Watching Burandt ride is like watching Jordan play basketball. You’re not doing that high level stuff anytime soon. And he makes it look WAY easier than it is. He’s been on sleds for 30 plus years. If you’re already trying advanced riding techniques on your first ride, you’re in for a lot of frustrating days. A lot of people start off trail riding and evolve to the backcountry, so they are already comfortable on a sled. You’re coming from zero previous experience of any kind. You need to find your natural balance on the sled before starting advanced maneuvers. Gain confidence by pushing yourself and the sled safely into tough situations. Momentum is your friend in off trail riding, as well as knowing when and where to stop so you can get going again. Learning the power of your sled and how it reacts to your input and snow conditions will take time. Well set up clutches and basic maintenance are also imperative to an efficient and better operating machine. Look in owners manual and find out how to service your sled. A good way to hold yourself and your sled back, is having a machine that isn’t operating properly. You’ve discovered you’re going to be using muscles you don’t normally use. That in itself will take a lot of time to develop. It’s good you’re trying to just jump right in, but don’t set yourself up for failure right away. If you don’t have anyone with experience to ride with, then your learning curve is going to be steep if Burandt style riding is what you’re after. His sleds are also the latest greatest backcountry weapons out there. Lightweight, dialed in, 850 Axys. Some of them HEAVILY modified. That alone is a huge difference in what you’re riding. Doesn’t take much input to get an Axys to do what you want, so you can literally over ride them very easily. I know you’re on a cat, but still takes finesse and time to get there. Also know that if your in any kind of powder, turning your skis left to go left isn’t happening like you think it will. Good way to wear yourself out quick, because your going to be fighting the sled to do something it doesn’t want to do. Maybe from a dead start, but if your moving, it’s all rider input. Lean left with plenty of momentum and turn right, you will carve left. This all assuming you are in at least 6-8” of powder. Not everything needs to be wrong foot forward or some other advanced technique either. Basic pow turns is all just momentum, staying neutral, in control and rider input from one running board to the other. Even bigger swooping u turns and donuts can be done with feet in neutral position and a little rider input to the running boards. Don’t try to do more than it takes to get the job done is what I’m sayin. If you’re “paneling out” on powder carves, you’re either going too slow or are leaning too much. Always try to look ahead to where you want to go or you want the sled to be. That takes a lot of time to get used to when your starting out backcountry riding. Even on the trail ride in you should be looking way ahead of you. In time it will be automatic. Even the basic stuff takes time. Stopping on edge, on the side of a tree covered hillside is cool as f***, but only after you can do it comfortably in the ditch. Try riding through the trees on the flats. You will learn a lot on what it takes to get through tough situations and not get stuck. After awhile, riding through trees and picking lines will be like riding down the trail. Gain confidence to safely push yourself and always ride within your novice abilities and you’ll get there. Keep watching the videos to stay inspired, but don’t think any of that comes easy. Gonna take you all year to get to level 1 of Burandt or Kesterke. And there are 9 more levels to go. Those guys are ridiculous. It’s first and foremost about being outdoors and having fun. One of the best things you can add to your machine is a cooker. Cheap, lightweight and nothing like sitting on your sled with a hot meal thinking about all the cool sh** you’ve been doing, learning and seeing.
