Frontside 180

A frontside 180 off a kicker means spinning with your chest opening toward the downhill side and landing switch. Approach on your heel edge, pop off the lip, and rotate 180. You land riding switch, so make sure your switch riding is solid first.

Frontside means the first 90 degrees of the spin opens your chest out toward the downhill valley. You can actually see the whole rotation happen, which makes this the friendlier 180 to learn first. Approach on a soft heel-edge carve, wind your shoulders slightly closed (toward the hill), then as you pop off the lip, let the shoulders release and lead the spin. Your lower body follows wherever your upper body points.

The most common mistake is starting the spin too early, before the board has left the lip. That makes you spin on the snow, kills your pop, and usually causes a weird sideways crash on the transition. Pop first, spin second. A good mental cue: don't even think about the rotation until you feel the lip leave your feet. Then unwind your shoulders hard and spot the landing over your new front shoulder.

In depth-guide right here:

Video by Tommie Bennett

Key tips

• Wind up your shoulders slightly before the lip
• Pop first, then spin. Don't spin off the lip
• Spot your landing by looking over your back shoulder
• Land switch with your knees bent and weight centered
• Master flat ground 180s before taking it to the kicker