SNOW PARK SAFETY
SNOW PARK SAFETY - Vivid Snowboarding Verbier
Here are some specific safety points to be aware of when riding park.
1. Features will be clearly labelled like the piste. Starting at green which will be easiest and finishing with black which are for advanced riders.
2. Always check the feature before attempting to hit it. You may have been taking on the same feature every day for a week but shapes can change overnight so take a look before the start of each session, go for a dry run, riding into features to get the measure of the speed that you require and the shape.
3. Always good to watch other riders hit the feature you want to ride, this way you can get an idea of where to drop in from. Nothing worse than under cooking it but at the same time you don’t want to be sailing over the knuckle still going up!
4. Make sure there is no one on the landing before attempting to hit a feature. If in any doubt don’t go.
5. Never try something too far outside your comfort zone, remember to always be in control. Ever body loves a hero but be careful as your best day ever can turn into your worst in a split second.
6. Alert other park users that you are dropping into a feature this could be done by a simple hand in the air or by shouting dropping.
7. If you do fall, try and move away from the landing zone as quickly as possible so you are visible and in a safe place.
8.If a feature is closed don't hit it!
9.If you witness an accident or are involved in one , go through the correct steps. Make area safe, make sure casualty is comfortable and inform the park crew of what has happened.
10. Always have respect for others.
Vivid Snowboarding , The specialist Snowboard School
WHEN SHOULD KIDS LEARN TO RIDE?
When should Kids learn to ride?
There has always been a lot of speculation in the industry as to what age we should start kids on a Snowboard. It would seem the old trend of starting on skis then migrating onto a board a few years later is finally being changed up.
I spent some time in Myoko, Japan a few years back and I was amazed and dazzled at how huge the snowboard industry was. One of the main differences from a Japanese to European mountain was just how young the Japanese children started on a board. It was great to see whole Japanese families cruising the mountains together.
The trend of kids starting to ride at a younger age has also been seen in North American resorts. Specific learning terrain parks have been introduced which help young riders pick up important new skills by riding different terrain features. These could range from small rollers and jumps to a set of ride on boxes or a basic rail.
Boarding companies are also helping to get more young riders on the mountain. Better waterproof clothing for Kids has meant staying dryer for longer which in turn means more riding time.
On the technical equipment side there seem to be smaller boards on the market. Boots are more user friendly with Velcro straps and a one strap binding system makes it easy to get in and out of the bindings. Companies are also creating riding aids which are designed to help the learner. The new riglet reel system attaches to the nose of the board and can then be used to help pull and guide the beginner.
The main noise coming from the industry is that the age barrier has been taken away. This is in an attempt to open up to more people. Maybe skiing is easier for a younger child who is not that skilful but we should focus on the enjoyment of snowboarding and standing sideways. The new approach is to let kids try snowboarding at a younger age. It’s not necessarily a full day out but it could be a couple of hours on the hill having some fun and learning some new skills.
Here at Vivid Snowboarding we are introducing our Vivid Kids programme this winter. We want more children starting on a board at an early age.
VIVID KIDS , WHERE THE JOURNEY BEGINS
Vivid Snowboarding , The specialist Snowboard School
TRICK TIP : FLATLAND
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCT2h1kmZoA
TRICK TIP: FLATLAND
Trick Tip : Flatland tricks, jibbing and buttering has been around from the very beginning of our sport. Everyone has a little trick that they do on the home run or warm up for the day.
Check out some of the team enjoying flatland tricks here VIVID
The fundamentals of jibbing are built around the ability to Ollie, nollie , press and rotate your board. It’s all about manipulating your equipment and getting to know and understand how you work your body with your board. The more practice you put into these tricks the more it will help with timing, movements, agility and skill in all your riding. It enables you to get to know how your board and how it behaves and is of course a lot of fun!
A good starting place or one of the first building blocks in a flat land progression, would be to learn and become comfortable and confident with both the nose press and the tail press. The correct movement pattern can be learnt on the flat and then taken to a mellow slope and just add in a little speed.
Trick Tip : FLATLAND : NOSE PRESS
PHASE 1 – Create pressure by shifting your weight to the nose of the board. Think about squashing your front leg with some flex in the ankle and knee , try to move your hip over the nose of the board and tense those muscles in the front leg . Here we are trying to find that pivot point where the nose has snow contact, the tail of the board is lifted into the air. It will help to straighten the back leg slightly.
PHASE2 – The choice of terrain is very important. Look for a gentle slope with a consistent gradient you don’t want to be picking up too much speed too quickly. By adding momentum , this can often help with being able to balance over a specific part of the board. Use the same process as in phase 1, keep the front leg squashed and flexed at the ankle and knee and the hip over the nose of the board. The arms and upper body are used to help balance. Try and keep plenty of base contact and avoid slipping the board onto the edge.
PHASE 3 – Time to have a play with pressing the nose and tail, the beauty of these skills are that they are not hard to learn but it will take a little longer to master so practise is key to success. Think about trying to make movement patterns as fluid and smooth as possible . Simple exercises that you could add into these skills would be an Ollie to nose press or a Nollie to tail press.
The next phase would be to play around with more flatland variations. Both the nose and tail press are great tricks to take onto park boxes and rails as well as street features.
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VIVID SNOWBOARDING , A NEW BREED OF SNOWBOARD SCHOOL.
VIVID SNOWBOARDING TRICK TIP : FRONTSIDE 180
One of the most underrated tricks in Snowboarding. A very simple trick, done well it can show the true sign of a stylish, accomplished rider.
The basics of the trick are taking off regular and then landing switch, it will be one of the first rotations learnt but will take time, energy and love to perfect.
This trick can be learnt on slope and then taken to the park or backcountry.
Once mastered , it’s is great for testing that first rotation of a slightly bigger kicker or trying a spin in the backcountry. The trick can be performed off the toe or heel edge.
RUN IN
Here you want to keep that central feel on your board, don’t allow the weight to be too over the front foot or be sitting back over the tail. Think a nice 50% on the front and 50% on the back foot.
Keep the upper body relaxed , aligned , strong core and the eyes focusing on the kicker. keep the ankles , knees and hips slightly flexed.
TAKE OFF
Here we are going to be timing our run in so we have rolled onto the heel edge at point of take off .
Hold the line off the kicker, pop and throw frontside , don’t be too hasty and rotate too early. A frontside 180 is a small rotation so you don’t need too throw the trick too hard on takeoff. Remember to throw the head , shoulders, core at the same time , these movements want to be smooth and blended together.
AIR TIME
Stay relaxed and compact in the air . Push your knees out over your boots to create that all important triangle shape or cowboy stance with the lower half of the body. Try and make movements that are slow and stylish.
Grabs can add stability into any trick . The picture below shows the rider grabbing melon which helps with the rotation.
LANDING
Keep your eye line watching the spot you want to land in. If you open the head up and keep looking around with the rotation then you will over rotate the trick. By locking the eye line on the spot you want to land then you will block the rotation and land on this spot.
Try and achieve that gentle and relaxed centred landing and ride away switch.
A great exercise in the park is to achieve all the four 180's off a kicker you feel comfortable with, enjoy.
TRICK TIP : SWITCH BACKSIDE 180
VIVID SNOWBOARDING TRICK TIP : SWITCH BACKSIDE 180
Key ingredients : Be comfortable riding both regular and switch, with this trick you will be taking off switch and landing regular. It’s the last part to a front side 360, so if you have those dialled this will come naturally. The beauty of this trick is that it can be learnt on the piste reducing the danger factor and keeping the confidence high. Once mastered on the slopes it can then be taken to the park or backcountry.
Here we are going to focus on the trick being played around with on a nice gentle, open slope.
PHASE1 – RUN IN
A good starting place for this trick would be to ride along an easy traverse switch, gently pressuring and gripping on the toe edge. While in the traverse practise a few centred exercises of popping off both feet at the same time and landing centred. Once this skill has been mastered and the timing of the movements is slick then we can add the rotation.
Feel focused and relaxed and again visualise yourself performing the trick before you attempt the manoeuvre.
PHASE 2- POP AND ROTATE
Here we want to pop off both feet. We don’t want a huge amount of throw as we only want to be rotating 180 degrees. To begin the rotation you will want to turn your head, shoulders and upper body switch backside towards the switch tail of your board. Use your eyes to look at your switch tail, add the pop and the board will come around underneath you.
PHASE 3 – AIR TIME
The air time on the slope will be fairly small but try and bring your knees up towards your body and stay compacted. Knees out over your feet ,triangle shape beneath for that all important solid feel.
PHASE 4 – LANDING
The focus here is to land centred in the middle of the board. Landing flat base and then rolling onto a working edge or landing directly on the toe edge which will be a slightly more precise ninja like movement. Don't open up the eye line too early as you don't want to over rotate the trick. When you land you want to be using your eyeline to look at the tail of your board which will help block the rotation.
Once all these phases are coming together, KEEP PRACTISING and working hard to make the trick as smooth and effortless as possible.
REMEMBER IF IT FEELS GOOD IT LOOKS GOOD
Top Tip: Dry land practising without being strapped in can really help you master the rotation. Try this at the start of the day as part of your warm up routine.
For freestyle coaching in Verbier please get in contact with us here at Vivid Snowboarding.
A NEW BREED OF SNOWBOARD SCHOOL IN VERBIER.
TRICK TIP : BACKSIDE 540
VIVID SNOWBOARDING TRICK TIP : BACKSIDE 540
Key ingredients – be comfortable spinning both backside 180’s and backside 360’s. It’s a trick that you take off from the toe edge and land blind. Different sections of the trick can be learnt separately and then can be built together. The first building block is to feel comfortable spinning backside.
PHASE 1 = RUN IN
While cruising into the kicker you must already have a clear picture in your mind as to what is going to happen. If you can’t visualise yourself performing the trick and you feel like you have a 50% chance of stomping don’t throw it , go back a stage and build the confidence and the skill set.
Stay relaxed, centred over the board with ankles, knees and hips flexed, strong core and upper body aligned with your board. Keep the head still and the eye line should be locked in on the take off.
PHASE 2 = TAKE OFF
The key here is to hold your line on your toe edge. Time your run in so you are rolling onto the toe edge before take off. A combination of pop and rotation are the forces that are going to create your spin. How much throw we give the spin will determine how far the rotation will go. You should feel confident and comfortable throwing a backside 180 and 360 so you will know that little more throw is needed for a BS 540. Big mistake here is carving off the kicker , you kill your speed and it will ruin your trick. HOLD THE LINE AND POP
PHASE 3 = AIR TIME
Keep nice and small in the air , focus on pushing the knees out over your feet which will help with floatation and style. Your basic indy, mute, melon or stalefish would be the easiest grabs to add. It’s important when in the air to keep the head looking, once your past 360 you’ve gone into your backside 180 so really think about this section of the trick.
PHASE 4 = LANDING
You are landing the trick blind and want to ride away switch. NO REVERTS PLEASE. Once past your 360 landing marker you are looking to spot your landing at 540. Think about how you block your rotation on your backside 180. The technique I use is to look at the nose which has become my tail of my board or choosing a spot back up the landing. Important here to hold the eye line. If you open the head up the body and board will also rotate open and you will over rotate the trick. Put your board centered, flex on landing and ride away.
ENJOY........
For the very best in Freestyle coaching please get in contact with us here at Vivid Snowboarding.
A NEW BREED OF SNOWBOARD SCHOOL IN VERBIER……..
TRICK TIP : INDY GRAB
Vivid Snowboarding Trick tip : Indy Grab
The indy grab is a basic snowboard trick where you are grabbing your toe edge with your back hand in between your bindings. Important to note that the grab is not behind the back foot as this would be a ‘tindy’ and we don’t want to go down that path.
This trick can be performed off kickers, cliffs , cat tracks and any natural feature that you can give you air time.
Here at Vivid Snowboarding we are going to run through a park version but really the technique will apply for any feature you are hitting
Before attempting the indy grab feel confident in cleanly popping and getting some air time. The grab itself will often give you extra stability in the air.
PHASE 1 = RUN IN
On the run in to the kicker feel relaxed and centred on your board. Keep the ankles, knees and hips slightly flexed , engage the core , keep the upper body soft and aligned with your board and keep your eyes focused on take off.
Phase 2= TAKE OFF
The important part of this phase is to pop off the kicker. This movement will give you balance and that solid feeling while in the flight stage. NO POP= NO BALANCE. If you just ride off the end of the kicker you will not have a clean jump. This trick is easiest taking off a flat base or slightly gripping on the toe edge. Feel your big toes against your toe edge.
Phase 3= AIR TIME
It’s important here to bring your knees to nipples and stay compact in the air, push your knees out over your feet to create that triangle or house shape beneath you. At this stage you will be looking to grab your toe edge with your back hand in between the bindings. Hold the grab for as long a possible.
Phase 4= LANDING
This is another important moment in the process. Once you see the landing begin to put your legs underneath you and get ready for impact. Try and focus on putting your board down centred almost think about landing softly on the bolts of your board.
Once you feel comfortable grabbing indy you can now begin to style out your trick adding a poke or a nosebone for extra points.
REMEMBER IF IT FEELS GOOD IT LOOKS GOOD!
For Freestyle coaching please get in contact with us here at Vivid Snowboarding.A NEW BREED OF SNOWBOARD SCHOOL IN VERBIER.
TRICK TIPS
Vivid Snowboading will be carrying on with a series of simple trick tips on our blog.Look out for tricks tips Vivid Snowboarding. Our quest is to keep these simple and user friendly. We have taken the middle ground where each individual trick will be broken down into a simple step by step process. It will be easy to understand but will have enough technical content to have you progressing and learning new tricks.
Check out some of crew riding here on our youtube channel VIVID
We will be building our simple online support product which will be free for all
Its all too often we work with riders on the mountain that lack the confidence in their own ability and would perhaps swerve the snowpark rather than have a cheeky run through.
We aim to show you that every style and level of rider is capable of having a few tricks in the bag. Simple tricks and small trick combos are the essence of snowboarding.
IF IT FEELS GOOD IT LOOKS GOOD.............
look out for Indy Grab coming shortly
If you are wanting to build your trick repertoire then why not come join us for a session this winter, you can look at all our lesson and session options here LESSONS
WARM UP SESSION
Warm up Session
Here at Vivid Snowboarding we take our riding seriously and therefore before any slidding happens we get warmed up properly.
The duration of a warm up should last anywhere between 10-15 minutes. Dynamic movements and activities are preferred over static stretching. Post riding time stretches should be more static looking at both developmental and maintance style stretches.
The two major reasons for a warm up session before riding time is to increase our heart rate and allow the muscles to warm before exercising hence lowering the risk of injury.
After a good warm up session off the board its worth taking a few runs on your board . Often individuals will have their own system or routine. Popping ollies and nollies is a good way to get the leg muscles working. Its also woth playing around with popping off both feet and landing centered as well as playing around with rotational movements and riding switch. If you are on a mountain that you know ,it might be a specific run with some interesting features that helps you get into the day.
Warm up runs may vary depending on the type of day that is occuring on the mountain. If for example your heading to the snowpark then the warm up will be specific to freestyle riding. However if the day has a more backcountry flavour to it then a run through the chopped up variables might be on the menu.
Look out for fitness tips on our You tube channel VIVID
Whatever kind of riding day you are planning on the mountain come and take a session with Vivid Snowboarding , a new breed of Snowboard School in Verbier, Switzerland.
We offer the very best coaching and teaching on the mountain. Check out all our lessons here in VIVID
TRICK TIP BACKSIDE 180
Backside 180. Trick difficulty; easy.
Whenever the question is ask to the season pro what is your favourite trick? time and time again they will answer BS180. It’s essentially a feel good trick that requires a small amount of rotation as your only rotating your body and board 180 degrees. It is the progression on from simple straight airs and grabs. Progression is the key to enjoying riding. The trick tip backside 180 !
The beauty about learning small rotational tricks is that they can be learnt, practised and mastered on a mellow slope before taking them into the park. By taking away the fear factor of the park one can learn this trick in a safe and fun environment and be building the ever important confidence all the time.
The level indicator.
A rider must be confident in their ability to be able to ride blue and red runs both regular and switch. This is important because when performing the trick you will be taking off in your regular position and you will be putting the trick down in Switch and riding away.
Terrain type; Nice wide open piste.
Step 1
Begin by standing centred on your board and by this I mean keep your weight distributed evenly over both feet. Imagine an invisible line going from the centre of your hips to the central position between your bindings .It’s Important here to flex at both the ankle and knees and stay relaxed, you should be gripping on your toe edge.
Step 2
Now comes the popping part of the trick which is really the energy required to perform the manoeuvre. Here you want to pop off both feet bringing the board up to and at the same time turning your head, shoulders and upper body in a backside direction. It’s important here to keep the eye line looking towards the tail of the board or back up the hill, this will help block the rotation and allow you not to over spin your trick.
Step 3
For landing the trick you want to put the board down as softly as you can , using those ankle and knee joints to really absorb and suck up the landing. The trick can be landed on the toe edge or put down onto the flat base then rolled onto a working edge. Ride away switch and remember not to revert around to your regular position as switch riding is the business!
Having practised and repeated this trick you will be ready to take it to the park. Like any snowboard trick it has endless possibilities in ways of grabbing, styling, delaying , poking and tweaking. Enjoy.
Come and learn this and more with vivid snowboarding. Check out our session options VIVID