Comments on: How to Carve a Turn on a Snowboard

on 1/9/2008 The step-by-step mentioned above is a sound way to learn basic carving.
I'd like to think of linking turns like a basketball player's feet pivoting. Imagine when a basketball player stops his dibble, one foot is now planted on the ground as a pivot, and the other is free to move around.

Think of your downhill foot as your planted/pivot foot, and you back foot as the one that is doing the movement.

In regular foot, when doing your toe edge turn, imagine using your front foot as a pivot, and your back foot in a swinging motion.

Picture a grandfather clock. Like an old grandfather clock that has a large pendulum swinging back and fourth. This is a similar movement when linking turns.

As you raise your heels and dig your toe edge into the snow. Imagine (like a clock pendulum) swinging your right shoulder and right foot behind you. This will have you on your toe edge turning right.

Conversely, raise your toes and dig your heal edge into the now. Imagine (like a clock pendulum) swinging your right shoulder and right foot in front of you. This will have you on your heel edge turning left.

Notice how, in regular foot, the right shoulder and right foot do most of the swinging, while the lead left foot only is used to lift the toe or raise the heel.

Picture a pivot!

on 11/22/2005 During the transition between edges, I've found it helps to insert your backmost leg-knee into the back of your forward leg-knee. Doing this will help bend your board resulting in a curvier carve.