Wooden Handrails?

A.Eberhard

A.Eberhard

Active member
Found this money handrail near my condo. It's not to steep, perfect length and doesn't require a drop in ramp or bungee as it is right beside a hill so there is endless amounts of speed to choose from. Only problem is, it is wooden.

Should I be worried about anything like catching on it? Anything I should do to the rail to prepare it? It has never been hit so I will be the first to try it.
 
unlike a regular down rail, where you would put your weight forward on your front ski to prevent you from having your feet slip out from under you, you can actually lean uphill a bit if its wood. its fine if you "uprail" edges dig in a little but you are fucked if your "downrail" edges catch. hopefully that makes sense.
 
I've never had a chance to hit a wooden rail.

I just don't understand how that works out at all. Seems like you'd eat it hard, every time. If soft metal catches badly, why would wood be any smoother?

I DONT GET IT
 


exactly.... and i would rub a little wax on it. cuz sometimes depending on type of wood it can be a bit sticky almost
 
ive found that its best to lean back a little and have your wieght even on both feet so you dont catch an edge. also dull edges are key
 
Yeah I guess I will just put that in the back of my mind and wax it up then go hit it. Looking at all henrik's part from Slamina he seems to do wooden handrails with ease.
 
if it is below freezing pour water on rail = ice = slippery
also have you ever heard of a grind called a royal in rollerblading... if not look it up. do the same thing with your knees/ankles/boots/skis but not as exaggerated as in blading.
 
wood rails are extremely easy to catch on. ive had some bad experiences and ended up with a bloody face a few times so i stick away from them now. with wax and knowing what youre doing (leaning back much more than usual) you should be fine but its still sketchy. for me at least, i cant do them
 
ive only done one tree grind before and i was thinking the same thing. i just went a little faster and i slid it ok. of course i hit a knot in the tree and ate it into a different tree but other than that it was fine.
 
I got destroyed last time I did a tree grind. Broke the brake off my binding too. Wooden handrails are a lot easier. Just make sure it is smooth and to not catch an edge, and you're good
 
Ive hit wooden jibs at resorts and all i can say is that they aren't made for skiers. About half or more of the time that I've hit them, i catch an edge that stops me in my place. Sure, you can go ahead and hit it (definitely read the advice above if you plan on it), but i wouldn't waste the time when you could hit some pvc or a real urban rail.
 
round wooden rails seem to be harder to slide smoothly while all the flat ones i have slid seem to slide pretty well. the only issue i have is with the back ski catching. the front one is usually angled up enough to slide over the wood without any problems
 
my friend just hit a wooden rail and almost broke his hand after catching an edge... good luck
 
I have hit wooden rails before and they slide like the smoothest bar you've ever hit. But no spins on. Just don't bother bro. It will eat you
 
I usually like to hit it like I would a metal rail except I put more angle on my front ski, aka have your up hill edge on the front ski into the rail alot more. As you slide the rail more it will speed up and you won't have to worry about catching as much.

Also it helps to do it when it's colder out, the warmer it is the softer the wood the easier to catch.
 
if it was really cold, maybe even partially frozen, you'd have a better chance of sliding it. For the most part, I hate wooden features. Unless they're good ones where I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna get caught. I feel like a lot of them are so snowboarders can just 50-50 them.
 
Any wooden rail will catch... The rail you speak of (on the golf course) will for sure catch so you have to do it when its really cold and the rail is frozen. Bring sand paper, wax it and fix the splinters you will inevitably create every hit to avoid dying.
 
well. ive done wooden rails before. and what i really really think helps is taking some coarse sandpaper to the rough parts to smooth em out, then go to your grocery store in the canning isle and buy some paraffin wax. then what your gonna do with that is lightly coat the top of the rail with wax so that it slides better, dont cake it on there though like you would with skate wax on a curb... that'll make you slip. then dull your edges a little with a file - and the last thing to do is make sure there arent any screws or nails you can catch on! if there are, attempt to take them out or put them in further so they are out of the way. after you do all of that you should be golden!
 
Yeah it's that exact rail, shouldn't be to hard to find a really cold day in Tremblant. Thanks for the tips man, I'm pretty stoked to try this rail out. You still ride at tremblant?
 
theres a wood down flat rail right outside my condo too, it would be perfect but the downs a bit steep, ive hit it multiple times but its so hard to land with any style cas its like 45 degrees and then land on flat
 
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