Why haven’t you been out on your snowboard yet this season? There are hills and mountains to be conquered, but not only for some awesome ollies and indy grabs. This is the year you’ll take all your skills and push yourself to learn and do more, or at least work on impressing some cute snow bunnies out there. Rogue has your back, and we’ve compiled a cool list of notable tricks that will catch everyone’s attention.
The Method - Defying Gravity Rogue Style
Level of difficulty: Intermediate
Best snow conditions: Packed snow powder
We get it! The Method is a classic maneuver. But many still struggle to execute. Want to elevate your method game a bit? Layer in a backside shifty. The backside shifty method involves grabbing the heel edge of the board like normal but with a 90-degree backside shifty board lift. Pro-tip - to begin a shifty, poke out your back leg and push forward with your back arm to increase your twist. A peak method will have your board parallel to the ground.
Methods are fairly basic but still require much timing, body control, and flexibility. The bigger challenge is finding the perfect balance while in the air to pull the whole thing together, create the pose, and nail the landing. Very few can do it their first time out, but don’t give up; when you get it just right, the exhilaration of the moment is worth it.
The Tail Press - Precision on your Rogue Mountain
Level of difficulty: Intermediate
Best snow conditions: Fluffy or new snow
While the tail press may not be considered all that difficult, mastering it is. Finding that delicate balance on the tail of the board requires a deep understanding of weight distribution and great board control. To execute, you start with the board flat and your weight centered; you then shift most of the weight to your back foot to the point that the nose of the board behind rises up. To help keep this position, shift your hips back, but make sure that both your hips and shoulders are aligned with the board.
If you see other guys effortlessly commanding their board down the slopes, watch their body positioning and control because they’ve taken the time to perfect the trick. That kind of management doesn’t come without building strength and biffing it a few times when the nose of the board catches on something. Maybe this snow season will be your chance to be the one everyone else is impressed with on the slopes.
The Frontside Boardslide - Riding the Rogue Rails
Level of difficulty: Intermediate
Best snow conditions: Groomed and firm snow
There’s nothing that screams solid snowboarding skills like a classic rail trick, and the frontside boardslide could be the quintessential one. But don’t be fooled by the sleekness that many snowboarders portray when doing it because it’s easier to appear the buffoon than it is to come off as a seasoned expert.
The approach is straight onto the rail, but you’ll pop an ollie and turn the board 90 degrees to slide down the rail, hopefully centering it on the middle of the board. Then, at the end, you turn the board back 90 degrees to slide away like it was just another Tuesday stroll.
The Backside 180 - Dominating Rogue Rotation
Level of difficulty: Intermediate to advanced
Best snow conditions: Packed powder or groomed trails
Watching what others do may be the greatest advantage you can give yourself because there are a thousand ways to do it wrong and only one way to do it right. Luckily, if you mess up, it isn’t likely to take you out of the game; just hurts your pride a bit.
Making this trick look flawless isn’t just about the simple looking 180 done off a jump, but comes down to a straight line approach, initiating the launch at the right spot, not starting to execute the spin while on the ground, and then manipulating the body around midair to land blindly on your non-dominant foot. Simple, right? Wrong! Overthink the maneuver, and you’ll usually start your spin while still on the jump, or you’ll approach the jump too slowly.
The Cab / Frontside 540 - Ultimate Rogue Spin
Level of difficulty: Advanced
Best snow conditions: Firm but not icy snow
Find yourself an awesome terrain park, strap on your big girl panties, and show some serious respect for physics. Not only is this trick not for beginners, but out of the gate in the intermediary club, you could be eating a lot of snow. Leading up to completing a 540, work on fewer rotations and build up.
On paper, all you have to do is launch off a sizable jump, initiate the spin at the perfect time, complete one and a half rotations, and land on the board facing downhill, not your… uh, butt. The necessity to have a well-built jump and steep landing is critical to achieving this trick, as there is so much that goes into body control, aerial awareness, and going all out the spin while trying to land cleanly.
The Double Cork - A Rogue Symphony
Level of difficulty: Advanced to Pro
Best snow conditions: Packed powder
For those of you whose blood runs hot for thrills, don’t mind brushing yourself off repeatedly and know the impossible is possible, there is the double cork. Very few people would even attempt this, and most of them come out a little more bruised than when they started, but those who succeed are truly in a class of their own.
The trick requires a large jump with a steep landing, The approach needs to be direct with a lot of speed. The person will then execute two off-axis flips while simultaneously spinning, kind of like being in an astronaut multi-axis antigravity trainer if it were rolling down a slope. Then, to top it all off, you have to look for your landing spot on a steep hill. Talk about aerobatics mixed with daredevil, sprinkled with an I’ll-show-you kind of attitude.
In the Spirit of Rogue
From the novice to the pro, there aren’t many things better than a day in the mountains, especially after a fresh batch of snow has been laid and the only thing on your mind is finding new heights and conquering new challenges. In that spirit, let us carve our own paths and remind everyone that the Rogue spirit is all about boldness, resilience, and true grit and determination because both of us share in the pursuit of pure satisfaction and making the most out of each moment.
