Palandöken Snowboard Rental

Palandöken's snow is dry in a way few places in Turkey can match. Very low humidity keeps it light and powdery, which for a snowboarder means two things: the board needs to float, and the nose must not dive.

In those conditions a directional freeride board is a clear advantage. A long nose and a setback stance keep the board on the surface, where a standard twin tip on the same slope leaves you nose-diving and pitching forward.

For length, size up a centimetre or two for powder. Just note "powder / freeride" on the request form and we prepare the kit accordingly.

Holding the same stance for 12 kilometres down the Ejder run works your legs and calves without pause. Riders doing it for the first time usually have to stop halfway — that is normal and nothing to be embarrassed about.

On runs of that length, binding angles matter. An aggressive high-angle stance works well on short pistes but tires the knees over a long descent. We set the angles with you at handover.

Do not underestimate the altitude either: breathing at 3,176 m is not the same as at sea level. Take short runs on the first day and let your body adjust.

The off-piste terrain at Palandöken offers the most attractive freeride options in Turkey. But leaving the marked pistes puts you in an entirely different risk category.

If you go off-piste, never go alone, hire a local guide and carry avalanche equipment — transceiver, probe and shovel. Carrying it is not enough; you have to know how to use it. Our rental range covers on-piste equipment only, and we point people to local mountaineering clubs and guides for avalanche gear.

The price of Palandöken's snow quality is the cold. In January and February daytime temperatures can drop below −20 °C, and wind chill takes it lower. For snowboarders that creates a different problem than for skiers: your hands get much colder.

The reason is contact with the snow — you crouch to strap in, your hands go into the snow when you fall, you push off getting off the lift. A wet glove stops working within minutes in that cold.

The answer is two layers: a thin liner glove under a waterproof mitten. In a mitten your fingers warm each other and it is markedly warmer than a five-finger glove. Bring a spare pair.

Break the habit of removing gloves to strap in. Our BOA-equipped boots and quick bindings exist precisely for that — they are designed to be worked with gloves on.

The dry powder at Palandöken is rare in Turkey, but riding powder is a different technique from riding groomed pistes, and most people trying it for the first time end up exhausted.

The most common mistake is putting weight forward. That stance is correct on piste; in powder it buries the nose and pitches you over the front. Shift your weight slightly back — a freeride board with a setback stance does much of that for you.

The second difference is speed. Going slowly in powder is hard: the board cannot reach the surface and sinks. A controlled but committed speed makes turning far easier.

The third is turn shape: instead of sharp edge-to-edge turns, draw softer, wider arcs. Staying on the surface depends on it.

Note "powder" or "freeride" on the request form and we prepare the right board and stance setback.