Tag Archives: snowboard lesson

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Learn to Snowboard Chutes and Couloirs

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Once you get to be an advanced snowboarder L3 Ripper you’ll be riding the whole mountain with every type of terrain. Riding steep terrain can be super stoke especially when you’re using efficient movements and alignments. This online snowboard lesson will go over Steep Chute Snowboarding. A chute or couloir is a narrow corridor created by obstacles such as rocks or trees. We have some videos to prepare for steeps on our YouTube Page. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step. I recommend watching and mastering these L3 Ripper snowboard videos before riding Chutes; Building Rhythm, Upper/Lower Body Separation, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, Snowboarding Steeps & Alignments & Self Arrest Stops. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right.

You need to be very comfortable making very quick turns while keeping your board on the ground. It you have to jump turn you loose your friction or your brakes which is your edge. In steep terrain you gain speed fast so keep your board on the snow using more rotation movements and really twist your snowboard so much that your front foot is on the opposite edge of your back foot when transitioning edges. It’s also recommended being comfortable going straight and fast because some chutes are so narrow you might not be able to turn. We build up to these movements step by step. If your body isn’t perpendicular to the slope you’re leaning back. Your board, knees, hips & shoulders should be parallel to the slope. If you’re not comfortable riding steep terrain go back and practice these body movements and skills.

Go out and find steep terrain with a natural line such as trees or use the rope on the side. Draw a line in the snow that is about 5-10 feet wide. This creates a perfect chute simulation. I like to create a really narrow portion by drawing the line to be only 2-3 feet wide for a small portion of where I’m doing my chute drill. Steep Chute Snowboarding has examples and animations showing this drill. The goal is to be making all your turns within this corridor and keeping your board on the ground while turning, no jump turns. After you feel comfortable doing this go out and find real chutes/couloirs on the mountain. Remember a chute can be created by many things like rocks or trees but sometimes are formed by snow just being pushed around. This drill can help you get out of tight situations. I’ve been snowboarding before where the only way down is a chute so having this skill in your tool belt can save your snowboard from damage or prevent injury to yourself.

Experiment with your riding style and technique and you’ll be riding chutes like a pro. This video focused on riding steep narrow terrain and making quick turns. Remember the basics steer with your front foot and the back foot follows. You’ll want to be very dynamic in your riding and if you’re not watch Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend and get this movement dialed in. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, text books, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Start snowboarding right at the beginning and you’ll excel quickly. Avoid injuries by using flowingfreerdie.com & snowboardclass.com snowboard video tutorials.

 

 

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Snowboard Binding Angles

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Set your bindings angles up with your front foot more angled than your back foot. This online snowboard lesson will go over Snowboard Binding Angles. Once you’ve been snowboarding a few times you should know what binding angles you like. As a beginner you start out even with a 6º -6º or 9º -9º and stance in centered; your nose is same length as your tail. We talk about your beginner stance in an earlier video Beginner Stance. As an intermediate snowboarder you start to change your stance by moving the bindings and the angles. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right.

As you gain more experience you’ll start to play with your binding angles. You will generally want to have a more aggressive angle for your front foot. Angles are set up in increments of 3º so 3,6,9,12,15 or -3,-6,-9,-12,-15 etc., You can set your angles up to be both positive which is more like an alpine stance. Your angles maybe 30º 15º which allows for faster turning. Alpine board setups are usually around 70º 67º and it looks like a slalom water skier. This can limit your flex and extension and makes it harder to absorb landings or bumping terrain. When I’m on my alpine board I like blue groomed terrain. Most riders are on All Mountain/Freeride or Freestyle snowboards and ride with a positive angle in the front and negative angle in the back. You need to keep in mind that the total between the two angles not be more than 30º’s. For example if my front foot is at 15º the most I would allow the back foot is -15º and the total is 30º. Another example is 24º in the front and -6º in the back. So if my front foot is at 21º what is the most my back angle should be?

You may have to lift up the padding on the binding to get to your base plate. From here you can see the lines and numbers in increments of 3. There will be an arrow or line showing what angle your bindings are at. You can always play with your binding angles. There isn’t just one standard on your binding angles. If you like speed, carving and to stay on groomed terrain than your angles may be more aggressive and both positive like 33º 15º. If you’re a freestyle rider you feet will be centered and binding angles maybe mirrored in front and back like 15º -15º. This is so you can ride fakie or switch and have exact stance no matter if you’re right foot is forward or your back. An All Mountain stance is usually set back a little bit. Your nose is longer than your tail. Your binding angles are usually more aggressive in the front and back foot is at negative like 18º -12º. You can ride fakie but it’s set to go in one direction better than the other.

Experiment with your stance and binding angles. This video focused on binding angles but there is more to your stance than just angles. Your sidecut comes into factor as well but let’s focus on getting your angles set and go from there. We talk about that in other snowboard videos. Take a look at Freestyle Snowboards & Freeride Snowboards to see and understand the differences. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, text books, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Start snowboarding right at the beginning and you’ll excel quickly. Avoid injuries by using flowingfreerdie.com & snowboardclass.com snowboard video tutorials.