SNOWBOARDING TECHNIQUE With
PASCAL PROT
Just drop it!
Cliff drops may seem gnarly, but if you start small they’re a walk (ride?) in the park – and a heck of a lot of fun. Pascal Prot explains the basics…
There’s nothing like the feeling of weightlessness you get from launching yourself into the ether. And the good news is that you don’t need to be an expert to try a cliff drop. Simply start small and very gradually work your way up to bigger drops. When you’re confidently stomping a height – no sit-downs or ejecting-out-of-your-skis face plants – you’re ready to go a little bigger.
Choosing your spot is the number one most important element to progressing with cliff drops, and remains so even for professionals. As you progress, you will get better and better at finding drops that are safe and within your limits. Once you add technical elements, like getting the right speed required for the drop, creating a pop/ollie, and maintaining your balance in the air, you’ll be on the road to cliff-jump success.
GETTING STARTED
WORK ON THE CORRECT STANCE
First, you need to work on your basic stance for approaching the drop in order to maintain your balance throughout the jump. Practise with straight airs on small jumps in the park, or ridges on the side of the piste, trying to remain balanced on take-off, in the air and on landing. Practice lowering your centre of mass by bending your knees when approaching your take-off point.
Through the air, for a composed overall drop, remain centred over your board as you spot your landing – this will allow you to extend the lower half of your body in preparation to absorb your landing parallel with the gradient of the slope. Find your confidence through this range of motion. Start small and work your way up.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
The most common mistake when dropping cliffs is not choosing the right spot. Start with a small drop on a slope with a low gradient – this will allow you to control your speed and focus on the execution.
Check the landing first to access the snow and scope out potential dangers, like hidden rocks or other obstacles. The landing must be at the same gradient or steeper than the run-in so that your trajectory is matched and you’re not landing flat (which hurts!). You’ll be looking to adjust your body and board position in the air to match the same gradient as your landing, so you land square on your feet.
You also want to make sure there’s enough space in the run-out to put in a turn after you land so you can slow down – you will
be carrying lots of speed on landing even small drops!
The more drops you do the easier you’ll be able to read the terrain for good spots to drop with safe run-ins and safe landings. Again, start small, build up gradually and make sure you take your time to assess both the entry and exit to the drop from above the take-off, from below in the landing area or from afar. If it doesn't add up to a safe-looking drop, just say no!
OLLIE UP
Knowing how to ‘ollie’ (jump your board off the ground) will give you more balance in the air; it will also ensure you don’t catch your board on any ‘shark fins’ (small rocks just under the surface) when taking off. Practice your ollies on the piste and then on ungroomed terrain to get used to doing them in different snow conditions. As a general rule, the deeper the snow, the more effort will have to be put into your ollie for take-off. When taking off and landing in fresh snow, the amount and quality of the snowpack will affect how you’ll adjust your positioning to stick the landing. After a nice energetic pop, try a more relaxed, slower transition into your landing. This will allow the snowpack to smoothly give way and absorb the board, and for you to adjust accordingly. Then you can smoothly start your turns from beneath your dropped face.
JUDGE YOUR SPEED
Use the jumps in the park or popping off of trails to get used to judging your speed. You can even use little features like moguls to get good at judging your speed-to-pop range. Come in too slow to a small cliff and you’ll land at the bottom, potentially too close to the wall; on the other hand, if you carry too much speed into the take-off you’ll overshoot and may land somewhere unplanned… or worse, too flat! Start in the park to work out the speed needed for different jumps and how you can adjust by scrubbing, absorbing or popping at the last second.
ARMS ALERT
Arms winding down the windows? If you start trying bigger drops and find your arms are flapping around like a bird while you’re airborne it’s likely that you’ve lost your balance just before popping off the snow. It’s time to get back to basics and perfect that stance again. Approaching the take-off with your knees bent, absorbing the transition and remaining centred will aid your balance mid-air.
THE NEXT STEPS
If you’re comfortable in the park, popping off ridges or dropping off small rocks, you can try bigger drops. These are most often blind take-offs, meaning you need to feel comfortable with adjusting your trajectory at the last second. Before you commit, spend some time trying to judge all the elements – you can even throw a snowball to help you work out your ideal trajectory!
If you’re lucky enough to spend time in your favourite resort in the summer, then looking at some drops and their landing zones can really help to give you an idea of what’s under the snowpack and where the safe spots are. If you don’t have that luxury, hire an instructor or coach in the winter who can show you the best spots. Remember, scouting out good jumping spots takes time and experience. If you have arrived on holiday and are unsure of snowpack depth then be extra careful to scope possible landing zones.
You don’t just need to go big or go home! If you nail that perfect drop but aren’t sure about going bigger, you can always stick to smaller drops but add in tricks, such as grabs or 180s.
FACTFILE
Pascal Prot is a ski and snowboard instructor for New Generation ski school in Tignes. ‘New Gen’ will help you develop technique, build confidence and have fun in 16 resorts throughout the Alps, from Tignes and Les Arcs to St Anton and Lech. See skinewgen.com.
