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Old Short ski technique on Modern Skiboard!

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  • Old Short ski technique on Modern Skiboard!

    In many ways the most modern of skiboards the Rockered condor has allowed a resurrection of a historical short ski turn right into the modern age and made it hugely powerful. Modern skiboards have wonderful sidecuts and camber that allow them to easily be rocked up on edge and carved into turns. If you look into the history of short ski development , however, you will see short skis which have no camber, and are straight and flat. These short skis were pivoted while flat to the snow and then edged to control the turn . There was no real side cut to help them carve around the turn and controlling these short skis was all about pivot and then edge . The pivoting was aided by keeping the skis right together, making the skis go flat and then just bending the knees, using and rotating the knees, and then as the skis went around going up on edge. In previous posts I have discussed Clif Taylor and his development of the Shortee ski in the 1960's/1970's / Clif Taylor was a proponent of teaching folks to "ski in a day " by teaching folks to turn in this way, keeping their shortees right together like one mono board, , pivoting on their short flat , no camber shortees and then rocking up on edge to control their speed . Here is a photo sequence of him demonstrating this technique ...


    About the same time H. Buehrene starting using short skis in the backcountry and found them wonderful for turning in manky soft backcountry snow . The technique was the same , skis right together , pivoting easily on a flat camberless base , and then edgeing to control speed . Here is a picture of him turning his short skis in the backcountry



    The key to the design of these proto skiboards were that they were flat without camber , short and straight without side cut but fat compared to the cambered , skinny skis of the day . The RCondor is the first modern flat camberless skiboard and in addition has Rockered tips and tails making it a pivoting machine !

    For me the Rockered Condor has allowed me to resurrect this ancient short ski technique and make it the key to negotiating all manner of nasty backcountry snow . I ride with my boards right together as if I was on short monoski , I pivot on the camberless flat base turning easily in all manner of nasty snow and then edge both skiboards together simultaneously to control speed. In firm icy snow , I will pivot and slide with a soft edge to control speed ( the slarve technique I have discussed in a previous post ) .


    It is of course not the only technique the I can use on the Rockered Condor and a two footed wider stance carving like regular skibords is also possible and useful on the Rockered condor , but the ease of pivoting and the way the Rockered tips provide float but do not interfere with ease of turning in difficult 3 dimensional snow is what makes the RCondor so wonderful in the backcountry.

    A word about poles . Even back in 1960 Clif Taylor thought that the best way of learning how to ski his shortees was without poles , but later folks could add the poles back if they wished once they got the hang of pivoting on their shortees. The key was to use them properly and not to lean on them . I have found that adding the poles back in difficult backcountry snow , variable snow and powder, helps with my timing , balance and feeling the snow ahead of me while turning my skiboards and I have found more benefits then negatives.
    Boards :
    Blunt Xl, DLP, Spliff, Condor, Rockered Condor , Slingshot, Sherpa, Icelantic Shaman
    Boots
    K2 BFC 100 Grip walk sole , Dynafit CR Radical AT boot, Ride Insano Snowboard boots
    Bindings:
    Zero Pro Non release Binding
    Modified Receptor Backcountry Bindings (Bill Version and Slow Version)
    Spruce Riser with Attack 14 GW /AT binding
    Custom Risers with Fritschi Backcountry Bindings (Jeff Singer version 1, Bill version)
    Rocker and Sbol Soft Boot Bindings.

  • #2
    As you know, a central plank of the Brazen DS110 design calls for almost zero camber to allow for just this type of turn IF REQUIRED. Conventional carving turns work just the same as on any other skiboard, but with less sensitivity due to the more relaxed sidecut.
    Of the two, the RCondor pivots more easily due to its rockered design. It will be interesting to see how the two boards compare in manky snow, an area inwhich the RCondor really excells.
    Crossbow (go to dream board)
    Most everything else over time.
    Go Android

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