Snowboarding :: Dealing with Ice |
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Updated Aug 10, 2005
Anyone riding in the east has to deal with icy runs on a fairly regular basis. Even on those couple of powder days, the powder gets scraped off quickly leaving the underlying icy hardpack.
Ice is tricky, there's no shame in having an edge slip out from under you when encountering an icy patch. However, there are things you can do to give yourself an edge, literally.
The most important thing you can do is keep your edges sharp. It's not difficult to do yourself, and sure beats spending $30 and a few days to have your local boarding shop do it for you. See this tuning article, or some of the tuning links. Be aware however that ice will tend to blunt your edges quickly; you may need to do a quick tune-up more often to compensate.
Once your edges are sharp, you'll have a much easier time on ice. Depending on the steepness of the run, and your own ability, you can either carve into the ice, or try to use a skidded turn to control your speed. Edge angles are the key. The more you can get your edge into the surface, the more control you will have. Beware of turning the board too perpendicular to the slope, you're more likely to have it slip out from under you that way.
If it's just a short icy section, just keep a straight line across it and turn or slow yourself once past it.
Another thing you can do is keep your center of gravity low. If your board slips out, go into a slide rather than a hard fall. In a slide it's much easier to recover and get back up on the board while still moving.
It's all about adapting to the terrain and using your board appropriately for the conditions. No comments yet.
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