Back-flips?.......we can all do 'em!

This is My mate John Lee, a.k.a. CAPTAIN HIGHSIDE, Skooter Farm teamster.

Following on from the last post, these pictures are from a trip to the French Alps in 1987(I think).

Now, I know it looks like the Captain has just fell out of the chair-lift but in actual fact, this is a failed attempt at a backflip. You see, the night before, we went to see a ski movie in the resort village which featured some douchbag in a neon one-piece suit and hard boots doing flawless, bionic, slo-motion back somersaults.

We were no less than "inspired" and the very next morning hit the slopes with the thought "Back-flips, we can all do 'em....it's just in the mind."

We spent all morning building a big Howitzer jump, then it was time to session it. I think the Captain was the only guy, when it came down to it, to actually try the flip. As the photo shows he never completed the back-flip. However, he did invent the "Full Nelson". This is a manoeuvre that involves approaching the launch pad at full speed, hooting off the take-off, turning completely upside down in the air and then landing really heavily, stuffing your head into already compacted snow whilst franticly flailing your arms around .

An easier, slightly more subtle variation of the "Full Nelson" is the "Half-Nelson" named after fellow early UK snowboarder, Doug Nelson.

Doug was the first guy we knew to own a real snowboard, not a homemade one like ours!

Doug had a Sims Switchblade which he bought off Jeff Phillips on a skate trip to Dallas, Texas.

To successfully pull the "Half Nelson", you approach the jump with a little more caution, in a  half-assed and hesitant manner. As you leave the jump and become airborne, immediately stiffen the whole of your body up and throw your legs skyward whilst leaning forward as hard as you can with your upper body. At the same time rotate both arms wildly as if winding down the windows on a Reliant Robin because your Alsation dog has just done a "Pedigree Chum Fart" on the way to the vets. As you come in to land, to complete the move, try your very best to land directly on your coccyx(tail-bone) on the rock hard snow.

I think Doug only ever performed the "Half-Nelson" once, in 1986 at the Cairngorm ski resort.

After that he retired and never rode a snowboard again.