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What is Carving?
Carving on a snowboard means never skidding. Carvers tilt the
snowboard high on edge, leaving pencil-thin trenches in the snow,
while leaning into the turn until both forearms are skimming the
slope. Carvers make perfect half-circles out of each turn, changing edges when the snowboard is perpendicular
to the fall line and starting every turn on the downhill edge. Carving
on a snowboard is like riding a roller coaster, because the board
will lock into a turn radius and provide what feels like multiple
Gs of acceleration. It feels like the purest way to ride a snowboard,
because no skidding is involved. It also qualifies as a spectator
sport that shows off the most beautiful, perfect turns you will
ever see on the slope. It can be done to a limited extent with
a stiffer freeride snowboard setup, but to achieve "dialed
in, locked-in" carved turns, carvers use snowboard racing
gear, which consists of hard-shell snowboard boots, hard plate
bindings, and a race board. Carving also requires a skill set
that is somewhat different from either freeriding or racing. In
the U.S., carvers are a rare breed: Except when snowboard races
are held, there will typically be fewer than a dozen carvers on
the hill, and carving gear constitutes less than 1% of the snowboard
market. Carving advice is rare, and hence the necessity for The
Carver's Almanac.
©2004-2005 Scott Firestone. All
Rights Reserved. All submissions become the property of the Carver's
Almanac. Use the advice at your own risk; The Carver's Almanac
makes no representations or warranties of any kind regarding the
content. Anyone can link to this page.
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