Please help! Advice for left hand side hilling

[d8grandpa]

One thing to consider in thinking you need a lefty throttle is that if you are riding your sled correctly wether on left,right or in the middle the distance from your shoulder to your hand grips should almost always be the same. So if you are in a left hand side hill and you can't reach the throttle that means your handle bars are not square to your shoulders, you need to counter steer more and keep your shoulders square to your bars. This is a common problem that a lot of riders struggle with and they think a lefty will help them but it is just a band aid for incorrect handle bar shoulder positioning on your sled. When you start riding your sled with equal arm length all the time it will become very natural to you and you will have much less arm fatigue as well. Also as stated early stand as far back on your boards as possible it will help elevate your skis which will make it easyer to counter steer and give you more control. As you get better you will find yourself moving forward to hold better lines but to learn it is better to stand back. Happy sledding! Oh and one more thing never ever ever ever use your mountain strap to side hill once you let go of your handle bar and grab your strap you just gave up control of your sled to the mercy of the hill.

 

[powderpilot]

Glad to hear you're progressing!!! That's awesome!! Keep up the practice and leave the training weels off the sled

 

[agalen]

One thing to consider in thinking you need a lefty throttle is that if you are riding your sled correctly wether on left,right or in the middle the distance from your shoulder to your hand grips should almost always be the same. So if you are in a left hand side hill and you can't reach the throttle that means your handle bars are not square to your shoulders, you need to counter steer more and keep your shoulders square to your bars. This is a common problem that a lot of riders struggle with and they think a lefty will help them but it is just a band aid for incorrect handle bar shoulder positioning on your sled. When you start riding your sled with equal arm length all the time it will become very natural to you and you will have much less arm fatigue as well. Also as stated early stand as far back on your boards as possible it will help elevate your skis which will make it easyer to counter steer and give you more control. As you get better you will find yourself moving forward to hold better lines but to learn it is better to stand back. Happy sledding! Oh and one more thing never ever ever ever use your mountain strap to side hill once you let go of your handle bar and grab your strap you just gave up control of your sled to the mercy of the hill.

agree 100% on the mountain bar/strap....it should just be removed from the sled all together

 

[volcano buster]

agree 100% on the mountain bar/strap....it should just be removed from the sled all together

I wouldn't be too hasty. I use it to roll the sled over if I am rolling it completely. It is safer to grab and pull than any of the cables/hoses or controls. Otherwise, it gets no use.

 

[QuackTrax]

Thanks so much

A HUGE thank you to everyone who posted-- even reading others' questions helped me articulate my own misunderstandings. My husband and I spent a week last month in the Snowies with another couple and I am so excited that I learned to sidehill! Oddly, I can do it pretty easy going left…. meaning the uphill side is on my left… The other side, for me, is still pretty ugly. But we get one more week out there next week (we live too far away!) and I am hoping to get better at the left side and do a passing job of sidehilling on the right side. Just reading everyone's comments is what really helped me to understand how it should feel, and I have come to some conclusions:

A. Yep. Big ol' guys can carve easier and they can swear up and down it's not about upper body strength "its all technique," they say… Yeah. Sure. 150# woman had better have a different way of handling a sled than a 2-300# guy. (Yep, I learned the hard way that doing it the way it looks like they're doing just hurts my shoulders.

B. Oh boy is it about how your sled is set up! I ride an M7, and I am prob saying this funny, but my sled is real "tippy," skis are closer together, weight is all on the track, not the skis, way easier to carve on or sidehill on than my friend's new stock Nytro. Hers is set all wide skis and all the weight is way on the front (is this called rider forward, I think?) (I feel like all Nytros are like that unless they're modded a bunch.)

C. Holy moly my husband is a great rider and likes to do that "both feet on one side" thing. I understand the theory behind it, but apparently my brain overrides the theory and I get all stiff and scared and overcompensate and have one of my ugly dismounts. So I appreciate that idea from afar and just go ahead and keep one foot on either side of my sled. But the advice about moving my feet (my uphill foot for sure) back a bit made a HUGE difference.

D. I had some really gorgeous riding (well, IMHO, hehe) and I had some seriously ugly "dismounts." Can't wait to go back next week and figure it out a little more.

Thanks again, Ladies and Gentlemen. Loving the Powder Room!
Cyndi

 

[T.O.T.]

Well I guess I haven't updated everyone on my progress in awhile so here goes....

Taking everything that has been posted into consideration and with having lots of different snow conditions everywhere we ride I have been busting my tail!

Moved my bars actually back and down on my sled and oh boy did it make a huge difference! My sled was actually pulling me forward with the bar placement being too upright. In addressing the issue of clutching the bf did finally admit that my sled was engaging a little late which usually had already put me all off kilter. So I ordered a DJ clutch kit........ and then......

The very same day I ordered that clutch kit the bf went and bought himself a new sled. Of course there was much pouting that ensued! So we found me a used 08 XP 800 with a 154 track. I was nervous since the reviews I have read were not all that great but let me tell you, this thing is awesome to ride! Yes my sidehilling still needs some work but my ability to ride this sled is soo much better then the old 600. So now its back to the drawing board taking everything my fellow powderhounds have posted and using it on my new sled!

 

[Woops!]

Something I just thought of... Took some skiing lessons last year & noticed (when the demon of an instructor had us ski on only one leg with no ski on the other) that my Left leg is wayy weaker and has a Lot less balance than the right leg... When I'm trying to sidehill with the left leg on the board & right hanging out, it's way more awkward (as it was today when I ran the hubby into a tree well).... time to do some one legged squats and balance exercises... just a thought

 

[mtsummitx]

Hey T.O.T I stumbled in here and happened across this thread, I see it's been a while since you posted progress so maybe you have it mastered by now. But, I will share something that helps me. First, I'll give ya a little back ground on me, I am only about 160lbs and ride an 03 Summit (ZX Chassis) with sway bar in-tact I might add. So handling really sucks!! But, I actually am more comfortable left hand side hilling and carving than right. One thing I do, is roll my throttle lever down on the bar quite a bit. This allows me when standing, to roll my hand forward on the bar and grab the throttle with my fingers underneath so I have a better grip on the bar to pull up on when needing to pull the sled over to the left. Hope this may help!

 

[Devilmanak]

Hey T.O.T I stumbled in here and happened across this thread, I see it's been a while since you posted progress so maybe you have it mastered by now. But, I will share something that helps me. First, I'll give ya a little back ground on me, I am only about 160lbs and ride an 03 Summit (ZX Chassis) with sway bar in-tact I might add. So handling really sucks!! But, I actually am more comfortable left hand side hilling and carving than right. One thing I do, is roll my throttle lever down on the bar quite a bit. This allows me when standing, to roll my hand forward on the bar and grab the throttle with my fingers underneath so I have a better grip on the bar to pull up on when needing to pull the sled over to the left. Hope this may help!

I cannot believe this is the first post that has mentioned this! I cringe whenI have to do a right hand sidehill, LOVE doing lefts. Something about being able to put pressure on the bars and still deal with throttle. Have you tried adusting your throttle angle? It may be making it uncomfortable to do certain things.I leave mine jsut tight enough so I can rotate it when riding, to see what works best for me.
No offense, but the 08 XP is going to be worse than the Rev, I know a lot of guys who woudl ride a Rev over an XP any day.
Just for grins, find someone with an XM and try it out, your outlook on sledding will probably change a lot.
Something that helped me out a lot also, after switching from Pro to XM, is thatI don't have to commit to crazy speed to sidehill. Sometimes I just park it on the sidehill, take a break, then start going again. You can go really really slow on crazy steep sidehills with the right sled, which helps learning how to do it.
My buddy who rides a Pro SPECTACULARLY, once said: I have three levels of sidehilling/weigh transfer:
1) Feet on both sides of tank.
2) Both feet on one side.
3) Right foot on left board, left leg hangingout as far as you can. (Or the reverse for a right turn.)
With most of the newer sleds,number three is never needed.
Rambling. Hope some of this helped. Come to MCall to ride, you and your guy can ride my XM.
Chris

 

[Skadi]

My biggest advice to ANYONE looking at this thread and looking for advice on sidehilling or carving to EITHER direction is to make sure you are counter-steering! After doing some clinics this year I have watched so many people START to countersteer and then loose it before they actually blip the throttle and bring the sled up.

The way I really encourage people to re-wire their brains is the break it down into steps.

1. little throttle to roll sled fwd and make steering easier and counter steer as hard and far as you can, TO THE STOPS! if you don't get it there don't even BOTHER moving on to step 2! STOP after you do this and ensure you are there. it's totally ok to take a second and make sure you are committed to that counter-steer.

2. switch to wrong foot fwd (this is good for learning but I am by no means saying that wrong foot fwd technique always has to be used to pull your sled over. AND in many cases doing wrong foot fwd is actually harder in a meadow than it is up on the hills!). Look at foot placement and know how the different placements affect what your machine will want to do. fwd will keep it on edge and keep nose down, will also help initiate pull over when on a steep hill. middle of board will transition you into a smooth sidehill, back will push you around and bring you back uphill faster. On a hill I often have foot fwd to bring sled over and then either move back for bring it all the way around, middle for staying in sidehill or keep fwd if i just want it on edge but want to be going downhill that way...

3. THEN you throttle blip and bring it over. Aggressive throttle blips, BRAAAP! not, brrrrraaaaaaappppppp. you want a good crisp POP, this is where clutching can help too! I often cover my brake so that I can bring it on edge and then stop it right there. before it jumps up onto the fresh snow. when it's in the shelf I just created with my throttle blip it will want to stay on edge (when on a hill)

once you learn how to trust and commit to the counter-steer bringing your sled over to the right or left is just as easy. The only thing that is harder is bringing it UP from flat on a hillside to the right hand side cause you're reaching so far for bars... sometimes it's best to point her downhill and reset yourself on edge if you loose that edge on the right hand side!

I know it's annoying and it feels slow and like you're not really learning anything... but when you break it down and REALLY force yourself to counter-steer you WILL be able to bring it over MUCH easier!! Have a friend take pics for you or better yet vid!! I know I thought I was counter-steering a few years ago when I was on a hill practicing my right hand sidehill and it took someone else to come up to me and tell me I was only HALF counter-steering! half counter-steering does not do it, especially on the right side when you can sometimes get away with it on your left side!

best thing to do, honestly, is slow it down and practice with very exaggerated moves.

 

[Skadi]

by the way TOT, nice profile pic!!!

(the whole trusting the counter-steer thing is something you can work on for sure but believe me when I say I am NOT singling you out with that post! I've ridden with tons of men and women alike who don't actually fully commit to that counter-steer and that kills em!)

 

[T.O.T.]

by the way TOT, nice profile pic!!!

(the whole trusting the counter-steer thing is something you can work on for sure but believe me when I say I am NOT singling you out with that post! I've ridden with tons of men and women alike who don't actually fully commit to that counter-steer and that kills em!)

Trust me! I learned so much from you! Haha! Even had a moment or two to point out to the guys that they weren't counter steering too lol! Anxiously awaiting the snow so I can get out and practice some more!

 

[allierae]

I just wanted to add too, lots of great advice things I hadn't thought of! I ride an older sled with mods to it. It was really tricky learning to side hill the best thing I found was that if I stayed on the throttle ( I know like others have said its not always appropriate to do so, but when you can) I had more control and more momentum to initiate the counter steering. It's a little threatening at first but if you stick with it it gets easier! Also a good thing to do is instead of trying to just go right into a counter steer, try climbing a small hill standing on the back of your running boards and just rock back and forth an find your tipping point. The farther back you stand when rocking the more control you will have. Play with your throttle in there, that was the best advice I was given when first learning. I'm no pro but I hope it helps you out Good luck to you! I didn't have time to read all the posts so sorry if this is a repeat! The ones I read all have super great advice though! Definitely picked up a few pointers to expand my riding techniques!