Tbh Steep chutes are a lot more fun on skis on most days... but honestly any pow day makes up for it cus nothing beats the surfy feeling of pow on a board. Steep chutes are fun w pow
Yeah, trusting your edge while riding powder is all well and dandy but if you're riding double black diamond at a resort then you'll often encounter some icy patches where your edge will give in, so I would practice more to carve on icy patches
Lib tech boards featuring magne traction should help, or so they claim. I got an ejack knife and am gonna try it in 10 days on rough steep terrain. I really don't know how it'll turn out for me but I'm hopeful
I've definitely never ridden any back country nor double black diamond, and I do intended to get to this skill level one day, as im sure its exhilarating. However something about these twisty counter rotated turns just doesn't seem all that fun. But maybe I'll understand it once I try my first one. Thanks for the tips Kevin!
The counter rotated turns are a nice tools to have and know, but definitely shouldn't be use for every turns even on steepest terrains, your lower body have much more direct and responsiveness to get that but to turn around (and not to swing it around). But when holding a pole to record, it's hard not to do them to keep the camera fairly stable.
i try to visualize myself snowboarding like a grandfather clock, my front foot is the top torsion pivot point/weight, and my bottom foot is the pendulum. i tick and tock and draw and S in my mind of where i want to go. i live in Jhole so it has helped me a lot with the steep steeps. keep your weight on your back foot does wonders. still haven’t done corbets yet as i see it on this video.
Thanks for this Video! If you are new to double blacks (like me), one thing to remark is to never try this on icy conditions, always in good conditions (and it can be so much fun!). All these techniques won't work and you will just slide all the way down. Cheers and have a safe ride!
Speaking of steep runs you should look into Taos NM if you haven’t already. It’s a pretty cool resort in the southern Rockies. More skier dominant but it’s got some great expert terrain and is definitely a hidden gem that isn’t talked about very often.
hey! love the video. very helpful breakdown. One of the biggest issues I have on double blacks is that on my heel edge, I get A LOT of heel chatter. To the point where I lose control, picking up speed and bouncing down the snow. Any tips on what Im doing wrong? (I dont get heel chatter on blues or blacks, maybe get them once or twice on blacks but its extremely rare.) Im not sure if its my form or equipment set up? I have jones all mountain twin 157cm, burton cartel M mounted on the reference point and + - 15 angle.
@@homealone5087 hm thanks for the info. I think Im bending my knees but perhaps not enough and Ill keep it in mind next time. I've seen those other videos and I normally dont have this issue on other less steep runs so I was confused.
@@homealone5087 I'll definitely consider this, thanks! To clarify, for me, I get the chatter the second I switch over to heel edge and I try to slow myself down. Do you squat down with your body still over the board or leaning slighly off the board?
@@homealone5087 Okay yah thats what I figured. I know the basics of carving, I just thought it might be slightly different on the double blacks because I am doing the "standard" form but getting the heel chatter. Hm, I know lessons are solid but not sure, I feel like I dont want to use that money. Im a pretty advanced rider, riding for a while now, its just the struggles I have on the double blacks. And yes, I know even advanced riders need lessons but I also enjoy the learning process. Its fun trying to figure it out yourself and learning more in the process. I'm also watching a lot of Ryan Knapton videos and trying to perfect carving like does.
There's just a lot more joints in your toes, feet, and ankles to control your edge on your toe side. Just like it's really difficult to stand and jump using just your heels. One tip I learned is that it helps to pay attention to where other people (locals) are going.... I went down a double black a couple years ago that no one was going down and quickly learned why because the snow was really horrible on that particular face that day. Made for a really bad time....
Think about your balance without the board on your feet. Are you more balanced & athletic on your toes with knees bent? Or on your heels? Our bodies are designed this way.
You can boot out on your heel cups too easily on the steeps, particularly if its a bit icy, trust me, I took a 100ft slide like this in Bella Cola, scariest few moments of my life!
@Dale I assume that he meant stance-wise, it is more stable to be on your toes. But I'm with you on that, and what I think my problem is that I'm more confident when I'm facing down the mountain rather than facing up the mountain
I find better control on toes, but that is balanced by better down-hill visibility on heels. So it depends which is more important in each situation. And there is so much variability in each situation - ice, snow conditions, how dangerous a fall would be right here, etc. - that it's not always the same answer.
I am good at goofy foot carving but not at all good at regular foot carving.i never tryed,but love going down fluffy snow instead of packed snow even though I've went down packed snow.i need to know how to carve to the right
Great video, as always. Just a point - the music a little less loud please. Just was distracting to what you were saying. Look forward to the next one.
I was in Alaska just last week, and when turning my nose would sink in a little and I would fall over my nose and roll. Would this be a technique issue or just a part of the fact that the board I rented was a clapped out noodle?
I personally hate runs like this on my snowboard - like someone else here pointed out, it’s not fun, it’s just survival. There’s no flow to it, and I prefer more surfy riding. That being said, if you ride with skiers, you’ll often find yourself on terrain like this, so it’s good to know how to handle it when it arises.
Ride Pig line up. However, if you’re booting out on your toe edge on steeps, you’re using the wrong technique. You should be smearing your turns and not carving.
For blue and green, i wouldn't turn my body much, I would only switch my board with a weight shift. If you exhaust all the trick that on blue, you will find it hard to ever go on black.
Yeah you don’t want to be building counter rotation as a habit on blues and greens. Can be useful to swing the board around quickly on steeps, save it for that.
Usually love your content but I think some of this is bad advice. Turning the top of your body too much makes turning it back around the other way way harder. Doing it this way means you have to swing your entire body around while you accelerate becoming unstable and out of control. Don’t think this is the best way to help people learn. Xavier De Le Rue has a much better video on how to stay in control on massive steeps.
Facts! There’s a difference between surviving and thriving. This just a higher level equivalent of a novice counter rotating their body down the hill with little to no actual turn shape.
Technique here is seriously flawed. These jump style turns may help you survive but this is def not the technique to aim for. Cutting out most the turn isn’t riding, it’s surviving, and there’s a big difference between the two. Key points missed in the video -less edging, smear rather than cut the snow -keep weight directly over your board and in line with your board -resist the temptation to counter rotate and jump turn -keep your lead shoulder with 20 degrees of the nose of your board -save these runs for when the snow is good and the lighting isn’t too flat.
But snowboarding super steep chutes that are all tracked up isn’t even fun. It’s just surviving.
Tbh Steep chutes are a lot more fun on skis on most days... but honestly any pow day makes up for it cus nothing beats the surfy feeling of pow on a board. Steep chutes are fun w pow
im not a massive fan of "just surviving style" of boarding either 😅🤣
But sometimes you got to ride the chutes to find the pow
Big truth. Steep is fun only on pow days. Steep&deep that is. :)
True but sometimes you just go down something to prove you can. Still a sense of accomplishment.
Personally I like huge moguls for that same reason.
The discussion of the weight distribution was super helpful, its great to see content aimed at advanced snowboarders.
Kevinne helping me get down double blacks lets gooo
You can get down then!
Yeah, trusting your edge while riding powder is all well and dandy but if you're riding double black diamond at a resort then you'll often encounter some icy patches where your edge will give in, so I would practice more to carve on icy patches
Lib tech boards featuring magne traction should help, or so they claim. I got an ejack knife and am gonna try it in 10 days on rough steep terrain. I really don't know how it'll turn out for me but I'm hopeful
@@dans2833 none of the reviewers (exactly zero so far that I’ve read) says so. It definitely does something
@@umutakyol6290 I had a LibLech with Magnatraction. It definitely works on icy conditions.
@@pangy1973can you say something about how much of a difference it made on icy terrain?
@@wishsrdk enough edge to confidently turn on ice when you'd flatline it on another board. It's designed like a bread knife.
I've definitely never ridden any back country nor double black diamond, and I do intended to get to this skill level one day, as im sure its exhilarating. However something about these twisty counter rotated turns just doesn't seem all that fun. But maybe I'll understand it once I try my first one.
Thanks for the tips Kevin!
It will when you go down riding instead of falling and conquer the thing that used to make you shit your pants.
The counter rotated turns are a nice tools to have and know, but definitely shouldn't be use for every turns even on steepest terrains, your lower body have much more direct and responsiveness to get that but to turn around (and not to swing it around). But when holding a pole to record, it's hard not to do them to keep the camera fairly stable.
If the snow is deep, there is nothing like a nice long pow slash ending w/ a face shot yeeeeee!
@@christopherwawrinofsky9334 😳
@your problem Well thats because his style of riding is deep groomer carving. That doesn't work so well on ungroomed black and double black runs.
Super helpful tips for this second season rider, thanks Kev!
Great vid Kevin Love ya buddy
That invisible stick has a shadow!
Beginner-to-intermediate progression: “Stop counter-rotating!”
Intermediate-to-expert/advanced: “Counter-rotate hard, fast, decisively, and often!”
🤭
i try to visualize myself snowboarding like a grandfather clock, my front foot is the top torsion pivot point/weight, and my bottom foot is the pendulum. i tick and tock and draw and S in my mind of where i want to go. i live in Jhole so it has helped me a lot with the steep steeps.
keep your weight on your back foot does wonders. still haven’t done corbets yet as i see it on this video.
I was waiting for this tutorial to start black slopes!
THE GOLDEN ORCA! I've been riding it in Japan this season. Solid board for these steep runs.
have you tried the regular Orca? We are headed off to Japan on Sunday with some new ones! Looking forward to trying them out!
@@Mixedbydavey I've heard good things on it. Saw someone running it a few days ago.
@@trentuglow3466 just got back from Japan on it and bro! It was a rocket and goes so hard in Japow! 🔥🔥🔥
Thanks for this Video! If you are new to double blacks (like me), one thing to remark is to never try this on icy conditions, always in good conditions (and it can be so much fun!). All these techniques won't work and you will just slide all the way down. Cheers and have a safe ride!
Christmas is always a fun time here at Aly 🤟
Speaking of steep runs you should look into Taos NM if you haven’t already. It’s a pretty cool resort in the southern Rockies. More skier dominant but it’s got some great expert terrain and is definitely a hidden gem that isn’t talked about very often.
I love Taos! Unfortunately they've gotten so expensive 😔
When you're on the steep slopes, you will have a much easier time transition edges quickly if you add a lil jump each time you go to switch. 😉
this is called "unloading up"
Not worrying about taking selfies should be on that list.
Kevin! I love your videos! I really hope to be like you someday, I'm still trying to get better at my local Washington lift 😊
hey! love the video. very helpful breakdown.
One of the biggest issues I have on double blacks is that on my heel edge, I get A LOT of heel chatter. To the point where I lose control, picking up speed and bouncing down the snow. Any tips on what Im doing wrong? (I dont get heel chatter on blues or blacks, maybe get them once or twice on blacks but its extremely rare.) Im not sure if its my form or equipment set up?
I have jones all mountain twin 157cm, burton cartel M mounted on the reference point and + - 15 angle.
@@homealone5087 hm thanks for the info. I think Im bending my knees but perhaps not enough and Ill keep it in mind next time. I've seen those other videos and I normally dont have this issue on other less steep runs so I was confused.
@@homealone5087 I'll definitely consider this, thanks! To clarify, for me, I get the chatter the second I switch over to heel edge and I try to slow myself down. Do you squat down with your body still over the board or leaning slighly off the board?
@@homealone5087 Okay yah thats what I figured. I know the basics of carving, I just thought it might be slightly different on the double blacks because I am doing the "standard" form but getting the heel chatter.
Hm, I know lessons are solid but not sure, I feel like I dont want to use that money. Im a pretty advanced rider, riding for a while now, its just the struggles I have on the double blacks. And yes, I know even advanced riders need lessons but I also enjoy the learning process. Its fun trying to figure it out yourself and learning more in the process. I'm also watching a lot of Ryan Knapton videos and trying to perfect carving like does.
There's just a lot more joints in your toes, feet, and ankles to control your edge on your toe side. Just like it's really difficult to stand and jump using just your heels. One tip I learned is that it helps to pay attention to where other people (locals) are going.... I went down a double black a couple years ago that no one was going down and quickly learned why because the snow was really horrible on that particular face that day. Made for a really bad time....
can you make more vlogs where you go on double blacks
wow the toe edge being more stable and comfortable is the exact opposite of what I've experienced.
Think about your balance without the board on your feet. Are you more balanced & athletic on your toes with knees bent? Or on your heels? Our bodies are designed this way.
You can boot out on your heel cups too easily on the steeps, particularly if its a bit icy, trust me, I took a 100ft slide like this in Bella Cola, scariest few moments of my life!
make that a 1000ft more like!
@Dale I assume that he meant stance-wise, it is more stable to be on your toes. But I'm with you on that, and what I think my problem is that I'm more confident when I'm facing down the mountain rather than facing up the mountain
I find better control on toes, but that is balanced by better down-hill visibility on heels. So it depends which is more important in each situation. And there is so much variability in each situation - ice, snow conditions, how dangerous a fall would be right here, etc. - that it's not always the same answer.
I am good at goofy foot carving but not at all good at regular foot carving.i never tryed,but love going down fluffy snow instead of packed snow even though I've went down packed snow.i need to know how to carve to the right
Snowboarding was designed for deep powder and big turns on greens. Leave the icy double blacks for the skiers.
thanks
Great video, as always. Just a point - the music a little less loud please. Just was distracting to what you were saying.
Look forward to the next one.
Thanks for the feedback Richard! Will keep that in mind for the next one!
Steeps are definitely not my favorite but somtimes whats needed to get to the good stuff. Ill go up there if there is POW haha
So is a standard black run in US the equivalent to a red run in Europe?
I was in Alaska just last week, and when turning my nose would sink in a little and I would fall over my nose and roll. Would this be a technique issue or just a part of the fact that the board I rented was a clapped out noodle?
You need lean back in powder or move your bindings toward the back of the board to help you float vs. sink.
I personally hate runs like this on my snowboard - like someone else here pointed out, it’s not fun, it’s just survival. There’s no flow to it, and I prefer more surfy riding. That being said, if you ride with skiers, you’ll often find yourself on terrain like this, so it’s good to know how to handle it when it arises.
2:31 bro got meggs'd by a snowball lol
What if you wear size 14 boots (us) and have boot drag? Custom Donek deck? I've been thinking about it. I can't ride toe edge on steeps. Help?
Ride Pig line up. However, if you’re booting out on your toe edge on steeps, you’re using the wrong technique. You should be smearing your turns and not carving.
I wear size 15 snowboard boots and use the libtech skunk ape 170 ultra wide. My feet do not drag
went snowboarding for the first time yesterday. This video makes me feel ready to hit double black diamonds 😎
lol pretty sure you'd break something or die
No. Don't. You'll die
Seeing is much different from doing
But sometimes there's mounds on steep hills that are double black diamonds so you have to use the heel method
these tips are not for beginners, this is a master level above B.
ride edge to edge (rail to rail) without running on the flat base, you'll get going real fast
this awesome
Im definitely not doing double black diamond (i have only snowboarded 6 times ever) but this advices are useful for any slope.
For blue and green, i wouldn't turn my body much, I would only switch my board with a weight shift. If you exhaust all the trick that on blue, you will find it hard to ever go on black.
Yeah you don’t want to be building counter rotation as a habit on blues and greens. Can be useful to swing the board around quickly on steeps, save it for that.
Cordets...rules :)
That man said to survive steep runs lol.
nice 🏆
When I go snowboarding I like to have fun, I don't want to be in survival mode on vacation....
When you guys hitting alyeska again 😁😁
Usually love your content but I think some of this is bad advice. Turning the top of your body too much makes turning it back around the other way way harder. Doing it this way means you have to swing your entire body around while you accelerate becoming unstable and out of control. Don’t think this is the best way to help people learn. Xavier De Le Rue has a much better video on how to stay in control on massive steeps.
Facts! There’s a difference between surviving and thriving. This just a higher level equivalent of a novice counter rotating their body down the hill with little to no actual turn shape.
watching this with no intention of going on a black diamond because I haven't even mastered by toe edge...
Or you can pull a Tex or Kelly and straight line it 😃
Me, watching this as a green run warrior.
When its fresh powder just take it straight
👌
I don't see why this is fun.
Double Ds aren’t even fun on a board… I would have to say if you’re looking for speed, go for it. If you want vibe blue/blacks are 🔥
Nope, my edges did not hold me up. Neither did my face. Nor my ass. Nor my face. Nor my ass.
Technique here is seriously flawed. These jump style turns may help you survive but this is def not the technique to aim for.
Cutting out most the turn isn’t riding, it’s surviving, and there’s a big difference between the two.
Key points missed in the video
-less edging, smear rather than cut the snow
-keep weight directly over your board and in line with your board
-resist the temptation to counter rotate and jump turn
-keep your lead shoulder with 20 degrees of the nose of your board
-save these runs for when the snow is good and the lighting isn’t too flat.
how to be a jerry on a diamond blackrun.
either send it or stop bumpinh the ride for the others who want to send i
That's just breaking throughout the sessions. Wasn't very helpful