Early-Season Foundations

The mountains are about to open in Canada, and that early-season energy is starting to build.
For the first time in 13 years, I won’t be there for those first couple of months — and honestly, that’s a strange feeling. Usually I’m tuning boards, chasing those first turns, and hiking early-season tubes with some awesome people.

So, since I’m sitting this one out for a bit, I figured I’d share some old notes — a few things I like to focus on early in the season to rebuild the foundation.

The first few weeks aren’t about proving what you can still do — they’re about rebuilding how you do it.
Everything from your stance to your flow grows out of three basic competencies I always come back to in early-season training:

• Being centred and mobile

• Balancing along the working edge

• Turning with the lower body

They sound like textbook CASI terms (because they are), but they’re also the groundwork for everything that follows — from park laps to freeride drops to carving at speed. When these feel solid, the advanced stuff — strength and flow, loading and deflection, steering and versatility, arc-to-arc — just builds naturally on top.

Centred and Mobile

This is where everything begins.

Your body can’t move freely if it doesn’t feel stable — and it can’t be stable if it’s locked.
Early in the season, your legs might not have the same strength or endurance as they did last spring. I notice it every year: riders standing tall and stiff, letting their bodies rest on their bones instead of staying active and athletic.

Keep your lower joints moving — especially your knees and ankles. Stay soft, not slack.
When you’re centred and mobile, you can react, absorb, and create movement again. It’s what lets you manage edge pressure in a carve or stay balanced through a rail landing.

“If you don’t stand well, you can’t move well.
And if you can’t move well, you can’t ride well.”

Balance Along the Working Edge

Balance isn’t a static thing — it’s a relationship with your board.
As you ride, keep feeling how the board moves under you and where your weight sits along the working edge.

This is where the subtle stuff lives: small pressure changes, smooth edge releases, early engagement.
It’s the difference between surviving a turn and sculpting one.

And don’t think this only applies to easy runs for early season.
You can play with this on steeper terrain, or in the park — feel how your balance shifts along the board during the approach, takeoff, and landing of a feature. It’s the same skill, just expressed differently.

Turning with the Lower Body

Once your stance and balance feel alive again, start reconnecting control to your legs and feet.
Turning with the lower body is about steering the board under you while keeping your upper body strong and calm.

This is where that “feel” starts to come back — when you stop forcing the board and start guiding it.
Play with different turn shapes, speeds, and pressures. On rails or side hits, it’s the same principle — let your lower body lead and upper body stay quiet.

Beyond the Basics

These fundamentals never get old.
They’re not “beginner moves” — they’re what advanced riding is built on.

Every strong, stylish rider you see still moves through these same checkpoints — they just do it with more precision, strength, and flow.

Whether you’re carving corduroy, dropping into steeps, or hiking early-season rails, these are the same ingredients. You just mix them differently depending on the terrain and your intent.

The Takeaway

Early season is the time to rebuild the connection between you, your board, and the mountain.
Be centred and mobile.
Balance along your edges.
Turn with your legs.

The better you stand, the freer you move.
The freer you move, the better you ride.

— Cam