# When to park ?



## Bray (Jul 12, 2011)

Snowolf said:


> There is no hard and fast absolute rule here, but generally you want to be a very competent all around rider before getting into park riding. These foundational skills are needed to teach you edge control and every performance concepts to manipulate your board precisely in any situation.
> 
> You are not really carving your turns yet so don't make the mistake of thinking any turn is "carving". Once you get beyond basic linked turns and are riding blues, blacks and off piste using dynamic riding skills and are actually competent at basic carved turns on green and blue terrain and experimenting with dynamic carved turns and are also competent at basic skidded turns switch on green terrain, you are ready to start playing around with basic park riding.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the feedback!~ 
I watched your video's online, and they were very helpful for my first time snowboarding!


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## sizzle (Aug 27, 2008)

A good and safe way to start is just start learnin how to ollie on flat-ish areas at the top and bottom of the slopes. Then gradually start doing it while moving slow and then so on.


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## IdahoFreshies (Jul 9, 2011)

wait 2 years. That is a great benchmark. After 2-3 full seasons of boarding go try your hand at some ride on boxes and rails. Unless you have pretty good board control even getting onto beginner level features will be difficult and awkward. I know the allure of the park is mezmerizing, but i promise you are not at a high enough level to ride the park yet. Go tackle the natural terrain first. Once you can cleanly make it down black runs at your resort without falling then go to the park. While your still learning board control and edge control, learn to ollie, then flat ground 180, Front side and back side. Then fs and bs 180 over things and off things, branches, stumps, lips. While exploring your mountain learining to ride your board on more difficult terrain make the natural features on the mountain your park. I almost find that more fun than hitting boxes and rails. Its all about being creative. 

Plus, the park hurts, alot. All of the snow is hard pack, so falling on it is never soft, if you slip off a rail or box and hitting it with any part of your body will hurt alot. Do a jump wrong and there are 1000 different ways to seriously mess yourself up. And at the beginner stage you are at, you will fall on almost everything, its the sad truth.


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## j.gnar (Sep 4, 2009)

i think 2 full seasons is a long time to wait to get into the park, but thats just me. you can get in there a lot sooner..especially if you have skateboarding in your background. i was hitting smaller jibs and rails in the park my first season


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## Karasene (Oct 20, 2010)

I agree.. I think 2 years is a bit of a long time to wait to hit park.. I began dabbling in park the end of my first season.. mainly hitting just the first 15-20ft jump a flat box and the table top 10 ft at the bottom with a basic grab. However I was riding at least 5 days a week from dec-april and I also did a lot of mogul runs and I mean a LOT pretending each bump was a tree and worked a ton on edge control of my board. So I had the ability to do blacks and some tree runs. Most the guys said they don't normally see someone progress so much in one season.. but it definitely isn't far fetched for you to do so.

I would definetly take Snowolfs and the others advice and say you should really feel confident with edge control of your board and feel comfortable on blacks and be able to ollie. Switch and fs bs 180s are the first step to advancing into park and like everyone else said you can practice those on green and blues.

You're first ticket to progression is a season pass. No way will you progress much with out one.. most the kids you see who ride park well are riding 40-100+ days a season easy.


on a side note
I want to say Snowolf I am always impressed with how well you answer questions on this forum and I really appreciate having someone like you to give advice. If you ever write a book let me know. :thumbsup:


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## Otto Maddox (Aug 26, 2010)

i forgot who said about skateboarding experience helping out, but i agree.
10/11 was my first season back on a snowboard in like 5+years, but i had been skateboarding the whole time.

i'm beginner/intermediate snowboarder, but the skateboarding mos def made me more comfortable with the smaller jumps and boxes/jibs. 

if you do start, get a helmet! you only have one head and you can do a lot of damage real quick to your noggin. don't be a snake and wait in line. and its always more fun if you have friends with you. riding alone is still fun, but its way better if you have buddies there to help push you.

i'd also like to give props to snow wolf. great vids and you're always very helpful! much obliged.:thumbsup:


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## rasmasyean (Jan 26, 2008)

sizzle said:


> A good and safe way to start is just start learnin how to ollie on flat-ish areas at the top and bottom of the slopes. Then gradually start doing it while moving slow and then so on.


You are ready to park when you're ready to bust yer arse! lol

Well...although that is true, I'd go with being able to ride flat and ollie as well. Much of park riding involves landing in some fashion from some duration of "air". If you can't land stably, you're not ready for park. And depending on your resort, some have "baby parks" where you don't really need to be able to "kill it in the blues" in order to attempt the features. But again, you will have to land your tricks and ride away stably.

Personally, I do not think you need to "180" before you can do park stuff. You're tricks will just be limited. I know many ppl who can't ride switch and can do many large park features. Unless you're a "natural" at switch, learning to ride switch and "180"s to top that off will take a real long time relatively judging by other's experiences.


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## Lab (Nov 21, 2010)

One piece of advice I can give is to ride with friends. Not the kind that will force you to try a backflip your first day, and not the kind that will ostracize you if you don't hit that box, but if you have a group of friends who all board and are around your skill level (a bit better helps so you feel more motivated) and will help you progress. I was lucky and found some friends in my local ski club who, when i started park, were working on 3's and jibs like 180 on/out. They've helped me a ton and now i can comfortably do 3's, very sketchy 5's, and decent slides/jibs. Plus, it's just more fun! And that's all that matters 

P.S. Hanging out with skiers will still improve your boarding too. Don't believe the old idea that skiers hate boarders and vice versa. Heck, half my group of friends ski.


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## rasmasyean (Jan 26, 2008)

Lab said:


> One piece of advice I can give is to ride with friends. Not the kind that will force you to try a backflip your first day, and not the kind that will ostracize you if you don't hit that box, but if you have a group of friends who all board and are around your skill level (a bit better helps so you feel more motivated) and will help you progress. I was lucky and found some friends in my local ski club who, when i started park, were working on 3's and jibs like 180 on/out. They've helped me a ton and now i can comfortably do 3's, very sketchy 5's, and decent slides/jibs. Plus, it's just more fun! And that's all that matters
> 
> P.S. Hanging out with skiers will still improve your boarding too. Don't believe the old idea that skiers hate boarders and vice versa. Heck, half my group of friends ski.


Personally, I've found that skiers are often focused on bombing down the mountain. This basically puts you into the conundrum of whether you want to ride with them in the first place. So you basically waste most of your time and energy riding out the slopes rather than attempting your tricks at a slower pace. I suppose those with "trick skis" might give a different experience though.

As a side note, ollying is often interchanged with poping when ppl talk about jumping. An ollie uses the tail bending energy to spring (which is a lot harder) while a pop, is just evenly springing off the ground using both feet. There are a lot of "in-betweens" of course where you chose the right form for the purpose.


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## IdahoFreshies (Jul 9, 2011)

you must just have to find different ski friends. I have a couple of friends that ski and if its a pow day, we are hiking out or doing glade/tree runs all day. But if its just regular conditions, we are all down to go take laps through the park

also progressing with a group of friends is a very good idea, especially if your friends are competitive, and cant stand to see you learn something that they cant do. Then they learn it, then try to top you, and you try to top them back and so on.


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## dhampson (Sep 2, 2010)

My opinion- master green runs before advancing on. Take a lesson to learn how to really snowboard. There is more to going down a mountain than riding an edge. Once you master some skills then worry about going when to go to the park.


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## IdahoFreshies (Jul 9, 2011)

Snowolf said:


> I do hear where you are coming from though and I think part of the issue is the differences in equipment. A snowboard offers a lot more room for this sort of play while en-route, whereas a ski tends not to be as good. Again though, those friends could be on twin tips and working on their switch skiing while you are working on your ground tricks. Once again, its the indian not the arrow...:thumbsup:


god you always sum it up spot on perfectly on every time:thumbsup: that is 100% true.


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## CheeseForSteeze (May 11, 2011)

The one thing you won't find skiiers doing is buttering around green trails because I don't think, even with fat freestyle twin tip skiis, there's much for them to do when cruising.

I still find myself chasing natural hits when I can.


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## snowboardboi (Sep 10, 2011)

How old are you? I started snowboarding when I was 9 and started park when I was 13. I am now 15. I'll suggest you to take your time because a fall in the park is usually much worse than a fall on the slopes. Most people fall on their tail bone when they try rails their first time because they tend to want to lean back due their habit from riding on the slopes. Leaning back usually causes your board to slip out. I'll say don't rush it bro, but if you really want to, butt pads and wrist guards and helmets are highly recommended.


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## skycdo (Sep 15, 2011)

I was in the same bout last season. I thought I was "good enough" to hit the baby park but I realized how much finesse(spelling?) is needed to even hit a small box. Surely enough I hit it and rode away clean but the second time I tried I dolphin slid the entire way. After that I realized that I need to be able to handle natural terrain with comfort before I bother hitting the park again. My friend gave me some good advice as well. He said "start ollieing over random branches, headwalls, etc. and when you have that down go play in the park." Sticking to his advice.


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## aubzobot (Feb 19, 2011)

I agree with everyone who has said do it with friends. If you have mastered greens then I personally say go ahead and try a beginner park if your mountain has one. This was really useful for me because everyone was new and fell a lot. which got rid of lots of tension and pressure. I'd advise a very small jump, or a short, wide and straight box.


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

start small and drop in from a point that won't have you make speed checks so you can concentrate on your balance.
BIGGEST thing I learned is keep you board flat and if your gonna loose it, go with it, don't try to save it. Ride off the side of the box/rail regain stability/control and ride away


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## IdahoFreshies (Jul 9, 2011)

aubzobot said:


> I agree with everyone who has said do it with friends. If you have mastered greens then I personally say go ahead and try a beginner park if your mountain has one.


i appear to have a different opinion on this than most people here, on when people should start heading to the terrain park. I am sorry, but after you have "mastered" greens you don't have NEAR enough board control and experience to hit the park. You need to learn to jump and land and get your balance and edge control down outside of the park and have ridden enough to be bored to death with blues at least before you make laps of the park. You can "master" greens in 3-4 days, it doesn't mean you are good, it just means you can do a few basic skids to slow yourself down. If you try to hit anything in the bark besides maybe a butter box with that level of experience you are most likely going to fall on everything, get hurt, and probably aggravate everyone else at the park.


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## C.B. (Jan 18, 2011)

idk about the park situation where you ride but here we have beginner parks all over and there isn't usually very many people. I started hitting boxes my 2nd day riding and by day 6 i was comfortable enough to be able to pick lines in the bigger parks aswell.

I say go for it, but do so when its not busy, and be ready to fall alot.


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## IdahoFreshies (Jul 9, 2011)

lol we have a beginner park and the real park (which isnt really anything compared to most of the stuff out east or at the huge resorts) and the beginner park is somehow still usually pretty dam busy, but its full of retards. Which i suppose is good because it keeps them out of the real park. I guess location makes a huge difference too. out west where you actually have mountains and terrain i didnt feel the need to go to the park, i wanted to be able to get down every single black diamond and glade and stash on every side of the mountain pretty dam well, then i moved on to hitting natural features on said runs. So i spent my time progressing freeride. i didnt touch the park till the end of my my 3rd year. But i suppose out east you dont really have much besides park, and i keep forgetting that.


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## C.B. (Jan 18, 2011)

IdahoFreshies said:


> lol we have a beginner park and the real park (which isnt really anything compared to most of the stuff out east or at the huge resorts) and the beginner park is somehow still usually pretty dam busy, but its full of retards. Which i suppose is good because it keeps them out of the real park. I guess location makes a huge difference too. out west where you actually have mountains and terrain i didnt feel the need to go to the park, i wanted to be able to get down every single black diamond and glade and stash on every side of the mountain pretty dam well, then i moved on to hitting natural features on said runs. So i spent my time progressing freeride. i didnt touch the park till the end of my my 3rd year. But i suppose out east you dont really have much besides park, and i keep forgetting that.


yeah here an intermediate rider can hit every run so logically the next step is park which gets alot of us in the park earlier than we probably should.


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## aubzobot (Feb 19, 2011)

C.B. said:


> idk about the park situation where you ride but here we have beginner parks all over and there isn't usually very many people. I started hitting boxes my 2nd day riding and by day 6 i was comfortable enough to be able to pick lines in the bigger parks aswell.
> 
> I say go for it, but do so when its not busy, and be ready to fall alot.


Same thing happened with me, especially because my closest resort is mainly park.


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## Cubs (Oct 28, 2011)

Didn't really see it in the other responses, but look for natural hits. Watch where other riders are going on the runs. There's usually little kicks dug into the sides or a drop where a trail pulls a u-turn. Get used to getting in the air and landing. Like the others said board control is key. Breaking yourself on a jump or a box is one thing, but getting run over immediately after... Priceless.


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## ThunderChunky (Oct 1, 2011)

I say don't even think about park until you can down any run at your resort without even having the thought of falling in your mind. I think you should have some experience taking off, being in the air, and landing before going there. Thing will go way faster. You also won't have to fix things later because you wanted to learn something quick. Seen people do 3's there tenth time going, but after a few years can't five because they learned it a really dumb way that restricts them to small spins. As for rails though. As long as you can ride without falling go for it. I don't really think there is a whole lot you can do for jibs. You just gotta get the feel of what it's like to be on that surface and how you have to handle where you put your weight.


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## IdahoFreshies (Jul 9, 2011)

ThunderChunky said:


> I say don't even think about park until you can down any run at your resort without even having the thought of falling in your mind. I think you should have some experience taking off, being in the air, and landing before going there. Thing will go way faster. You also won't have to fix things later because you wanted to learn something quick. Seen people do 3's there tenth time going, but after a few years can't five because they learned it a really dumb way that restricts them to small spins. As for rails though. As long as you can ride without falling go for it. I don't really think there is a whole lot you can do for jibs. You just gotta get the feel of what it's like to be on that surface and how you have to handle where you put your weight.


my thoughts exactly! thank you sir:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## ThunderChunky (Oct 1, 2011)

It'll make park a lot easier too. Part of riding is to have fun. I mean take it slow and enjoy the progression. I can't have fun forcing myself to do things.


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## ThunderChunky (Oct 1, 2011)

Agree^ I've been riding for 7 years and didn't actually get into park until my fifth or so year. To be fair though I was really taking my sweet ass time.


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