How to Cross the Flats While Snowboarding

Crossing the flats on a snowboard could be one of your least favorite things in the world to do - here are some ways to get through them.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Helmets
• Snowboard Bag
• Snowboard Bindings
• Snowboard Boots
• Snowboard Clothing
• Snowboard Goggles
• Snowboard Hats
• Snowboard Leash
• Snowboards
• Helmets

1. Tuck and try to keep a straight line if you find yourself the unsuspecting victim of a slow, flat section. This will help retain your speed and carry you further than anything else you can do.

2. "Slingshot" if you are with friends who are skiing (it could happen), which means that they offer you a pole to pull you along. This is not a recommended technique if you have a large ego as you will, no doubt, hear about it later from these skiers. You could also get skewered by the skier's pole.

3. Take your back foot out of the back binding and push like you are on a skateboard until you get to a slope again.

4. Claw the snow like a dog in very short sections to propel yourself along. It works, but it's the least dignified thing you can do on a board.

Tips & Warnings

• Try to avoid flat, speed-free sections of the mountain by checking the trail map. Most maps will indicate flats on a legend.
• Watch out for skiers and snowboarders who bomb past you at high speed as they attempt to get through the flats. They are moving fast, and you are moving slowly or not at all. This could be an Excedrin moment.
• Skateboarding is an inherently dangerous activity that can result in serious injury or death. We recommend that you seek proper training and equipment before attempting this activity.

Who Can Help Sponsored

• Tired of Being Tired? Fight Fatigue and Try FRS for FREE!

[ibrahimj]

on 1/9/2009 Really helpful. Last year was my first season and I wish I had known these tips before. It was sooo frustrating./

[ibrahimj]

on 1/9/2009 Great advice. Last year was my first season, and it was sooo frustrating crossing the flats. Wish I had this advice before.

[Enzo]

on 10/8/2006 Flats can be the most aggrivating section of the mountain...if you let it be. As you come up to the flats, tuck. When I say tuck, I mean kiss the board more or less. Get down as low you possibly can. Don't wait until you reach the flats to tuck, but start just before you hit it. If you have a lot of speed going in, you may not need to tuck that much. If you go in relatively slow, tuck as much as you can.

Once you're finally going through the flats, do not come up out of the tuck. Stay low and, as you're riding, twist your upper body forward and clench your hands together into a fist to make yourself as aerodynamic as possible. Stay in this position until you're cleanly out of there.

As you're riding, you also want to make sure to try and not turn...at all. This is especially true if you're going in with next to no speed. Any slight turn can slow you down dramatically. Keep your board as flat as you can. If the flat area is straight, you have no excuse to go onto an edge. If it's a little curvy, forcing you to turn then don't panic. Keep yourself in the aerodynamic tuck that you've been in and now, just ever so slightly go onto an edge, just enough for the board to turn without creating too much drag. It may be difficult at first because of how low you're bending down on the board, but this is really where you have to use nothing more than the tips of your toes or the tip of your heel in order to turn. If you use any more than that, you'll lose crucial speed.

That's it. If you're going in with plenty of speed from having just come off a good steep, then great. Those rules apply less. Those are more for the areas that you're forced into with very little speed and you're trying to keep yourself going without any other kind of propulsion.

on 11/22/2005 1. To go that extra step, buy the right wax for your board using the most likely conditions as your guide (this is so obvious, but laziness gets the better of all of us).

2. Speed before the flat is the key.

3. Look at the map beforehand. If you are a beginner, it is best to avoid these runs until you can board at some speed (since you will end up knackered and pushing yourself with one foot).

4. Even if your a decent boarder, if the piste is hideously busy, you'll be peddling with the worst of them.

5. If you have to stop, try doing so at the nearest struggling female boarder. Make sure her guy isn't next to her. Take you feet out of your binders, and tow her along. This could pay off later during apri-ski.

on 11/22/2005 First, lean foward a bit. As long as you are on some kind of slope, this will always help. If you need to speed up, try doing an ollie-type motion with your feet. This can speed you up somewhat. It is also a good way to get moving at the top of the hill.