One of snowboarding's most valuable skills is also one of its most underappreciated

"Among Cathy White's rules: If Shaun, his brother and sister wanted mom to accompany them down the mountain, they had to ride switch backward so she could keep up. That, in part, is how a snowboarding champion was born. All winter, we rode switch, all day, every day, said White, the three-time Olympic gold medalist. We're falling and figuring it out. By the end of the season, I was so proficient at riding switch."

"Though snowboarding loves to flaunt its massive jumps and daring flips, it's the ability to spin four ways riding forward and backward, then spinning either clockwise or counterclockwise from either direction that is considered one of the sport's holy grails. When the medals are handed out at the Milan Cortina Games, the riders who do this the best or at all will almost certainly be wearing them. It's as difficult as it is underappreciated by casual viewers or people who've never tried it."

Shaun White developed proficiency riding switch early because his mother required the family to ride backward so she could keep up, accelerating his skill growth. Riding switch became a foundational ability that supported later competitive success. The highest technical achievement in freestyle snowboarding is spinning four ways: riding forward and backward, and rotating clockwise or counterclockwise from either stance. Riders who execute four-way spins cleanly gain a competitive edge and often medal at major events. Chloe Kim invested years mastering the technique, and Scotty James pushed technical limits, landing consecutive backside 1440s including a switch 1440.

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