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theabortionator
April, 2025

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Any rail tips

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sullivano*b
Posts: 1234 - Karma: 8,139
I'm done being shit on rails. I'm learning swaps, 2s on, sw 2s, etc. this weekend. i want every tip you've ever heard that has helped you. ive done frontswaps and backsurface before but i cant do it whenever i want and its making angry. thanks...
3 years ago
13 1
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asparagus
Posts: 2500 - Karma: 28,453
The biggest rail tip I can give you is to get some pvc and set it up somewhere you can hike every day. I could give you individual tip tricks but I only figured those out by spending hours grinding a sketchy pvc setup, the answer is almost always more practice. Also send vids if you can
3 years ago
15 0
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sullivano*b
Posts: 1234 - Karma: 8,139
asparagusThe biggest rail tip I can give you is to get some pvc and set it up somewhere you can hike every day. I could give you individual tip tricks but I only figured those out by spending hours grinding a sketchy pvc setup, the answer is almost always more practice. Also send vids if you can


bro i do i have really good backyard setup but i just cant do it.
3 years ago
9 1
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sexyjulian
Posts: 873 - Karma: 11,244
yeah post vids of your attempts, that helps. I’d say don’t do hotlaps, just focus on hiking a nice fat tube for the day and bring some water, weed and have some good music
3 years ago
14 0
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WoFlowz
Posts: 8088 - Karma: 64,410
You’re screwed you might as well send me your V’s and Killi szn pass rn
3 years ago
29 0
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teabag
Posts: 691 - Karma: 4,974
Just keep grinding
3 years ago
3 0
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deadhead420
Posts: 2104 - Karma: 18,487
Go fast, Eat ass, Smoke grass
3 years ago
3 1
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gvski13
Posts: 217 - Karma: 971
Im still learning swaps and tricks, but the biggest thing I learned was visualizing. Try to picture how the trick is going to feel and how the approach looks. Being able to pretend to do the trick in my head first made it a lot more comfortable to try in real life.
3 years ago
7 0
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SchizoSkier
Posts: 2867 - Karma: 31,144
sullivanobrien_I'm done being shit on rails. I'm learning swaps, 2s on, sw 2s, etc. this weekend. i want every tip you've ever heard that has helped you. ive done frontswaps and backsurface before but i cant do it whenever i want and its making angry. thanks...


The faster you go the easier it is to balance. Also some guys like to file down their edges but I probably wouldn’t do that. Find a good tube that u can hike and just rep out tricks over and over until u can get it every time.
3 years ago
4 8
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Gourd
Posts: 468 - Karma: 5,052
SchizoSkierThe faster you go the easier it is to balance. Also some guys like to file down their edges but I probably wouldn’t do that. Find a good tube that u can hike and just rep out tricks over and over until u can get it every time.

Definitely do detune your edges
3 years ago
14 0
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sullivano*b
Posts: 1234 - Karma: 8,139
SchizoSkierThe faster you go the easier it is to balance. Also some guys like to file down their edges but I probably wouldn’t do that. Find a good tube that u can hike and just rep out tricks over and over until u can get it every time.


trust me ive been hiking tubes since november 6th. i need like tips on how to actually do the tricks.
3 years ago
3 0
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ajbski
Posts: 1313 - Karma: 5,420
"2s on, sw 2s, etc. this weekend"

thats a lot to learn in two days.

my advice is dont rush it. its gonna take a lot of repetition before you feel comfortable in a slide. learn to lock onto the box/rail, 2-7 off both ways, then a swap is like doing an early spin off, then spins on learn on a wide box and bring it narrower and narrower until you can do it on a rail.
3 years ago
9 0
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sullivano*b
Posts: 1234 - Karma: 8,139
ajbski"2s on, sw 2s, etc. this weekend"

thats a lot to learn in two days.

my advice is dont rush it. its gonna take a lot of repetition before you feel comfortable in a slide. learn to lock onto the box/rail, 2-7 off both ways, then a swap is like doing an early spin off, then spins on learn on a wide box and bring it narrower and narrower until you can do it on a rail.


ive been trying 2s on for like 2 months and swaps since the beginning of the season. i can hit pretty much any rail and spin out good enough. i just cant do it tho, and i dont know what im doing wrong but i cant show a video bc when i try to frontswap i just do nothing or i do a frontsurface 90 swap
3 years ago
0 0
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sullivano*b
Posts: 1234 - Karma: 8,139
GordmanDefinitely do detune your edges


already done. not well but i did it the beginning of the year
3 years ago
1 0
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sullivano*b
Posts: 1234 - Karma: 8,139
SchizoSkierThe faster you go the easier it is to balance. Also some guys like to file down their edges but I probably wouldn’t do that. Find a good tube that u can hike and just rep out tricks over and over until u can get it every time.


you guys arent getting it... speed isnt the issue i can slide a rail to the end going .0001 mph or mach 10 thats not the issue, i cant swap... i just don't understand how
3 years ago
1 0
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sullivano*b
Posts: 1234 - Karma: 8,139
ajbski"2s on, sw 2s, etc. this weekend"

thats a lot to learn in two days.

my advice is dont rush it. its gonna take a lot of repetition before you feel comfortable in a slide. learn to lock onto the box/rail, 2-7 off both ways, then a swap is like doing an early spin off, then spins on learn on a wide box and bring it narrower and narrower until you can do it on a rail.


also i dont plan on having those on lock on most rails im just want to get them clean on a short box and maybe flat or down bar
3 years ago
1 0
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ajbski
Posts: 1313 - Karma: 5,420
sullivanobrien_ive been trying 2s on for like 2 months and swaps since the beginning of the season. i can hit pretty much any rail and spin out good enough. i just cant do it tho, and i dont know what im doing wrong but i cant show a video bc when i try to frontswap i just do nothing or i do a frontsurface 90 swap


ok relax, dont get frustrated.

practice the swap (180) on the snow standing still. focus on keeping your shoulder facing down the hilll the entire time and feet moving under you. its a whippy feeling.

then on the rail: start with a slide where your shoulders are parallel with the rail.
keep your feet at 90, open up the upper body so it faces down the rail. your shoulders will be perpandicular to the rail
then pop up and do your 180.
try it very close to the end of the rail, it will feel like you are just bonking it and landing switch

im sure when you do a front 270 off, you already open up. a swap is like doing an early front 27 off.

back swap is the same except you open up your upperbody to face up the rail.


270 on feels a lot like a slightly over rotated 180 onto the rail.

start with a wide box and do a 180 on. let the rotation carry you on to 270. learn to lock onto to the box when you are at 270.

then you can build it up to 270
3 years ago
3 0
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theabortionator
Posts: 52576 - Karma: 174,020
Grab a friend, a stranger, your mom, anybody and get them hiking a feature with you. Somebody similar ability to progress with is sick but anyone will do. Pump each other up and get some tricks. A little moral support and a hike buddy keeps the vibes up and helps you relax and commit to tricks you might have skipped or half assed skiing solo.

Also another set of eyes can be helpful to tell you you're coming in at the wrong angle or you jumped too high on the last one and thats why youre going off the left side early.

Keep doing it, learn tricks, get sick af at skiing.
3 years ago
5 0
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ajbski
Posts: 1313 - Karma: 5,420
sullivanobrien_also i dont plan on having those on lock on most rails im just want to get them clean on a short box and maybe flat or down bar


locking on and doing a swap on a box is harder imo. less grip and harder to get a good scissor. the best thing to learn swaps and scissoring is a tube imo.
3 years ago
1 0
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Manskimac
Posts: 108 - Karma: 232
Spend a lot of time on rails also I’d highly recommend learning to slide unnatural asap too
3 years ago
3 0
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dwt802
Posts: 3362 - Karma: 33,164
Getting rail tricks down takes a minute but being able to do rails well is key. You ski killi so I’m guessing you’re pretty comfy now. Just keep working at it but don’t rush it and it will come.
3 years ago
1 0
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sullivano*b
Posts: 1234 - Karma: 8,139
ajbskilocking on and doing a swap on a box is harder imo. less grip and harder to get a good scissor. the best thing to learn swaps and scissoring is a tube imo.


nah i meant the 2s on for the box. but i did learn 2s out on box so i could probably do swaps on it
3 years ago
0 0
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milotv34
Posts: 231 - Karma: 1,512
it sucks but swaps are hard, and will take a long time to get consistent or to get clean. So will 2 on, you just have to do them alot. but thats not very helpful to hear so Ill give you my best tips.
When you are trying swaps, it should start with you just tapping the end of the rail after your swap. Dont try to slide much, and dont stress about getting it clean. Also having a rail with a slight drop to another rail, like a waterfall, will be slightly scary but help mentally with knowing you can get the rotation around, and will help you get used to landing unnatural after the swap.
3 years ago
1 0
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SteezMaster68
Posts: 182 - Karma: 2,142
sullivanobrien_I'm done being shit on rails. I'm learning swaps, 2s on, sw 2s, etc. this weekend. i want every tip you've ever heard that has helped you. ive done frontswaps and backsurface before but i cant do it whenever i want and its making angry. thanks...


The biggest thing is just constancy. It takes time to get comfortable doing things on rails. Just keep grinding and eventually you will see significant progress if you put the time in. It can be frustrating but it’s the only full proof way to get better
3 years ago
2 0
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ReturnToMonkey
Posts: 6447 - Karma: 70,192
Find a short flat-down box and try a few front and blind swaps on that. Once you get a few, you'll understand how it feels better and what you expect your eyes to be seeing. Then take it to a tube. You will probably fall off a lot and not get it but you really gotta try to avoid getting frustrated. It'll take time and reps. Getting better at sliding unnatty helps a lot too.

270 on - exact same steps. Start with a box then go to a rail. Start with shorter ones. To me, a forward 2 feels like a 180 with a little more and a swith 2 feels like a switch 3 with a little less.
3 years ago
3 0
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gvski13
Posts: 217 - Karma: 971
Tldr: Maybe actually try the swap as soon as you jump on the feature.
Another tip I thought of, I just learned to backswap. It was on a short flat box at like 0 mph cause it seemed less intimidating. But I couldnt get it if I waited til I locked I would just go 90⁰ to switch. BUT if I jumped on the rail and forced myself to immediately jump again I did the swap. Maybe its momentum from the initial jump idk
3 years ago
3 0
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isaacwrong
Posts: 2439 - Karma: 19,483
Hike a tube and don’t be soft when it comes to committing, going to be scary at first but only way to learn is to eat shit hard, also if you end up hiking a feature where others are, ask em so questions/tips
3 years ago
2 0
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Elimitch
Posts: 206 - Karma: 1,897
prolly already been said but don't rush shit. Once u land a trick do it again and again, get comfy with the basics.
3 years ago
3 0
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sexyjulian
Posts: 873 - Karma: 11,244
sullivanobrien_ive been trying 2s on for like 2 months and swaps since the beginning of the season. i can hit pretty much any rail and spin out good enough. i just cant do it tho, and i dont know what im doing wrong but i cant show a video bc when i try to frontswap i just do nothing or i do a frontsurface 90 swap


Post some videos fgt, we can’t help when all we get is “I can’t do it Idk what I’m doing wrong. You can tell a lot by a video, even if ur not actually “doing” it
3 years ago
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