Tip It and grip it Before You Rip It
A snowboard nerd’s guide to starting the turn like you actually meant to.
One of the most common patterns I see — in everyone from strong intermediates to riders who can 540 on command — is this:
They try to start a new turn…
…but their body is still living in the last one.
It’s like trying to start a new relationship before ending the old one. Its messy, clunky and nobody watching from the outside thinks it looks good.
So instead of flowing into the new turn with purpose, they kind of fold into it.
Bending. Angulating. Hoping the edge just magically appears under there.
Or the classic naughty move — rotating into the turn and wondering why the grip disappears.
But here’s the truth:
If your mass never gets back on top of the board, it can’t move over the edge.
And if it never moves over the edge, the board can’t bend early enough to give you any real performance.
And that early-turn performance?
That’s the whole game at the advanced level.
The Real Start of the Turn Happens Before the Turn
A weekend warrior might think the turn “starts” when the board points downhill.
…Yehhh… Nah.
At the performance level, the turn actually starts the moment you let your mass tip toward the new working edge.
That tiny choice — letting your COM drift toward the new side before anything else — is what allows the board to grip above the fall line.
Grip above the fall line → bend above the fall line → actual power.
It’s the snowboard version of measure twice, cut once.
Set your mass up properly first, and the rest of the turn is way easier.
Why Riders Skip the Early Tip
People avoid this movement for totally understandable reasons:
they never got fully centred at the end of the previous turn
they’re rushing the transition because of time/danger/existential dread
they don’t trust the working edge
bending at the waist (heels) or diving in with the shoulders (toes) feels “safer”
rotation feels easier than committing to edge grip
All of these shortcuts kill the top arc of the turn.
Angulation is incredible — just not step one.
Step 1 is inclination.
Step 2 is angulation/pressure.
Step 3 is Cam yelling from the chair:
“YESS THAT’S IT!!”
Feel the Tip (Not the Ski Kind… or the other kind)
Here’s the sensation I cue riders toward:
Let your body tip slightly toward the new edge of the turn.
Not a dramatic lean.
Not hurling yourself downhill.
Just enough for your ankles to wake up like the first responders they are.
If your ankles suddenly go,
“Ah yes, finally, we’re doing things,”
you’re in the right spot.
Let them roll the edge into the snow while your mass tracks cleanly over the board.
No collapse.
No dead zone.
Just a clean, intentional “tip” that sets up the whole chain reaction.
This is how you get early bend — not halfway through the turn when it’s too late to do much with it.
Challenge: The Inverse Traverse
Try traversing across the hill while repeatedly rolling the board to the downhill edge.
Tip your COM (let’s just call it your hips) slightly downhill
Roll the board with your ankles
Stay stacked over the edge
Then roll back to the uphill edge
Repeat
If you bend at the waist → unstable.
If you rotate → board dives into the fall line.
If you dive in too far → gravity wins.
The inverse traverse gives you way more reps than normal turns, and immediate feedback on whether the movement is clean or clunky.
A Park Crossover Thought
This idea lives in the park too.
If your setup turns don’t stack your mass over the edge properly, your take-off won’t load efficiently.
You’ll pop with less power, less stability, and less control in the air.
Early tipping = early loading = stronger, cleaner take-offs.
Why This Matters for Advanced Riding
Because high-end riding isn’t just skill — it’s sequence.
Early inclination
= early grip
= early bend
= early power
= round turn shape
= actual board performance
Not just edge survival.
Final Thought
A lot of riders try to work themselves into a turn.
But the riders who look effortless?
They tip early… and let the mountain do half the work.
Tip it, grip it, and then rip it.
or..
Incline, grip, steer
or
Edge, pressure. rotate
…You choose what resonates with you.
— Cam
