Horsefeathers King of S.N.O.W. - Round 1

For anybody new to the conversation, BestTrick.com and Horsefeathers are sponsoring this years King of S.N.O.W. competition. The contest, which is basically just a giant game of S.N.O.W., is done entirely online; just film your trick, upload it to http://www.King-of-Snow.com, and hope you've got the skills to climb the rankings. Prizes are given for individual round victories, and a final cash basket of $5000 US Dollars plus worldwide exposure to the overall winner.

Now for the sweet news! Even though the contest starts next week, the folks over at BestTrick.com have given the go ahead to release the first round's trick for everyone entering this crazy contest. Nothing too fancy here... Horsefeathers/Isenseven team rider Rene Schnöeller wants you to bust your steeziest Frontside 180:

Round 1: FS 180 set by Rene Schnöeller (AUT)

This rounds winner gets to shred the rest of their season in a new Horsefeathers Polaris Jack and R2D2 Beanie... a pretty nice prize package for such a simple trick, but remember to win it your 180 has to top other talented riders from around the world!

Let's face it though, we can't all head up to the hill every week to film and upload one trick at a time. New this year, the folks at BestTrick.com want you to be able to knock out a few rounds worth in one trip to the slopes. So, without further ado here are all of the tricks through Round 4...

Round 2: BS 180 set by Tomas Tuzar (CZE)
Round 3: FS 360 set by Honza Zajic (CZE)
Round 4: FS 540 set by Michael Zirngibl (GER)

There you have it. If you haven't already, head to http://www.king-of-snow.com to register your free account.

Now, get up to your local slope and get on that filming! The first round will be open for submissions on December 28th, 2009.

QandA - When Should I Start Snowboarding Switch?

Q: I am thinking of trying to ride switch, but I'm not sure if I'm ready or if I even need to. Any tips or advice?

A: Even if you don't plan to ever set foot in a park, the best time to start snowboarding switch is as soon as possible! Riding switch is another skill, another trick of the trade, that only adds to the challenge and enjoyment of snowboarding.

Once you start connecting S-turns and doing basic carving, you are ready to start riding switch.

Why is it a good idea to start learning to ride switch right away? First, the steps you use to turn your board will still be fresh in your mind; it will be much easier to recall what made your board start turning in your regular stance and reverse it to produce switch riding.

Second, it's important for you to begin riding switch before you get too accustomed to life on your dominant leg; nobody likes going back to the bunny slopes to learn how to ride switch when they are so used to (and good at) tearing up the hill in their regular stance.

There is only one tip to riding switch... though it may seem cliche: practice!

Most people are just too comfortable, or maybe too proud, to purposely try something that makes them look like first time snowboarders. Take it from me, the first few runs of switch riding will be have a lot of caught edges and other embarrassing slams... but you have to tough it out, just like you did when you learned to snowboard, if you want those switch turns to start shaping nicely.

The good news is it won't take as long to learn to ride switch as it did to learn to snowboard. The biggest trick to riding switch is remembering to weight your front (once back) foot for the most control. You'll tend to fight the sensation of moving in the opposite direction for a while, but again practice is the only way to get things right.

Horsefeathers King of S.N.O.W.

We've dusted off the cobwebs! It's mid-December, and we northern hemisphere riders are all warmed up! Our legs have gotten over the pain and soreness of those first days back on a snowboard, we've recovered our old bag of tricks, and hopefully some of us have added some new tricks to the list already.

Since everyone is ready to go, it is the perfect time for this year's annual King of S.N.O.W. contest, kicking off December 28th!

Sponsored this year by Horsefeathers, an outerwear and apparel company based in the Czech Republic, the King of S.N.O.W. contest uses the miracle of the internet to call on participants worldwide to compete for a chance to ride the finals in Austria, a $5,000 grand prize and global media exposure.

This years stands to be one of the best contests yet with shorter rounds to get in more tricks, an improved judging system, prizes for winning individual rounds, national rankings to see who's the best in your country (you need at least 25 people from your country to enter for national rankings, so tell your friends), and prizes for the best grom (6-15 years old) and female shred (Queen of S.N.O.W.).

If you've ever played S.N.O.W., the rules for The King of S.N.O.W. are almost exactly the same: Each week a Horsefeathers pro rider will set a trick, then it's up to you to go out and nab footage of yourself stomping it. If you don't land it, or forget to upload a video for the week's trick, you get a letter; four letters (S.N.O.W.) and you lose.

As long as you land the trick you get to keep playing, but video ratings determine who will ultimately win cash and glory so you'll want bangers only.

This is always a fun little comp to get in on, especially if you find yourself trapped in an office everytime that contest you long to enter stops by your local hill, so head to http://www.king-of-snow.com to register absolutely free, and be there December 28th, 2009 for the first trick!

Hey, you can always sign up later... but it's going to cost you some letters.