My First Vert!

Since you are thinking of trying vert, be prepared to be taken to another world of skating. Although I have met beginner skaters who learn on vert, it is usually advisable to be fairly profiecient on the street first. Here are some of the moves you might want to get good at on level ground before hitting the vert:

These are all fairly easy moves and if you need help or don't know what any of these are you might want to go back a page and check out those moves.

On to the Vert!

Step 1: Put on some Pads!!! Doing vert takes a lot of patience and the more pads you have on the more patience you'll end up with, believe me... If you have a helmet wear it!
We're going to start with a simple excercise to get you and your sense of balance familier with this odd U shaped structure.

Pumping the Vert

This excercise is the basis for all vert riding... Its the first thing you should learn because you'll be needing it from here on out. First skate yourself to the middle of the halfpipe(the bottom of the U.) This shouldn't be too hard its just like skating on level ground although the surface may be different. Now slowly skate forward toward the transition area. Go slowly, you'll suddenly notices your feet going up. Don't Panic! Stay loose and let your momemtum take you up. You won't go far but it will be enough to where...you stop! and guess what...gravity calls you back down. Remember to stay loose, at this point you should get your feet in a spread stance, where one foot is further up the ramp than the other. Now, just let gravity bring you back down! You'll notice the spread stance gives you more stability as you come down the ramp backwards. Let the gravity propel you to the other side, keep an eye out where your going though! when you reach the transition on the other side, let yourself loose again and just ride up...this time when gravity stops you, you will be facing down in the forward direction. Once again let gravity bring you back down! Congratulations!!! you survived! Do this a couple of times to get used to the transition area. Once you feel comfortable you can start 'pumping' it. This is like being on a swing. You have to give yourself a push to make your self go higher. Don't try and gain speed by skating the vert...Let gravity do its part. To pump simply ride up the vert till you are at the peak of your ascent (easier if you your coming down in the forward position), crouch into a tucked position and as you descend down the transition push your legs out against the transition. This action will transfer a lot more energy into your speed and will cause you to go further up the ramp on the other side

180s

Alright so you can go back and forth... if you really want power your gonna have to pump going both directions! The easiest way to do this is in the forward stance. 'How the hell am I supposed to go forward all the time???' Simple...when you get to the top of your ascent simply do a 180 like you would on the street. The only thing to be wary of is this, try and keep your 180 in a small jump, with a quick rotation. If you go too slow you'll find your body coming down the ramp before you finish your turn and guess what! you'll fall...
180s are probably the easiest of vert moves and gives you an opportunity to really use your legs in pumping the vert.

I'm touching the Bar! now what??? (Stalls)

So you found out you really got some power in your pumps and you're getting up to the coping...don't fear! Its time for you to do a stall...
The coping is your friend! Don't be afraid...grasp its power! Pump the vert like you usually do...as you find your self getting higher and higher, you'll find your skates touch the bar. To get the stall down, simply let the momentum carry you up to the top of the pipe, when your skates catch on to the coping, simply push yourself out of the halfpipe. To do this, you must lock your skates(preferably between the middle wheels) onto the bar, then let the rest of your momentum swing your body over the bar. At first you find your self with too much momentum and you'll simply come out of the halfpipe. Just think of the bar as another street curb and simply lock on. Once you lock on though, you can't stay there forever... Do a 180 and come back down just like you have before or, simply unlock your feet from the bar and come down backwards....remember to keep the spread feet stance.