How Not To Be Intimidated By The Terrain Park
Ever ridden the chair over your local terrain park, wanted to try it, but felt intimidated by people flying around? The good news is the park is a friendly place as long as you know the etiquette. Coach Oscar Blyth covers the rules you will find on most park signs around the world, from right of way and where to stand to judging speed and using hand signals.
The Uphill Rider Has Right of Way
The normal rule that the downhill skier has right of way does not apply in the park. You often cannot see a landing from the top, so the person hitting the feature has priority and anyone in the landing would be at fault. If you fall and are okay, get out of the way quickly, and if you are hitting a feature, wait until the rider ahead has cleared it.
Never Stand Next To, Below or On a Rail
The same right of way rule applies to rails. Do not stand next to or below a rail, and never sit on one: rails are not benches. Look uphill before you traverse across the park.
Know Where Not To Stand on a Jump
Do not stand anywhere before the takeoff, between the jump and the knuckle, or below the knuckle, where nobody can see you. The top of the knuckle is usually fine, which is why coaches and filmers stand there. Even off to the side of a landing is not safe, because riders carve and drift their tricks.
Be Aware of Every Feature Around You
A spot that is safe from one jump might be in the line of a rail. Parks have features you can hit from all sorts of angles, so check your surroundings before you stop.
Do Not Hit Rail Lips as Jumps
Using the side of a rail takeoff as a jump is frowned upon: it cuts off the rider with right of way and can ruin the takeoff. Where features sit side by side, drop one at a time and give the rider ahead space.
Learn Your Park's Sizing System
North American parks usually use small, medium, large and extra large, while some European parks use colours. Grades are relative to each park, so a medium at one mountain could be a large somewhere else. Always check features up close before you hit them.
Treat Hips as One Big Landing
On features like hips, it is less obvious where the landing is, so treat the whole area as a landing and do not stand anywhere near it.
The Downhill Rule Returns When You Exit
Once you leave the park you are back on the regular slope, where the downhill skier has right of way again. Ride safely on the way out.
Call Your Drop
Most parks have a rule about calling your drop. People often skip it through mutual understanding, but if you are unsure whether it is your turn, call it.
Judge Your Speed by Watching or Following
Watch a rider of similar size who knows what they are doing, or ask to follow someone in. Do not hit the feature with them: stop at the knuckle and see where they land so you know the speed.
Use the Park Hand Signals
Arms crossed in an X means a feature is closed, for example when someone has crashed in the landing. Once they have cleared it, signal open so riders at the top know it is safe to hit again.
Keep Building Into The Season
Once you know the etiquette, avoid the classic beginner errors in Common Mistakes Everyone Makes in The Park and learn your first park tricks with 5 Tricks You Can Learn This Weekend.
Coach: Oscar Blyth
@oscarblyth