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Let's face it, when snowboarding, anything that isn't
flat creates an almost over powering urge to try to ride
and half pipes are no exception to this. After gazing upon
the glory of a half pipe it is almost impossible to resist
the urge to challenge it, to see what you can do in it or
to see if you too are as good as the guy who is doing a
Slob Air. It is this desire that keeps us snowboarding and
drives us to try new things such as a half pipe.
Half pipes can be very daunting features of a snowboarding
park. A half pipe will be 4 - 12 feet high, may have 3 sides
in a "U" like shape and be full of people doing crazy stunts
in the air at high speeds. The big question is how do you
learn to use a half pipe?
While the prospects of dropping in to a half pipe can be
very daunting, the reality is that you can ease in to riding
the half pipe. In fact, the preparation for riding a half
pipe begins well before you ever enter it. While it is highly
recommended that you are proficient at snowboarding on general
terrain before trying a half pipe you can start off in a
half pipe.
There are two basic skills that you need to know fairly
well, hop turns, or Bunny hops, and how to snowboard confidently
on varying terrain. Your confidence in snowboarding really
is the key to moving on. You must be able to recover your
balance on bumpy terrain when riding quickly. This ability
will allow you to proactively react to the rapidly changing
conditions of a half pipe. To be fair, the conditions of
the half pipe do not change rather your position in the
pipe changes. Remember that your speeds in a half pipe are
faster than normal and thus you must be able to react to
riding on a transition rather than the flat very quickly.
The other basic skill is the Bunny hop. The Bunny hop allows
you to launch a little higher and away from the lip of the
ramp thus keeping you from catching it when you re-enter
the ramp.
The next big hurtle is dropping in. When you are first learning
to ride a half pipe it is best to start on the side of the
smallest ramp rather than from the top of the ramp. This
will give you a chance to get used to the ramp and learn
how to pump it for speed and balance. As your confidence
increases begin dropping in from higher and higher points
until you are ready to start from the top of the pipe.
Half pipes can be daunting features of the terrain but learning
to ride them doesn't have to be tough. By working with the
basic skills that you already have you will be able to rider
a half pipe well. The more you ride the half pipe and challenge
yourself the faster your skills in it will progress. When
looking at the half pipe for the first time, do not back
down. Instead resolve to be the best damn snowboarder there
and push yourself, as hard as you can and soon you will
be the best snowboarder there.
About the Author
Jakob Jelling is the founder of
http://www.snowboardinghelp.com.
Please visit his website to discover the world of snowboarding!
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