The noseblock is a tricky maneuver. It’s fun and simple, but there’s significant risk of breaking your precious skis if you’re not doing it right. We went straight to the source for a trick tip to end all trick tips. Garrett has more variations on the noseblock than anyone in the game, and has probably forgotten more quirky tricks than we’ve even dreamed of. Scroll down for animation or check out Wild Life and the latest TC webisode to see him in action.
All photos: Ed
BroBomb: Let’s go into trick tip mode. We’re going to talk noseblocks, mostly because I try to noseblock all the time and I suck at them. So I’m going to be completely self-serving and try to get some pointers from the master.
Garrett: Cool. It’s all about timing and waiting for your apex. It’s crazy because I see some kids do it, and I’m like, “Oh my god, they’re going to break their skis!” Don’t do it like that, I hate for kids to break their skis. I know a couple people who have and I’m sorry, but it’s super fun. It’s all about having the right snow, and you’ll learn that if you go into something icy you’ll die. But if it’s too soft your skis are just going to punch through.
Been there.
Yeah. It can work out though, it’s all about reading the snow and waiting for that one point where you come up to a point where the hill goes like this (makes a hill with his arm) and there’s a little bit of tranny where you slow down. You wait until you slow down, and that’s when you lean forward and bring your heels up to your butt. Then you kind of lean back and do any grab you want, like you’ve got the “backpacker” now.
It’s all about patience and waiting and finding that balance on the tips. Other than that just practice, I guess. But it all depends on where you do it. Like, when we’re going skiing I’ll do it in one spot and then I’ll keep going back to that one spot. Then I can slowly dig out these little tip steps in the side of jumps and it’s pretty cool.
So that’s noseblocks, and tailblocks…I don’t know.
The tail block?
Yeah, it’s a hard one. I feel like I’m going to throw out my back trying it.
Sounds dangerous. Are you working on the tailblock?
Well, if I have the time and the place to do it, and somebody inspires me maybe it can happen. There can be so many variations. You can do the screamin-semen noseblock and you step over to the other ski. I don’t know man. I’m thinking about it, it’s interesting.
Do you sit at home and dream up tricks to do?
There used to be days when I couldn’t sleep, you know, where I just had the greatest idea and I’m like “I’m going to do that!” It’s been years and I can’t do it still. I don’t even know what I was thinking about. Skiing is just constantly in my brain.
