Written by 
Whenever I go out to ride I seem to have a certain urge to try something new. This urge isn’t always around, but most of the time it’s a matter of giving into it or not. I was riding at Montana Snowcenter again with Marieke and after a good night of shredding I still hadn’t tried the big rail that has been around for a while now. The slopes were almost empty and I just thought what the heck and went for it. Like the other rail I tried I try to aim high enough to clear the tube and I could actually stick the board onto the big pipe. What a stoked feeling and hell I need to practice more of these things.
The thing I’m having trouble with at the moment on any rail is the fact of sticking it the right way. Now I’m just jumping on top and over the tube/rails, how do you stick it so you can ride it all the way. Maybe Dave has an answer for me here? Or other readers out there?
Anyway with or without the advice, I’ll be watching some vids and do some more shredding to get this rail thing sticking! Man that was radical!
You have two options for trying to stick to a rail. It’s actually quite hard to master, it’s something I could do with working on myself.
The most important thing is to keep focused on the end of the rail asap. Don’t focus on the start, otherwise you’ll always slide off. Usually I slide off because that is where I am looking.
Straight approach (ride on rail) – You have to make sure that your approach line is straight, otherwise you will always slip off the side.
Side approach (street rail) – 1. Approach the rail parrallel to it. Imagine that you are on one train track going straight, and you want to jump onto the opposite track. This helps you to not slip off.
2. This involves “catching” the rail slightly with either your toes or heels. You approach the rail at about 30 degrees, then catch it with your heels for frontside, and toes for backside.
Always start with frontside on street rails, it’s much easier. I started with the train track method, but am now trying to perfect the catching method.
The catching method is why pro riders seem to just stick to the rail no matter what angle they hit it from. You can also imagine it like you are hitting the side of the rail, and then rolling up on top of it.
It’s obviously quite hard to explain, but you hopefully get the idea.
Hey Dave,
Thank you for the detailed explanation. The way you describe sounds like a good thing to be focusing on next time. The catching method was the one I’d like to learn, but the other one might also do the trick for me. I’ll remember to look down rail to the end, that’s where we’re headed anyways
Thanks for the tips! I’m gonna try ‘em next time.