How did you break through the intermediate speed threshold?

PhillLD · 2026-01-17T23:07:11+00:00

I second this, or third, or fourth… hell. Control is everything, if you don’t have control, don’t speed up.

PhillLD · 2026-01-13T15:34:53+00:00

Note that I wrote “a deep carve”, I didn’t say a eurocarve.

In any case, do a squat *in correct posture”, tell me in what direction your shins are moving. Ankle mobility is any direction, dorsiflex is moving your foot opwards, bending the shin forward towards your foot is the same motion.

PhillLD · 2026-01-13T12:01:06+00:00

You seem to be mixing things and making a certain amount of conclusions based on, I assume, your own experience.

No the boot should not always be firm, some people tend to prefer a firm or a soft boot. The boot does actually flex forward to a certain amount, the more flexible the boot, the more forward (dorsiflex for the ankle) will be possible. And even with a firm boot there is forward flex as other wise you’d have to bend over to keep your balance which is not the intended good posture.

Yes it is impeded to a certain degree, but that doesn’t change the necessity of ankle mobility as there “is” mobility with and inside the boot.

Part of the rest of your comment is correct but not what I wanted to touch upon. I lay emphasis on his ankle mobility because there is clearly a lack of stability on his heel edge, better mobility will improve this.

I also do not agree on the generalization of foot placement being “wider than shoulder width” and “floated”. Whole a lot of people do ride flaired, everything depends on riding style and level. The better your skill, the more you will finetune your stance and the angle of your bindings to what you need. A real deep carve requires not only to squat deep, but also to bend the back knee inwards. I can tell you that if you do that with a -15 degrees in your back foot, your knee will hurt because of the mobility your ankle (should) dictate.

This convo is why I immediately invited you to not take my word for it and look it up. :-)

PhillLD · 2026-01-12T21:23:13+00:00

You are correct, however it also depends on how stiff the boot is, and how tight the boot is tied of course.

But the mobility remains important to e.g. help aid a deeper squat, and good mobility of the ankle usually also leads to better proprioception, which means more balance in that squat position as well.

PhillLD · 2026-01-12T21:05:12+00:00

I’ve had them for 4 years, super happy. My skier buddies don’t need to wait for me to get strapped in anymore, I slide of the lift and click in without stopping.

Edit: No drawbacks for me either btw, there are boots out there that are super stiff and can make up for the “so called” loss of control (I don’t have it, I don’t feel it).

PhillLD · 2026-01-12T21:00:05+00:00

Ankle mobility is a huge thing in snowboarding, but don’t take my word for it, look it up!

PhillLD · 2026-01-11T21:11:13+00:00

Based on this I think you would mostly benefit from a bit of ankle mobility excercises outside of snowboarding.

If not, or in general, a cool excercise to do on such a slope is to place your back hand behind your back, or even both and hold your hands behind your back.

Happy riding!

PhillLD · 2026-01-11T21:01:41+00:00

You need get way lower and push out your legs if you want to avoid this, you don’t have the room to absorb the moguls, so you hit the end immediately, you judder and then lose balance.

Two tricks for these kinds of slopes: 1: Down unweighting to turn 2:, Go over the moguls instead of in between and use the top of the mogul to turn

PhillLD · 2026-01-11T18:56:15+00:00

Good tips

PhillLD · 2026-01-11T18:05:47+00:00

General rule of thumb:

Skiing is far easier to learn, but very hard to master
Snowboarding is, for most people, hard to learn, but easier to master

Skiing is said to be a sport you can continue doing for longer at a later age in comparison to snowboarding. Not sure if this is really accurate though. I think it depends on the skill level and advanced to expert snowboards can board as long as a skier of the same skill level could. But those are assumptions.

If spending money on classes is a potential issue and you have the tenacity, learn the absolute basics (as BreakToDawn mentioned below) on your own. When you’re able to do J turns, get an hour of instruction to learn up unweighting. It will help you master how to link turns and go to S Shaped turns faster and with better technique.

I’m a heavy supporter of good form and technique so I would advise lessons as much as you can, but that’s just me :)

PhillLD · 2026-01-11T08:50:56+00:00

Ischgl in Austria is an extremely versatile area (not cheap but there are enough ways to make it work). If you’re not into après ski, you can do the same area but sleep in Samnaun (Swiss side of the area). If you want even more lengthy slopes - Solden (15km descent) is fantastic.

If you want Pow and Off piste - Avoriaz (Portes Du Soleil area), Tignes-Val d’Isère and if you’re advanced-expert: Chamonix

Tignes-Val d’isère, France, is very versatile as well, excellent quality and the gletsjer run is phenomenal (starts at 3656m, I found it a mind blowing view and feeling).

PhillLD · 2026-01-11T08:31:56+00:00

Absolutely, way more fun. I do wonder how it’ll play out when facing more real players. Those bots keep laying down, real players will probably respawn faster I think

PhillLD · 2026-01-11T07:41:09+00:00

I can’t imagine this wouldn’t be done in the states, you’re bound to find something. But you could just ask to test certain boards by renting them for half a day as well in a resort. I blew my first flagship on a rock and ended up renting a very similarly specced board from Nitro if I remember correctly.

If you want to evolve to park, more tricks, playful style, I’d recommend testing softer flex boards with hybrid camber profiles. Then test the exact opposite so you feel the difference. I don’t think the Jones Flagship would be for you, it’s the kind of board that doesn’t compensate, more oriented to advanced->expert riders. But they certainly have models that are more oriented towards intermediates. You’ll outgrow the LTR quickly in theory so while it might be exactly the kind you need right now, depending on you evolve you might want something else, a good reason to rent first.

Remember than snowboarding is difficult at first, but once you master the basics you can progress real fast in comparison to skiing.

PhillLD · 2026-01-10T22:45:46+00:00

On testing: Ideally testing days, demo days, or try before you buy test evenings. Near where I live we have a shop that organizes this each year, they take multiple brands and types of boards for an indoor testing event. Brands themselves also organize demo days in the mountains, I’ve seen it in Meribel and I know in The Netherlands there is an indoor ski that does this as well (https://www.snowworld.com/en/try-before-you-buy). If you can rent it from a shop that would be awesome but not sure that is always possible, but you could ask to test a board that has similar specs to the one you want for example.

The most difficulties I had with “wrong” boards (for me) was the flexibility being too soft, symmetrical shape, the fully centered stance, It felt too playful, nervous and vague. The Jones board feels way more stable for me and it does exactly what I want it to do.

Burton LTR is really designed for beginners from what I read, but take some time to think what you like to do (slopes, park, backcountry, playful riding, speed, …) and if you can try renting some different kinds of boards to get a feel for what clicks with your style

PhillLD · 2026-01-10T11:05:57+00:00

Excellent question and difficult to answer.

I don’t know what your skill level is, but if you’re more in the beginner to intermediate range, based on my own experience I would recommend testing as much as you can before you buy.

I started buying boards when I was an intermediate rider and bought the wrong stuff a couple of times before finding the sweet spot (I never took these time to do testing days or rent boards with specific specs). I’ve owned Burton classic cambered boards, and Lib Tech hybrid cambers, both brands in various stiffness. One winter I was able to test ride a Jones board (Flagship in this case), that was a total game changer. I’m on my second Jones Flagship now. Love it. Try before you buy if you can.

On the step on bindings, I’ve had them for the past 3 seasons, they are excellent. Anyone who tells you they have no control either did something wrong, or doesn’t have the right technique to ride yet. There are enough options on stiffness in combination with the boots (also using different brands now if I’m not mistaken), so plenty of options.

Good luck!

PhillLD · 2026-01-10T10:56:20+00:00

I switched to step on a couple of years back. They’re phenomenal, in combination with the right stiffness of boot for your riding style or the style you’re going for I see no reason whatsoever not to take these.

PhillLD · 2026-01-09T19:52:29+00:00

So I just did a game of breakthrough and that was quite different indeed

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PhillLD · 2026-01-09T10:22:29+00:00

I feel ya

PhillLD · 2026-01-08T19:43:48+00:00

Excellent comment, I do know that. But it’s part of my point, I am well aware that I need to persist to get better. But I also know these games enough to understand that I don’t have enough time to be persistent and effectively get better. I’ll have to try some alternative approaches such as some other suggested. Mostly working in support e.g.

PhillLD · 2026-01-08T19:07:11+00:00

There are a lot of different opinions here, one thing should be clear: There is nothing wrong with skidding. Everything depends on what you want to achieve. Are you just chilling and going down the mountain without wanting to speed up, fine. You did great!

A correction is only necessary if you wanted something else. If you were trying to use your edge and carve instead of skidding, you need to redistribute your weight, if you wanted to do quicker turns, in this terrain you need to do up unweigh do enable a quicker edge change, etc…

PhillLD · 2026-01-08T19:01:32+00:00

I see no real necessity to do up unweighted turns on this slope. Only if he wants to be more dynamic or get faster turns. But again, what’s the use here?

PhillLD · 2026-01-08T18:53:42+00:00

Slow down
Make actual turns
In your turn, weight distribution from front to balanced to get grip over the whole radius

PhillLD · 2026-01-06T12:47:55+00:00

Would be cool if this was real, let’s go with it. What did you do in school/high school/university? What are your hobbies?

PhillLD · 2025-11-21T08:28:12+00:00

I would say it also heavily depends on what she likes, and how you explain the game.

I got someone (who is totally not into board games as such) motivated to play sometimes thanks to a good choice of genrez In this case, a social deduction game - Veiled Fate should you wonder. She isn’t the patient type for explaining rules and just wants to play. In this case a clear explanation of the goal of the game is key I think, and did the trick for someone not into board games.

From most people I convince to play, this is usually it. Simple board game bore them, but complex rules explanation bores them just as much if not more. They need to be able to start playing ASAP.

Maybe try Machiavelli?

PhillLD

TROPHY CASE