The STW Ski & Snowboard thread. The 2015-2016 season

Off to Flaine for half term with 3 kids, driving to keep costs to merely exorbitant. Really looking forward to being there if not to the drive.

That’s the plan. I expect 15yr old inners aren’t as plump as once they were.

I can definitely recommend Courchevel 1850 for anyone lunching on a budget in the 3V

How bad is it there these days? I’m off there in a couple of weeks. Been to 3V a few times before so know roughly what to expect, has been about 5 years since we last visited though.

How did I miss that stance thread? 😆

I can confirm (having ridden with him a few times) that Neil McNab does indeed ride duck! As does every other high-level snowboard coach I’ve ridden with.

RE: new boots. A copy of Le Dauphine in the bar has given me the inkling of a cunning plan, Baldrick…

How did I miss that stance thread?

I know .. I know … I can’t believe I missed it either … do you reckon there’s any mileage left in resurrecting it – purely for the comedy value? 😉

And yeah – I can also confirm that Neil McNab rides ‘duck’ – having borrowed his boards on a few occasions I’ve had to swap the bindings from his goofy stance to my regular stance … although I ride with a wide(ish) stance, it’s not as wide as Neil’s!

do you reckon there’s any mileage left in resurrecting it – purely for the comedy value?

I dunno – tempting but bluehelmet went very quiet when I posted that video still of McNab clearly riding duck last season.

Mind you he did call me his “duck riding friend” in the doctors on strike thread a couple of weeks ago, so he clearly remembers it 😀

Neil McNab does indeed ride duck! As does every other high-level snowboard coach I’ve ridden with.

Just a thought: I’m guessing there’s a lot more emphasis on switch riding for instructors (both in the the courses they take and the courses they teach) compared to e.g. me, who’s never been much of a freestyle kid and doesn’t ride switch very often (or regular either, to be honest!)

Is there still a benefit from ducked stance in a front-foot-forward turn?

Awesome day today. Un jour de petit peuf ((c) wallop 2016) so we headed over to Les Arcs and played in the trees – my first lengthy foray into some low key off piste stuff. Quite funny ending up on the VTT trails we ride in the summer 😆

Beautiful day.

Is there still a benefit from ducked stance in a front-foot-forward turn?

Good question! My first thoughts are that it probably depends!

From my own perspective I ride +21 / -6. I will often tweak +/- 3 on the rear as a season progresses depending on where/what I’m riding and any muscle aches/pains/niggles.

In theory if I were to amend my angles to say +27 / 0 then this should just open up my downhill view more (as I’m looking over my shoulder less).
However what happens is I end up twisting my body, bringing my right (rear) arm round more and I can no longer carve/finish turns properly as my body isn’t aligned with the board.

If I return to ‘duck’ (with the same 27 degree difference) I can ride properly again.

So I would say yes, for me – there is still a benefit from ducked stance in a front-foot-forward turn, although that’s possibly more to do with learned behaviour /muscle memory than much else

Is there still a benefit from ducked stance in a front-foot-forward turn?

I was a life-long (OK, age 19 – 29!) forward stance rider before I saw the light… (Terje stance 21 / 9 but 27/12 on my freeride board ‘cos I was SO freeride!). 😆

I’m a full duck convert these days, can’t imagine riding any other way. Even raced SBX duck last year (savouring my many victories in the over-30’s, duck-stance category!).

There’s no right or wrong, but, for me, there are some fundamental differences in technique between the two stances. With a forward stance, it becomes hard to ride in a low position without rotating/breaking at the waist. This tends to mean a more active upper body and dropping the hip in to get edge angle on the board. It’s also harder to twist/pedal the board.

In a duck stance, the upper body can remain more neutral and you are (or should be….) very stacked over the heel edge to stay super-stable and really get some pressure on the edge.

The have pros and cons really. For the purest carved turn, with no torsion in the board (e.g. on a race carving setup which will be ludicrously torsionally stiff anyway), there’s little advantage to duck, forward stance might even have some pluses. In tighter, steeper terrain, the stronger stance and easier pedalling of duck has advantages.

Most of the SBX dudes were riding a forward stance, I wasn’t going to switch right before dropping into a race track! I reckon forward might have had the edge in the corners, duck on the jumps and rollers.

Digby – your post went up while I was still writing mine! Interesting that we’ve (more or less) said the same thing re. twisting. I just got of my seat and tried it – stand with feet in a forward stance and try to squat low – it’s really hard without twisting!

I started with an 18, -9 duck stance and I’m now riding 15 / -15 mega-duck. Originally tried this to encourage me to sort out a flaw in my riding (back knee collapsing in) and just stuck with it.

Just to add to my post above – the pedalling side of things is not just a minor add-in for me, it’s incredibly powerful. Adding a counter-pedal to tighten up the radius and finish up turns has transformed my riding. If I could just sort out the first bit of the turn, I might even pass that damn exam…

Oh yeah – ludicrous face-shots up the top in Sainte Foy today!

Vis was coming and going though. Managed to get lost in an area I know like the back of my hand and ended up down-climbing a cliff with snowboard for crampons! Fortunately, there were trees to hold on to.

With a forward stance, it becomes hard to ride in a low position without rotating/breaking at the waist. This tends to mean a more active upper body and dropping the hip in to get edge angle on the board. It’s also harder to twist/pedal the board

Yeah stevomcd – but you said it much more eloquently! 🙂

It’s the ‘breaking at the waist’ for sure.

I’m guessing there’s a lot more emphasis on switch riding for instructors (both in the the courses they take and the courses they teach)

Yeah, there is, but most of those guys just have freestyle built in as part of their riding. Popping a spin into the middle of a powder run is second nature.

Obviously you have to be able to ride switch fairly well to teach people who ride in the opposite stance from you too.

I got some new Flow Talon Focus boots for last week.
Incredibly stiff the first few days, had to really adapt my riding as they simply didn’t flex forward at all.
End of the week they’ve softened up a bit and are fantastic. Totally waterproof, still plenty stiff for piste blasting, but worked great in the park too.
On the stance thing, I changed to +12 -12 last year to focus on riding switch more, it’s been great, much better at switch (so I can do little 180s), no hip pain.
I’ve also bought a new Skate Banana 159W. Loads of edge grip in icy or hard packed stuff, only tried a little off piste but seemed good, combined with Flow NX2 bindings which have a couple of degrees tilt in towards your hips. Really comfy setup.
Back out to Austria for half term, can’t wait.

Managed to get some freshies today in some nice powder at Montgenevre which I totally wasn’t expecting. Good day to switch to the snowboard. Few nice little lips to jump off and some fun stuff through the trees. My impression of this area remains that they are a bit slack with their route marking, mapping and attempts to keep all the pistes open where possible though.

Nice pic.

Only a few moments of blue in PDS today. But snapped mossettes catching some sun.

And a mandatory no-mates selfie with regulation STW bobble hat. Looking over to Switzerland. It’s a fine hat by the way.

I’ll keep an eye out for the hat when we are in Morzine in a few weeks 😆

Unfortunately for you, the lesser spotted super hat won’t be in full plumage again until the end of March.

Booooooooo.

Anyone looking for some last minute half term action? Reasonably priced flights here… http://www.rocketski.com/flight-only

How bad is it there these days? I’m off there in a couple of weeks. Been to 3V a few times before so know roughly what to expect, has been about 5 years since we last visited though.

Re1850…there are a few places around at normal prices. Even the swanky Cap Horn above the airport has a burger bar at the front that does a top burger and fries for 15 euros. My best meals were all at Bouc Blanc though . Great food and service at reasonable prices. (Loved the Tartiflet!

The omelettes at Bouc Blanc are enormous, must be 5 eggs in them, and only 14 Euros.

You can eat for 15 euro at the Fole Douce (sp?) at the buffet too if you’re into that sort of thing, the show was pretty good the day we went.

If it’s a nice day then lunch on the veranda at Chenus is fab but closer to 20 euro per head. The sun doesn’t go of the balcony until nearly 3pm so a late one misses the crowds.

Only 14 euros for an omelette? Wow. 🙂

Nowhere in a French ski resort is reasonable IME.

Off to Zell am See tomorrow – yes a bit of a gentle place but my Partner’s first attempt at Skiing…

Wish me luck… 😯

Bit shit here.

EDIT: not as shit as my photo posting attempts.

Anyone know why imgur images aren’t posting?

Try their bb code link with the img tags already included. The direct link doesn’t seem to work for me.

Another lovely peuf day today. We were reminded of Stevo earlier when we saw a golden eagle soaring above Peisey – Stevo reckons you know you’ve seen a golden eagle when you go “****!!! It’s a golden eagle!” 😆

Yeh, if you ask yourself “is that an Eagle” its not.

Big old birds

Ooorsum day today.

Decided to retrace the route I took by MTB last summer. Châtel was fantastic, round into Switzerland, Morgins, Champoussin, Les Crosets and back over into Lindarets.

I’m knackered.

Chuffed with my board handling though, but heel lift getting to be a problem on the snappiness (and a 164 board needs all the snappiness you can muster, it’s like steering a ship) . You won’t believe how hard it is finding insoles in size 13 in France. Sheesh. But have managed to find some.

Last time I was over this bit in châtel 14yrs ago, we had to get a chopper to take a mate off the hill after a quality spill off piste.
Oddly they have since roped off “Rob’s Folly”. Can’t imagine why…

Stoner – these might help if you can find them.

Nordica ski boot heel retainers

I got some from TSA for a fiver

Cheers, igm, they look exactly the solution. If the insoles don’t work I’ll track a pair down

Tongue in cheek there I hope DD. Or did you spend the day on Ours Bleu?

Absolutely LD! Had beautiful conditions today. A foot of new snow. Blue skies. No wind. Even managed a bit of off-the-side-of-the-piste to link up with Mrs DD on her blue runs. You’ll have a blast here next week.

We were reminded of Stevo earlier when we saw a golden eagle soaring above Peisey – Stevo reckons you know you’ve seen a golden eagle when you go “****!!! It’s a golden eagle!”

Top mountain-leadery advice that! Same applies to Crows vs Ravens.

That said, you do see vultures around Peisey way occasionally. Also **** enormous – bigger wingspan than the eagles, but not so chunky. And with a big vulturey neck / head /beak.

Heading out to Peisey on Sunday, can’t wait. Snow looks like it’s should be okay.
looked like a nice day out there today, should have been working but did have few cheeky looks on the webcams.

I’m sure Edumakator can confirm, but I’d imagine the Pyrenean resorts to be good for Vultures and Eagles.

At least I saw enough out there for them to become normal. That wasn’t in resort mind you.

https://stopheellift-com.myshopify.com/

Bit late now, but for when your back.

Saw quite a lot of eagles and vultures in Namibia. They are reasonably easy to tell apart IMO mainly because vultures usually look quite scratty. 🙂 The head/neck shape is distinctive too.