Want to start hitting rails - Frosty Rider Snowboarding

This topic has 7 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 11 months ago by berrynot.

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February 6, 2011 at 6:35 am #626
Serenadium64
Participant
whats up guys, i just joined the forum and i gotta say this is a great site you guys have here, lots of good stuff to learn. Anyway, ive been snowboarding for a little while now, im not really new but im not a seasoned vet either, i can go up and down the mountain without difficulty, not falling down or anything, but i really want to step up to the jib park and start hitting the boxrails and stuff, just wondering if you guys can give me some must know tips before i go up there and make myself look like an idiot hahaha, any feedback will be appreciated, thanks!
February 6, 2011 at 3:44 pm #3709
Travis Hightower
Participant
Confidence Confidence Confidence! Thats what it boils down to. But I might have a few tips for you. I'm not the biggest fan of rails and boxes, but I've done a few, so anyone with any better tips please weigh in.1st off, work up to it. Make a few passes right next to it to set your speed. The 1st time you hit a box, most peoples biggest mistake is going really slow and trying to feel it out.This is a bad idea. Most boxes at terrain parks are very slippery, so when you go really slow and cannot use your edge, you slip off. Then again, if you hit it at full speed withoutknowing what is going to happen, you'll probably fall too since its your first time. The trick to the 1st one is, find a speed that you won't be scared of, but is fast enough thatyou won't stall on the box. If you can find a short box, even better!2nd tip is, hit it square. Make sure you

Confidence Confidence Confidence! Thats what it boils down to. But I might have a few tips for you. I'm not the biggest fan of rails and boxes, but I've done a few, so anyone with any better tips please weigh in.1st off, work up to it. Make a few passes right next to it to set your speed. The 1st time you hit a box, most peoples biggest mistake is going really slow and trying to feel it out.This is a bad idea. Most boxes at terrain parks are very slippery, so when you go really slow and cannot use your edge, you slip off. Then again, if you hit it at full speed withoutknowing what is going to happen, you'll probably fall too since its your first time. The trick to the 1st one is, find a speed that you won't be scared of, but is fast enough thatyou won't stall on the box. If you can find a short box, even better!2nd tip is, hit it square. Make sure you've done your speed check far enough away that you can align the board and box straight on for your first 50-50. If you're off angle, you mightspin, or fly off one side or the other. You might get away with using your edge ONCE. But I find that anytime I go up on edge, it catches or it slings me off. The more experienceyou get on boxes, the more you'll figure out how to distribute weight on your nose and tail to readjust. But for the first time, try to dial it in on the prep work.3rd, Have fun. You're going to fall. Maybe not your first hit, or your second, but it is going to happen. It happens to everyone. Its not humiliating to fall in a terrain park. Take sometime and just watch everyone else. On average, I fall 10-15 times hitting the jumps. And honestly, if people laugh its because the wrecks are funny. They're not laughing at youbecause you couldn't do it, they're laughing at you because you've probably landed on your back and end-overed. Just laugh it off and continue on. When you progress, you crashsome. But by now you have enough skill to know how to fall and not take a big hit, instead of the days of learning where it hurts bad.Just take a day and work up to it. Pop off the ramp that leads to the box without going over the box a few times and just get it in your head “I'm going to do this.” Sooner or later,you will!Hope this helps!

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February 7, 2011 at 4:58 am #3708
Serenadium64
Participant
Confidence Confidence Confidence! Thats what it boils down to. But I might have a few tips for you. I'm not the biggest fan of rails and boxes, but I've done a few, so anyone with any better tips please weigh in.1st off, work up to it. Make a few passes right next to it to set your speed. The 1st time you hit a box, most peoples biggest mistake is going really slow and trying to feel it out.This is a bad idea. Most boxes at terrain parks are very slippery, so when you go really slow and cannot use your edge, you slip off. Then again, if you hit it at full speed withoutknowing what is going to happen, you'll probably fall too since its your first time. The trick to the 1st one is, find a speed that you won't be scared of, but is fast enough thatyou won't stall on the box. If you can find a short box, even better!2nd tip is, hit it square. M

Confidence Confidence Confidence! Thats what it boils down to. But I might have a few tips for you. I'm not the biggest fan of rails and boxes, but I've done a few, so anyone with any better tips please weigh in.1st off, work up to it. Make a few passes right next to it to set your speed. The 1st time you hit a box, most peoples biggest mistake is going really slow and trying to feel it out.This is a bad idea. Most boxes at terrain parks are very slippery, so when you go really slow and cannot use your edge, you slip off. Then again, if you hit it at full speed withoutknowing what is going to happen, you'll probably fall too since its your first time. The trick to the 1st one is, find a speed that you won't be scared of, but is fast enough thatyou won't stall on the box. If you can find a short box, even better!2nd tip is, hit it square. Make sure you've done your speed check far enough away that you can align the board and box straight on for your first 50-50. If you're off angle, you mightspin, or fly off one side or the other. You might get away with using your edge ONCE. But I find that anytime I go up on edge, it catches or it slings me off. The more experienceyou get on boxes, the more you'll figure out how to distribute weight on your nose and tail to readjust. But for the first time, try to dial it in on the prep work.3rd, Have fun. You're going to fall. Maybe not your first hit, or your second, but it is going to happen. It happens to everyone. Its not humiliating to fall in a terrain park. Take sometime and just watch everyone else. On average, I fall 10-15 times hitting the jumps. And honestly, if people laugh its because the wrecks are funny. They're not laughing at youbecause you couldn't do it, they're laughing at you because you've probably landed on your back and end-overed. Just laugh it off and continue on. When you progress, you crashsome. But by now you have enough skill to know how to fall and not take a big hit, instead of the days of learning where it hurts bad.Just take a day and work up to it. Pop off the ramp that leads to the box without going over the box a few times and just get it in your head “I'm going to do this.” Sooner or later,you will!Hope this helps!

Thanks man, are there any ways i can practice while not on the mountain, and any tips on ollies or how to practice with them?

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February 7, 2011 at 5:55 pm #3682
Frosty
Keymaster
Glad you like the site Serenadium64. Awesome advice Travz. Also I recommend shin-guards for protection. I couple seasons back I was sliding a 50 foot long rail 50/50 and slipped off toeside. SMASH! Not only did the weight of my body meet my shins into the rail, bit also the friction burned through my pants, socks, and into the skin and left me half dead. I think if I had shin-guards on that day it would have helped SO much! This is not to scare you. Like Travz said, your GONNA fall, that's why it feels so good when you stick it and ride away clean. Not easy .. very challenging yet truly rewarding.
February 8, 2011 at 1:15 am #3680
Travis Hightower
Participant
I forgot about protection, thanks for raising awareness Frosty! Absolutely wear a helmet. Most of the time when you fall on a rail, you hit your head. Hard enough to if you're not wearing a helmet, its going to hurt bad, but if you are, it shouldn't really hurt at all.Like Frosty said, we're not trying to scare you. This is just precaution for worst case. It just needs to be said. If you respect the slopes and the terrain park, it will respect you.Now to the fun bits. Practice. Anywhere that has snow, is grounds for practicing anything. A lot of us are spoiled with ample snowfall to where we say “lift ticket, pfftttttt” and just ride the trees all day long. I see you're from North Carolina. I actually learned how to snowboard in Maggie Valley at Cataloochee. So I'm aware of how sometimes finding snow can be a problem. But thankfully from t

I forgot about protection, thanks for raising awareness Frosty! Absolutely wear a helmet. Most of the time when you fall on a rail, you hit your head. Hard enough to if you're not wearing a helmet, its going to hurt bad, but if you are, it shouldn't really hurt at all.Like Frosty said, we're not trying to scare you. This is just precaution for worst case. It just needs to be said. If you respect the slopes and the terrain park, it will respect you.Now to the fun bits. Practice. Anywhere that has snow, is grounds for practicing anything. A lot of us are spoiled with ample snowfall to where we say “lift ticket, pfftttttt” and just ride the trees all day long. I see you're from North Carolina. I actually learned how to snowboard in Maggie Valley at Cataloochee. So I'm aware of how sometimes finding snow can be a problem. But thankfully from this awesome winter, you should have snow around in your yard. If you have a hill, shovel it into a line and make a track to do a run. If no yard snow, drive up one of the mountains in NC and spot a backcountry line. Or fill a truck up with snow. One thing I remember from being raised in the south and being a snowboarder, is being creative. We used to use skateparks as mountains. A bowl for skateboarding became a concrete halfpipe for snowboarding.If you're looking for something to mimic a rail and have ample snowfall, an old snowboard works great. The base of a snowboard and the top of a rail are fairly similar. They're just different enough to where you do not get friction riding across them, but both are nylon based. But with a snowboard being not that incredibly long, it wouldn't have enough time to gather the friction to hang you up. So being close to Sugar Mountain, you should be able to find an old busted up snowboard for pretty cheap. I picked one up at a garage sale over the summer for $15. Makes an excellent beginner rail. But honestly, any table like surface should work just fine.As far as teaching an ollie. This is almost impossible to tell someone how to do. I can show you some dynamics to try to get your brain to wrap around some of the physics involved, but outright telling you just will not work. So try this to learn what exactly is going on in your snowboards mind:On a carpeted surface, do a tail press. If you do not know what this is, strap in as usual and lean back over the tail as far as you can safely, and pick your front foot up. You should notice the nose of your board raising off the ground. This is an exaggerated version of the 1st part of the ollie dynamic. Getting your board under load for the pop.2nd, when in your tail press, jump up on your back foot. Try to land with the board completely flat on the ground. That is the 2nd part of the ollie dynamic. The release of tension in your board, and the leveling out for the landing.Now if you tried this off of a jump in a terrain park, you would wake up minutes later to find out you just threw your first backflip or if you're off balance, rodeo, and failed. So don't try this on the snow in person. Its just a learning example. But it can get you to notice the double action of “loading up” and “snapping.”A true ollie is like a hop, but staggered. Basically you are going to pick up your front foot first, and hop with your back foot + all of the added tension of your snowboard under stress. Now you see why I can't teach you this, its something you have to figure out. Timing. And trust me on this, trying to learn an ollie on a snowboard while moving is NOTHING like trying to learn an ollie while moving on a skateboard. It's a bit harder on a snowboard. I don't know why, but it is. If you truly want to master the ollie, and you're riding the mountain, find some little bumps or baby jumps that are usually littered around the sides of the trails near the trees. Or small kickers in the beginner terrain park. That is the best way to learn, to pop off a lip. The ramp is there to help you. The flat ground will not at all.It sounds as if you're just coming into your own as a “freestylist.” Now is an exciting time of snowboarding. Finding out what you can do, and finding out what you want to learn to do. Try everything. When it comes to box riding, maybe a boardslide is easier than a 50-50 for you. So try it. If its grabs, maybe mutes are not your thing, but indy is. Now is the time to try. And if you fail, try again! For me, frontside anythings are a nightmare. Can't do them. Doesn't mean I don't try. But backsides (which everyone considers harder), I can land as if it was natural.So find yours. Find whats easy for you and master it while dialing in on the things that are difficult. There is a ton of weird things you're about to learn about your skills while pushing yourself beyond the “mountain riding” barrier. I found out I can only ride in the woods switch. Who knew? Its little quirks like that which make snowboarding fun. That and riding with friends. Yes thats sappy, but its true.And please keep coming at us with questions. Sometimes I forget how lucky I am living in a snow zone and knowing what I know until I get to share the knowledge with others.

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February 9, 2011 at 2:51 am #3672
Serenadium64
Participant
I forgot about protection, thanks for raising awareness Frosty! Absolutely wear a helmet. Most of the time when you fall on a rail, you hit your head. Hard enough to if you're not wearing a helmet, its going to hurt bad, but if you are, it shouldn't really hurt at all.Like Frosty said, we're not trying to scare you. This is just precaution for worst case. It just needs to be said. If you respect the slopes and the terrain park, it will respect you.Now to the fun bits. Practice. Anywhere that has snow, is grounds for practicing anything. A lot of us are spoiled with ample snowfall to where we say “lift ticket, pfftttttt” and just ride the trees all day long. I see you're from North Carolina. I actually learned how to snowboard in Maggie Valley at Cataloochee. So I'm aware of how sometimes finding snow can be a problem. But thank

I forgot about protection, thanks for raising awareness Frosty! Absolutely wear a helmet. Most of the time when you fall on a rail, you hit your head. Hard enough to if you're not wearing a helmet, its going to hurt bad, but if you are, it shouldn't really hurt at all.Like Frosty said, we're not trying to scare you. This is just precaution for worst case. It just needs to be said. If you respect the slopes and the terrain park, it will respect you.Now to the fun bits. Practice. Anywhere that has snow, is grounds for practicing anything. A lot of us are spoiled with ample snowfall to where we say “lift ticket, pfftttttt” and just ride the trees all day long. I see you're from North Carolina. I actually learned how to snowboard in Maggie Valley at Cataloochee. So I'm aware of how sometimes finding snow can be a problem. But thankfully from this awesome winter, you should have snow around in your yard. If you have a hill, shovel it into a line and make a track to do a run. If no yard snow, drive up one of the mountains in NC and spot a backcountry line. Or fill a truck up with snow. One thing I remember from being raised in the south and being a snowboarder, is being creative. We used to use skateparks as mountains. A bowl for skateboarding became a concrete halfpipe for snowboarding.If you're looking for something to mimic a rail and have ample snowfall, an old snowboard works great. The base of a snowboard and the top of a rail are fairly similar. They're just different enough to where you do not get friction riding across them, but both are nylon based. But with a snowboard being not that incredibly long, it wouldn't have enough time to gather the friction to hang you up. So being close to Sugar Mountain, you should be able to find an old busted up snowboard for pretty cheap. I picked one up at a garage sale over the summer for $15. Makes an excellent beginner rail. But honestly, any table like surface should work just fine.As far as teaching an ollie. This is almost impossible to tell someone how to do. I can show you some dynamics to try to get your brain to wrap around some of the physics involved, but outright telling you just will not work. So try this to learn what exactly is going on in your snowboards mind:On a carpeted surface, do a tail press. If you do not know what this is, strap in as usual and lean back over the tail as far as you can safely, and pick your front foot up. You should notice the nose of your board raising off the ground. This is an exaggerated version of the 1st part of the ollie dynamic. Getting your board under load for the pop.2nd, when in your tail press, jump up on your back foot. Try to land with the board completely flat on the ground. That is the 2nd part of the ollie dynamic. The release of tension in your board, and the leveling out for the landing.Now if you tried this off of a jump in a terrain park, you would wake up minutes later to find out you just threw your first backflip or if you're off balance, rodeo, and failed. So don't try this on the snow in person. Its just a learning example. But it can get you to notice the double action of “loading up” and “snapping.”A true ollie is like a hop, but staggered. Basically you are going to pick up your front foot first, and hop with your back foot + all of the added tension of your snowboard under stress. Now you see why I can't teach you this, its something you have to figure out. Timing. And trust me on this, trying to learn an ollie on a snowboard while moving is NOTHING like trying to learn an ollie while moving on a skateboard. It's a bit harder on a snowboard. I don't know why, but it is. If you truly want to master the ollie, and you're riding the mountain, find some little bumps or baby jumps that are usually littered around the sides of the trails near the trees. Or small kickers in the beginner terrain park. That is the best way to learn, to pop off a lip. The ramp is there to help you. The flat ground will not at all.It sounds as if you're just coming into your own as a “freestylist.” Now is an exciting time of snowboarding. Finding out what you can do, and finding out what you want to learn to do. Try everything. When it comes to box riding, maybe a boardslide is easier than a 50-50 for you. So try it. If its grabs, maybe mutes are not your thing, but indy is. Now is the time to try. And if you fail, try again! For me, frontside anythings are a nightmare. Can't do them. Doesn't mean I don't try. But backsides (which everyone considers harder), I can land as if it was natural.So find yours. Find whats easy for you and master it while dialing in on the things that are difficult. There is a ton of weird things you're about to learn about your skills while pushing yourself beyond the “mountain riding” barrier. I found out I can only ride in the woods switch. Who knew? Its little quirks like that which make snowboarding fun. That and riding with friends. Yes thats sappy, but its true.And please keep coming at us with questions. Sometimes I forget how lucky I am living in a snow zone and knowing what I know until I get to share the knowledge with others.

I live in king NC like 15 mins away from winston salem, so no snow here, and i dont have my drivers liscence yet, but yeah youre right about being a freestylist, when i first started snowboarding thats what i wanted to finally work up to, i can go onto transworld snowboarding and watch streetrail and park videos for hours, backcountry and powder looks really cool too but rails and other jibs is what ive always had the desire to do, and i would think i have to travel alot for backcountry and i dont even know how that works really. But im not really intimidated that much by the park and i think i can get the hang of it.

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February 9, 2011 at 6:11 pm #3669
Frosty
Keymaster
I live in king NC like 15 mins away from winston salem, so no snow here, and i dont have my drivers liscence yet, but yeah youre right about being a freestylist, when i first started snowboarding thats what i wanted to finally work up to, i can go onto transworld snowboarding and watch streetrail and park videos for hours, backcountry and powder looks really cool too but rails and other jibs is what ive always had the desire to do, and i would think i have to travel alot for backcountry and i dont even know how that works really. But im not really intimidated that much by the park and i think i can get the hang of it.

Hehe, I'm kinda the opposite, but then again I have lived in places like Alaska and Colorado where a lot of riders have the gear and know-how for backcountry and big-mountain riding. It is all good though – that's for su

I live in king NC like 15 mins away from winston salem, so no snow here, and i dont have my drivers liscence yet, but yeah youre right about being a freestylist, when i first started snowboarding thats what i wanted to finally work up to, i can go onto transworld snowboarding and watch streetrail and park videos for hours, backcountry and powder looks really cool too but rails and other jibs is what ive always had the desire to do, and i would think i have to travel alot for backcountry and i dont even know how that works really. But im not really intimidated that much by the park and i think i can get the hang of it.

Hehe, I'm kinda the opposite, but then again I have lived in places like Alaska and Colorado where a lot of riders have the gear and know-how for backcountry and big-mountain riding. It is all good though – that's for sure.

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December 16, 2011 at 2:26 pm #3800
berrynot
Participant
i was wondering the same thing. i'm a newbie but there are some questions in my mind and this is one of them. i would also like to thank you guys for sharing your opinions! 🙂
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