard Features. If you’re like me you love flowing with rhythm through your line in the park. You do not want to hesitate when hitting freestyle features because speed is what’s going to give you the momentum to get air and flow with style when doing tricks. I like to go out and practice getting tons of speed outside of the park doing flat board drills. This is where you keep your snowboard straight and flat. The snowboard follows gravity or the fall line gaining lots of speed. You want to Stay In Control but build up your confidence to get more speed. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over proper snowboard alignements, movements & techniques to get you flowing with freestyle rhythm. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard safety on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; Building Rhythm, Advanced Snowboarding Getting Air, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, Advance Snowboard Lesson: Dropping Cliffs, Snowboarding Off Piste, Snowboarding Chutes, Snowboard Lesson Navigating Trees & Obstacles, Active Passive Absorption, Upper/Lower Body Separation, Basic Carving: Circle Drills, Basics For Freestyle Features, Advance Snowboard Carving: Surfer Turns & Grab Carves, Funnel Turns For Navigating Obstacles, Snowboard Jibbing & Snowboarding Moguls. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right!

In the American system or AASI in freestyle we talk about ATML which is Approach, Takeoff, Maneuver, and Landing. Remember the acronym by thinking that having good freestyle is money and you get ‘money’ from an ‘ATM” and know your Landing or ‘L’ is always at the end. You don’t need to remember that unless you’re training to be a coach in the US. I’ve taught and trained in other countries and they have similar verbiage but once you become a full certified instructor you’re riding and teaching techniques are very similar. I like to blend all systems and use my own techniques to make my style unique. Think of your start as being a race going straight and to win you need to be the fastest. In freestyle to carry speed you don’t need to do nice carvie turns but rather we go fast and make short quick power turns or hockey stops using a lot of pivot motion because we want our upper and lower bodies to be able to seperate. Upper and Lower Body Separation allows your upper body to stay aligned to the hill and not move much while your lower body is being very dynamic. Do not hesitate and if mess up this part maybe just hit your feature next run so you don’t get hurt. The first thing to remember is a good Fast straight line coming into your feature and don’t hesitate. Go Fast.

The next part is the Ramp. You want a nice gradual ramp that shoots out and up to get nice air. You can find natural ramps on the mountain or man made ones in the backcountry or parks. When you’re on the ramp get lower bending your hips, knees and ankles more. Keep your back straight and have your upper and lower body aligned so you stay balanced as you get air. This will help you to create more lift off of the ramp and jump higher to perform the Feat. I’ve been snowboarding up at Alta, Utah and there have been a lot of people who have come out and built some ramps for jumps. They started blowing snow up there and created some snow whales that had some nice shaped ramps. I was getting some good air and spins. There are resorts open in my area out East and in Colorado. Lots of resorts are opening in the next few days.

The Feat is your Flow and Boldness. It’s the skill or trick you pull. It’s whatever you do off the ramp. It might be a box, rail, gong, mailbox, jump, grab or kicker. While I’m in the air I like to pull up my landing gear, my legs and reach down to grab my board. Folks that go off the jump out of control or off balance will a lot of the time roll down the windows throwing their arms in circles trying to get back on balance. If I’m on a box or rail I stay low and keep my snowboard flat. Start with straight airs pulling your legs up. Then start to reach down and grab your snowboard. Grabs that are on your toeside edge are easiest to begin with. Once you feel good with those start to spin frontside 180’s to begin then backside 180’s. After those you can start spinning full 360’s.

The last part is to Stomp It. We want to Stomp our landing extending into it and as we’re landing were can flex to absorb. You can land with you tail first and then nose stomping it down just how a beaver smacks its tail down on the water. We’ve all seen airplanes land when they come out of the air. We want to do that or all at once extend into the landing with both legs. Keep your snowboard flat and use to absorb the impact. The board will bend and flex which will spread out the impact of landing huge jumps. Just like at the beginning you want to keep your body aligned when you land so you don’t crash or get hurt. Landing on your edge does not allow you to spread the pressure out. You can also catch and edge if you’re not landing flat and straight. Have good technique and start on small jumps and features first and progress up to ones that are more difficult. Check out this freestyle snowboard video Getting Air for more technique.

So remember FRFS Fast, Ramp, Feat and StompIt! Those techniques will help you build up your snowboard freestyle. I like to go fast and it really helps me in the park to go fast. If you don’t already you should Wax Your Snowboard to give you that extra viscosity. You’ll be Flowing Your Freestyle soon just follow the tips. You can practice efficiently and get Hooked On Snowboarding with Snowboardclass/FlowingFreeride’s techniques so go back to other snowboard videos that teach you about other snowboard equipment. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark Contact Me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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Snowboard Responsibility Code #1 Stay In Control

Blake Tholen Clark Certified Snowboard Instructor, Flowing Freeride Online Snowboard School, Free Snowboarding Lessons, From Your Snowboard Coach, Snowboarding Tips, , , , , , , , , ,

This online snowboard lesson will go over Responsibility Code #1 Stay In Control. When you get on the mountain there is a safety code called the Skier Snowboarder Responsibility Code. There are 7 of them and the first one is the most important Staying In Control. People might think staying in control is pretty obvious but I see folks going out of control all the time. Beginners just learning how to snowboard and ski don’t know how to steer well. They might get out of control and hurt themselves or others. I don’t like it but I will usually get hit a few times every year by out of control riders or skiers. When you feel out of control slow down or stop. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over equipment to keep you safe out on the mountain. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard safety on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; Snowboard Responsibility Code #2, Snowboard Responsibility Code #3, Snowboarder Responsibility Code #4 Look Uphill, Snowboard Responsibility Code # 5, #6 Obey All Signs, Snowboard Responsibility Code #7, Beginner Snowboard Lesson on Steering, Toeside Heelside Stance, Learn How To Ride The Lifts Safely, How to Snowboard: Balance Twist & Beginner Snowboard Stance. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right!

People started coming to my snowboard lessons years ago saying they learned how to snowboard watching YouTube videos. I couldn’t believe some of the info that they were coming to class with. A lot the advice and techniques were totally the opposite of correct techniques. That’s what prompted me to create Flowing Freeride Pro Snowboard Lessons an online snowboard school. I wanted to teach proper techniques through snowboard video tutorials that would be a perfect companion to real snowboard lessons. My techniques are going to be similar to the lessons at resorts. I want my students to come to my snowboard lessons having the right knowledge. I also want everyone to have some basic knowledge of safety on the mountain to prevent injuries. I love snowboarding and don’t want some gaper to hurt me or others because they’re out of control and can’t stop. A lot of my videos teach you how to steer and stop, load the lift and to be safe. This will increase your skill levels, mastery time and keep you safe.

If you’re unable to stay in control you’re “over terraining” yourself or your going on terrain that is out of skill level. You need to be on a run with less slope. If you can’t steer or stop in the learning area then don’t go up the lift and expect you’ll be able to stop there. I’m on the mountain almost everyday during the season and I usually get hit a few times every year. It sucks but there are idiots out on the mountain. I use all my senses especially hearing when I can’t see. If I hear the sound of someone near me I put me head on a swivel and brace for impact. I look uphill a lot for my protection. Looking Uphill Is #4 of the Code and is something you should do to keep safe. I will stop people that are out of control and will take their pass when I’m in uniform. If I see they are just struggling because of their skill level I will recommend they take a lesson, give them my info to FFR Pro Snowboard Lessons Online and then help them down the run safely. Most people don’t work on the mountain so if you do see erratic behavior call ski patrol, talk to mountain safety or a lift operator.

I know where traffic is going to be when I’m out on the mountain. Near the bottom where the lift line starts is always heavy traffic. It’s where trails funnel together and merge. Be extra careful in these areas. Most trail maps do having warnings on the map where there’s high traffic or slow areas. Look if you’re going out of control Review Lessons On Steering and private lessons helps a ton. Take your time when making turns and don’t force it, let it flow naturally. You’ll be Flowing Freeride soon just follow the instructions. You can practice efficiently and get Hooked On Snowboarding with Snowboardclass/FlowingFreeride’s techniques so go back to other snowboard videos that teach you about other snowboard equipment. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark Contact Me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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All Mountain/Freeride Snowboards And Asymmetrical Snowboards

Blake Tholen Clark Certified Snowboard Instructor, Flowing Freeride Online Snowboard School, Free Snowboarding Lessons, From Your Snowboard Coach, Snowboard Gear Reviews, Snowboarding Tips, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This online snowboard lesson will go over Freeride Snowboards. There are different technologies in a Freeride Snowboard that make this ride the whole mountain more efficiently. The three main types of snowboards are Alpine, Freestyle and Freeride. Freestyle Boards are shorter and softer in flex to get spins around faster and to absorb with forgiveness while Alpine Boards are longer for more response, not as wide for quick edge change and stiffer to hold an edge in harder snow conditions. Freestyle Snowboard stances usually are wider with a ‘duck stance’ or your feet angles are pointing towards nose and tail like 12º, -12 so they can use a full range of motion to absorb landings and jump of kickers. Alpine Snowboard stances are sharp towards the nose like 70º, 67º to be able to carve and switch edges quickly. Freeride Snowboard stances are a combo of these two styles picking out the best attributes. A lot of snowboarders like freeriding because you can ride the whole mountain hitting trees, moguls, cliffs, park, pipe, off piste, groomers, etc., Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over equipment technologies to teach you how to get the best gear. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard weather and equipment to bring on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; What To Wear Snowboarding, Demo Boards, Snowboard Camber, Building Rhythm, Advanced Snowboarding Getting Air, Snowboard Freestyle Boards, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, & How To Size Your Snowboard. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right!

Asymmetrical Snowboards can be wider with softer flex in the front or nose and then more narrow with stiffer flexin the tail. It’s shaped like an ‘A’ and it tapers down being wider at the beginning and narrow at the end. This will help you plow through the crud conditions and in powder to ride up on top and float to make it easier to ride. These boards are directional and meant to go one way more efficiently. You can ride them switch or fakie but they won’t perform the same way. You can have an asymmetrical sidecut, your heelside edge has a deeper sidecut to lock you into your carves better by giving you more leverage or similar to your toeside carves. On my toeside I eliminate one more angle by extending my hips instead of flexing like on my heelside thus creating more leverage on my toeside edge. These type of snowboards are ‘A Sym Twins’ or twin tip in every way except you have a designated heelside edge weather you’re riding goofy or regular. This snowboard is great for freestyle but I want to include it with freeride boards too. You don’t need to have an asymmetrical snowboard for it to be a freeride snowboard and the Asymmetrical Twin Tip is great for freestyle. I do like to ride twin tip snowboards but when I’m out riding the whole mountain or freeriding I set my bindings back a bit so that I have a longer nose and shorter tail. When you set your bindings back or the holes are already set back then it’s a directional twin. I’ll talk about sidecuts in a second. This let’s me ride powder and crud a bit better by staying on top of the snow and not sinking in.

Freeride Snowboards or All Mountain Snowboards usually ride better through bumps, trees, off piste conditions and at high speeds because they’re longer and stiffer flex. The sidecut is usually set back a bit, off-centered or it doesn’t start arching back out in the center of the snowboard. A few centimeters back from the center is when the sidecut starts heading back out. This gives you a better solid ride when you’re riding the board directionally with your bindings set back along on your snowboard and that’s why you sidecut is set back, off-centered. You lose that when riding switch because now you have a short nose and long tail. The technologies of an All Mountain let you ride the whole mountain efficiently in one direction and you’re still able to ride backwards or fackie fairly well also.

Freestyle Snowboards that are shorter for quicker rotation and softer flex to absorb landings and tricks. They are True Twin Tips with same flex patterns at the nose and tail. The sidecut is not set back it arch back out right in the center of the snowboard and the binding holes are also centered. This makes the snowboard ride and perform exactly the same no matter if you’re going goofy or regular.

All Mountain Snowboards are going to have regular camber or hybrid camber in them. If you’re on a reverse cambered board you won’t hold an edge as well and you butter very easily. Banana boards are reversed cambered great for freestyle, tricks, butters and less likely to catch an edge which is a huge plus to beginners. I have to really lift my edge higher on my back leg to hold a carve, my movement patterns differ on reverse camber boards. I like to ride regular camber boards for the edge control, flex patterns, speed and pop from edge to edge. Hybrid camber gives a combo of both and helps you float more in powder conditions. There are different technologies in different types of snowboards. Know what type of camber your board has, how big is the sidecut and if it’s off-centered or directional, the shape and flex patterns are all technologies that can make your riding look better. You can practice efficiently and get Hooked On Snowboarding with Snowboardclass/FlowingFreeride’s techniques so go back to earlier snowboard videos that teach you about other snowboard types and gear. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark contact me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.