what is a cork in snowboarding?

What Is A Cork in Snowboarding? Double, Triple And Beyond!

by Ben
Updated:

One snowboarding term you’ll hear me throw out from time to time is “cork.” But what is a cork in snowboarding? 

A cork in snowboarding is an off-axis rotation, somewhat resembling a corkscrew. The trick requires the snowboarder to rotate whilst both upside down and angled. The rider will therefore never be directly vertical or horizontal. 

This makes it different from a regular flip as the riders feet will never be directly above their head. Read on to learn about the cork and to find out whether you could even learn one yourself…

what is a cork in snowboarding?

What Is A Double Cork In Snowboarding? 

Now that we know what a cork is, it doesn’t take a huge leap to figure out this next bit.

A double cork in snowboarding is when the rider performs two full off-axis rotations or “inverts”. This is often accompanied by on-axis rotations, for example in a backside double cork 1080. 

I think we all deserve to see a double cork for ourselves right? 

Here’s an aforementioned backside double cork 1080 from our friends at whitelines

What Is A Triple Cork In Snowboarding?

Just when you think it can’t get any harder… here’s the triple. Only a handful of people in the world can land one of these. Sadly, I’m not one of them. But what exactly is a triple cork?

A triple cork in snowboarding is when the rider performs three off-axis rotations or “inverts”. The trick commonly includes additional horizontal rotations, denoted by the number in the trick’s name. For example a triple cork 1440 includes three off-axis inverts and four rotations (equalling 1440 degrees).

Learn more about that trick in my guide to 1440’s on a snowboard.

Shall we take a look at the first triple cork landed in a halfpipe competition? 

The Quadruple Cork In Snowboarding

Now this is just getting silly! 

Billy Morgan became the first rider to put down a clean quadruple cork back in 2015. There haven’t been too many since then, which shows you just how insane it really is. 

Notice how he remains off-axis and his head doesn’t truly go vertically underneath his feet at any point?

This is what contrasts the cork from a regular flip or invert. 

The Quintuple Cork In Snowboarding

The next level.

I don’t have a video for this one yet… because it’s never been done! 

However at the rate these youngsters are throwing down, it’s only a matter of time.

Watch. This. Space.

How To Cork On A Snowboard

Now it’s your turn! 

Maybe we should start with a single cork though?

Let’s talk about how you can learn to cork on a snowboard. 

Performing A Cork In Snowboarding – Key Tips.

The cork is an increasingly popular snowboarding trick that you’ll mainly see in professional events.

If you’re lucky, you may also spot one when riding through your local park.  

It’s a beautiful move that uses elements of the standard front/back flip but tweaks it out for style. 

If you’re going to perform a cork in snowboarding, you’ll want to keep a few things in mind: 

  • Make sure you have enough speed. You’ll want ample speed to perform this trick correctly. In this case, speed is your friend.
  • Choose a jump that will give you lots of air. You’ll want to be high in the sky for this one, so choose the right jump! 
  • Find a soft landing to start out. I’m talking deep powder or even better, an airbag. An icy park jump is not ideal for first timers.
  • Don’t cork before you can already spin! You must understand the principles of rotating on a snowboard.

An Instructional Video Guide

With those tips in mind, let’s move onto a video. 

Let’s start with a frontside cork 540.

Snowboard Addiction have done a great job of explaining it so we’ll let them take the lead.

What do you think?

If you’ve already got your spins on lock, I think you’ve got this!

Variations of the Cork in Snowboarding

The beauty of the cork is that it’s so versatile.

Throw one of these into your big air routine, or use it when you launch out of a halfpipe.

You can also throw in your favorite grab or experiment with different degrees of rotation. 

The important thing is to have fun but progress in a stepwise manner. Nobody lands a double cork before they’ve done a single! Or at least, not that I know of. 

Conclusion

There you have it. A brief run-through of what it means to cork on a snowboard. 

Hopefully I’ve opened your eyes to a whole world of possibility! 

If you’re looking for soft snow to try these out, then these Japanese snowboard resorts may be a good place to start!

Good luck.

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