GET ON TRACK WITH THE BEAUTY OF BANKED SLALOM BY LANE CLEGG
n snowboarding’s early days, riders with skateboarding and surfing backgrounds looked for natural terrain that produced similar sensations to those sports. Tey discovered that snow displaced by lots of people riding the same line through gullies forms a winding series of short walls – a banked slalom track. At some point, someone decided to race down these courses, setting the stage for today’s banked slalom scene of organized races and informal sessions among friends. (Boardercross is a close cousin to banked slalom, with tracks sharing some of the same attributes but also including all manner of jumps. Tese tracks are typically built and maintained by the resort.)
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TAKE IT TO THE BANK In a class setting, a banked slalom session can be anything from a one-time trip through the track to enhance all-around riding to focused training in preparation for competition. Riding banks, berms, and rollers is a challenge in itself, with no need for made-up
On ONE CONDITION
To warm up, have students practice short-radius turns on moderate terrain, moving quickly from one edge to the other. Once on the new edge, they should skid the board for early speed control. Also have them work on movements toward the tip of the board at edge change to unweight the tail and make it easy to skid. Begin on less-steep pitches and then gradually move to steeper pitches to simulate the speed riders will experience in the track. Depending on the depth of the track it’s very difficult (if not impossible) to slow down, stop, or exit so it’s important that students are comfortable controlling speed and making quick and deliberate adjustments. Riders who are initially fearful about the terrain or their speed
may have a tendency to put too much weight on their back foot. Practice outside the course, perhaps on knuckles of jumps or the downhill side of cat tracks, to help them learn how to re-center weight on the board or put extra weight on the front foot.
To maneuver a banked slalom course, the rider needs to maintain good balance and alignment, which support the ability to make quick edge changes DQG DGMXVW VSHHG DQG WXUQ shape as needed through the run.
PHOTOS BY LANE CLEGG
drills or artificial tasks. It’s real snowboarding that encourages students to improve so they can manage the terrain… and ride it faster. Almost all advanced and intermediate students enjoy riding this
type of terrain. In fact, mini-banks that resorts often create in their terrain-based teaching area are incredibly popular with beginners because the rider turns automatically, allowing him or her to stay in control and feel how the snowboard works.
THE 3 MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS TO TEACH Riding a banked slalom course requires quick movements to adjust turn shape and control speed, so the ability to change edges quickly and efficiently is crucial. It’s also helpful if riders are comfortable moving from tip to tail to keep the board on the snow and maintain control. Help riders learn or refine these three must-have skills: 1. Te ability to make aggressive edge changes to adjust turn shape and speed
2. Moving fore and aft, and using a full range of flexion and extension movements to manage turns, bumps, jumps, rollers, spines, etc.
3. Looking ahead one or two turns to adequately set up for the next challenge down the track
28 | 32 DEGREES • FALL 2016
TAKE LOTS OF LAPS Because it’s hard stop in the middle of a course, memorize the layout in order to talk about specific berms or features before the run and during feedback afterwards. Count turns and refer to features within that count, i.e., “the roller after turn 4.” Riders will rarely be able to practice in just a portion of the track, so make multiple laps. No one will complain, since each lap gets progressively more fun. As riders strive for perfection through better line choice and management of the features they’ll maneuver the course more quickly, so consider timing each run to help students gauge their progress.
GO BEYOND THE GROOMERS Berms, rollers, jumps, and gullies provide natural thrills for all levels of students, so always be on the lookout for these alternate terrain options outside the typical groomed slope. Start with more wide- open options like gullies without trees, rocks, or cliffs, and work up to the more challenging natural terrain options as students improve. But be forewarned. Riding banked terrain is addictive – once they start, students won’t want to stop.
Lane Clegg is the former coach of the AASI Snowboard Team.
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