Heli Boarding in Deep Powder: Pro Tips

It’s that time again here at Last Frontier when the spring storms start to roll in, making this the perfect opportunity to get some last minute powder riding under your belt. If you’re a snowboarder and unfortunately haven’t made the most of your time yet this winter, take a moment to read these tips on riding the white gold; so when you do come, you get the best heli boarding value for you money, instead of getting stuck in a hole.

Sorting out your equipment
Owning a powder specific stick will instantly make riding here in BC a more enjoyable experience. Floating on top of the snow, instead of submerging and dragging through it, you’ll appreciate every minute. However, having your own board is not the only way to improve your riding experience.

Powder riding, and the enjoyment that we get out of it, can be very quickly and easily improved through some easy methods. Binding stance and angulations will give you an immediate advantage in deep powder. Setting your bindings back between 1 and 3 inches from your regular stance will transfer more weight to the back of the snowboard. From this position, the nose will rise up out of the snow a lot easier, making for a more floaty, surf-like ride and reduce back leg burn.

Also, unless you plan on riding switch regularly in the powder, reduce the angulations of your back foot and adopt a more aggressive forward-pointing position. Turn initiating will greatly improve, and whilst you may not always look like a seasoned professional, you won’t care with all the fun you’ll be having.

Body positioning
The first thing you should have been told when learning to ride powder, no matter how much experience you’ve had, is still the most important to bear in mind – ‘lean back’. This simple piece of advice varies depending on how your setup is: the further back your bindings, or more powder specific your board is, the less weight you need to shift. Also, bear in mind you are not trying to manual through the powder but float through effortlessly. We’d recommend about 60-70% of your weight on the back foot, depending on the steepness of the slope.

Maintain speed
Deep powder will slow you down immensely compared to pisted runs at resorts. For this reason, and the fact that it is very easy to get stuck when traveling slowly in deep snow, keeping your speed up is important. Added momentum will help you float on top of the snow and make maneuvering much easier.

Body movement
Although we want to go fast in powder, we should also aim to keep our movements relaxed and subtle. Abrupt motions will result in the snowboard getting buried in the snow, often jack-knifing you over the front of the nose. If you can combine the subtle movements with dynamic, bouncy turns then you’ll be looking like a pro in no time. Imagine your feet coming up towards your chest between the turns and concentrate on keeping knees soft and flexible. This will compensate for any unforeseen obstacles hidden under the depths of the snow.

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