I used a leash for a while, while I was learning, so that in case something went horribly wrong I wouldnt be chasing my board down the hill. I’ve actually been hit by a runaway board…hurts like hell!
I stopped using my leash so that I can switch which foot my board is attatched to on the lift, because I find that if I keep all the snowboard weight on just one foot it gets tired way faster.
The standing wave idea has really peaked my interest, and I have a bunch of buddies who kayak around here that might know where to go…we’ll see!
They did away with the leash rules when bindings started advancing and becoming more reliable, but it’s good lots of people still use them. Most runaway boards these days come from the yuppies who stop on the side of the trail to make a phone call or something. Thats why I hate the flow and step-in bindings - still prone to those same old failures
reasons for using a leash are the same ones you have crampons when going backcountry. may save your life one day. but thats NZ we have often extreme conditions. towers fall over from ice build up. we have often have to cross ice on steep traverses to get to powder stashes. also on the lift or Tbar you only have your front foot in the binding and also traversing from the lifts i often leave my back foot out so i can kick off the ground like a skateboard . hard plate bindings do occasionally snap or run loose. also when clicking in to hardplates after climbing its reasuring to attach to board to your leg before clicking in as often you have only a small ice seat that you cut with you board and your legs are practically dangling. jibers probably dont need leashes most of the time. carvers i know generally use them
the reason imo that carving boards are more like surfing then any other snow system. is that when surfing your in a forward stance most of the time. especially in the tube. also your rails are mostly fully engaged and your locked in with fins. jibbing on a snowboard is not like this. as turns are drifting turns and sliding. surfing is nothing like the feeling of riding softbindings in duck stance. that is more like freestyle skateboarding. i like riding a jib board for the fun jibbing experience. and my mate i pictured up there can ride jib boards as well. but most of the season we ride carving boards as they are the very close to a surfing experience in body positions . transition approach. bottom turns on transitions. laying turns over with engaged edge/rail. . you need an EDGE on the snow cuz its not water. powder boards are different of course but i like riding groom and powder and steeps all on the same day and dont want to be restricted to a powder board or anything like it. a border cross board suits me for powderdays.
90% of all jibbers you see up the mountain drift through turns. and only maybe a few percent can lay over a turn without drifting . and none can do a full laid turn. which IMO is like surfing. jibbing is great fun! but nothing like surfing
the damage done to that original board , in the link [original post] is reason enough to be wearing a leash , I would think .... imagine putting ALL those hours and dollars into a board , to have some young 'hip' guy say "nah , I don't need a leash , it's 'uncool' , then have him total the board into a tree ...if I were the shaper , and the glasser , and the sander of that board , I would have reason to be more than a little upset. [ Maybe these kids need to spend the dollars , time , effort , making a board like that THEMSELVES , then I BET they would use a leash . Free gifts are often mistreated , unfortunately ...make them PAY , and [hopefully] people "may" [take more ] care .... ]
...Not unlike people that are surfing in a crowd , on a mal without a 'leash' [leggie] , 'because it's cool ' [??!!] , I have lost count over the years , of the number of people I have seen [me included !] getting hit in the head and other body parts , by heavy , unleashed boards . Some were seriously injured.
See I think I see what’s going on here - you guys are equating “carving” with something that relates to surfing and you think I’m talking about jibbing… Yeah, I jib, but what I’m actually referring to is big-mountain backcountry riding, or sidecountry riding. That’s where I’m talking about a leash being a terrible idea… If you’re out in the powder in something like this:
And you fall, you’re going to tomahawk down the hill over and over at incredibly high speed through dangerous enough terrain… IF both of your bindings somehow fail in this situation, your snowboard (with its sharpened metal edges) is the LAST thing you want attached to your leg. Like I said, this is the same reason skiiers don’t use leashes (and often loose their skis in terrain like this). If you had that thing attached to you by a rope, it would be pendulum-ing all over the place as your body goes end-over-end for a few miles. You’re guranteed it’s going to snap a few bones as the thing picks up momentum and slams into you over and over (and if you wanna factor in the razor-sharp east coaster edges, you may even loose a few digits or limbs).
hey ben this is off a little sequence i shot of my mate on the last day of the season . cant wait till next season. we have to climb if we want to board through summer.
Crazy, The avalanche course is a great first step in getting back country skills. find people that have been skiing and riding the back country and learn from them as well. 90%of the back country deaths are human errors. I hope you never ever have to use your prob. Even side country can kill. As for back country gear. by the best that you can afford always test your beacon. Practice with your beacon ever chance you get! Then practice. Then do it some more. I do not know much about snowboards. a couple of companies make split boards that will be a lot easier on you for hiking.
Shuska, that shot looks like the ones that are frequently published in Frequency, out of Bellingham, WA (Mt. Baker).
They do a pretty good job, like the snowboarding equivalent to The Surfer’s Journal. Amazing photos. Good to keep the stoke going and provide inspiration.
Looks like they have a digital version, might be cheaper for those downunder.
Paul, nice shot. When my wife and I moved to Bend three years ago, we saw carvers for the first time. Nothing else even close to them on hill. A small percentage, to be sure, but very unlike soft boot snowboarders or skiers: nothing else can turn like that. You can spot a carver a mile away on the summit, just from the turns.
Hell yeah! If you get an opportunity to be the “victim” in a drill ever I reccomend it to - we did a yearly drill at Alpine Meadows when I worked there and I got to volunteer. They burried me in a small snow cave and I was in there for 45 minutes (took about 15 min to set up the scenario after they burried me) for the dogs to find me. Gives you a good idea of what it’s like to be burried for extended periods of time and how to stay calm and wait for rescue. Lots of fun actually.
And yeah, practice practice. My friends and I used to burry a beacon in the yard somewhere and then take turns trying to find it. You’d be surprised how complicated those things can be if you aren’t well rehearsed with them.
Dude that site is sick man! I’m assuming it’s because it’s attached to a physical publication, but typically the blogs don’t have such high quality sites… I’m gonna have to add that one to my bookmarks, thanks Moss. Can’t believe I hadn’t heard of that before!
Oh yeah, sorry for the tripple posting, but I thought of one more board reccomendation for you - If you want a good park board or a good “carver” (what I’d refer to as a groomer/on-resort board) check out anything by K2 that has the “Bambooyah” core. They released that a few years back and they claim the bamboo core is basically indestructable. If you ever manage to snap the board through the core anywhere, they will replace it no matter how you did it. I had a buddy back over his with a truck and it didn’t even delam!
Well - I think someone pointed out, a good reason for a little lift leash is, once you start getting your S together to put on the board, and if it should bust loose right then and there… BUMMER!!! As for the wipe out… I had plenty and never had binding fail.
Thankfully my ski bindings never failed. If they did fail then my knees would be toast, Of course in skis failing means they did not release when they should release. Much easier to hike the back country with Powder skies and a randonee set up then with a board. I did a couple of ventures with a guy in our group that used snow shoes to hike and switched for the downhill run.
Luckily, none of my friends have AT skis yet, so we’ll be snowshoeing in for at least the early part of the winter. Makes it much easier on me–I’ll have some time to get a splitboard if I really need to, and will be able to keep up with the group with a snowboard on my back.
Shushka thanks for all the advice, I’ll definitely practice a ton with my avi gear to make sure we can find a beacon before we even think about going out into the backcountry. This is making me all excited about getting some real snow as opposed to the mere inches of man made slush we have right now!
Much easier to hike the back country with Powder skies and a randonee set up then with a board. I did a couple of ventures with a guy in our group that used snow shoes to hike and switched for the downhill run.
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best for steeper climbs while packing the board are Verts, light, stubby little plastic snowshoes…pack easy, on in a flash, nothing beats them up a steep climb.
the best for longer traverses with more gradual climbs, was the K2 Approach Ski, made just for boarders…108cm, well under two pounds, permanent climbing skins on the bottom…Verts are still made, unfortunately, K2 quit making the Approach Ski…
snow is cold.