Resorts all across the US are
FINALLY starting to open. The snow makers have been working overtime, and we
are all itching to get our gear out and snow frolic. Well, I’m stuck in
Florida…for now, BUT planes, trains, and automobiles exist for a reason. As a
Burton Snowboards employee in Florida (Yes, I sell snowboards in Florida….it’s
a real thing) the locals are starting to file in looking for new gear for the
upcoming season. It is pure torture to me! Here I am selling these rad setups
to amazing people, and all I want is to jump in their suitcase and tag along.
I was working the other day, and a
customer who had never snowboarded before was looking to get setup with some
gear. After all was said and done, he asked me for some advice – He wanted to
know how to get around to the lift without looking like a complete newbie.
I introduced him to a new term – “scooting”
Trust me, if you’re new at
snowboarding…this can be somewhat frustrating, but imperative if you want to actually get around....
Scooting is to snowboarding as
walking is to life, or beer is to a night out. Whichever way you look at it,
without scooting we would all look pretty silly stuck on a cat track like a
bunch of lemmings shot by a stun gun.
The better you are at scooting, the
faster you can get past that bit of flat and into the good stuff; it sounds
harsh but there is a real pleasure to had in using a superior scooting
technique to fly past another snowboarder.
Here are some of the tips that I
tell my customers when they ask about getting around the mountain/getting up to
the lifts.
- · The most fundamental mistake people make when scooting is to not get enough board edge into the snow. So much energy and speed are lost if your edge is just washing out all the time – you end up going more sideways than forward.
- · It might not sound cool, but a stomp pad or something similar is a massive help. Case in point: how many times have you gone to slap your back foot onto the topsheet and ended up doing some kind of John Travolta split? We sell some pretty neat stomp pads at Burton – Come stop by and pick one up!
- · There are two main ways of scooting; one using your help edge, the other using your toe edge. It’s pretty useful to be good at both, because as the terrain changes you’ll want to switch edge.
- · With your front foot strapped in, start by tilting your board and putting a little pressure on your toe edge. Keep this slight pressure on your tie edge and push off your back foot thus propelling your forward
- · As soon as you’ve got this forward momentum, flatten your board out and place your back foot smack in the front of your rear binding – lock it in there
- · The body position you’re aiming for is both knees bent together and shoulders parallel with the edge of your board. Your arms should be slightly out over the nose and tail of your board and your eyes looking forward. This will help you stay in a straight line – Keep in mind that any twisting of the upper body will immediately throw you off
- · As your momentum slows, take your back foot off and at the time get some pressure back on your toe edge by tilting the board – this will prevent your edge washing out, keep you in a straight line and maintain your speed. The more you push against the toe edge, the more speed you can create before hopping back on.
- · Getting the hang of using your edges when scooting may take a few goes but is well worth it in the end. You’ll be amazing at how much more speed you can create and how many people you will be overtaking.
And there you
have it! The fundamentals of scooting.
If you need a video, check out this informative video from a snowboarding instructor
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