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Top 5 Snowboard Tricks For Intermediate Riders
Guide Summary
This blog covers the top 5 tricks intermediate snowboarders should master to become advanced riders.
Intro
The intermediate stage of learning to snowboard is where the magic happens. Suddenly, you’re free of the shackles of infancy, and your turns happen effortlessly. Riding the post-chairlift high, you wonder, ‘What’s next?‘. This guide to the Top 5 Tricks for Intermediate Riders is your V.I.P. access to the backstage party where the advanced riders hang out.
1. Switch Riding
Though not technically a trick, the ability to switch your stance and alternate your nose and tail is a trademark of versatility and competency. To become well-rounded, you should make those easy runs harder by riding them with your opposite foot forward. If you can do that without sacrificing technique, you’re well on your way to the next trick on the list.
Cheat code: Check that your binding angles aren’t holding you back by being too ‘directional’.
2. 180s
Skipping over ‘How to Jump on a Snowboard’, we’re going straight to the fundamental freestyle maneuver – the 180-degree rotation. Stomping clean 180s in the frontside direction is the gateway to glory but you’re only half way there. If you’re dropping floaty backside 180s with a blind landing, save some steez for the rest of us!
Cheat code: Stay upright, set a slight edge platform, pop and stomp! Avoid ‘patting the dog’ on backside spins.
3.Buttering
Flatland tricks are the flavour of fun and playful riding. When you can get your board into a nose or tail press and add some rotation, your riding reaches another dimension. There’s no limit to the combinations you can create, and a pantry full of butter is guaranteed to melt your friend’s face off.
Cheat code: every time the trails go flat, it’s time to boogie! Mix it up between slow and smooth or sharp and snappy!
4. Carving
Watching an unknown snowboarder swerve down the slopes, leaving nothing but a pencil line in their wake, is pure poetry in motion. The ability to ride your edges and steer your sidecut through all sizes and shapes without skidding showcases excellent skill. When you can ‘set it and forget it’ as second nature, it’s time to add variations like reverts and euro carves.
Cheat code: Be patient at the edge transition. Rushing to set your new edge will smear the snow and cause the continuous carve to be lost.
5. Mix It All Together
Once you’ve got all the ingredients, it’s time to cook! The ability to blend some flatland or freestyle into a descent down a groomer or off-piste terrain is emblematic of advanced riding. Intermediate riders will generally stop and scrub off speed or correct their course, whereas advanced riders will flow effortlessly as they react to terrain features. Where intermediate riders will see obstacles, advanced riders will see opportunity.
Cheat code: You don’t need to live at a big mountain or have a terrain park to progress to advanced or even expert riding. What you learn on piste can translate to park and even powder!
FAQ
With the right guidance, individuals with basic athletic ability can become proficient snowboarders in a relatively short period. By enrolling in a training program through a provider like the Winter Sports Company, you’re setting yourself up for success in a supportive learning environment. Using effective methods such as CASI’s Quickride system, you can progress from a ‘never-ever’ to making connected turns in just a day. Mastering chairlift-accessed terrain is an attainable goal for most beginners in their first week of snowboarding. ‘Good’ snowboarding is a combination of movements that allow you to control your speed and direction with ease.
Training to become a snowboard instructor involves targeted practice of snowboarding techniques at regular intervals, ideally under the guidance of a professional trainer. Taking a course with a provider like Winter Sports Company ensures your training follows a systematic approach designed to expedite your progress and prepare you for success. These training programs are curated to produce industry-ready professionals who succeed at certification courses and exceed as new employees in their snow school.
You can seek employment with a snow school and start working as an instructor for beginner lessons with the Level 1 Instructor certification. To teach beyond beginners, you must work towards the Level 2 certification. A Level 1 instructor typically teaches the basics in the beginner zone, whereas a Level 2 can teach intermediate riders in the corresponding terrain. Snow schools assign students and lesson types to instructors based on their level of certification. Freestyle certifications are required for teaching in the terrain park.
