Stance for riding powder?
Thanks all. I’ll have a play around with it next week, the conditions here at the moment are more hard pack, this place needs more snow.
Nice video Mizu…
mannnnnnnnnn.. I can’t wait to go back to Japan.
You are right with the tip.. just relax and go with the flow.
When I ride powder, everything seems to be in slow motion. 
Cheers, ojisan!!!!! 
So in the end there wasn’t that much fresh stuff around and I ended up leaving everything as is.
Still a great day out in the cat’s.
Setback is the first thing I would change. I’m assuming your stance is centred on the GTwin? If so, start by moving both bindings back towards the tail by an inch; this will give you a setback of one inch. It should make a noticeable difference. You could even go further if you feel you need to.
From there, you can also look at bringing your stance width in a little bit. Personally, I find a narrower stance a bit better for riding pow. Your legs are less bent and it gives you more power to your back foot, while minimising muscle fatigue. Try it: stand there with a really wide stance and try to get all your weight onto your back foot. It can be done, but your legs have to remain fairly flexed to do it. Now try with a narrower stance. You can shift your weight to your back foot much easier, without using as much muscle power. Basically this will help with the fatigue. You can do this in combination with the setback, i.e., move front binding back two inches, and the back binding back an inch. This will give you a stance width of 22” and a setback of 1.5”. Actually, that is worth trying. It should make a lot of difference.
The other thing you can play with is the angle on your back binding, as bkrtron suggested. On my Fish for example, I think I ride 18/-3, where usually I am 15/-15.
Basically, if you’re riding pow and struggling with your stance, you want to go to a more freeride-oriented stance, which all the above suggestions will help you do. Please keep in mind though, all these suggestions will make riding switch in pow more difficult, if that’s something you do.
It’s been snowing all day at Cortina. I’m going to give this a crack tomorrow.
Im very jealous of you right now Tobi!
Enjoy Cortina!
Awesome. Rip it up, Tobi. Let us know how you go.
So my normal stance is about 23.5 inches +15/-15. I moved the back foot back as far as it would go, the front foot in so mu stance wasn’t as wide. Kept the front foot on +15 and the back I moved to -5.
Was good, actually think if riding those conditions again I’d bring the front foot in a bit more and make the back 0.
I rode the same stance in pow and everyday riding, +21 -9. Get a pow board if possible and you won’t have to mess anything with your stance.
Hey Tobi,
Just a few thoughts that might help you out (it sounds like you’ve already made it easier for yourself):
- Moving the bindings back will help float. And a less ducked stance will give you a little more drive on your back foot. However, putting any foot at zero can have some negative impact on your knees. Always try and point your feet at least a little positive or negative because that allows knees to bend when the board moves forward or backward underneath you (happens in powder without even trying). Protect yo knees!
- On the subject of less effort, moving the bindings will help, but you can also adjust your body position to make it way more efficient and less tiring (less bails too).
Everyone always says lean back, put all the weight on the back foot but they may be doing one thing and telling you to do another. Take your normal stance and just shift your hips over your back foot (rather than leaning cause it will bend the board causing you to resist against it all day).
Last year I rode all season in Japan with a short cambered board. My Bindings were centred and ducked +15 -15. That comes from experience, but maybe a combo of moving your bindings and adjusting your position a little will help you find your sweet spot and allow you to rip!
Thanks Andy! Interesting point about the riding on 0….
Sadly it’s going to be a while before I ride powder again. :(
I have to disagree with Andy. I don’t see why riding with 0 degree angle will ruin your knee (I have a kinesiology degree) + when you’re riding I can guarantee you you’re not 100% parallel/in line with your board. You will always be facing forward just a very very tiny bit so your knee will be at a straight up and down angle anyway.
And if it makes you feel any better Nicolas Muller rides with +0 on his back foot.
Riding with 0 angle may have some problem if you have bad ankle mobility or hip mobility, but as I said before most likely when you’re riding your knee will not be travelling up and down in a straight angle.
Do you just follow me around disagreeing with everything I post now? 
Maybe you’re right, it’s not my field so it’s beyond my understanding.
I’m just quoting what I was told by a Sports Scientist in Perisher. And it seems quite possible to me because the board moving fore and aft is a common movement in snowboarding and if the foot is at zero, then that movement would pushing the knee directly sideways which knees aren’t meant to do. Bending a knee sideways plus a bit of impact like landing a drop would seem like an easy way to dislocate a knee. So I took his word for it.
Whether it’s true or not, I don’t know. And I don’t have the knowledge to prove or disprove it.
But for me personally, the words of someone who studied it are enough for me to not want to take that chance. You guys can make up your own minds on it though.
Hahaha, I don’t disagree with everything you say Andy =p.
I think riding positive angle on the back foot put even more pressure on the knees than knees straight and lots of guys have been riding with forward angles and still riding strong (e.g. Terje, Jake, Gigi).