Toe-Edge Turns

Toe-edge turns have you facing uphill with your weight on your toes. This feels less natural because you can't see downhill as easily. Press your toes and shins into the front of your boots and lean into the slope.

The key feeling on toeside is "shins into tongues". You should feel constant pressure from your shin bones against the front of your boots throughout the turn. That pressure is what tips the board onto its toe edge. Without it, you end up balancing on tiptoes and the edge washes out. Combine shin-pressure with bent knees and a tall spine, almost like you're leaning forward over an invisible railing.

Seeing where you're going is the mental challenge. Rotate your head and leading shoulder to look downhill across your front. Don't look at the board. If you're staring at your feet you'll stiffen up and lose the edge. Toeside also feels faster than heelside even at the same speed, because your body is facing the direction of travel. That's normal; it isn't actually faster.

Here is a video mainly focusing on the toe side turn:

Video by SnowboardProCamp

Key tips

• Press your shins into the boot tongues
• Look over your leading shoulder to see where you're going
• Keep your knees bent. Standing tall on toeside is unstable
• Practice falling-leaf traverses on your toeside first