Finally, it’s time to put all your bulky outerwear in storage and bust out the outer shells and hoodies – it’s park season, baby! Let’s send it!
In saying that, we know that only 50% of riders are immediately excited when slushy park laps are mentioned, the rest – horrified.
Riding park can be super intimidating if you don’t deem your level of riding to be in fully-fledged ‘park rat’ category. So we sought out our Rhythm Hakuba Retail Manager (and certified hot-rat shredder) Justin to offer up some handy tips to help all of you build as much confidence as possible before your first drop-in of the season. Because if there’s one thing you need in the park, it’s confidence.
Tip 1: Call Your Drop
While we all have that one friend who will happily rock up to your house unannounced and let themselves in, the same freedom doesn’t apply to shredding the park. Sometimes you can’t see potential dangers or other injured riders until you’re already in mid-air, making it important that everyone waiting to drop in is up with what you have in store for your line.
Justin’s Tip: “Call your drop! Being safe and not running into people is cool.”
Tip 2: Ride Wise
Would you head out touring the backcountry without first looking at a map? We are hoping everyone’s answer is a resounding ‘no’ to that. The same mentality applies with riding park. From scoping out the size of features up close to knowing the snowpack firmness to most importantly, knowing what comes after the feature you’re about to hit, it’s important to always ride wise and check your lines before you hit them.
Justin’s Tip: “Know what you’re getting into. Do a quick scope through the park so you know what you’re getting into. Nothing worse than hitting a sick “jump” then realizing it’s actually a gap to rail.”
Tip 3: Practice Makes Perfect
Things You Will Never Hear Around The Mountains in Japan:
- ‘Après sounds like a bad idea’
- ‘There’s not even that much powder’
- ‘It’s my first day in park today, going to hit a 720 shifty to 50-50, tamedog out’
No matter how confident you feel riding around the resort, there’s always going to be a bit of a learning curve when first trying your hand in the park. Make sure you’ve got the basics down before you start trying to one-up yourself.
Justin’s Tip: “Have a good grasp of the basics first. If you struggle to turn on both edges, you probably shouldn’t be hitting the XL jump line.”
Tip 5: Head First
Nothing like getting in the car, hittin’ 90 on the highway and blasting your favourite tunes while lookin’ down at your feet…. that last inclusion made it sound weird, didn’t it? So, if you wouldn’t drive while looking at your feet, why would you look down while shredding rails?
Justin’s Tip: “Look at the end of the feature and not down at your feet. It will help you get to the end of the rail.”
Tip 6: A Need For Speed
Trust us on this one, when it comes to boosting off a 25ft kicker, it’s 10% luck, 20% skill, and 70% speed.
Justin’s Tip: “More speed is better than less speed (within reason). Falling from the same height as a 1 story building onto the knuckle does not feel good.”
Tip 7: ‘No such thing as halfway [sends]’
Sometimes you just gotta send it.
Justin’s Tip: “Fully commit once you start. All the worst slams come from when you bail half way through.”
Feeling primed for park, now you just need an updated wardrobe? Score a winter revamp with Rhythm’s massive end of season sales! Find a store near you!
