Ask your riding questions here!
I am just still in shock at the ridiculous change! Got the Go-Pro out and had a marvelous time!
Now I just need to work on my switch skills over a kicker so I can start trying 180s over kickers.
Would you say this is the best way to learn? To ride switch and revert back around to normal stance.
I can spin comfortably both ways but landing is obviously easier for me at the moment landing natural or reg.
Learning to ride switch comfortably is by far the most important skills to learn if you want to progress your freestyle skills. Ride switch as much as possible! Even if you just set aside a few runs each day when you commit to riding switch the whole way down. It will have a huge impact on how well you progress in regards to freestyle.
Moving on. I think we can get you doing 180s on your next day riding. With freestyle, it’s important to take small steps. Learn a new skill, get comfortable, then challenge yourself by taking it to a slightly bigger/harder feature.
This is what I would suggest, and what I teach students. You’re right, most people find it easier doing a 180 starting switch and landing regular. Also, most people would find it easier spinning switch frontside or “cab”. That means you are travelling switch, take off from your heelside edge, and rotate so the front of your body will be facing down the hill as you rotate. I like to teach cab 180s first because a) you are facing downhill so you can see where you are going/landing, and b) you get to land in your favourable stance. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but I strongly believe cab 180s are the easiest to learn.
So where do you start? Don’t try these in the park first! We want to get you popping little 180s on the groomers first. First we start just on the run, then you can progress to trying them off little bumps and rollers on the run. Honestly, try it on a green run first, then slowly progress your way up.
OK, technique time. Again, you will probably find this to be a lot easier than you think. I want you to traverse across the slope, riding switch, on your heelside edge. Set the edge in nicely, and just let it run across the slope. You don’t need to go too fast, just a nice, controlled traverse with your heel edge firmly holding the snow. Once you’re comfortable with that, you’re going to do a small hop off your heels. Simultaneously, as you pop/jump, you’re going to take your back/trailing arm, shoulder and hip, and rotate it into the direction you’re travelling. Keep looking where exactly in the direction you’re going. The combination of popping from your heels and pushing your back arm/shoulder/hip forward, will give you enough rotation and momentum to get the 180 around. But you must commit and you must look where you are going! As soon as you pop, commit to pushing your trailing side around, to become the leading side.
The best thing about this is you don’t need much air at all, you can try this very safely, on a safe run, and even if you under-rotate, you will be fine. This is where it all begins. As you become comfortable, try it a bit faster, maybe try it off a little bump. Slowly, you will start getting more airtime and more control.
You can even practise this at home without your snowboard. Place some pressure on your heels, and practise popping up and pushing your back hip, shoulders and arm forward, to rotate your body 180 degrees.
Give this a try and let me know how you go! I am sure you will get it in no time. 
Thanks again guys for such detailed input! Love it, you guys should charge!
Well I’d say that you last advice had me so stable that I am already able to ollie and pop a 180 cab or the other way. By the end of Sunday I was almost getting 360’s in each direction.
Now it’s just getting them over little kickers ( hence talking about riding switch). I’ve started using hips to the left and right to pop off and switch back around. Safe to say myself and my mates have had a HUGE laugh as I’ve either eaten it or been very close to doing so a couple of times.
I’ll get my switch riding on even more… Now I can pop most of the kickers in the park reg, I wanna progress to some real tricks.
Starting to feel like being a skateboarder finally now is starting to help my riding - weight distribution and body movements very similar. Pumping into kickers feels like the same as approaching banks etc.
Seems have to throw your shoulders around a bit more on a Snowboard when it is heavy/soft conditions?
In a way, yes. You do have to put more effort in and commit to throwing your body a little harder in slushy conditions because the snow suctions to your board a bit.
But rather than throwing just your shoulders, pre wind and as you throw your shoulders lock your core (abs) and throw your shoulders and your hips. It will be a more stable way to spin and it should look and feel tighter.
But I think you have the idea already. This will just add stability to the way you have adjusted to the snow.
He Stellvadore, is your name Stella? I think I read that somewhere? Might make referring to you easier haha. My name is Jeremy by the way.
Sorry, I have a few questions…
Where are you riding? How big are the kickers you’re hitting? Are you comfortable (and consistent) doing straight airs over them? How well is your switch riding coming along?
Practise switch as much as possible. You can never get too good. The better you get, the easier these tricks will be.
The way I like to look at it, we have four riding edges: toeside, heelside, switch toeside, and switch heelside. We need to be comfortable taking off and landing on all four of those edges (in addition to landing with a flat base). Try to identify where your weak spots are. Can you ride on all four of these edges equally and comfortably? Can you take off (rotate) on all four of those edges? Can you land comfortably on all four of those edges? I’m not expecting you to answer yes to all of them, but it will give us a good indication of where you’re at.
Hitting park jumps is a little different to what I explained earlier. With park jumps, I actually find it’s easier learning 180s by taking off regular and landing switch (so either a backside 180 or frontside 180), but it is really important to be solid with these tricks before taking them to park jumps. All the same principles apply, but you have more time in the air, so you don’t need to force it as much. 180s off park jumps should be nice and smooth.
Anyway, hit me back with those answers and we will keep discussing this. Andy made some really good points as well re: hips, core etc.
Don’t be sorry! Questions are good, gets me thinking and this is much more interesting
than my general work duties I am completing between reading posts.
Riding at Mount Hotham, park wise they’ve built the Summit Terrain park up. I am confident now hitting the
big kickers there just airing them regular etc. Don’t know what actual size they are but they’re pretty large.
There’s also the little ones off to the left which I can now muck around on.
I can ride switch quite well, in that I can hit all of my four edges now. My regular riding is obviously a lot
more fluent and stylish to look at but I can choose which ever direction and way I ride in swict or
reg. I honestly do feel confident on any edge now (riding a shorter smaller board def has helped!).
Generally don’t crash now when landing switch or reg, just find switch is weaker overall.. Still feels foreign
but I don’t feel the need or discomofort to change to reg or anything. (Skateboarding has helped here).
I can take off and spin on all four but I haven’t tried much more than rolling up the small kickers and
the knuckles in switch…
Can Nollie but only quite small, probably due more to muscle fatigue than anything.
Also yes, I am Stella or my name is Estelle . Hi Andy, Hi Jeremy - again thanks for the tuition! It’s been fab so far!
Check out this video for 180s. Nev is a good friend of mine (he started SnowboardAddition) and his tutorials are the best you’ll find on the net. You might as well watch the video first, then ask any us questions hehe. Nev has been known to reply on here from time to time as well, so don’t be shy with your questions. 
How long and how skilled should someone be before attempting to do a cork? ive been able to do 3s and 5s off a kicker in the past
Do you mean off axis or corked?
You can do an off axis spin by changing the angle which you throw your shoulders. Drop a front shoulder or a back shoulder and you will do off axis spins. Drop it enough and you can get a bit of cork on those smaller rotations. I did it in a gully in Whistler. did a corked 3 if that makes sense. Went to 3 over a log/hip thing and someone yelled backflip as i was about to take off so I kinda went for that halfway through preparing the 3. Worked out haha
How long and how skilled should someone be before attempting to do a cork? ive been able to do 3s and 5s off a kicker in the past
I guess as soon as you feel you have the skills, and most importantly, you can visualise and understand what needs to be done. If you can visualise yourself performing the trick, then you’re halfway there. I’ve never done a corked spin, so I can’t really comment more than that. I’ll see who else we can pull into this thread haha.
Can you spin frontside and cab off your toes? Can you spin backside and switch backside off your heels? I’m not saying this is a prerequisite, but these are all important skills to add to your bag of tricks. Corked frontside spins off the toes look so stylish!
Well guys I’m sure you’d be happy to know an update on my progression after some excellent advice from you guys. That 180 video was cool!
Spent last 3 days at Falls & seems I can 180 both sides now off the banks. Also got my 50-50s on the boxes down aswell as learnt a few nice aired grabs.
Can’t believe the difference since my first day of riding 14 (ride days) ago.
New GNU board has really helped too. Woop. Hooked and the season is about to End although it’s puking at Hotham right now.
@rider: Hey Jeremy, did you try doing the euro carve yet?
Stella, great to hear! 
Rico, I can’t say I have. The snow is really soft (and slow) right now. Almost impossible to carve on.
Well done Stella!
Sounds like you’re killing it. Glad you’re hooked on snowboarding.
You might have to think about a Northern Hemisphere trip to feed your addiction
How long and how skilled should someone be before attempting to do a cork? ive been able to do 3s and 5s off a kicker in the past
Corks are actually a lot harder than they seems. I know they seem like they are just variation of a spin, but that’s not really the case. Since I learned them at trampoline training, I realised that are actually the hardest aerial to do.
My advice is to get on a tramp and start learning. Don’t attempt any inverted trick on the snow, that you can’t do every time on a tramp. Nothing is worth breaking your neck for.
Also I should mention that technique wise - Spins, Flips and even Rodeos are all easier than Corks. You might want to try a tame dog (front flip) or wild cat (back flip) to get you started on inverting.
Andy, i might pick your brain for a bit of advice next week.. I can comfortably spin, butter, tail press and 180 on flat land, (and landed a few off jumps) but in having trouble doing tail rolls, im trying back side roll.. But i seem to under rotate, or when i try to rotate more i seem to jump a bit… So if you don’t mind i might get you go give me some tips on what im doing wrong?