Jumps

Author: Nev Lapwood - SnowboardAddiction.com

Hitting Jumps is one of the sickest things you can learn in snowboarding. The feeling of launching off a huge jump is priceless. This article is designed to increase your confidence, develop your skill base, and expand your ability while becoming a phenomenal jumper.

Decrease the chance of getting injured 

• Always carry enough speed into the jump to safely make the downhill landing transition aka the “sweet spot.” It’s better to go a little too fast than a little too slow. Landing on the knuckle of a jump can really do a number on your knees and legs.


• Wear safety equipment when pushing your limits! I have personally been through many injuries from broken ribs and wrists, to concussions and a separated shoulder. I still feel lucky compared to the many friends who I’ve seen get taken to the hospital with all sorts of horrible injuries. Snowboarding has progressed very rapidly over the past couple of years and the rails and jumps are always increasing in size. Consequently the falls are much harder. If you want to ride the whole season every season be smart and wear as much protection as you can. The trick is to be well protected without anyone knowing what you’re rocking. I always wear, impact shorts (butt pads), knee pads and shin pads. When I’m pushing my limits I also wear a helmet, back brace, and shoulder pads. This may surprise you because you’d never know that I have any of it on other than the helmet. In this photo below I am rocking all the protective gear listed.

Rider: Nev Lapwood | Photographer: Nick Vail | Location: Whistler Blackcomb

Freestyle body position

Your basic body position is critical to maintain a flat base while jibbing. Master these fundamentals and every trick will branch out from here.

• Knees bent.


• Back straight.


• Head up and looking in the direction of travel.


• Weight of your body projected down into the board.


• Shoulders, hips, and knees are always aligned with the board.

Rider: Nev Lapwood | Photographer: Simon Portner

Try to keep your front hand over the nose of your board and your back hand over the tail for proper alignment.

Straight air

There are three basic forms for doing straight airs; coasting, popping, and ollieing.

Coasting

What: Coasting is the simplest way to get air where you ride off a feature (jump, roll, bump, etc) with enough speed that the terrain will provide some lift without any active body movement.

Why: Coasting is safe because it allows you to concentrate on keeping a stable and aligned body position while learning to jump.

How: Ride off a change in terrain with enough speed that your board will automatically leave the ground. Focus on keeping a balanced freestyle body position. Coast on features that you are unfamiliar with and are just getting used to. It’s great for your first attempts on small park jumps.

Popping

What: Popping is one step up from coasting. Now you equally spring off both feet to help increase the amount of air attained when leaving a feature.

Why: You’ll get significantly more air from when coasting.

How: Flex down with the knees and ankles, then quickly extend as you leave a feature. Be sure to pop off both feet to maintain balance and control. Once in the air bring your knees up and keep your body compact. This will create the feeling of even more air.

Ollieing

What: Using a snowboards energy to project us into the air. ollies are the most complicated of the three ways to get air.

Why: Ollies give you the most air and look the radest. They become very easy once you’ve acquired the skill because you use the boards energy for height rather than your legs energy.

How: Start in your freestyle body position. Quickly shift all your body weight into the tail of your board while simultaneously pulling up with the front foot. This will bend your board to the point where it wants to snap back. Use this pressure you’ve created to ollie into the air. Bring both legs up to the chest together and try your best to land evenly on both feet. Absorb you landing smoothly by flexing at the knees as you touch the ground.

Ollies are very difficult the first time you try them however they become easy with lots of practice. If you are having trouble getting off the ground then try to shift more of your upper body weight into the tail as you initiate the ollie. Timing is key. Practice ollies over snowballs, twigs, gloves, rocks etc to improve the timing of the movements.

Once you get ollies on lock you can learn nollies (nose ollies), which are the exact opposite. As you are moving forward you now quickly shift all your body weight to the nose of your board while pulling up with the back foot. You can then snap you board into the air off the nose and bring your legs back underneath you to land equally. nollies are a little harder than ollies, they look cool and add another degree in technicality of tricks. You can try nollies onto jib tricks, nollie 180’s or nollie grabs. They combinations are unlimited.

Big jumps 

Straight airs can sometimes be pretty scary if you’re hitting a big table. Don’t try and hit the biggest table in the park your first day, work your way up from the bottom.

• See how much speed you need by watching other riders.


• Try to find a drop in point where you can head relatively straight for the jump, minimizing the amount of speed checks, this way you can focus all your attention on the straight air.


• Leave with equal weight on both feet and a flat base.


• Have your front hand over your nose and back hand over your tail to keep an aligned stance.


• Keep your body compact with your knees close to your chest.


• Learn to grab for stability and style (grabbing explained below).

As long as you’re looking ahead and your body is in alignment with the direction of travel, you’ll go straight.

As you start hitting bigger jumps, popping off both legs is much easier than ollieing. The popping process starts to become a smooth transition of flexing down with your knees as you set up and extending back up as you leave the lip of the jump. The first couple of times on each jump you can coast to get the feel of the size. As you get more comfortable progressively try using more active lower body extension (aka popping) off the lip. Always stay in control.

Rider: Nev Lapwood | Photographer: Nick Vail | Location: Whistler Blackcomb

If you have any questions, ask one of our qualified snowboard instructors on the Boardworld Forums.