Flat Ground 180

A flat ground 180 is a half-spin done on the snow without leaving the ground. Wind up your upper body, pivot the board 180 degrees across the snow, and ride away switch. This teaches you the basics of spinning and handling the switch landing.

Spinning on a snowboard is driven by your shoulders and head, not your feet. Before you start the spin, rotate your shoulders away from the direction you want to spin. That's the "wind up". Then release it: let your shoulders unwind in the spin direction and your lower body (board and hips) will follow, sliding the board around underneath you. Unweight the board slightly by straightening your legs just enough to let it pivot. You're not jumping, just lightening the base so it swings freely. Snap your head to look over your new front shoulder as you come around. That's how you spot the landing.

Practice both frontside (chest opens toward the downhill side) and backside (back rotates toward the downhill side) on flat ground before taking it to a slope. Frontside is usually easier because you can see the landing the whole way. Backside feels blind for a moment, so commit to it anyway. The landing is the same either way: ride away switch, with knees bent, weight centered over the board.

Video lesson here:

Video by Snowboard Addiction

Key tips

• Wind up by rotating your shoulders opposite to the spin direction
• Unweight the board by lightly extending your legs. No jump, just enough to let it pivot on the snow
• Let your shoulders lead and the board will follow
• Spot your landing by looking over your shoulder
• Commit. A half-hearted 180 leaves you sideways and stuck
• Practice both frontside and backside rotations