The wildcat is a backflip that rotates off the tail of your board, and it's widely considered the safest and easiest way to learn backflips on a snowboard. Unlike a straight-up backflip, the wildcat tilts the rotation off to the side, which makes it easier to spot your landing and easier to pull on small features. If the tame dog is the first flip most riders learn over the nose, the wildcat is the natural next step going the other direction - over the tail.
A lot of the trick happens through the pop. Popping off the tail heavily assists the flip motion, so you need far less of a jump than a clean backflip would require. That's why a small, lippy jump into soft snow is the ideal place to learn it.
Before you try it
You should be comfortable with ollies, straight airs, the Indy grab, and ideally the tame dog before going inverted off the tail. Get the back-roll feeling somewhere consequence-free first - a trampoline is ideal. It teaches you to spot your landing while upside down and shows you how extending and tucking the body slows down and speeds up your rotation. The feeling on snow is different because the jump and the tail pop do so much of the work for you, but the air awareness carries over directly.
On the mountain, find or build a lippy jump into powder or soft snow. Never learn flips onto flat or hard-packed snow.
How to do it
Approach with a completely flat base, shoulders in line with your nose and tail, and your back arm lifted high. Ride into the take-off in a stable crouched position with both knees bent, and try to match the angle of your upper body to the angle of the lip.
When you pop, lean your whole body over your tail, push up and back with your legs, throw your back arm down and lift your front arm to create a tilting motion with your shoulders. As you start to rotate, pull in at the knees and grab Indy.
When you spot the ground, let go of the Indy and extend your legs. Push your back foot out a little more than your front so the tail absorbs some of the impact - staying back-foot heavy also helps you ride out cleanly in soft snow and bumpy terrain.
Learn more here:
Video by Snowboard Addiction
Key tips
- Learn the back-roll and landing spot on a trampoline before taking it to snow
- Pick a small, lippy jump into powder or soft snow - the lip does most of the work
- Ride in flat-based, shoulders aligned with nose and tail, back arm lifted high
- Pop off the tail and tilt your shoulders, following your lead arm up and around
- Grab Indy and tuck to tighten up - but watch your energy, it speeds up rotation