AmSnow.com is now SnoWest.com
4 mountain riding positions
First position is Neutral. This is legs on both sides of the machine knees bent. Second position is still straddling the seat but your heel is off the inside running board and the other foot is leaning on the seat. Third position has the rider with both feet on one running board and heels hanging off the rails for maximum leverage. In the final riding position, position four, or wrong foot forward, the rider positions the wrong foot on the running board with the other foot hanging off.
Wrong foot forward is the most aggressive of the riding positions. The other riding positions, in many cases, are just transition positions to wrong foot forward. Basically the riding position should be determined by the steepness of the hill or how hard you want to turn the machine.
On the snow Bret conducted several drills allowing us students to put these techniques into practice. We did a series of downhill u-turns with Bret evaluating our riding along with a couple of guys videoing. At the end of Day One we watched the video to see what we were doing wrong.
The video evaluation really helped because how you think you look on the machine is quite different from your real position. Visually studying your form helps you make changes on your next ride.
Bret’s principals are easily understood and make good riding sense, so attending Rasmussen’s clinic can help any mountain rider. The hard part is remembering to apply those principals while on the sled!
Yet a couple days at the clinic certainly helped improve my riding. Bret identified a few of my bad habits and explained how to correct them, just like a golf pro can help smooth out a swing. One bad habit, keeping the correct foot on the running board but twisting my body and hanging the right foot off the board. This position is quite common, but has drawbacks, and once explained it’s clear that it doesn’t work as well as wrong foot forward.
Our experience at the clinic was great, the riding incredible and the lodging and meals spectacular. Plus we had a fun and knowledgeable group of riders at our clinic.
Bret has lived and breathed snowmobiling for most of his life and he tells a load of interesting stories about his experiences over the years. Plus he likes to play a few tricks. One of his favorites is calling you out and having you try to follow him through some ridiculously tight trees. More often than not this doesn’t go so well for the follower and you either end up hitting a tree or getting stuck, meanwhile Bret is navigating through the hazard with ease, likely laughing the whole time.
So how much better am I now? Well, I still can’t hang with Bret, but can definitely give it a better shot. Now instead of getting stuck at the bottom of the hill, I get stuck a little further up the hill. … at least I’m making progress.
More info: Ride Rasmussen Style, www.riderasmussenstyle.com; Deviant Sled Works, www.deviantsled.com; Tabby Mountain Ranch, www.tabbymountainranch.com/; Black Diamond Xtreme http://bd-xtreme.com