An Introduction To Half Pipes
By Jakob Jelling, Thu Dec 8th

Let's face it, when snowboarding, anything that isn't flatcreates an almost over powering urge to try to ride and halfpipes are no exception to this. After gazing upon the glory of ahalf pipe it is almost impossible to resist the urge tochallenge it, to see what you can do in it or to see if you tooare as good as the guy who is doing a Slob Air. It is thisdesire that keeps us snowboarding and drives us to try newthings such as a half pipe.

Half pipes can be very daunting features of a snowboarding park.A half pipe will be 4 - 12 feet high, may have 3 sides in a "U"like shape and be full of people doing crazy stunts in the airat high speeds. The big question is how do you learn to use ahalf pipe?

While the prospects of dropping in to a half pipe can be verydaunting, the reality is that you can ease in to riding the halfpipe. In fact, the preparation for riding a half pipe beginswell before you ever enter it. While it is highly recommendedthat you are proficient at snowboarding on general terrainbefore trying a half pipe you can start off in a half pipe.

There are two basic skills that you need to know fairly well,hop turns, or Bunny hops, and how to snowboard confidently onvarying terrain. Your confidence in snowboarding really is thekey to moving on. You must be able to recover your balance onbumpy terrain when riding quickly. This ability will allow youto proactively react to the

Savoie / Val D Isere Face Du Charvet

Savoie / Val D Isere Tour Du Charvet

Hautes-Alpes / Serre Chevalier Off Piste

Isere-Drome / Dome De Pravouta

Isere-Drome / Col De La Lavey North

Isere-Drome / Grand Replomb by the br?e Ouest

Isere-Drome / Rochers Du Midi Via Sources Du Guiers

Isere-Drome / La Combe Du Giclas

Isere-Drome / les Illettes by the col de l'Aigleton

Isere-Drome / Dents De Bedina East Face

Isere-Drome / Cime De La Jasse

Hautes-Alpes / La Rouya North Couloir

Haute-Savoie / Pointe Du Midi South west Couloir

Isere-Drome / Grands Moulins South Face

Isere-Drome / Pic De Barlet North West Bowl

Jura / La Dole Figure Of Eight From La Cergue

Haute-Savoie / Point Du Midi Tour Of The Cu Deri

Jura / Pointe De Poele Chaud East Couloir

Haute-Savoie / Le Mole Normal Route

Haute-Savoie / Sur Cou South Face

rapidly changing conditions of ahalf pipe. To be fair, the conditions of the half pipe do notchange rather your position in the pipe changes. Remember thatyour speeds in a half pipe are faster than normal and thus youmust be able to react to riding on a transition rather than theflat very quickly. The other basic skill is the Bunny hop. TheBunny hop allows you to launch a little higher and away from thelip of the ramp thus keeping you from catching it when youre-enter the ramp.

The next big hurtle is dropping in. When you are first learningto ride a half pipe it is best to start on the side of thesmallest ramp rather than from the top of the ramp. This willgive you a chance to get used to the ramp and learn how to pumpit for speed and balance. As your confidence increases begindropping in from higher and higher points until you are ready tostart from the top of the pipe.

Half pipes can be daunting features of the terrain but learningto ride them doesn't have to be tough. By working with the basicskills that you already have you will be able to rider a halfpipe well. The more you ride the half pipe and challengeyourself the faster your skills in it will progress. Whenlooking at the half pipe for the first time, do not back down.Instead resolve to be the best damn snowboarder there and pushyourself, as hard as you can and soon you will be the bestsnowboarder there.

About the author:Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snowboardinghelp.com.Please visit his website to discover the world of snowboarding!