10 Best Snowboard Tricks

Snowboard tricks are limited only to the rider’s imagination, but the 10 best snowboard tricks are listed below. Some are relatively easy, while others are more difficult. None of them should be attempted until a rider has mastered riding a snowboard expertly, and clothing and accessories that protect a rider from the weather as well as provides extra padding in the case of falls should always be worn.

1. Shifty: In a shifty, the rider’s body and the board are rotated 90°, and then returned to the original position before landing. This can be one of the most fun snowboard tricks to watch especially when a rider is experienced enough to do it a couple of times, rotating from one side to the other, before landing.
2. Spaghetti Air: In spaghetti air, the rider must maintain his balance while reaching between his legs and behind his front leg to grab the front edge of the snowboard. During all this, the back leg has to remain stationary and steady. This is one of the snowboard tricks that would most likely require a lot of practice.
3. 360: In a 360, the rider’s feet leave the snowboard, and the body does a complete turn while the rider is still in the air. The rider then lands back on the board in the original position from which he started. This may be one of the easiest snowboard tricks to master once proficient snowboard riding is achieved.
4. Fake: This is simply another way of saying one is riding backwards, which can be considered one of the best snowboard tricks in itself, mainly because the rider can’t see where he is going. For this reason, it is best to make sure the coast is clear before attempting this trick.
5. Ollie: The rider uses his front foot then his back foot to spring off the back of board and “achieve air” (that is, to have both feet off the board) without having to actually perform any type of jumping move.
6. Nellie: This is the same as an Ollie, only the spring is done off the front of the board.
7. Grabs: The rider grabs either the front or back of the snowboard with one or both hands while riding or performing snowboard tricks. This can be difficult, as it may cause the rider to accidentally flip or knock the board from beneath his feet.
8. Double Backflip 180: This is exactly what it sounds like. The rider is back flipping twice and turning his body completely around before landing again in the original position. This may be one of the coolest snowboard tricks to watch, especially when it is executed flawlessly.
9. Pipe-riding: Pipe-riding is snowboard riding in and through snow structures that resemble pipes, but with no top. The pipe structure can be a half-pipe, with two walls, or a quarter-pipe, with one wall only. The area inside the pipes can be narrow, which makes performing snowboard tricks harder, or it can be wider, to allow for more room. The rider uses the walls for balance and thrust when performing tricks.
10. Invert: This is probably one of the most difficult of all snowboard tricks, and can be rather dangerous, as the head is beneath the board, and the rider is balancing on one or both hands. It goes without saying that the rider should be extremely cautious when performing this maneuver.