That was quite simply I had no idea what the commentator was talking about. Sure it all looked fantastic but to a boring old alpine skier like me the fact that the rider had pulled off a “Mute Grab” or a “Stalefish” meant absolutely nothing to me.
Perhaps this was the reason why I tended to watch more off the Skier / Boarder Cross events. They were easier to follow and understand. First past the post is the winner! However I couldn’t simply ignore the skill of the “Big Air” competitors so decided to do a bit of research so as to tell the difference between an “Indy”and a “Melon”.
Snowboarding Tricks
Here is a list of the most common tricks I saw thanks to Wikipedia which may help you understand watching it in the future!
Indy
Performed by grabbing the toe-side of the board between the rider’s feet.
Melon
Performed by grabbing the heel edge between the bindings with the leading hand, while the front leg is boned forward.
Method
A fundamental trick performed by grabbing the heel edge of the snowboard between the bindings with the leading hand.
Mute
Front hand grabs the toe edge between the bindings, and is either not spun, or spun.
Nosegrab
Front hand grabs the nose of the board.
Stalefish
Back hand grabs the heel edge of the board at the back foot, around the outside of the knee.
Tailgrab
Back hand grabs the tail of the board.
Tweaked tailgrab
A tail grab in which the rider pulls the board up to his back.
This list contains the tricks which the commentator referred to the most often however this is just a fraction of the moves that snowboarders pull off. So if you’re interested in knowing more and want to know the difference between a “Crossbone” and a “Suitcase” then follow the link below for more info.