Are you looking for something to make the slopes exciting again?
Are you ready to take your skiing to the next level?
Then learning how to do ski tricks could be perfect for you.
A lot of them aren’t easy though, as you’ll know if you’ve ever watched freestyle skiing. But we’re here to guide you through from basic ski tricks to cool ski tricks that make you the envy of all your friends.
Before you can do any ski tricks, you need to learn how to get airborne. If you don’t already know how to jump on skis then head over to our ski jumping guide to learn all about popping, springing, and the Ollie. Once you’re feeling comfortable with those, come back here and we’ll explain how to learn ski tricks.
Once you’ve got the hang of jumping, the easiest tricks to try are grabs. They look impressive, but they’re easier to do than you might think.
The most basic ski trick for a beginner. Once you’re in the air, reach down with either hand and grab the outside edge of the ski on that side. But don’t reach too far. Focus on bringing your knees as close to your body as possible, making your reach much shorter. And don’t hold on for long. Just a quick grab and then release as you prepare for a safe landing.
Similar to the safety grab only this time you’re grabbing the opposite ski. So if you’re using your right hand, you grab the outside of your left ski. To do this, you need to cross your skis in the air, so practice that a few times on jumps before performing the grab. Once you’re comfortable crossing and uncrossing your skis, bring your knees up just as in the safety grab and reach down to grab the outside of the opposite ski. This might be a basic trick but it still looks pretty cool and is sure to impress your friends.
You’re popping like a master, you’ve got your Ollie nailed, and you’re making grabbing look like second nature. Now it’s time to turn it up a notch and show how your style with some more tricks.
This trick involves turning 180 degrees in the air and landing backwards.
As you approach the jump, twist your body in the direction you want to spin, then crouch and shift your weight to your back foot. Push off into your jump and allow your momentum to carry you through the turn until you’re facing backwards. Crouch and brace for landing as normal, remembering that you’re turned around, and then ride it out with style.
Once you can jump forwards and land backwards, why not reverse it? The technique is very similar, only you need to look over your shoulder to spot your take-off point. If you want to spin left, look over your left shoulder, for a right spin, look over your right shoulder. This way you’ll always see where you’re going and your head, shoulders and hips will already be leading you into the turn once you’re in the air. Simply follow them around until you’re facing forward and, voila!
Yep, it’s time to go all the way around. This shouldn’t be too difficult once you’ve got the hang of the 180. You just need to ensure you’re getting enough height on your jump to give you time to make a full rotation. As you’re turning, be aware of how far you’ve gone – note when you pass the 180 mark where you’re facing backwards so that you can anticipate the full 360 and spot your landing. If you’re struggling for stability widen your ski stance a little and keep your eyeline horizontal rather than looking down towards the jump or your feet.
The more jumps and spins you do the more you’ll get a taste for pushing things even further. Some ski resorts will have boxes or rails you can perform slides over. Or you may be tempted to head for a bigger jump to give backflips and frontflips a try.
This is when things get more dangerous though, so we’d suggest you get an expert to show you how to learn these ski tricks safely. At Altitude, we have a range of lesson options to cover whatever you’re after. So get booked in today, and you’ll be regaling your ski tricks stories over après-ski in no time at all.
