How to Snowboard in the Trees | 3 Simple Tips to Riding Confidently in the Trees and Gladed Terrain

Hey, Leo from Focus Snowboards here. Thanks for joining again. Today, we're gonna be looking at some top tips on how to ride in the trees. Got an awesome day here out at Big White. Took a big roadie out west and the conditions are unreal, but this place is all about epic tree runs and it just goes and goes and goes. Okay, so when you're looking at heaps of terrain like this, it's really inviting, really, really enjoyable to ride, but it's often a point of, I wanna say, kind of tension for riders, indecision, and also a bit of nerves as well on whether they can trust that they can redirect the board where they want to, when they want to. So the top three tips that we're gonna go through today. Number one, we're gonna be looking at the ability to turn the size and the shape of your turn whenever you want, from small to large to medium, open, closed, you need to be very, very versatile and able to move the board around at will. Second thing that we're gonna look at is your ability to steer the snowboard quickly and this uses a whole lot of torsional flex in the snowboard and we'll go through that one. And then the third one is line of sight and pre-thought and pre-planning so that you're always a couple of turns ahead of yourself and we'll go through these separately. Tip number one was turn size and shape. So just having the ability to use your steering and your turning movements for as long as you want or as short as you want to continue to turn the snowboard through closed and open turns as often as you like. The biggest thing with this that you're gonna wanna build comfort with before you head into the trees is being able to do this whenever you want. There's no point heading into tight tree runs if you're struggling with the timing of when to make turns. So this should be pretty effortless. Top tip number two is to be able to flash the board around underneath you quite quickly for turns. And if you've had lessons before or you've ever spoken to an instructor before, you've probably heard all sorts of words for these things, knee steering, edge wiggles, sidewinders, fish turns, all kinds of stuff, but you can kind of picture in your mind's eye having the snowboard snake quickly back and forwards between one edge and another. And in order to do this really, really smoothly, you just need to make the most of the torsional flex in the snowboard. So I'm thinking about the sensations in my feet rolling from the balls of the feet to the heels from one foot over the other. So through the front foot, rolling to the balls of the feet, the back foot joins, then the heels of the feet and the back foot joins. And that's the feeling sequentially backwards and forwards from heel to toe and toe to heel. But the reason it's so critical for tree riding is usually when you're riding in the trees, you're in kind of like a predetermined track set out by the trees themselves. So you need to be able to time these two, those as easy as possible. And you can see like just practicing these things out on a groomer with space, being able to move the snowboard quickly from edge to edge in a very versatile way over quite a flat base is very, very crucial for tree riding. So finally, when you find some tree runs that you like the look of, look what we've got here. We've got trees lining the run with a groomer on the side for bailout. So I can kind of pick something off that I like the look of, dip in, have a turn, come back out. I can find something I like, I can dip in, take a turn, and then bail back out. So I've always given myself an opportunity to exit safely, take myself out of the situation so it doesn't become overwhelming and snowball into a lack of control whilst I'm riding. And as you build more and more and more through this sequence, you're gonna get to a point where, like I said, you can start to flash the board around quite quickly through the trees, really take advantage of these tight tree runs. Oh, it's just epic. Like it's so exhilarating. Old mountain bike trails here in the summer, heaps of fun, unreal. And then number three was line of sight. So nothing technical really here, but if I roll through here, I can point to you, I'm looking all the way out in front of me. I'm thinking that I'm gonna be at least two turns ahead of myself. Okay, so as I move into tighter terrain, so I'm already thinking, I'm looking down there already, like two or three bumps in, trying to pre-plan where my next move is so I don't get caught short in this terrain. If I just stay looking at the ground in front of me or focusing on the single turn that I'm in, then I'm gonna get stuck. So let's look again for options. I'm gonna move into these trees here. My eyesight's looking all the way through the gaps, not at the trees. I'm identifying spaces that I can move into. And I haven't ridden here before very much. I don't know this run. And this is why those earlier skills are more important. Those are some really practical things you can be doing to help yourself with your tree riding. It's not easy. It takes time to build confidence. So please take your time with these ones. And the best advice I can give you in terms of run selection for trees when you're building your skills is to focus on the pitch. Don't take on anything that's too steep because things happen quickly. And that's where mistakes can be made that are difficult to come back from. So the best thing you could be doing is finding some tree runs that are really mellow and are very, very easy in terms of speed management. So those are the top three tips for tree riding from me today at Big White. Some awesome terrain here. If you've not had a chance to visit, highly suggest it. And just as a quick recap for you, number one, really dial in your ability to change your turn size and shape at will, anytime, anywhere. Top tip number two, really get familiar with the torsional flex in your snowboard and how you can make nice, quick, subtle edge changes from heel to toe and toe to heel. Tip number three, the vision, looking ahead, preparing and planning ahead.