Tips from good riders

omullinger

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2011
Messages
505
Reaction score
327
Location
Stony Plain, AB
Hey guys, I am just trying to figure out what I was doing wrong watching this video of a little climb I was doing. Is anyone able to give a few pointers?
First two tries I didn't do well... the 3rd try I made it up but not exactly where I wanted to go.
 

takethebounce

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2008
Messages
5,193
Reaction score
8,750
Location
calgary
The 3rd time you were more committed and continued to ride rather than turn out. Not sure what else you want to hear.
 

omullinger

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2011
Messages
505
Reaction score
327
Location
Stony Plain, AB
The 3rd time you were more committed and continued to ride rather than turn out. Not sure what else you want to hear.

thanks for your input.
More or less just seeing if people could see something that stuck out. After watching it, I just couldn't pin point what I did wrong, and that was frustrating me so thought Id ask
 

takethebounce

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2008
Messages
5,193
Reaction score
8,750
Location
calgary
Is that behind Blue Lk cabin on the way to the Lake? Just trying to gauge where your buddies are sitting and where you are climbing, looks to funnel right to them if it slides. Just food for thought but can't really tell from the video.
 

omullinger

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2011
Messages
505
Reaction score
327
Location
Stony Plain, AB
Is that behind Blue Lk cabin on the way to the Lake? Just trying to gauge where your buddies are sitting and where you are climbing, looks to funnel right to them if it slides. Just food for thought but can't really tell from the video.

Yeah at Blue on the backside of the lake towards the ravine.
He was sitting in a good spot, the quick glance, it looks bad.
 

rightsideup

Active VIP Member
Joined
May 19, 2008
Messages
3,033
Reaction score
2,843
Location
bc
those look like very difficult conditions to really pick a nice line on, you have enough traction and seem to wheelie and that makes it difficult to go where you intend to go. even though you have very good footage its not really easy to gauge what you did wrong. If there was more snow I sure the sled would have gone exactly were you intended you certainly are not running out of speed just control.
 

rightsideup

Active VIP Member
Joined
May 19, 2008
Messages
3,033
Reaction score
2,843
Location
bc
those look like very difficult conditions to really pick a nice line on, you have enough traction and seem to wheelie and that makes it difficult to go where you intend to go. even though you have very good footage its not really easy to gauge what you did wrong. If there was more snow I sure the sled would have gone exactly were you intended you certainly are not running out of speed just control.
and just like dan mentioned but my own twist is the third time you seem to have a better feel for how your sled reacts and do not get intimidated when the front end goes up a bit you seem to gauge your momentum and have control all the way through
 

adamg

Active VIP Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2011
Messages
3,466
Reaction score
4,673
Location
S'toon,SK
First run, when it started to go sideways you could have gotten off the throttle a bit to get the skis down, done a moderate counter steer and weight (leg press) shift to redirect the sled back up hill, while getting back on the power to lock in the new direction. Basically doing a "cut."
Second run looked too slow, you got squirrly and couldn't reestablish a vertical line.
Third run looked like the first, except when it started to go sideways you were high enough on the hill that it turned out OK. You still fell off your line but the hill flattened out enough that your attempt at a cut uphill (the left lean, right steer) was sufficient. But this cut isn't aggressive enough while the hill is steep.

In general try to keep the skis closer to the ground while climbing. Keep your torso in front of the bars as much as possible, and maybe try stiffer rear spring settings.

Right at the 12 second mark of the video you hit something that lifts your skis and leans you left. Probably the best move is to be ready for a bump like that by having your knees bent. The best thing you can do to avoid getting bumped off line is absorb the bumps with your knees rather than being stiff and forcing all the bump into the suspension / sled. But then when you do get bumped off line, be willing to do an aggressive cut to get back on line.
 
Last edited:

Dazzler

Active VIP Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
933
Reaction score
2,090
Location
Cochrane Ab
I agree with Adamg, too much ski lift and losing control. You could have put your sled into a bit of a side hill to gain control and then cut back up, but as mentioned stiffen back shock, maybe pull up limiter strap a notch? work on a little body language and throttle control..
Looked like a great day to be out regardless!! :)
 

Lund

Active VIP Member
Joined
May 4, 2013
Messages
4,247
Reaction score
11,288
Location
Vernon/Kelowna
Hey guys, I am just trying to figure out what I was doing wrong watching this video of a little climb I was doing. Is anyone able to give a few pointers?
First two tries I didn't do well... the 3rd try I made it up but not exactly where I wanted to go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaYduiqDYdU


I don't usually do these post but an exception. There are 2 basic rules that if you fallow will greatly improve anyone riding style and open doors in improving your confidence in your self for riding. I know lots that ride for years and still haven't figured that out.
#1, The FOCUS. Look at where your going and focus on it while at the same time being aware of your surroundings. This applies to all riding, from hill climb to tree riding. 99% of the time when you hit something like a tree or rock on a climb or in the timber it is because you were not focused on the target. A split second distraction will take you off course enough to become an issue.
From doing a simple turn to and uphill turn, left or right turn your head and pick a target and stay on it....the sled WILL fallow.

#2 The BOX...keep your shoulders and torso square with the handle bars all the time, your elbow, left and right distances need to remain the same. Move the body and maintain the BOX.

These two very simple techniques will improve your riding immensely, i have squeezed some pretty large sleds into some pretty tight chutes successfully but i can tell you with assurance that every time 100% when i fail, its not because of the sled. Its because i lost my focus or didn't fallow one of these two simple basic techniques.

Good luck and its all about being safe and having fun. The rest of it is for you to figure out eventually you will have your own style with seat time.
 

knh208

Active member
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
112
Reaction score
144
Location
Saskatoon, SK
It also looks like you're struggling to hold your line once the skis are in the air - over riding, or over correcting. This just takes practice, understanding how much input to give once your skis are up.

As mentioned above, this is all easier if you can adjust your suspension to keep the skis down.

Sent from my Palm Pilot
 

takethebounce

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2008
Messages
5,193
Reaction score
8,750
Location
calgary
Who steers with their skis? Let them fly and steer with your body.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Bnorth

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2010
Messages
10,714
Reaction score
20,623
Location
Salmon Arm
Also on the 2nd try it looks like when you turn out to look for speed you actually turned uphill to a steeper section.

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk
 
Top Bottom