technique

What we want to do is raise the level of snowboarding to new heights bringing YOU over the plateau that you might have felt you’re on and really take your riding to the next level. When snowboarding is being performed well and it looks effortless, that’s because it is! By looking very closely at the way our clients ride and making small but very effective changes to technique such as the way a rider stands on a board, set’s up for a spin, or how they charge through pow, we make them better riders.

We use a variety of different coaching techniques such as video feedback which is very effective at showing you the rider where changes need to be made, especially when its played back in slow motion so there is no cheating! We also look quite deeply in to the psychology of the rider and look into ways of changing the way you normally approach a task on a snowboard, which has had dramatic effects for those who have signed up to one of our previous sessions. We are very knowledgeable in bio-mechanics, the science of the board and physics of the mountain, and we have developed a unique and simple way of communicating this to our clients.

Have you noticed how many telemarkers there were out on the mountain this year? Perhaps there’s a movement underway. If there is, then Chamoniard legend John Dorf might be it’s unwilling leading light. If you’ve ever seen him compete in the Boss Des Bosses, you’ll probably remember it. If not, here’s a video which shows why after extensive research we’ve decided freeing the heel really does free the mind.

http://www.youtube.com/user/justinhawxhurst

History of free heel skiing

Sondre Norheim is considered the father of the Norwegian free heel technique. It was Norheim who, in the late 1800s, developed the telemark turn on the slopes around his town of Morgedal in the Telemark region of Norway. He introduced the technique to the world at a jumping competition in Oslo in 1868, where he not only awed a large crowd with his 76 foot jump but also punctuated his landing with a graceful telemark turn to a stop.

Not just a curiosity, the telemark turned out to be a viable technique for the equipment of the day which consisted of free heels and wooden skis with no sidecut. In the telemark position one could wedge the forward ski slightly and have the effect of one long one, sidecut ski. When properly performed the result was an elegant arc.

Have you noticed how many telemarkers there were out on the mountain this year? Perhaps there’s a movement underway. If there is, then Chamoniard legend John Dorf might be it’s unwilling leading light. If you’ve ever seen him compete in the Boss Des Bosses, you’ll probably remember it. If not, here’s a video which shows why after extensive research we’ve decided freeing the heel really does free the mind.

http://www.youtube.com/user/justinhawxhurst

History of free heel skiing

Sondre Norheim is considered the father of the Norwegian free heel technique. It was Norheim who, in the late 1800s, developed the telemark turn on the slopes around his town of Morgedal in the Telemark region of Norway. He introduced the technique to the world at a jumping competition in Oslo in 1868, where he not only awed a large crowd with his 76 foot jump but also punctuated his landing with a graceful telemark turn to a stop.

Not just a curiosity, the telemark turned out to be a viable technique for the equipment of the day which consisted of free heels and wooden skis with no sidecut. In the telemark position one could wedge the forward ski slightly and have the effect of one long one, sidecut ski. When properly performed the result was an elegant arc.

Free Heel Skiing Today

Todays large buoyant powder skis are well suited to the telemark turn too. Speed and radius of turn can be limited on alpine skis by the simple length of the ski. Freeing the heel and splitting the skis using the telemark stance can make 2 long, modern powder skis act as one, giving the skier a longer length of ski on the snow, allowing faster, more stable turns in certain conditions.