How to: Downhill Track

Alright, what's up guys? This is Dan with next level. We are back. We are outside We are in the backcountry my favorite spot today guys We are talking about one of my favorite fundamentals the downhill track. Let's get into it All right, everybody super sorry that this last Monday guys We did not put out a next level riding clinic YouTube video. We were very busy at the Jack Snow hill climb I was supporting my fellow Polaris athletes that are out there. Just crushing the hill climb course Congrats to Keith Curtis for literally putting on a riding clinic up that hill And if you guys got to see it from the live stream over there, it was absolutely unbelievable We had tons of snow this year making that course just so crazy and just lots of fun to watch all those guys and gals Excel at that sport you know what those guys They take all of the fundamentals that I try and teach to riders in the backcountry and continue to practice Myself and apply it to the race course and it's just unreal to watch So anyway, I apologize for not putting the video out. But guess what? We're back out. We're on the snow We're gonna be practicing and teaching you the fundamentals of the downhill track. All right, everybody So from previous next level YouTube channel videos, we've been talking about Basic fundamentals of foot position sort of where our upper body needs to be that we'd leave with our shoulders and hips you guys remember That from the side hill video all of those fundamentals. They really come into play when we're talking about a downhill track Also, we were talking about and practice the downhill 180 you can see from the slope that we're on right now guys This is a really steep slope Pretty good consequence. We've got trees below us if I were to just let the sled go downhill You know I'm gonna pick up a bunch of speed and I don't really have a hallway or an opportunity to get down through those trees very Safely, so we're gonna practice the downhill track all of those things We just talked about our throttle in our brake looking ahead where our feet are on the running board Those are all gonna get put into play so that we can safely navigate down this at an angle in a downhill track Let's do it. All right, so I'm getting ready to come in and initiate my downhill track You guys notice that I am wearing the tether I'm in the neutral position right here to keep me under the hillside. My brake is actually locked I will release that come back down into this terrain I will initiate my counter steer still with that one finger on the brake I'm gonna flip the throttle and as I flip the throttle guys I'm releasing my finger from the brake letting that sled lurch forward and put me into that downhill track position Some things to remember from previous videos my foot once it's opposite foot forward I am 40 degreed on the running board and remember this more than ever when I step I'm not just stepping out I'm stepping forward. The sleds gonna move forward and I'm gonna meet it there. Here we go So really that's the move guys That is gonna set the stage for how successful this downhill track is gonna be you can see now Terrain, I don't want to be in terrain or the direction. I want to go I'm gonna keep my hips and my shoulders and the direction of the snowmobile So I'm headed off in a left-hand turn here from this position here guys. I may choose depending on body height size Weight distance of the sled 155 63. I may choose to move that foot back a bit on the running board What's nice is that I can change that foot position as I make this downhill track So really all I'm gonna be doing here guys This is such a great on the brake giving it gas back on the brake type of drill in deeper snow Could you just drag a foot and go all the way down this and the answer is sure you could Because this snow is a bit rigid We're gonna step step step our way down through this keeping this as the terrain that we don't want to go into We're gonna downhill track away Here we go All right, so going along relatively easy guys, here's the next one This is a big tip and this is from my good buddy and fellow instructor at Next Level Dylan Hopala and what he has it's a great analogy as you'll notice where my butt is right here You guys want to act like we're sitting in an imaginary chair So I'm sitting in this chair above The sled and I'm keeping my knees really bent staying really low to the ground This is also another point to why I want those low handlebars right now guys really steep hillside The focus is low center of gravity and every bit of my center of mass above the sled I don't want the sled to lay flat and go down the hill where I don't want to go So I'm holding that sled to the uphill side Remember this if I'm going down and the sled starts to lay flat It means that I'm losing my countersteer and I need to apply more countersteer pulling that inside ski away from terrain Holding that sled to the uphill side. Here we go Alright guys, let's remember a few things with a downhill track. It's really important that we practice this on safe slopes Understand that I want to use my brakes, you know, remembering to use our brakes guys is such a key fundamental to mountain riding You can notice if you are watching you're seeing that brake light being applied nearly every time I step and that's really important to keep our Keep our body position right on the snowmobile as you gain more confidence do it in steeper terrain Remember in deeper snow, we may not have to use the brakes as much but certainly on snow like this I'm applying brake to keep my Momentum and to keep my control of the sled so that I can control that thing the whole way down You guys thank you so much Once again for watching leave those questions those comments below subscribe to the channel and we'll see you next time