One question that I get asked a lot is how to ride through the trees.

It's not something that I get to do very often where I live, but now that I'm out here in Japan with Mint Tours, it's pretty much all that I'm doing.

The answer for how you navigate through these trees in control and safely is, well, it's not super simple.

There's a few different parts to it.

Everything from the technique you need to employ to the tactics we want to use.

That is exactly what we're going to get into in today's video.

I'm going to start off with something real simple, which is making sure that you're looking ahead and scoping out your line.

Because as you can see, it can get pretty tight in those trees.

Trust me, you don't want to end up crashing into one.

I'll show you a good example of that at the end of the video.

Whilst you're riding, you need to be looking ahead for your next turn and to where that is going to take you.

This is so nice.

Oh, is this a little jump?

I think it is.

Watch my head.

Look for gaps in the trees.

Look for patches of snow nobody else has been through.

Look for little jumps that you want to hit and look out for those branches that might just take your head off.

It's all about thinking on your feet when you're in the trees.

We are visually-oriented, goal-directed creatures, meaning that if you look at the tree, you're probably going to end up going right into it.

Look ahead and visualize your route unfolding out in front of you.

Now, with that said and done, let's start to get onto your technique.

First, let's begin a little bit with your posture.

I'm going to drop everything down low into this stacked position.

From here, I can get weight wherever I want it over different parts of the board with very small movements.

If I need to get onto my heels, I can just rotate slightly in that direction.

I come around here onto the toes.

I can shift weight towards the tail.

This is going to be your starting point, but you can really deviate and move from this position.

You're very likely going to have to move from this position to react to the ever-changing snow and conditions in the terrain underfoot as you ride and make your way down.

This is where I begin.

You'll see me moving into my heel-edge position, onto my toe-side position, but I imagine you're going to see a lot of arms swinging out, things like that, small adjustments for me to maintain balance and keep my weight over the top of the board.

All right, let's jump in.

Let's go for a little ride.

From this position, the goal is to steer the board and make S-turns down the mountain, meaning that rather than throwing the board sideways into a skid to control my speed, I'm instead using the shape of my turns and cutting back and forth across the full line to slow myself down instead.

Now, I'm always preaching the importance of S-turns on this channel.

I've even developed an online course dedicated to perfecting your S-turns that I'll link down below.

You'll need to make these kinds of turns to weave in and out of the trees, to fit through tight gaps, all whilst ensuring that the nose of your board stays out in front, which is going to be crucial in keeping you afloat when the snow gets steep.

That's why wearing a helmet is important.

The key for these flat sections is to really just try and hold your speed.

I'm making more open turns, just rocking edge-to-edge, looking for that exit.

Watch your head on any branches, things like that.

You can put your arm up when you need it to parry out any branches, things like that.

As I come through here, right there, ducking under, knocking away those branches, and out we come.

One more.

Oh, man.

Absolutely love it.

So, if you want to give yourself a good chance of success in the trees, then as a minimum on the groomed slopes, you should be comfortable making S-turns.

Big ones, small ones, closed turns, open turns, and everything in between.

This video isn't going through all the details of how to do that.

You'll find plenty of other videos on my channel dedicated to that subject.

Instead, I want to come onto the specific things that are a bit more unique to riding in this kind of terrain.

Now, let's talk a little bit about upper and lower body.

Sometimes, I want to keep my upper body turning with the board.

Usually, I've got a bit more space to make these bigger drawn-out turns, and it's not so tight in amongst the trees.

Sometimes, I want to keep my shoulders pretty much parallel to the full line going down the slope, and I just work my lower body underneath me like that, which brings me onto this clip of me riding a bump slime.

Here, my legs are steering the board underneath me, and the board is weaving through tight little S-turns, but my upper body and my center of mass is able to continue on a relatively smooth path down the middle.

This is because rather than me crossing over the top of the board at every edge change and me having to make a big movement with my center of mass, the board instead passes underneath me, underneath my center of mass for the edge change.

Now, it might sound like a subtle difference, but it can make a big, big change to your riding, especially in the trees, because these types of turns allow me to really steer the board quickly throughout the turn, allowing me to cut speed, but also, I can do it without needing a lot of space, which is what makes them ideal in tight trees.

The movement pattern I use with flexion and extension is, again, very similar to what I'm doing in the bumps.

As I pass over the bump, I suck the board underneath me for the edge change and then push my legs away to steer the board through the turn before sucking them back underneath me for the next edge change.

When I do this in powder, as I push my legs away, the board compresses the soft snow below, which actually gives it a platform to glide against that helps keep it afloat and drive it through the turn.

As it comes back in towards my body, I pull it up below me, which unweights it for the edge change before once again pushing it against the snow for the next turn.

When you really push out against it, that's how you throw up those big sprays of snow, but this isn't always a wise decision in tight trees because, as I mentioned at the start of the video, seeing where you're going, well, it's kind of important.

Now, at other times, usually in more mellow sections or areas that have really opened up, I will lean my center of mass over the board and onto the inside of the turn, more like how I would typically ride on a groomed slope, crossing over the top of the board at every edge change rather than weaving it underneath me.

And ultimately, it is a complete blending of these techniques that will allow you to ride well in the trees.

I wasn't filming these runs with a specific technique in mind, I was just having fun.

And as such, I couldn't find one run in which I only used one specific turn type, nor was I thinking about whether I should be making a turn of a certain type either.

I was only thinking about navigating my board through the trees, using my turns to control my speed as I do that, all whilst hopefully hitting some nice pockets of snow and fun features along the way.

Which kind of brings me to a bit of a conundrum.

There is technique that you can practice that will help you get all these movements down.

And what I'm essentially talking about here are the different ways that you can make an edge change.

I've tried not to get into any of that in this video, but I've referred to these movements in the past as up-unweighted, down-unweighted, terrain-unweighted, cross-over, cross-under, or retraction turns, just to name a few.

And since making some of these videos, the names for some of these techniques have changed.

And depending on whether you listen to a snowboard instructor in Canada, Europe, or New Zealand for instance, you might even hear different names for the same movement pattern.

And my point is, the nomenclature doesn't matter.

There are a bunch of different ways to change edge and different ways to get the board turning.

I'll link some of those videos down below.

And to ride effectively through the trees, you want to employ a good mix of these different techniques.

But that brings me back to my conundrum.

And that is that I don't think you should be thinking about any of this when you're actually riding in the trees.

Everything is going to happen so fast that you'll be making the movements that are the most natural to you.

And thinking, oh, I'm going to drop down low and retract the board underneath my center of mass and then push it out again into the next turn.

Well, that simply isn't going to help you when you're actually in there.

Whereas the tips I said at the beginning, simply looking ahead and trying to pick your line, well, that's going to be far more helpful.

And the second reason that you don't want to be thinking about all this snowboard instructor jargon is because when you're riding in the trees, you will start making the correct movements anyway.

If you've got space around you, you're naturally going to lean into the turns.

Then when it gets steeper or tighter, you'll be forced into making quicker, tighter turns.

You might absorb bump in the snow whilst turning and you've just made a terrain unweighted turn without even knowing it.

You, your body, your center of mass will always be looking for the smoothest path down the mountain and your legs will start working underneath you to ensure this happens.

There are plenty of riders who absolutely rip in the trees that have never heard or even thought about some of the techniques that I've just mentioned.

Now, this doesn't mean that my advice is just start riding trees and well, you'll get better at them.

I just mean that you're riding in an ever-changing environment that doesn't lend itself to drilling technique or repeating specific movements.

Therefore, you need to be in a reactive and alert state to ride them and rather than overthinking it, just try and enjoy yourself.

If you're really having no success at all, then you need to hone your skills on the groomed slopes first.

But perhaps you can get through the trees but you feel like you're just not improving.

Then maybe you can take a look at my videos on down unweighted or retraction turns.

I'll link below.

You can start playing with some of those different movements outside of the trees.

Then the next time you're in the trees, you might find that some of those movement patterns start to weave their way into your riding.

Oh, man.

Beautiful.

What an incredible place.

As I mentioned, I'm out here with Mint Tours.

Part of the reason that I've come with them is because I've never been to Japan before.

I've only got one week here and I wanted to make the most of that time.

The local guides here with Mint Tours have been here for years.

They know all these areas inside out and they can take you into the best places, which is exactly what you want.

It's only day three of my trip, but so far, it's been an absolute blast and I can't recommend them enough.

As I mentioned before, I'll put some more information regarding them and their trips down below so you can check them out if you're interested.

As always, guys, thank you very much for watching and I'll see you in the next one.