Are you sitting at home with your new splitboard and wondering how to get started? Here are our six tips to help you have fun on the mountain and get started.
Splitboard beginners are often experienced snowboarders who dream of being able to ride beautiful, previously unattainable lines with their new splitboard. You can certainly make this a reality quickly, but our advice for the first tour: keep it simple and don't overdo it! The mountains won't run away and it makes more sense to practice your technique and get to know your equipment than to take unnecessary risks.
Even if they are sometimes laughed at, a piste tour is a very good first tour. You can concentrate fully on the ascent and don't have to worry about choosing a route or avalanche risk/equipment. You are also on a groomed piste that you can come back down even when you are exhausted, and you don't have to be able to do hairpin turns yet ;)
At home, familiarize yourself with changing the bindings and attaching/removing the skins. At home, it's warm and dry and if something doesn't work straight away, you won't freeze your fingers off. On most tours, you can start climbing straight away. In such cases, you can also put the skins on and mount the bindings at home (you can find out more about changing between ascent and descent mode here ).
When it comes to clothing, the often-quoted onion principle is used. You are usually well dressed for the climb, even if it is a bit too cold for you at the beginning. It is better to stop once and put something on than to wear too much, sweat a lot and then freeze afterwards.
We also recommend that you always take crampons with you when you're out on the terrain. These can provide more security on difficult traverses, especially at the beginning of your touring career.
As already mentioned in the first tip, slopes are an ideal place to practice. You can hold your backpack lightly because you don't need any avalanche equipment and you can work on your walking technique in peace. Even a small hill with a bit of snow is enough to practice the basics and the first hairpin turns.
A mistake that is often seen not only among beginners but also among advanced riders is that the two halves of the board are lifted with each step. This wastes energy that can then be lacking when going downhill. Better: just drag the back half of the board over the snow so that the tips of your toes never lose contact with the ground.
Another common mistake is walking with too much forward lean. Due to the incorrect load, the skins can quickly start to slip, especially on steeper terrain. At the beginning, it can help to consciously press your heels into the snow with each step to get a good feel for it. Another thing that can help: don't fold out the climbing aids too early! The higher heel position quickly leads to the weight being shifted too heavily onto the toes.
Then it's just about finding your rhythm and drinking something regularly. Enjoy the climb... you'll spend ~90% of your tour time doing that ;)
Have you reached the top? Now it's time to take a quick breather and enjoy the panorama!
But not for too long! :D Especially on cold, windy days you have to make sure that you don't get cold. If possible, look for a place that is sheltered from the wind and change from your ascent to your descent gear: change your shirt and gloves, put on a hardshell jacket, etc.
Once you're dressed warmly, you can start the conversion. It's best to leave the skins on the board and put the two halves together. The board won't move away with the skins on. Only then should you remove the skins and always make sure that the board is well positioned/secured. We've heard of people whose board was flipped over by a strong gust of wind, which then sent it careening down the valley. The board is often gone and walking down the mountain can be very dangerous.
Fold the skins carefully with skin foil so that they stay clean and continue to stick well. It is best to turn your back to the wind so that you can fold the skins in the lee. If you want to put the skins back on later, it is a good idea to store the skins close to your body, for example in the inside pocket of your jacket, rather than in your backpack.
Now you can collect yourself before you start the descent. Eat something small, drink something, move your arms around when it gets cold and discuss with the others how the descent should go.
Now comes the hopefully most fun part of the tour, the descent. Here too (imagine the raised index finger again): take it slow!
Enjoy the descent and get to know your new equipment. Check whether the binding settings are already correct or whether you can get even more fun out of it with a little fine-tuning.
On the way home you'll probably be looking forward to a warm shower/the sofa/a cold beer. Whatever you decide: enjoy it, you deserve it! :)
But you should not only take care of yourself, but also your splitboard equipment. This includes:
This way you will have fun with your new equipment for a long time and will be prepared for the next tour.
