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Outside Magazine February 2003

Bodywork: Tricks of the Brave
Tricky Time
When it comes to winter sports, there are skills, and there are skillz. We're talking about catching big air off the halfpipe, making like Apolo Ohno on skate-skis, building a perfect snow ramp for launchpad jumps, and climbing a frozen waterfall. Ready to get with it? Then listen to the mad wisdom of pros who know.

By Paul Scott

Halfpipe Hucking | Climbing a Frozen Waterfall | Becoming a Skater | Building a Kicker

We have liftoff: Burton snowboarder Keir Dillon in his natural element (Jeff Curtis)
HALFPIPE HUCKING
At 25, BURTON GLOBAL snowboarder Keir Dillon's job duties include fine-tuning his McTwist 900—a front flip with two and a half rotations executed eight feet above the lip. For halfpipe dreamers, his first words of advice are simple: "You're going to fall tons. If you don't, you're not progressing." But before you take on the hordes of sixth-graders channeling Danny Kass at your local pipe, you need to master some basics. Dillon says anybody hoping to twist off the top of the pipe must be able to do front- and backside 180s off ordinary jumps. Another word to the wise: Spend time in the gym on a wobble board, executing medicine-ball twists to hone balance and build up your obliques.

When you're ready to rip, start by sliding down the halfpipe, carving up the walls two feet higher each time, making sure
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What does it take to manipulate a sail filled with 12 tons of force in less than five seconds? For a look at the specialized workout of the team favored to win this year's America's Cup, log on to www.outsideonline.com. The Oracle/BMW racing team program involves sand dunes, sweat, and more stamina than you thought a sailor would ever need.
to hop, not slide, onto the opposite edge of your board when reaching the apex of each turn. When you've nailed five straight runs, try these steps: 1) From the top of the pipe, drop into the chute at a 45-degree angle to the fall line so you'll generate enough speed. Keep your weight on the board's high-side edge—relative to the slope of the hill, not the walls of the pipe—bend your knees, and maintain the edge all the way down, across the flat of the pipe, and back up the other side. 2) As you approach the lip, keep your shoulders aligned with your board. Pop off the lip into the air, then simultaneously grab the board with your trailing hand and rotate your torso 90 degrees. 3) Let go of the board and land in a crouch on the high-side edge with your weight distributed evenly over the board.

"To get even a foot above the lip could take a while," says Dillon, who admits it took him weeks to master aerials. For the rest of us, that translates into a long season of tumbles into the great white ravine—but who said big fun was easy?








Next Page: Tracking an Ice Fall

 
Halfpipe Hucking | Climbing a Frozen Waterfall | Becoming a Skater | Building a Kicker