Why ride Alpine snowboard equipment? What makes some snowboarders revert back to those stiff, clunky boots from whence they evolved, and ride boards that are too stiff or too long to ride the pipe or spin in the park? Well, there is really only one answer: it’s fun.
Riding Alpine is one of the most exhilarating snowboard experiences. Those who carve don’t even miss the jumps or jibs they might have hit on a freestyle board because they’re too busy driving their own private Formula-1 car down the mountain. Nor do they regret the time spent adjusting to hardboots. Making a clean carved run down your favorite slope is just as gratifying as landing a cork 5, and just as thrilling as riding untracked powder. When a hardbooter wakes up to a blue sky day with crisp temps, firm conditions, and freshly groomed trails, it’s as exciting as waking up to a foot of new snow. No friends on a groomer day!
Hardboots and an alpine snowboard can reveal a secret about a snowboarding: there is a lot of power locked up in a snowboard that’s just waiting to be unleashed. A friend compares alpine snowboarding to Aikido, the martial art which redirects an attacker’s energy in a way that makes it work for the defender. The idea is that the snowboard is a tool used to harness the forces of nature in a positive way. The alpine snowboard combined with hardboots is the most efficient device to take gravity and channel it through your body, boots, board, and down into the snow. The result: perfect half-circle, two-inch wide tracks on the corduroy, the sensation of laying out your own roller-coaster and hanging on.
Alpine riders use gravity much like a sailor or windsurfer uses the wind to cut the fastest tack across the water. By redirecting the force of gravity, the snowboard takes the rider in a direction different from that which gravity would normally dictate. This difference is what enables snowboarders to control how fast and wide they carve down a hill. Toying with gravity by making delicate adjustments from foot to foot and from side to side to get the fastest and cleanest line down the slope is the never ending pursuit that alpine riders crave.
Gravity is also used in another way, much like a motorcycle rider out for a joyride on a freshly paved, winding road. An alpine snowboarder gets that momentary feeling of weightlessness that comes between carves, just like the motorcyclist negotiating an S-turn. Shaped skis have given skiers the carving revelation, but the alpine snowboard is the superior tool for achieving this sensation. With both feet are mounted on one board, you have much more leverage to bend and manipulate it. And once you’re committed to a carve, there’s no other leg underneath you to serve as a safety net. Once you cross the board, gravity and self trust takeover. You may notice that the tracks of a carver actually start well before the snowboard has entered the fall line. The rider can change edges by moving their body across the board in a downhill sense. They carve the downhill edge until the board carves around and back beneath them. If you watch an alpine snowboarder carving turns downhill from you, the bottom of the snowboard is visible at the beginning of each carve. By timing the turn transition with a roll in the hill, the free-fall can be even longer.
If this sounds tempting, don’t be afraid to try. The sensations described above are only a few of the many that a good alpine snowboard and hardboots can afford you. Give it a try, you’ll probably love it.
Come on in. In the menus above, you’ll find thousands of other carvers to talk to in the Forums, great used gear in the Classifieds, and articles to help get you going in the Tech Articles. Check out the Ride Board to meet up with other carvers in your area. Welcome!
