How do I catch air?
 

Hey, I'm an advanced rider just looking for some extra fun. Im just looking on advice on how to properly go off jumps and catch air as in my 4 years riding ive never done it. Skill wise I can carve down black diamonds with a fair amount of speed depending on how I'm feeling. My board is a burton custom x and I'm a fairly large rider at 6'4 250, I don't know if that would really matter. I know my board isn't really a park board I'm not looking to get crazy air or anything here, just for a little fun

Do progression exercises.

Do squats while riding at speed, to get accustomed to bending knees and keeping your board straight.
Start doing small pops in flat areas while riding at speed to get confident about landing at speed. Use your knees, not shoulders to pop.
Once you get comfy with those, try poping off a roller at speed to catch some air.
Escalate to small side hits and small kickers.

Always keep your whole body paralel with the board, when you pop. Commit to jumps, don't try to bleed off speed at the last possible second. Condition your mind to go straight 2-3 meters before the roller, and 2-3 meters after the landing.

With a stiff board like that it should feel pretty stable and a whole lot of fun.

Getting air smoothly off jumps is all about popping correctly and getting the speed right.

Start with really small jumps first (obviously).

First start by watching others hit the jump and using their hits to figure out the speed first so you can land in the sweet spot of the landing. If someone is going too slow and doesn't make the landing, take note to go faster and vice versa if someone goes too fast.

Then hit the jump once you know the speed. The first time you hit the small jump you don't have to pop as much, just concentrate on 'coasting' off the small jump to get a feel for it.

Once you're comfortable with that you can start learning to hit jumps properly by adding 'pop' to make your airtime more stable.

It's kind of complicated to explain popping technique without diagrams, so here's the blog I did that goes through the basics of popping off a jump correctly: How To 'Pop' Correctly To Improve Your Snowboard Jump Control & Balance

Go to beginner jump
Go off beginner jump
If you are really an advanced rider then you won't have trouble figuring out the details since doing jumps is a stones throw from advanced dynamic riding.

Thanks jed, what I really needed was someone to explain the process, obviously I can hit a jump and just "wing it"( no pun intended ). I just want to learn how to do it properly and not mess up my board and myself in the process

You are not an advanced rider. :laugh:

Really? Because black diamond sounds like me, even used correct wording of looking for more style
Big White :: Adult Ability Chart

Klinger's probably just being a PITA, but generally speaking most riders are intermediate. The "advanced" class (at least IMO) generally refers to really elite riders, like the ones who do videos and competitions. The rest of us mere mortals just don't qualify. (Which BTW means snowklinger is an intermediate too :cheeky4: )

I'm probably not as comfortable on blacks as you (since we have very few on my home mountain) but I've been working on jumps. The really important thing based on my experience is to try small ones until you get the balance. There are issues of rotating forward, doing a lawn-chair, rotating to face the jump, landing heelside... You have to conquer all these before you should hit a jump big enough to injure you. THEN you have to figure out how to get the approach speed right without knuckling or overshooting. I'm still working on that.

Anyway, the point is, unless you're young and still invulnerable, take it slow and be methodical in mastering one aspect before turning it up.

That is debatable. I could carve legit dynamic lines down black diamonds before I ever hit jumps. I could catch air off rollers, but I did it by flying mach 10 off them instead of a clean approach with a nice squat. I would say I was an advanced freerider (you could argue the lesser side of advanced) but a beginner freestyler. So yeah... get off your high horse.

Rollers are different from actual jumps, ESPECIALLY jumps with a lip on them. Everyone here is giving sound advice, and I would focus on the squat and release (Cleveland Steamer anyone?). Don't worry about trying to ollie just yet, although that will get you more air off rollers. Just work on crouching low, with your back straight and centered over the board. Start standing up straighter just before you actually want to pop and jump up (maybe a second before), as it will help you get your momentum going up and will not just be an instant POP. Just going straight crouching to instant pop may be fine if you have the strength, but I find when I try to do this, I am slower than I really should be and end up jumping late and getting less air.

I think you're going to find that a lot of the "Advanced" riders on this forum, are some truly Advanced riders. Unless you've been riding for four years doin' waist deep POW, pulling 360's and shit off of 15-20ft kickers,.. stuff like that,..

...you are NOT going to be considered an Advanced rider! Not here anyway. It's not a slam against you, but some of these guy's ride some REALLY SERIOUS SHIT!! On & Off the resorts!! I can manage a fairly decent run down a not too insane Black! I could even do some of it switch,.. I'm still a NooB!!!

I know they definitely don't care for "Poser's" here, and I don't think that that's what you are or what they were trying to imply,.. Just hang around a while, learn from the serious guy's here and sooner or later you will be an advanced rider!!