How To Hit A Backside Hip On A Snowboard

The Backside Hip is one of the most loved features in the park for many snowboarders. The reason is because it provides the perfect place to crank a Method! Learn how to hit a Backside Hip now and improve your riding (and your methods) with this tutorial.

On the flip side of the coin, check out How To Hit A Frontside Hip to learn how to hit a Frontside Hip. 

(Narrating/Riding: Nev Lapwood. Riding: Chase Baines. Film/Edit: Vince Emond)

The Backside Hip

This is a Backside Hip, because you rotate slightly backside while in the air.

Let's get sendy on a Backside Hip!

A Hip jump doesn't have a knuckle that you need to clear, so you can hit them very slowly to start and build your speed with each attempt as you get more comfortable. 

Angle Of Approach

Many beginner park riders take off the Hip at an angle. This is the incorrect way to hit a Hip because it shoots you away from the steep landing and straight into the flat area. 

The impact in in the flat are, will be much harder than if you land in the steeper section.

It's best to takeoff straight up the lip of the Hip, then adjust the angle of your board while in the air. Even if you're going small and not from the peak of the Hip, try to hit the Hip straight then turn your board into the new direction of the landing. 

Using this technique, you are learning to execute the feature correctly, which will help as you go faster. 

The Coping

If you look past the lip, you can see a line formed by the top of the landing meeting the flat deck of the jump which is referred to as the coping. Looking at the coping and riding straight towards it as you hit a Backside Hip, is the best way to line up the landing.

Lining your takeoff up with the coping allows you to land at the top of the landing each time.

Hitting The Hip

While in the air, try pointing your front hand down as you look towards your landing. This will help with the small amount of Backside rotation needed for a Backside Hip.

Looking towards the landing allows you to spot it early and put the landing gear down.

Taking off on your toe edge also helps with achieving the Backside rotation, and works really well when you're first learning to hit Backside Hips. Be very careful here though, because using your toe edge too much can shoot you into the flat spot of the landing. 

As you can see, your takeoff angle is very important. Landing flat hurts.

As you go bigger, take off with a very flat base and leave the lip in a straight direction. Wait until you're in the air to adjust your board for the landing. Landing with a flat base will help absorb impact, then you're good to ride away on your toe edge.

Do not land on your heel edge! If you are landing on your heel edge, rotate Backside slightly more while in the air.

Send It!

As you become comfortable, start to experiment with different grabs. Methods are very common on Backside Hips as well as Melon grabs. 

Mr. Chase Baines with the ever stylish Method.

That's how you hit a Backside Hip! Now that you have the knowledge, stop reading, grab your snowboard and go crank some Methods!

Want Even More Training Tips?

Alex McCann 
Snowboard Addiction
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