How to go fast snowboarding?

Question

how do I go fast snowboarding? I can, its just I have fallen hard going fast before and knocked my self out and now im kinda scared to go to fast. Any advice?

Answer 1

do NOT push yourself to go too fast.  at first just go slow with the right foot in front then, break alittle, then go with left foot in front, then break a little.  then try this a bunch of times.  then try going  a bit longer with each foot in front, and you will gather velocity, hence the speed.  make SURE you know how to break and turn becuase i have a dear friend who was just on a balck diamond and is VERRRRYY good at snowboarding and she was going too fast and ran and knocked herself out of the tree.  

LIttle stpes myfreind, little steps.

hope you get better soon!!!

Answer 2

Believe it or not, it is possible to go fast and still turn.  It's called carving!  Carving is when you leave a fine line in the snow by every point along the edge of the board passing over the same point in the snow.  The opposite of carved turns is skidded turns where the line left is very thick and it's almost like the board is spredding the snow.  I love the analogy of a knife:  a knife can cut and a knife can spread.  Keep the snowboarding cutting through the snow and you will be able to maintain your speed.  Yes, you can pick up speed by pointing the board straight down on a flat board, but most modern boards are designed to be on edge and designed to turn.  I'd hate to be going fast straight down on a flat board when one of those edges works like it's supposed to and grabs!  Also, having an edge on the snow versus the flat board offers much less surface area in contact with the snow and less resistance even if you have great wax.

After that is all said, I don't reccomend going straight down especially if you aren't in control.  You will end up hurting yourself or someone else.  Just my opinion.

Answer 3

yes i know what you mean, you just have to try and get passed that

make sure you have strong turns, and make them with confidence so that if you feel like you are getting out of control you are able to stop, which may help getting over the nervousness

as for how to go fast, just try and make as few turns as possible and have your board pointing down for a lot of the time, until you feel yourself going out of control

Answer 4

The guy above me said go straight and don't turn if you don't have to.

Actually, you should do some carving or shallow linked turns to avoid your board from catching or noodling.  The key is to have your turns just hard enough to keep on one edge-ish, but not so much that you lose speed.  It's hard to understand.  You could probably go faster without this, but it'll be a lot more unstable.  Look at all the pros on big mountain riding.  How often do you see them blasting straight down?  I've only seen one shot, and I don't even know how long he held it.  They're almost always making little corrections and turns here and there.

Go to the point where you get scared, then go a little more.  Then slow down and repeat.  You'll get used to it.

Make sure you have a nicely waxed base to get the smoothest ride, and make sure your bindings have you strapped tightly to your board.  That way you'll have better control.

Check this out:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rd8AJdcnw4A

That's Terje Haakonsen riding moutain 7601, the steepest in Alaska with a slope of about 60-65 degrees.  Does it look like he's going straight down?

Oh and he's also one of the most respected riders in the snowboarding world if you're wondering.

Answer 5

Get a good wax job & a base grind so the bottom of your board is as friction-free as possible. Stay on an edge without making any sharp turns, just to an occasional tail check to stay in control. And, obviously, make sure your board is the right length for your weight & riding style.

And go shred it !

Answer 6

A few things:

You can go straight down the mountain, only turning when you must.  You do however stay on an edge, and go slightly from edge to edge to keep control of your board.  This is the way to go fastest and stay in control of your board.

There is a time and place for riding flat based without being on an edge, which is generally when approaching a jump or feature.  It is not for just going down the mountain, unless you are trying to either pick up speed or not loose speed (such as a flat is coming up)

AND THE REASON TERJE IS CARVING on that video is because he is on a steep open face of powder, so he is turning so he doesn't get caught up in his slough (the mini-avalanche stuff chasing him) not because you aren't supposed to go straight when going fast.  

And it is a very steep slope, so yes, he may be trying to make sure he doesn't go too insanely fast as well. As well, with big mountain riding like that you have to pick a line and stick to it, which also requires turning.  

But very few of us will ever ride what Terje rides, so for the majority of us, we can think of going fast as going straight, shifting ever so slightly from edge to edge to keep control of your board.  

You also have to keep your knees bent and not locked.  You will have to be able to absorb the bumps when they come.  If your knees are locked or too straight, the bumps will just bounce you on your butt.  

Also, the faster you go, the more little bumps are going to make you airborne, even more of a reason to have your knees bent and not locked, so you can absorb the landing.  

When you get really serious about going fast, you will want a stiffer board.  It will be more solid at high speeds.

Answer 7

go strait and don't turn unless you really have to.