Carving

Carving is making a turn on a snowboard (or ski) by tilting it up on edge and "carving" a clean line around the turn, instead of skidding the tail around and scraping sideways across the snow. Any board can carve, but it works best on alpine (narrow, stiff) snowboards while using hard plastic boots and "plate" bindings.

Equipment

My favorite boards are the F2 Speedsters.  They're built for giant slalom racing but work great for general carving on medium-pitch groomed runs.    I was surprised at how easy they are to ride, to me they seem much easier than a freestyle board in straight-line riding, and not hard to make small skidded turns near the lift line.  The only thing "hard" about riding these boards is the leg muscles needed to get them carving small-radius turns at moderate speed.  The Speedsters have big radius sidecuts, campared to most boards (less curve along the side) so you really have to get them up on edge to get them to carve a turn, and you're working against significant (but not impossible) G-forces. To me that's the fun of this type of board, but it does take some effort to carve them.  I don't race these things, in fact I'm usually one of the last ones to get down the hill.  To me, the fun is in the turns.

I use Bomber Industries "Trench Digger" step-in bindings.   They're expensive at about $250 a set but worth it. I don't see how they can ever break and I can trust them not to fail when I'm in a turn.

My boots are Raichle hardshell snowboard boots. My favorite is the model 413, it's a "soft" hard boot but to me it feels about right. I like some "give" in the system, which the stiff Bomber bindings don't offer. They fit better and are more comfortable than any soft snowboard boot I've tried, probably because they don't have straps clamping your foot down like most soft boot bindings.  

My boards

Bomber bindings

Intec boot heels

Before stepping in

The boot locked in

Group photo at Kirkwood

Pictures from some of our recent trips

Carving Links