SnoWest News: Body English

(We started out in the

October issue with a couple

of questions for Chris Burandt

that address his riding style.

We continue with a few more

questions. —Ed.)

When you get stuck,

you’re probably by yourself

with very low odds of help

getting up to you. What are

some of your tricks to getting

a sled out by yourself

and not getting completely

buried in the first place?

Ahh getting stuck …. Yeah,

the last time I got stuck a couple

of years ago it was terrible.

Ok that was a joke. Getting

stuck for me is honestly awesome.

It means that I put

myself and my sled in a situation

that somebody is going

to get a good laugh out of.

Sure I might have to show the

people the picture of the stick

on my phone later, but I know

Mother Nature is laughing her

butt off and those stupid little

tree squirrels are whispering to

each other, “That guy just ran

out of talent, didn’t he?”

The key to being able to

get yourself unstuck is you

must always have the thought

in the back of your mind that

nobody else is going to be

able to get to you, so you’re

on your own. This means that

instead of sticking the sled

straight up and down, make

sure right before the inevitable

happens you turn the sled

down even if it’s just a little

and allow gravity to help you

out a bit.

I am a big fan of rolling

the sled. This is something

you can do even if it’s on flat

ground. Grab a hold of the

uphill ski and pull the sled

over on its side. I’ve even got

quick enough on most sticks

to where I’m out just before

someone else gets there. That

way I can claim I didn’t get

stuck, you know. Oh, by the

way, never leave home without

a saw either. Those trees like

to jump out in front of people.

However, there is another

tactic that I like to use and

that is don’t get stuck. Getting

stuck is a last resort for me. I

will do everything in my power

to not succumb to the humiliation

of knowing that I just

got served. This includes such

things as going into “hover

mode,” pedaling a foot to try

to push the sled, jumping off

of the sled and running next to

it while keeping it pinned (kind

of tricky), jumping off the sled

and pushing it away from you

in order to keep it on top of

the snow, “lightly” bouncing

off of the tree without letting

go of the throttle, and last but

not least, buy a Boondocker

turbo. There have been times

that I even bet myself that

there was no way I was going

to be able to pull a particular

line without calling for the cavalry.

That dang turbo just does

things each and every time I

ride it that makes me shake

my head and grin ear to ear.

I just got a smirk on my face

thinking about boost.

Why do you never use

the sidehill bar or a left hand

throttle?

The sidehill bar and left

hand throttle are great tools

for the average mountain ride.

However, you can’t change

your direction on a right to

left hand sidehill with being

able to change the direction

of your skis. With a mountain

bar you are stuck holding the

skis in one position—straight.

To take your backcountry skills

to the next level, take a day

and focus on doing right to

left hand sidehills only without

using that silly mountain bar.

Counter steering and throttle

control are the two most

important things to focus on.

Foot position on the sled and

sticking your opposite foot

out for balance will be next on

your agenda.

When you look for new

lines, you are looking at stuff

that very few people would

even consider. What do you

look for?

No matter what level

of rider you are, normally

throughout the day your eyes

are constantly scanning the

terrain looking for the next

challenge. When you start

picking up on all these little

tricks and pushing your comfort

zone each and every time

you ride you will start to realize

that the stuff you thought

once to be tough or impossible

becomes possible. I think

that has been one of the coolest

things for me riding over

the last couple of years. No

longer do I feel as if there are

boundaries to where my sled

and I can go. It truly is almost

like playing a video game—

anything is possible.