Top 10 Snowboarding Tricks

So you’ve got your snowboard (you exercised due diligence in trying out several to find the one that was right for you) and now that you’ve done a few runs down the mountain, you’re starting to get bored.  After all, you can only get so much air on the bunny hill!  Jumps and turns aside, you’re itching to get your board on a half-pipe and see what it’s really made of.  You may not be Shaun White (yet), but you’re pretty sure you could pull some sweet moves…if only you knew some.  To get you started, here are a few of the best tricks for you to try, or maybe just aspire to.

1. Don’t fall!  This is the number-one best trick any snowboarder can pull, so keep your feet under you if you want to look cool (instead of ice-cold at the bottom of the pipe).
2. Air.  Maybe the best move for beginners, catching air is also one of the easiest maneuvers since all it requires you to do is get your board into the air (riding forwards) and land back on the pipe in virtually the same position.
3. Alley oop.  Same as getting air, but with a 180-degree turn that lets you land facing forward.  Come to think of it, this may actually be an easier first trick to try (since you’re facing forward the whole time) if you can avoid over-steering.
4. Grab.  There are many types of grabs and they can get pretty complex if done in tandem with other tricks, but the basic move involves grabbing either side of your board with one hand.
5. Front handplant.  In this move, the rider plants their forward hand on the lip of the pipe as they go into a 180, releasing as they land and continue down into the pipe.  It looks cool and requires some upper body strength.

And now that we’ve listed some for the newbies, here are a few moves for the experienced rider!

1. Gay twist.  This move is a combo which includes a cab (Caballerial) and a grab.  The cab is a 360-degree turn that starts with the rider fakie (riding backwards) and ends with a forward landing.
2. Rewind.  If you thought starting a trick was hard, just try stopping and reversing it in the middle.  That is precisely what this trick entails, so beginners should probably learn the actual move before trying to rewind it.
3. Rock and roll.  A crowd-pleaser, this move is similar to one seen in skate parks aplenty and it requires a decent amount of balance to complete effectively.  The rider basically pops their snowboard up onto the lip of the pipe, slides along the edge for a distance, and then drops back in with one smooth motion.
4. Seatbelt.  This is a seriously difficult grab unless you’re pretty flexible.  While in the air, the rider must reach across their body with the forward hand to grab the back of the board (with the forward leg boned, or stretched out for style and effect).
5. 900.  The mother of all turns, this requires the snowboarder to ride forward, rotate 900 degrees in air (that’s two full rotations plus a half) before landing fakie.

Julia Hammond is a writer for the popular health website Nutritionist World where you can find a degree in nutrition or browse career listings in the health and fitness industry.