The joys of Alpine Carving...

Scott · Post by **Scott** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 8:19 am

Holly and I decided we wanted to try snowboarding this winter. So last November, we bought gear at Bikles Ski Shop in Hagerstown (a nice little family-run place). Then we sat around 'til the week before Christmas before we could use it! we bought a night season pass at Whitetail and have been loving it (even though the winter's been lame for snow sports...)

From the start I never had any interest in stunts, tricks, catching air, the half-pipe---all that "skateboard punk" stuff.

I just wanted to slalom down the mountain with speed and grace. In mid-January, while Googling snowboarding websites, I stumbled across a unique subculture in snowboarding called alpine carving. This was exciting! I immediately took an interest and started devouring all the info online I could find.

Alpine carvers use very different boards than "freeride" snowboarders. The boards are unidirectional, more narrow, longer, and have more sidecut. People who do this are also called "hardbooters" because hard, skiboot-style boots are used with plate bindings (instead of "soft" gear used by freeride snowboarders).

Here's a look at the difference between boards...

Alpine carving is all about turning on edge. As a good carver, you DON'T sideslip and skid all over the place (which is normal in freeride snowboarding). The emphasis is on getting the board way up on edge (sometimes literally 90 degrees to surface of the slope) and laying over on turns---somehwat like what superbike racers do on pavement.

Here's a look at what it's all about...

It's definitely a fringe sport (like hang gliding!). Probably not more than 5% (if even that many) of the total snowboarders in the world are hardbooting carvers. It's also very close (in equipment and philosophy) to what the Olympic giant slalom snowboard racers do.

I began practicing the technique like crazy at Whitetail, and last week just got my first alpine carving gear (hardboots and a board). What a blast! At it's best (which I have yet to achieve), alpine carvers can pull 3 Gs or more in a turn and be so far laid-over they're almost lying on the snow. Very cool!

If anyone else is interested in learning more, here are some of the best websites to check out...

http://www.bomberonline.com
http://www.extremecarving.com
http://www.alpinecarving.com

Scott

mchevalier · Post by **mchevalier** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 9:38 pm

Scott wrote:

Holly and I decided we wanted to try snowboarding this winter. So last November, we bought gear at Bikles Ski Shop in Hagerstown (a nice little family-run place). Then we sat around 'til the week before Christmas before we could use it! we bought a night season pass at Whitetail and have been loving it (even though the winter's been lame for snow sports...).................snip

I've gotta try that.? I started boarding last season, since I was unemployed most of last winter I went boarding about 70 days.?
And although I've started doing tricks like jumps, rails, the pipe and going backwards, my main interest is hauling ass down groomed slopes.
That guy in the picture should be making fists.? I learned that the hard way, taking a minor spill last season and dislocating a finger.? And another tip, don't keep a cel phone in your chest pocket, I fell on mine and broke 4 ribs in December.???????? MC

Post by **Matthew** » Fri Feb 18, 2005 6:45 pm

Alpine Carving??? That's for sissies. Try Cranial Carving.

See-- http://www.ucomics.com/closetohome/