Frontside 180
aka FS 180
A half rotation spinning frontside that lands you riding away switch. Wind the upper body, pop off the tails, and lead the turn with your eyes.
The Breakdown
Four phases from roll-up to roll-away. Scrub the analyzer above — each phase lights up as the board hits it.
- 01 Approach
Wind up and set
Ride at a relaxed speed with your weight centered over the skis. Pre-wind your shoulders and arms slightly against the direction of the spin, coiling your upper body. Keep your eyes up and knees flexed, ready to pop.
- 02 Pop
Release the rotation
Pop off the tails like an ollie, and as the skis leave the snow, unwind your shoulders and hips frontside to drive the rotation. Let the wound-up upper body lead and the legs follow. Lead with your eyes toward where you want to land.
- 03 Air
Spot the switch landing
Keep the skis level beneath you and your core engaged as you come around. Look back over your leading shoulder to spot the snow behind you. Stay compact and balanced rather than throwing the spin too hard.
- 04 Landing
Ride away switch
Set both skis down flat at the same time, now facing the opposite way. Absorb the landing with bent knees and keep your hands forward for balance. Hold your edge and ride away switch, clean and centered.
When It Goes Wrong
The most common ways Frontside 180 bails — and the fix. Diagnose your slam, then get back on.
Why do I only get around to 90 on my frontside 180?
You're not pre-winding enough or you stall the rotation in the air. Coil your shoulders before you pop, then commit to unwinding fully and turning your head to spot the landing. Keeping your eyes leading the spin pulls the rest of you around.
I keep catching my edge when I land switch.
You're landing on the uphill or wrong edge because your skis aren't flat at touchdown. Aim to land base-flat with weight centered, then settle onto your new edges. Looking down the hill in your switch direction helps square you up.
My upper and lower body twist apart and I fall.
You're spinning with just your arms and leaving the skis behind. Initiate from the core so shoulders, hips, and skis rotate together as one unit. Pop first, then unwind everything at once instead of throwing your arms early.
Switch landings feel really sketchy to me.
That is normal at first because riding backward feels foreign. Practice riding switch on mellow groomers until it feels natural before adding the spin. Confidence riding away switch is what makes the 180 feel locked in.
The frontside 180 is your first real spin, and it teaches the single most important park-skiing skill — riding away switch. Frontside means the rotation opens up where you can see your landing, which is why it usually comes before the backside version.
Wind the upper body, pop, and let your eyes drag you around. Once you trust landing switch, this trick becomes the building block for 360s and beyond. Lock it on flatground before you take it to a jump.
Dial In Your Setup
Gear that makes this trick easier to learn. Tune the setup, not just the technique.
Twin-tip park skis
True center mount · medium flex
A centered twin-tip rotates evenly and lands switch as easily as forward. The symmetric shape means the tails behave like tips when you ride away backward.
Shop skis & gearPark boot flex
90–110 flex
A medium flex lets your ankles stay mobile through the wind-up and absorb the switch landing. You want give in the boot to settle onto new edges smoothly.
Shop skis & gearDetuned tips and tails
Edges dulled at contact points
Lightly detuning the tip and tail edges keeps you from catching when you land switch or set down slightly off-flat. It is the cheapest insurance for spin landings.
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Stack Your Clip
Landed Frontside 180? Soon you'll drop your line here and battle the crew for the top of the board.