Alex Hokanson knows what I’m talking about. Zermatt, Switzerland. Photo: Mike Berard
Bobby Brown’s X-Games-winning switch dub misty 1440, Jon Olsson’s Kangaroo flip. Ian Cosco’s Dub cork 12. Seth Morrison’s 160-ft pant-shitting cliff drop double front flip. TJ Schiller’s U.S. Open-winning 1440. The world of freeskiing has been kicking down the door of what’s possible for the past 10 years. We’ve seen a staggering array of maneuvers in comps and on film. The march forward is fine but, in my opinion, one trick continues to trump them all, and we don’t get to see it enough these days—the backflip.
I’m not talking the classic Cusson Japan-backflip of yesteryear or the ridiculously laid-out Tanner Hall double back flip in Teton Gravity Research’s Re:Session. You can keep your grabs and your off-axis and multiple rotations. The trick I write about is the single, no-grab, lay-out backie. The big bastard. The one Shane McConkey and John Eaves and Brad Holmes made famous. That’s the balls right there. And I’ll tell you why.
The beauty in the backflip is its elegant simplicity. Done right, the backflip is equal parts beautiful and badass. It sets a standard by which all skiers can be measured. Will the skier resist the urge to grab and conceal his flailing arms, or will he let them gracefully hang at his sides? Will he waste a perfect powder landing below a 40-foot cliff in the tired name of progression, or will he boost that rock outcropping with a huge backward-hucking homage to Seth Morrison?
The backflip is flexible, able to be thrown off cat tracks, terrain park jumps and, especially, cliffs. It only falls short in the halfpipe, but only because that barely counts as skiing. By committing to throwing the almighty backie, you also guarantee more boost, more time in the air to enjoy that boost, and more cheers from the chairlift. F@#% your sloppy cork 540 and awkward switch pow landing. Throw a massive backflip under the liftline and you’ll get more applause than any publicity-whoring snowboarder on Dancing with the Stars. Why? Because people appreciate beauty more than you know…and you suck at switch pow landings.
Long after this year’s grab is passé and the fashion-conscious children are calling shit on whatever Tom Wallisch did last month, the backflip will stand strong as a timeless and classic measure by which all athletes are judged. – Mike Berard
VIDEO: Bobby Brown’s switch dub misty 1440 is still pretty bad-ass.
