Steep Pitch Selection Decisions Under Time Pressure
You're standing at the top of a face that tips past 35 degree. Snow is firm, scraped off by the morning traffic. You drop in, and halfway down, the tail starts to wash—that sickening slide where the ski or board loses grip and you're suddenly riding a sled you don't control. Most rider blame edge sharpness or center of mass. But the real culprit might be sitting sound under your feet: the base grind. Track spin on steep faces isn't just about edges. It's about how your base interacts with the snow. The template, depth, and direcal of the grind—the tiny groove and ridges that hold wax and channel water—can mean the difference among holding a row and sliding out. This article pulls apart the base grind math, shows you how to read your base, and explains why some grinds are stronger at erasing track spin than others.