Freeskiing
Everything you need to know about half-pipe skiing and snowboarding
New Zealand ski athlete Nico Porteous is on hand to explain one of the flagship disciplines of freestyle skiing and snowboarding – the halfpipe.
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The elite of freestyle skiing and snowboarding will meet on the slopes of Avoriaz, France for a unique contest – Red Bull Infinite Lines – from March 28 to 31, 2023. And whether it's slopestyle, backcountry or even big air, the 24 invited skiers and snowboarders who will take part all have different specialties.
So we asked freeskier Nico Porteous, a current Olympic gold medalist, who will be participating in Red Bull Infinite Lines, to tell us about his main discipline: the halfpipe. Read on below for his inside take.
Nico Porteous will be at Red Bull Infinte Lines
© Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
01
What is half-pipe skiing and snowboarding?
In its simplest terms, halfpipe skiing and snowboarding are freestyle snowsports. It sees an athlete perform tricks on skis or a snowboard on a U-shaped course made of hard packed snow. An athlete will go from one side of the ramp wall to the other and propel themselves off the sides to go as high as they can and perform tricks while in the air.
The walls of the halfpipe are usually set at 6.7 to 7 metres high. Course length can be variable but is usually around 250 metres. In competition terms, an athlete tries to complete as many tricks as possible before the course ends. This is called his/her run.
"The beauty of this sport is that there are no rules! For example, there is no time limit to your run. Rather, the goal is to turn the halfpipe into a playground and do whatever you want in it," says Porteous.
14 min
Nico's rewind
Freeskier Nico Porteous tells us how winning is more than nailing a few tricks on the day.
02
What’s the history of the half-pipe discipline in freestyle skiing/snowboarding?
The rise of halfpipe owes much to snowboard pioneers in the late 1970s who wanted to replicate the thrills of what they did on half pipes on their skateboards in the summer. Builds were far and few initially but there seemed to be a demand and snow resorts seeing their appeal started to make builds.
The invention of a halfpipe grooming machine in the 1990s allowed for permanent builds and the popularity of snowboard halfpipe grew further, and it wasn't long before freestyle-oriented skiers joined in and started taking to the halfpipe walls.
Snowboarding halfpipe was included for the first time in the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics in Japan. Skiing halfpipe made its Olympic debut in the 2014 Winter Olympic in Sochi, Russia.
Half pipe trickin'
© Jeff Brockmeyer/Red Bull Content Pool
03
What is involved in the tricks that you see at half pipe competitions?
There's not a lot of differences in the approach to ski and snowboard half pipe. A lot of the tricks that are performed are similar though with skiing you can generate more speed than you can do with a snowboard.
Tricks can be simple, tricks can be complicated. They usually involve rotations, flips, spins, grabs, can be off-axis or straight and can see you taking off and landing in different directions. Athletes will also have to land perfectly to give themselves speed and momentum going into the opposite wall.
"I would say the standard trick is the double cork 1260. That's two backflips and three and a half rotations in a single jump. And mine? Let's say a simple "straight air" which consists of going very high. Controlling such a jump is a trick in itself! Landing requires a lot of technique and strength."
1 min
Nico Porteous's winning Superpipe run
See how Nico Porteous went from fourth to first in a single run. The New Zealander took the top spot in the men’s Superpipe with two back-to-back 1620s followed by and an alley-oop double.
04
How do half-pipe competitions work?
In competition, there is usually a qualification round and then finals. The qualification round is used to whittle down the numbers of athletes competing in finals. Qualification consists of two runs with the best scored run being taken as an athletes result. Should an athlete qualify for finals, there scores do not carry over to the final, and everything begins afresh.
A final normally consist of three runs. Like qualification, an athlete's best score of his runs will count towards the standings.
There's nothing like competition
© Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
"Generally, we have about twenty participants at the start. Everyone goes through a qualification phase. Then, the top 10 go to the final," says Porteous.
"A run is judged on five criteria that determine your score: amplitude, difficulty, variety, execution and progression. The amplitude is the height at which the athlete goes. The difficulty is the complexity of the attempted tricks. Variety is the diversity of tricks offered during a run. Execution is the quality of tricks - for example, did you let your hand drag on the snow or did you accidentally sit down when landing a jump - and finally progression is about how innovative the run was. The way you push the boundaries of sport.”
Five to seven judges depending on the competition decide on the scoring of a run with scoring based on a 1-100 points scale. They will give an overall impression score based on the judging criterias mentioned by Porteous above. The best and worse scores from the judges are dropped, with the remaining three then averaged to give an overall score.
05
Is there specialist equipment the athletes need in half pipe?
Halfpipe skis have a twin-tip design, in which both ends of the skis are slightly curved up to allow for easier skiing in different directions.
“We wear racing-style ski boots and our skis are very stiff in order to resist the G forces. They also have very sharp edges, just like in ski racing."
Like halfpipe skis, both ends of the snowboard used in halfpipe are curved up. Snowboards tend to be shorter and wide compared to ones used on the slopes.
Those curved skis
© Miles Holden/Red Bull Content Pool
06
Who are the legends of Half Pipe
In Ski Half pipe there's obviously Nico Porteous, the current Olympic Champion, on the men's side of thing. He himself names Tanner Hall, Simon Dumont and Candide Thovex. Present stars include Americans David Wise and Alex Ferreira and Frenchman Kevin Rolland. For the women, look no further than Eileen Gu, a woman taking the sport on to new bounds
In Snowboarding half pipe, one name stands above all others in terms of global profile - Shaun White. He's now retired. For the women, American Chloe Kim is the lady to beat.
Freeskier Eileen Gu is flying high right now
© Dom Daher/Red Bull Content Pool
07
Nico's advice on getting involved
Experience the thrill: "I think people really should attend competitions. It will ignite something in you. The tricks we do have been perfected for years and it's a sport that involves big risks, but also big rewards. There really isn't much between a bad injury and a perfect landing. In short, it is very exciting."
The best age to get started:"Personally I got into it at seven years old. But let’s say you should at least be able to control your skis. Of course, there is a relatively flat part at the bottom of the halfpipe, where you can start practicing. But if the simple act of skiing the ramp scares you, I think you better not go for it."
Don't let fear hold you back: "Yes, it's scary. But you get used to it. The more you practice, the more normal it becomes. But yes, we live with fear. Mainly because we always push the boundaries of the discipline."
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