Backside 180

Snowboarding / Popular

Spin and land a backside 180.

What coaches agree on

  • Keep your eyes and head turned back, spotting the knuckle or landing all the way through the spin and into touchdown, before you look ahead to ride away.
  • Set up your approach with a heel-edge-to-toe-edge turn so you arrive at the takeoff on your toe edge, riding straight up the lip.
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  • Build up in stages — practice the pop and rotation on flat ground or a gentle traverse first, then move to side hits, then small jumps, before taking it to a bigger park jump.

Common mistakes

  • A common error is popping unevenly, with weight stuck on the nose or driven mostly off the back foot, instead of a level pop off both feet, which leaves the tail hanging or throws the spin off balance.
  • Breaking at the waist and letting the chest drop forward, instead of keeping the spine tall and stacked over the board, is a common error that throws riders off balance in the air.
  • Trying to learn the spin before you can already ride away switch comfortably is a common and risky shortcut, forcing you to learn the switch landing and the spin at the same time.
How to Backside 180 on a snowboard
Intermediate

How to Backside 180 on a snowboard

Coach's take: Good technical tips — edge control to stop over-rotating, a real spotting technique for the landing — just delivered fast without much scaffolding.

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