By Kurt Hoy

December 1, 1998

A carved turn is defined by a board's interaction with the snow. This relationship can be achieved in a variety of ways, but should be initially learned through what's called angulating. Angulating can best be described as bending, or creating angles in the body, in order to tip your board on edge.

The bending should occur in the ankles (if your boots aren't too stiff), knees, and hips, while the torso remains more or less upright. The advantage of angulating is that it allows you to assume a more balanced and potentially dynamic position over your board. For this reason, angulating is the technique that beginning carvers need to develop (balance is the central tenet of carved turns), and the one applied most by racers. The ability to angulate effectively will develop gradually as your body adapts to the new demands of riding in a flexed position. Proprioception (knowing where your body is in space) is key because many times riders think they're bending a lot, when in fact it's only a lot relative to how little they flexed before.

To get an idea of how it should feel, try flexing down with one hand on each side of your board, and reach as low as you can while your back remains straight (think squats). Your limitations will probably be in the ankles-going beyond those limits will either cause you to bend at the back or fall over off balance. If your hands touch the snow during a turn, you probably have a tendency to lean over rather than flex down. Try taking off your gloves for a run-angulation and balance will rapidly become second nature.

Variables come into play (like centrifugal force) that allow riders to stray from the technical mold of the angulated turn, but the basics can't be ignored. It's angulation that enables racers to power their edges in the iciest conditions, and carving neophytes to attain balance and sound riding positions. -K.H.