*This tutorial was written by Pro Mountainboarder and Co-Founder of MBS Mountainboards.  

**Disclaimer* Mountainboarding is an inherently dangerous sport so use proper safety gear and scout your line before trying something like this. Know your limitations

CLIFF DROPS by Jason Lee/MBS

Step 1: Make sure you are an all-around strong rider with strong legs.

Step 2: Identify drops of about 5′ + and work your way up. Don’t think that you can drop cliffs like on a snowboard with powder landings. This is mountainboarding – you land on dirt. The largest rideable cliff drop will be about 20′ vert and that is for baddass riders. Good candidates for jumpable cliffs are not only sheer drops but they have good and safe run-out areas. A good cliff drop will not only have a decent drop but a good angle to land on. The steeper the angle, the easier the drop. People can drop off anything but the key of course is to ride it out. In addition to a good landing angle the landing must be solid. The more hard-packed the landing is the easier it will be to stick the landing. The softer the landing the more you will sink and usually get thrown forward on your board.

Step 3: Make sure as you head into the drop you are confident…. continue reading this mountainboard tutorial

The guys at munro boards provide a nice “How-to” on tube changing a much needed skill out there on the hill.

Since brakes, although available, are not that commonly used on Mountainboards the most common way to stop on a mountain board is a technique called power-sliding. (as demonstrated in the video below). This involves putting the board go into a controlled slide to create more friction and therefore stop. The power-slide is easiest to practice on gravel however we recommend wet grass, not only does the slippery surface help you to initiate the powerslide, it is also a much more forgiving terrain to learn by trial and error on.

If you are already practiced in the art of the “J Turn” you may notice that there is a point where the board wants to slide out, so chances are you may have already powerslided once or twice without even meaning to.

To power-slide you will want to put more weight on your back foot when you are turning pushing the back end of the board out in front of you, you may find it helpful to get low and pull the front rail of the board up towards you. You should lean slightly back and put your leading hand out behind you to help keep yourself upright during the course of the slide. Power-slides, and advanced turning should be mastered before any steep terrain is attempted.

Join in at the discussion on SurfingDirt.com, the most helpful mountainboarding forums on the net

 

If you dont already know then let veteran riders Van Dewitt and Halston Rhodes explain it to you courtesy of modern technology.

If you have any questions you can post in this Mountainboarding Forum

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!