Competitive big mountain freeriding is not for the faint of heart. It’s one thing to slowly work your way down an extreme line riding safely and comfortably. It’s another to lay down a competition run.

The 360 is another staple in every competitive freerider’s diet. Learning how to throw one in a big mountain environment can be quite the challenge. Working up to them is important, building your skills and confidence safely before hucking it all the way home.

Life offers so many chances to just cut corners and not to do that last rep, last drill, last lap. Countless opportunities when no one is looking for them to stray from proper form, lose their focus and forget the true value of consistency and completeness.

Michael Mawn, “It’s so good to be back here; this is my favorite stop, and the fans are so welcoming. An avalanche took out my planned line, and so I had to pick out another one, which I was a bit on edge about. But I found some good snow and went full throttle –…”

His most concentrated wisdom probably lands on a coveted checklist titled, “Live to Ride Another Day” which includes the 13 simple things he should always remember in the mountains…

“In the practiced snowboarder, a combination of subtle foot movement to apply pressure along the length of the edge of the board along with a combination of precise edge tilt can accurately define, control, and shape any arc.”