I'm sorry it's taken me four years to get around to making this video, but if you follow this one rule that I'm about to give you, you're always going to be able to make an early edge change in your turns. When we're snowboarding, the goal is to make these S-shaped turns down the mountain.

They allow us to control our speed.

We pick up speed in this part here, where the board is pointing down the slope, and we slow ourselves down in this part here as we go across the slope. We change the size of that S-shape to match the terrain that we're riding.

On steep slopes, we make that S-shape smaller, so we spend less time picking up speed, and on mellow slopes, we can make that S-shape larger because we're comfortable spending more time with the board in the full line here, picking up more speed. All of our snowboards have been built with this curved sidecut running down its length.

It's there to help us achieve these S-shaped turns.

If you properly engage that sidecut, it's a really great feeling.

That's why we're all here, the pursuit of perfecting that simple turn. Big or small, gripped or carved, and in any terrain, all these turns have something in common, an edge change right there.

To get this closed S-shape, that half circle here and here, you need that edge change to happen right here as you're going across the slope. Here's the key idea that I really want to impress upon you.

It would sound a little bit confusing to start with, but trust me, once you get it, it makes so much sense.

What you need to do is imagine that you have an arrow pointing out from you in whichever direction you are traveling, not in whichever direction your board is pointing, but in whichever direction you are actually moving in. What you will find is the earliest point upon which you can make an edge change, the earliest angle across the slope at which you can change edge will exactly match the angle of the straight line of that arrow that is sticking out from you in whichever direction you are traveling in. If I'm side-slipping or skidding like right now, then this is my direction of travel.

I can't make the edge change until my board matches the line of that arrow right there.

Right now, I'm riding across the slope, but I'm still skidding a bit.

My direction arrow is like that.

Once again, my edge change can't happen until there that my board meets the line of my arrow.

Direction arrow, edge change matches. You won't be able to get that top part of the turn, that top part of the S-shape, this bit right there, unless you finish your previous turn, unless you come across around at the end of one turn right there without any skid, having the board completely gripping in the snow. Bam.

You need to make sure that at the end of every turn, the board is properly gripping in the snow and not skidding at all.

You'll feel it when you get it.

You can have a look back to see if you've got that thin line in the snow at the end of your turn.

I call it building a platform. If you don't build that platform, if you're not holding your line on that edge, you will be skidding somewhat.

If you're skidding somewhat, that means the arrow, your direction arrow won't be fully across the slope, which means you won't be able to get that edge change nice and early right across the slope, right at the top of the turn. Now, I've got loads of videos that I'll link down below that are going to help you with building that platform, whether it's getting your posture correct or getting your weight in the right place.

Honestly, sometimes just visualizing what you want to achieve, the board gripping at the end of the turn can be enough for you to get it done. The easiest way to feel yourself building this platform is just to do some carve turns.

I can feel the platform the whole way through the turn and I can see it behind me.

I'm leaving a thin line in the snow.

Now, just hold on to that turn until you're across the slope, make the edge change there, and you'll immediately feel the board pull you around into the next one. That's pretty simple, but I want you to make sure you're building that platform at the end of every single turn you do because we can't be carving throughout every turn in all conditions.

On steep slopes, make sure you get into a strong position so you can build that platform at the end of the turn, carry your momentum across the slope, and make sure you get that edge change across the slope. In chopped up terrain, visualize following the nose of your board over the bumps to get the edge change across the slope right there.

On icy terrain, it might take you a little bit longer to build that platform, but there it is, be progressive with your movements, sink down, lean into the slope, and there you will find it, and then bam, make that edge change across the mountain. Now, most of my videos are about achieving grip throughout the turn, eliminating skid, reducing judder, things like that, but if you implement this one simple rule into your riding of making sure you're achieving that gripped platform at end of every turn where your direction of travel is across the slope in the same direction as the board, then you're going to set yourself up properly for every subsequent turn that you're going to make. You're going to get on your new edge nice and early in the turn, which is going to give you the most amount of time possible to control the arc of your turn.

It's going to give you the most amount of time possible to find grip throughout the turn, and you're really going to be every turn perfectly. Even if, say, you then skid, it doesn't matter.

Force yourself to build that platform, get in that strong position at the end of every turn, and by just doing that, you'll be doing something right. You can't get that grip.

You can't build that platform there unless you're in a strong position.

Like I said, even if it takes you a little while to get there, once you've found what that position is, you can work on bringing that into your turns earlier in every subsequent turn so that rather than skidding, you're gripping and pulling the board around the smooth arc of that S-shape, achieving grip, and most importantly, we've got an icy bit coming up. Even if you're skidding, even if you're not quite there to start with, you get into that position there at the end of the turn as you're going across the slope.

Make sense?

We can work backwards with it.

As long as you get that platform at the end of every turn, it doesn't matter if you skidded 20 meters to get there.

You're setting yourself up properly for the next turn, and in the next one you get into, you can try and work into that grip platform a little bit earlier than the one you did just before. Oh, and one more thing.

If you're skidding and you try to make an edge change before your board has matched up to the line of that arrow, like if I was to do it.

Oh, I'm not going to do it.

If I was going to do it right there, you will catch an edge. Stop making life difficult for yourself and trying to make an edge change whilst you're skidding.

Instead, make sure you get in a strong position, build that platform, edge change across the slope, and you're going to save yourself a lot of pain. Now, quick disclaimer.

If, of course, your goal is to make open turns like I'm doing right now, then no, you don't need to bring the board back fully across the slope.

If you do that and you're on some really mellow terrain, like I'm on right now, you'll end up killing too much of your speed and you'll lose your momentum. If you're doing those open turns, the one thing I will say is that you better be carving.

The goal of good snowboarding is always to control our speed by the shape of our turn.

If you've deemed it not necessary to fully bring the board around and close off that turn, then you better not be controlling your speed by skidding. For me, open turns, that is turns that don't come fully across the slope that are skidded, that is bad technique, and I don't like to see it.

Thank you guys for watching, and I will see you in the next one.

Yew!

We done.