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Beginning tree riding?



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 26th 05, 04:20 AM
Mike M. Miskulin
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Default Beginning tree riding?

hey now,

looking for pointers on beginning tree riding. Hard
to believe I've only done it once out at Brighton, but
I'm not sure that really qualified as tree riding.. they
were so far apart! Certainly nothing like what we have
here in VT.

Part of the problem(?) is my local mountain is a pretty
empty place when I'm out there and I'm hesitant to be
going into glades on my own.

But assuming I can hook up with somebody else, or at
least get a day when there's some traffic, whats the
technique? I've heard 'dont look at the trees' but
beyond that I'm clueless.

thanks
Ads
  #2  
Old January 26th 05, 07:36 AM
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Well, understanding that I wouldn't consider myself an expert, I first
"got" tree riding in the middle of last season.

I think the big part is being able to make slow skidded turns on slopes
as steep as you need.

Next is being able to control how much you side slip down the hill
compared to how much you move forward in the direction the board is
learning. If you can learn to control these seperately, then you can
angle your board however you need to get through the gap, while still
just sideslipping downward at an angle so you don't pick up warp speed.

And yeah, because you tend to automaticly go wherenver you look, look
at the gaps, not the trunks.

Ohh, and the trees are NOT your friends. Keep your hands in fists,
don't reach out to tap them or anything as you go flying by... I had to
learn that the hard way... frozen trees are hard as rock.

  #6  
Old January 26th 05, 11:21 AM
Batfastard
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On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 04:20:28 -0000, "Mike M. Miskulin"
wrote:

hey now,

looking for pointers on beginning tree riding.



Miss the trees.

BF

(Glad to be of assistance :-)
  #7  
Old January 26th 05, 01:39 PM
Switters
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On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 04:20:28 GMT, "Mike M. Miskulin"
allegedly wrote:

But assuming I can hook up with somebody else, or at
least get a day when there's some traffic, whats the
technique? I've heard 'dont look at the trees' but
beyond that I'm clueless.


I just started by taking it easy, looking for the gaps where I knew I
could put the brakes on if necessary.

Ultimately, the trick is to look ahead such that as you're entering one
gap, you're looking for the next gap or two. The nature of trees means
that you may not always be doing opposite turns each time, sometimes you
end up going in the same direction for a while.

However, it will take a while before you can link it all into a flowing
run, and you'll spend time riding into a gap, braking, going for the
next one, braking, next, brake, etc. After a while, you'll start doing
2, 3, then more in a row. As I'm sure you know, it's all down to
practice.

Mind the tree wells, the branches and the hidden cliffs.

- Dave.

--
The only powder to get high on, falls from the sky.
http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow -
Securing your e-mail

The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://rssFAQ.org/
  #8  
Old January 26th 05, 03:34 PM
todd
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Have fun.

Watch out for the tree wells which are caused not because they are
warm, but because the snow fall at the base of the tree is lighter
since it is captured by the tree canopy. A girl died out at Bachelor a
couple years ago because she ran into a tree, fell in the tree well
head first, and the impact into the tree caused additional snow to fall
on top of her (from the branches). The story is that they didn't find
her until Spring. So, expect big holes of lightly packed snow around
tree wells. Board with friends and always stay in sight of each other.
Turn down your MP3 player so you can hear someone shout...or run into
a tree.

That said, have fun. Its not rocket science, go slow at first and get
comfortable turning in the trees. As your confidence improves, so will
your speed. Moguls are extremely good practice for trees as you get
used to your turns being dictated by solid objects.

Wear a helmet. No matter how good you are, your board will eventually
hit something under the snow that will catapult you forward. You'll
want a helmet in case you end up face-to-trunk. Goggles are a great
idea as well. You'll find yourself ducking under low branches the
closer you get or the tighter the trees. Nice to worry about your
turns and not be concerned about your eyes.

On a side note - I looked at my ski coat this year and noticed several
horizontal lines on the back of it. Didn't think much of it until I
looked at an old coat I was going to sell on ebay and noticed the same
thing. Took me a bit to figure it out, but the lines are from tree
branches scraping my back. (stiff branches or sap I suppose)

Have fun in the trees. You'll find powder days after the storm while
everybody else is boarding groomers and tracked out snow,

-todd

  #9  
Old January 26th 05, 03:53 PM
Neil Gendzwill
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Default

todd wrote:
On a side note - I looked at my ski coat this year and noticed several
horizontal lines on the back of it. Didn't think much of it until I
looked at an old coat I was going to sell on ebay and noticed the same
thing. Took me a bit to figure it out, but the lines are from tree
branches scraping my back. (stiff branches or sap I suppose)


Heh. A good pair of kevlar gloves is useful, too - I often find myself
knocking branches out of the way, or in some cases grabbing onto them
for a little assisted redirection/braking.

Neil

  #10  
Old January 26th 05, 04:45 PM
Chris J.
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Default

"Mike M. Miskulin" wrote in message
. 3.44...
hey now,

looking for pointers on beginning tree riding. Hard
to believe I've only done it once out at Brighton, but
I'm not sure that really qualified as tree riding.. they
were so far apart! Certainly nothing like what we have
here in VT.

Part of the problem(?) is my local mountain is a pretty
empty place when I'm out there and I'm hesitant to be
going into glades on my own.

But assuming I can hook up with somebody else, or at
least get a day when there's some traffic, whats the
technique? I've heard 'dont look at the trees' but
beyond that I'm clueless.

thanks


Be adventerous, but start by following someone who knows where they're
going, or have a pretty good idea yourself before diving in. Just following
other's tracks can get you in trouble. (On the other hand, if your line
flattens out you can maintain more speed by riding in someone else's
tracks.) Getting stuck in a gully or by too dense shrubbery etc. can be a
real bummer - you can kill a lot of time and burn a lot of energy getting
back into a line that works. This is pretty much unavoidable if you're
adventurous, and it's a good way to learn your mountain, but you'll want to
minimize these experiences. Resist the temptation to take those last few
sweet turns when your line is coming to an end - traverse out early or risk
some bushwhacking or a hike back up.

Enjoy! There's nothing quite like ripping through the trees.

Chris


 




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