Last Updated24 June 2024

Exploring Intermediate Turns looks at different activities and progressions that will help to guide a student’s understanding and skills while exploring a more active stance and blending of their movements, early edging and increased performance and the benefits of switch riding. We will also look at where and when to use these skills on the different terrain that students will encounter as they progress.

This begins with learning how a more active position on the board will allow greater movement options to develop as a rider. Students will start to explore more challenging groomed terrain, develop earlier edging skills and the confidence to ride with more performance. In addition to this, introducing switch riding will help the student to become more versatile, enabling more options as they begin to explore freestyle and freeride skills. As students progress it is important to analyse and adapt the content and pathways to best suit their development and outcomes.

Exploring New Terrain & Early Edging

What, Why, How

Apply turn size and shape to the mountain’s varied groomed terrain, learn to change edges earlier in the turn as speed and performance start to increase.

Riding more of the mountain while being able to change edges early will help develop options for riding at higher speed and more challenging terrain.

Exploring New Terrain

Before heading down steeper, more varied groomed terrain, review how to make different size and shape turns on a green run, with a focus on a smaller closed turn.

To get used to steeper terrain, start with a floating leaf using an active stance to allow a little more movement up and down in the knees and hips on heels and ankles and knees for toes. Feel how much more edging is needed to slow down and control speed by focusing on the increase in pressure under the balls of feet or the heels depending on the edge.

When confident to try turns, use smaller closed turns to help with speed control. Stronger (and possibly larger) steering movements with the front knee, hip and shoulder, blended with the flexing movement will help steer the board smoothly as the edge angle increases on steeper terrain. Use a short traverse to recentre and control speed to begin with.

Explore the blend and amount of movement stationary when appropriate.

Open turns with a lower active stance on flat terrain will help to stay balanced and maintain speed. Try to keep the upper body just over the edge being ridden and use subtle movement focused in the ankles and knees. Open turns and larger turns can be used to increase speed when required and as confidence grows.

Example

Encourage decision making from the students, matching up the appropriate size turn to the changing pitches in the slope while trying to maintain a similar speed. Larger or open turns on flatter sections and smaller more closed turns on steeper terrain. Using banks to help change the size of the turn or reduce speed helps the student to understand how they can use terrain to their advantage.

Early Edge Changes

On an open green run, make a series of medium/large closed turns and notice when the edge change is happening. It may already be before the fall line.

Using the same turns, focus on how long the up or extension movement is to change edges compared to the down or flexing movement after the edge change. An earlier edge change can be achieved by moving up and over the board a little faster allowing the board to flatten and change edges earlier in the turn. Then flexing for longer to increase the edge and progressively steer the board.

As confidence grows shorten the time it takes to change edges so edge change happens more across the hill than down the hill. As the board starts to change edges earlier there is often an increase in speed so it is important to finish turns across the hill. Now it's time to start attempting earlier edge changes with medium/small turns, then try them on slightly steeper terrain.

Hop Tip

Looking back uphill and checking tracks to see where the edge change is happening is a great way to analyse and measure the success of the activity. It can also create a starting point to adjust and make changes to achieve an even earlier edge change.

Movements & Board Performance

Vertical & Lateral with Pressure & Edging

An increase in flexing movement through ankles and knees on toeside and knees and hips on heelside in the control and completion of the turn will be required to deal with the increase in pressure on steeper terrain. Along with a progressive lateral (angulated) movement to help edge the board more to the increased pitch of the slope. Maintaining relaxed ankles with an active stance will make it easier for the rider to make fine-tuning adjustments. Timing of these movements will change to faster extension and slower flexion as the rider starts to change edge earlier.

Rotational with Steering

Stronger and larger rotational movement focused through the front knee and hip may be required to steer the board effectively relative to the amount of edging, the size of the turn, the terrain being ridden and the speed the rider is travelling. All rotational movements should be timed smoothly and blended with vertical movements. Turning the head and lead shoulder a little throughout the turn will help with rotational alignment and visibility.

Longitudinal

Fore/aft movements should remain in a centred position to help maintain effective vertical, lateral and rotational movements.

Example

Think of the way we apply edging and steering of the board to a set of scales. Lots of edging and not much steering and the turns become fast and large. Lots of steering and not much edging and the turns become smaller and slower. As we ride new terrain we should aim for equal amounts of both, so our turns feel balanced and controlled and so the scales don’t tip too far either way.

Terrain & Group Management

Mileage with feedback is key to progressing students at this stage. Students can begin to develop inefficiencies if they are over challenged on new terrain and some students may become anxious and afraid. The ‘old task on new terrain’ theory is a good way to ease students into new and more challenging terrain. Remember to analyse students often and be prepared to adapt your lesson plan into correctional focuses, as new terrain will often highlight issues in the students’ stance or movement patterns that were not obvious on easier terrain.

There may be more hazards in the newly explored terrain, as well as higher traffic areas with people travelling at faster speeds. Safe stopping points at the sides of runs and very visible from above should be used. Let students know to slow down well before they are about to stop with the rest of the group.

Corrective Teaching

Rider picks up too much speed in the steeper sections:

Review closed turns and how to steer the board across the hill.

Try skidded traverses to get the appropriate lateral and longitudinal balance for the end of the turn. This can also be used to find the appropriate amount of edging for the completion of the turn.

Steered traverses can help with effective initiation and steering movements.

Jigsaw turns, where the board travels back uphill, will help to control the speed through over finishing or closing the turn.

Setting focal points at the side of the run will help encourage the student to steer the board across the hill.

Rider slows down too much or catches edge on flat terrain:

Review open turns on easy green terrain and set focal points down the hill.

Talk about how riding a completely flat board in some snow conditions can lead to edge catches.

Introduce a small edge roll task down the fall line focused in the ankles while the upper body remains relaxed and balanced.

Self Reflection

“Were my students ready to attempt more challenging terrain with confidence?”

“Are they able to control their speed on varied and steeper blue runs?”

“Do they understand the benefits of an earlier edge change?”

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