Stance angles for powder in the trees?

Hey gang,


This season I'm spending more time in the trees when powder is around
and I was wondering what would be the best stance angles to make better
sharp turns when the trees are tight. What about technique? Any advise?

Thanks

Use what you are used to. Nothing worse than trying to adapt a new
stance while trying to zigzag thru trees in deep pow.
Just set your stance back about 1", maybe a little more if your board
is longer than 160.
Some really good riders DON'T setback, as they just fakie when their
rear leg gets burnt out. Makes for more options, but if you're not
good riding switch, might make for meeting a tree or treewell.
I use much longer and wider boards for pow, and for tight trees,
something in between!

kike wrote:
Hey gang,
This season I'm spending more time in the trees when powder is around
and I was wondering what would be the best stance angles to make better
sharp turns when the trees are tight. What about technique? Any advise?

Thanks

Whatever angles you are most used to is probably your best bet as you
can more easily make quick, early turns when you are in a comfortable
stance. If you want to change you stance for powder riding, I would
move the bindings back one set of inserts it reduces leg burn and makes
it easier to have quick turns off the tail. However, I usually don't
bother with it. Any board with taper (tail narrow than nose) will be
easily to make shaper turns with as well.

For technique, be very proactive in picking your line through the
trees, you want to start you turns early and by in line for the gaps
between the tres well before you reach them. That early turn initiation
is actually the hallmark of good riding... just the trees add a litte
"incentive" to it.

lonerider wrote:
Whatever angles you are most used to is probably your best bet

I agree.

For technique, be very proactive in picking your line through the
trees, you want to start you turns early and by in line for the gaps
between the tres well before you reach them.

Standard advice - don't look at the trees, look at the gaps. Also, a
helmet and good strong gloves are good to have. Lots of times you have
to brush a branch back or grab onto one to get a sudden turn or stop.

Neil

Standard advice - don't look at the trees, look at the gaps. Also, a
helmet and good strong gloves are good to have. Lots of times you have to
brush a branch back or grab onto one to get a sudden turn or stop.

Also, wear goggles. You'll be happy you did when don't quite duck under a
low hanging branch... one that's not big enough to stop you in your tracks,
but one that is big enough to rip your sunglasses off or cause serious eye
damage.

My last pair of goggles fell victim to a close fly-by, but my eyes and body
in general got away 100% scot-free.

Mike T



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Thanks to all of you

This is all great advice, I always wear thick gloves, googles and
helmet. I'll stick with my stance. My board is a K2 Ultima 166, no need
to set the stance back.

Very good advice about early turn initiation, picking my line, and
looking at the gaps instead of the trees.

As a matter of fact I already crashed three times with trees in
different situations, the first one I hit a jump before spotting the
landing, didn't make it between the 2 trees I had in front of me, only
4 feet apart, and hit one of them in midair like a cartoon, the second
and third crash could have been avoided if I had looked at the gaps but
my eyes were stuck in the trees and I was reacting instead of being
proactive. I only hurt bad in the first crash with some bruising and
pain to my left wrist and arm.