I'm kind of new...

jcc03skis

jcc03skis

Active member
You heard it, my parents grew up skiing and started getting me into skiing a couple years ago. I was thinking about quitting because I was kind of bored of just hitting blues and blacks; but then it was march and I was a spirit mountain. I ended up hitting the wrong trail, which led to a old lift. when I reached the top I saw someone skiing on the terrain park. I didn't really know people did that at the time so I was pretty shocked. Decided to follow him, while he was hitting jumps and rails I was just watching in amazement, on the side of the trail. Chatted with him at the end of the run and he told me all about freeskiing and newschoolers. Later that summer I bought Rossi S3's and Full tilt classics(Kind of hoped on the band wagon with those boots, felt nice tho). There's my story, I know you probably didn't care.

Now I'm sitting here wondering what I should I be learning my first season or even this weekend when I head out for the first time this season. I'm kinda confused on the basics and what should be learned first, so can you tell me or just help on what needs to be done first before I try any thing big, thanks.

 
Honestly, I'd say learn how to ski switch first and foremost. Not just riding backwards but learn how to carve and stop. You'd be surprised how often the simple skill will save your ass on a bad landing or coming off a rail squirrely. I'd also say start out hitting flat boxes straight. Just ride forward on and off to get a feel for how your skis react while grinding. Also try alot of straight airs. Start small and progress accordingly. Another thing you can do is put on your boots in your house and practice 360s. That should be plenty to get you started. Good luck. I soooo jus got trolled huh? Lol
 
Glad you here! FIrst you should be comfortable with straight airing. If you don't know how to this the one thing you need to remember is to pop off of the lip. You should also try skiing switch (backwards) near the bottom of the run where it is flat. Switch landings are a huge part of skiing so learning switch is essential. If you're past these stages already or need some more pointers feel free to PM me!
 
First off welcome to the awesome spot of freeskiing. Now you will want to dress exactly like tom wallisch and you will be stomping steezy dub 10's.
 
Thanks crispy I might give you a PM this weekend after I go to the mountain, same with you mountainviper.

And no I'm not a troll.
 
Also, don't be afraid to fall its part of progressing. My first season I didn't progress alot because i didn't want to look stupid falling, now I don't care and I'm progressing much faster. Other than that listen to the first two posts.
 
I am around the same situation as you, It is my first real season skiing.I took the advice I got and it really helped. The first couple times I went to the mountain I only skied switch. Now I am progressing from boxes to rails, and I can sorta land backwards(off the boxes). Anyway, start small, don't be afraid to eat shit, but most of all, don't be afraid to mount rails going faster than you are comfortable. Going fast helps, and go to your mountain often, practice makes perfect.
 
its my first year to and i got the 360s down and i want to backflip and do other inverted stuff am i capable? I have heard of ppl doing backflips before ther 3's. or should i work the the 5 and 7 b4
 
to be honest, tricks such as backflips, frontflips, flatspins, etc. just take some balls. you don't have to be really good, just need to maybe get the motion down first on a trampoline, and then just huck it and COMMIT. i swear if you commit to a trick like that first time, you will never land on your head. corks may be a little weirder, same with bio, rodeo, etc. but once you get the basic flips down the will come a lot easier.

for OP: since it looks like how you already know how to ski (carving, hockey stops), to start getting into freeskiing, ski backwards, and start hitting boxes both naturally and unnaturally. learn to slide/spin both ways when you're learning, and everything will come much easier later on.
 
Great advice above^

But just to echo what someone said above. DONT BE EMBARRASSED TO FALL. Even the pros fall every day. You won't look stupid. Part of learning new tricks is failing. Its how you get back up after failing, think about what you did wrong, and go back and correct it. It feels great to realize what you did wrong on a previous fall and fix it on your next hit.
 
Try a couple natural and unnatural railslides. (Rails will be easier in the future if you learn both right away.)
 
Really dont worry about what the other "cool" kids in the park think when you are trying new things. My first two seasons I was always concerned about what they would think if I fell or didnt look good on something. Once I learned to progress for me and not be concerned about what the other people thought I progressed so much faster.
 
i personally ski with music everyday and it helps so much

just figure out a way to be able to listen to your music but still hear people and be able to talk to them. i put my icons over my beanie and under my goggle strap and helmet so i can hear everything going on around me perfectly but i have my tunes at the same time
 
That should be the last thing on your mind. At my resort park skiing has died. All the kids who i used to ride with have moved onto college or just stopped riding as much as they used to. Im always happy to see the younger kids hitting boxes/rails for the first time and going for it. Whenever i wanna learn something i stay at the spot hiking and i try not to leave until i get it.
 
Looks like your getting some good advice. That's cool that it didn't turn into a slam fest. But I forgot one of the most crucial things. This may generate some hate but trust me on this. If you don't already have a good helmet....get one. I've said this before but I've been skiing a long time. Doing park since it was still snowboards only.(a long time!) 2 yrs ago I caught my tips doin a back with no helmet and crushed my face. I'm on reconstructive surgery number 4 now. Each surgery screws up my season and relegates me to only throwing smaller tricks. Kills my progression and I'm not sure I'll ever get back to my peak skill set. The docs told me that due to the location of the initial impact on my ocular, had I been wearing a helmet, my injuries would have been far less severe. So don't skimp on that. Def get a decent helmet and I even tell peeps to rock a full face helmet. Shoot even sethmo rocks one. You may get some looks but at least you'll keep your teeth!
 
Yah I'm definitely getting a helmet, most likely not a full face. Does anyone know where you could find one for a good price. I will be getting one this weekend; or any recommendations on which ones are actually good?

Appreciate the help guys, really wasn't expecting that much help but I'm suprised.
 
Personally on smaller stuff and days I'm out just cruisin I rock a bern watts. On the days I know I'm charging hard or doin alot of park or side country, I wear my 661 full face.
 
Skiing switch seems to work differently for different peeps. I personally scissor my legs while turning but then my buddy keeps his feet together. That's why you should heed someone's earlier advice of always trying to ski switch on the easy parts of a run and greens. Really get a feel for how to turn and stop. Watch some vids too. Eric pollard was how I got my switch riding style. In fact nimbus independent
 
Sorry. Shitty mobile app cut me off mid post. Anyway nimbusindependant.com is a good site to watch some free vids and get a feel for certain aspects. All those guys started riding park so even though it's big mountain it's still relevant. And honestly approach is still one of my fav vids.
 
probably the biggest advice I can give you is to never do this, no matter what. caring what people think is the worst thing for your skiing, because when you get super self conscious about what other people think then skiing stops being fun.

and everybody knows that the best skier is the one who has the most fun, so if you aren't smiling then you suck. pretty simple really.
 
Sorry for another question but, does anyone have any good tutorial video on riding switch.

Learning on greens and blue seems like a good idea mtnviper, anyone remember how long it took them?
 
You can pick up the basics of riding switch in like a half day if you legit commit to cruising greens all morning just skiing switch. Honestly though, your always progressing switch skiing, no matter how good ya get. Everyone has that one thing they haven't tried switch yet. Even if that means a trick you can do switch on a 20' gap but not an 80' gap. If your a solid skier though, you should pick up the basics quick.
 
it wont take a ton of time if you spend an entire day on it. skiing backwards with twin tips isn't that hard, the trick is learning how to stagger your legs and open your chest so you get a good look down the hill. then, you can progressively learn how to ski switch and look over either shoulder and carve your turns... there's a video that i can dig up for you after i get back home, too.
 
devote entire runs to skiing switch. once you get the hang of it, it's actually really fun! With the new power of skiing backwards, you will be able to trust your skis and yourself more, which allows you to progress, and trust yourself in doing new tricks, spins, and rails. good luck!
 
Best thing to do is make some friends who also ski park. Having a crew to ski with makes learning not only more fun, more faster since you are always pushing each other. Spirit mountain represent yeahh! haha I work there.. just sayin
 
before you do anything your gonna want to get yourself either a saga or first drop matching suit that is at least seven sizes to big for you once you have that then you can start learning tricks.

but for serious its all about practice practice practice if you dont land something get up and do it again until you get it right
 
It's official, sunday I'm going. Going to set my goals as get semi-good at riding switching, be able to do 180 or even 360's of jumps, and maybe learn the basic slide(50-50).

 
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