The Ultimate Guide to Skiing Switch (Backwards)

08:08 min • 01/11/2024

https://skiaddiction.com/ Skiing switch (backwards) is one of the most essential skills for any freestyle skier, and in this video, we?ll guide you through the fundamentals all the way to advanced switch skiing techniques. Whether you?re just starting out or looking to perfect your switch game, this guide has everything you need. Coach Oscar Blyth https://www.instagram.com/oscarblyth/ If you want to progress your skiing, we have more tutorials and training equipment available on our website https://skiaddiction.com/ ENJOY THE VIDEO? Be sure to LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE below! Produced by TFE Productions https://tfeproductions.com

Athletes

Oscar Blyth

Locations

Axamer Lizum

Oscar Blyth

Profile and significance

Oscar Blyth is a Canadian freeski rider and coach born in 2000 whose path runs from FIS starts into clear, practical tutorial work for everyday park skiers. Official records list him as Canadian and currently “not active” on the competitive roster, a status that mirrors his visible pivot toward coaching and educational media. In recent seasons he has fronted technique pieces for Ski Addiction and taken his camera-and-laptop toolkit to Innsbruck, where the density of parks and riders makes it easy to film, iterate, and teach. Off the hill, Blyth became a thoughtful voice on recovery after brain injury, fundraising with Brain Canada and using his own return to sport to emphasize patience, process, and sustainable progression.

Competitive arc and key venues

Blyth came up through Canada’s park-and-pipe pipeline with a mix of slopestyle, big air, and halfpipe starts. Early evidence sits in the Canada Cup Big Air stop held in Whitehorse, where the course at Mount Sima hosted the 2018 season opener; Blyth placed mid-pack, the kind of first step that teaches contest rhythm and wind calls. The following winter, he reached the men’s halfpipe final at the Toyota Revolution Tour Elite at Mammoth Mountain (March 16, 2019), finishing 19th on the Super Duper Pipe. Those North American venues—Whitehorse’s compact, efficient build and Mammoth’s high-alpine airflow—explain how his technical habits formed: read the setup quickly, define each movement, and preserve speed for the next feature.

As his focus shifted, Blyth’s “results” became projects more than podiums. He graduated from the University of Victoria and moved to Innsbruck to chase filming blocks and creative work while continuing to ski and coach. The transition shows up in the way he structures tutorials: contest-learned clarity applied to park laps that most skiers can actually ride.

How they ski: what to watch for

Blyth’s skiing is deliberately teachable. Into a takeoff he stays tall and neutral, sets rotation late, and locks grabs early so the trick breathes without rushing. On rails he prefers entries that are square and defined, presses held long enough to read on camera, and exits where the shoulders stay aligned so momentum carries into the next hit. He uses minimal arm swing, sets edge pressure early to keep the base flat through kinks, and lands with soft ankles so recoveries look unnecessary. It’s the kind of movement language you can slow down, copy, and repeat on your next park lap—exactly why his tutorials resonate.

Resilience, filming, and influence

A run of head injuries forced Blyth to rebuild carefully, and he chose to narrate that process publicly. His 2023 marathon fundraiser with Brain Canada framed recovery as a series of small, consistent wins—habits that carry directly into park progression. On the media side, his pieces with Ski Addiction distill fundamentals into short, replayable chapters: switch approach mechanics, patient pop, clean grab definitions, and quiet shoulders on exits. The cumulative effect isn’t hype; it’s competence. Riders who follow along get a blueprint for stacking reliable skills without overreaching.

Geography that built the toolkit

Venue footprints tell the story. Whitehorse’s Mount Sima rewarded repetition and precise speed control during the 2018 Canada Cup opener. Mammoth Mountain layered in halfpipe timing, long decks, and wind management under California’s big-sky conditions. Relocating to Innsbruck added the rhythm of Central European park laps—quick resets, consistent lighting, and a deep local crew—which accelerates filming and feedback cycles. Each place left a visible fingerprint on his skiing: efficient setups, patient takeoffs, defined grabs, and exits that preserve speed.

Equipment and partners: practical takeaways

Blyth’s public work leans on training tools as much as hardware. The actionable lesson is to make your setup fit your process. A true park ski with a balanced, medium flex lets you press without folding and land centered when you come in switch. Detune contact points enough to reduce rail bite while keeping dependable edge hold on the lip. Keep binding ramp angles neutral so the stance stays stacked. Off snow, the progression loop he models—structured drills and video review via resources like Ski Addiction—turns good intentions into automatic habits you can trust when conditions change.

Why fans and progressing skiers care

Fans get clean, calm skiing that looks good in real time and even better slowed down. Progressing riders get a study guide from someone who has lived both sides of the sport—bib on, and camera on. If your local park looks more like Mount Sima’s efficient lines than a mega-resort build, or if you’re piecing together confidence after a setback, Blyth’s blueprint—patient setups, early grab definition, quiet exits, steady volume—shows how to move forward with style and consistency.

Axamer Lizum

Overview and significance

Axamer Lizum is the closest high-alpine ski area to Innsbruck, set on the Hoadl plateau about 19 km from the city. Built out for the Winter Olympics and still carrying that legacy, it blends compact mileage with meaningful freeride, a progression-minded park, and fast access via free regional ski buses. The resort’s official footprint lists roughly 40 km of pistes, nine lifts, up to ten kilometers of marked ski routes, and around 300 hectares of lift-served freeride terrain across elevations from about 1,560 m to 2,340 m. Historic race lines remain part of the daily map, while a modern gondola now twins the original Olympiabahn to the Hoadl-Haus panorama restaurant at the top. For a city base like Innsbruck, Axamer Lizum is the all-rounder: lappable terrain for crews who want park reps and real snow in the same day, with a quick pivot to nearby venues if wind or visibility roll through.

The Olympic story is foundational. Axamer Lizum hosted most alpine events at the 1964 and 1976 Innsbruck Games, with the men’s downhill next door at Patscherkofel. That heritage shows up in trail names, in the resort’s marketing as the “White Roof,” and in the way locals still talk about the classic fall-line race pistes off Hoadl. Today’s identity adds a shaped park and clearly communicated freeride routes to that backbone, making the mountain a reliable training and filming base for Innsbruck-based skiers.

Terrain, snow, and seasons

Terrain stacks into three clear characters. The Hoadl side is the heart of the ski area, with wide groomers and the Olympic-era race variants that ride fast and true when the surface is chalky. The Pleisen sector adds pitch and shorter, steeper panels that hold quality between storms. Toward Birgitzköpfl you’ll find classic ski routes, short traverses to bowls and gullies, and quick exits that make it easy to stack off-piste laps when patrol opens favored lines. North-facing aspects and the resort’s high-alpine setting help preserve winter texture, while snowmaking covers most pistes for consistency even in lean spells.

Freeride is real here. The resort flags around 300 hectares of open terrain with a dedicated freeride information page, a checkpoint at Hoadl-Haus for beacon checks and status, and named lines like Hoadlsattel or Lizumer Grube that fill in quickly on cold storms. Expect wind-buffed chalk, drifted panels off ridgelines, and pockets of soft snow in leeward bowls after resets. Season length typically runs late November into April; mid-winter brings the most consistent cold, while March delivers longer days with a mix of refills and spring windows on solar aspects.

Park infrastructure and events

The freestyle hub is the Golden Roofpark beside the Karleiten lift. It’s a deliberately tiered setup—small, medium, and advanced features across more than twenty elements—that usually opens around the holiday period and evolves through winter. For the current layout and opening window, check the resort’s official park page at Golden Roofpark Axamer Lizum; for local context and edits from the bench, see our page for Golden Roof Park.

Axamer Lizum leans into community and freeride more than headline stadium events. It has hosted Freeride World Qualifier stops under the Open Faces banner, underscoring the credibility of its in-bounds big-mountain lines. The Olympic race heritage remains visible on the map rather than as an annual circuit. If you want a larger competition scene during the same trip, Innsbruck’s incity Nordkette Skyline Park often anchors youth and grassroots slopestyle weeks, and the wider Tyrol calendar fills in with glacier and valley events.

Access, logistics, and on-mountain flow

Access is a strong suit. The free ski buses from Innsbruck run direct to the base on Lines 412 and 413 in winter; timetables and route links are published on the resort’s service page and the regional planner. Start with the official bus info at Axamer Lizum ski bus, and the broader Innsbruck region overview at Innsbruck Tourism. Drivers reach the parking area in under forty minutes from town in normal conditions, but bus lanes and winter congestion make transit the smarter play on weekends and powder days.

On snow, think in windows. Storm mornings ski best in tree-line corridors and mid-mountain pods; when wind eases, step up to Hoadl for long groomers and watched freeride routes. Park days center efficiently on Karleiten—warm up on small/medium rails and boxes, then time jump sets when light and lips are right, returning for late-day rail mileage. The resort status, webcams and lift report are updated through the day, and the SKI plus CITY Pass makes it easy to pivot to sister areas in the Innsbruck network if wind closes high lifts; details sit on the Axamer site’s pass page and at the alliance hub for SKI plus CITY Pass.

Local culture, safety, and etiquette

The vibe is classic Tyrol: punctual lifts, clear signage, and a friendly local scene that values good flow. Respect rope lines and staged openings on freeride routes; these are actively managed, and timing openings correctly is a big part of the fun. Inside the ropes, treat marked “routes” as unmanaged terrain—carry beacon, shovel, probe, and partners who know rescue. The regional avalanche service posts daily bulletins via the Euregio portal at avalanche.report, while the resort’s freeride page consolidates local checkpoints and safety notes. In the park, call your drops, hold speed predictably, and clear landings and knuckles quickly so others can keep working. City-adjacent access means you’ll share chairs with national-team kids, students on quick sessions, and visiting crews—keep it courteous and you’ll fit right in.

Best time to go and how to plan

For cold snow and consistent surfaces, target January through early March. If you’re park-first, plan around the Golden Roofpark’s typical opening from late December and its mid-season prime when the shapers have full inventories in place. Spring can be excellent on Axamer’s solar groomers, with corn laps mid-day and chalk preserved on north-facing freeride panels higher up. Build flexibility into city stays—book train or bus arrivals that land you at first chair on calm mornings, grab peak-week lodging early, and check the mountain’s weather and lift status before you commit each day. If wind complicates plans, Innsbruck makes it easy to switch to incity laps at Nordkette Skyline Park or hop a bus to Kühtai for higher-elevation pistes within the same regional pass.

Why freeskiers care

Axamer Lizum delivers the mix that city-based skiers crave: repeatable park laps at the Golden Roofpark, consequential but manageable freeride inside the boundary, and Olympic-line fall-lines when you want speed. Add free buses from Innsbruck, a pass that links multiple local mountains, reliable operations, and a safety framework that treats freeride seriously, and you get an efficient, high-stoke target for a week of progression. For a broader Austrian plan, compare with our country overview at skipowd.tv/location/austria/ and stitch Axamer into a rail-to-ridgeline circuit that starts and ends in the city.

Brand overview and significance

Ski Addiction is a rider-owned training brand based in Whistler, British Columbia. Launched in 2012 with a simple goal—help skiers progress faster and safer—the company blends step-by-step tutorial series with purpose-built off-snow gear. In late 2017, Ski Addiction introduced trampoline-specific “Tramp Skis” and training bindings, a combo that turned backyard setups, gyms and tramp parks into year-round freeski labs. Today the brand serves park, slopestyle and all-mountain skiers who want more repetitions, better air awareness and cleaner technique before taking tricks to snow.

The brand’s significance sits in this crossover between education and equipment. Its content libraries (Tramp Series, Jib Series, trick-tip tutorials) give riders a structured progression path, while the gear—foam-safe bindings, reverse-camber tramp skis, balance bars and mats—makes that learning tangible. With distribution across North America and Europe, and an active presence on coaching channels, Ski Addiction has become a go-to name for freeskiers building fundamentals away from the chairlift. On Skipowd, you can explore their aggregated content and presence here: Ski Addiction.

Product lines and key technologies

The core lineup revolves around two ski trainers: Tramp Skis Pro and DOLLO Tramp Skis (a Henrik Harlaut collaboration). Both use a ski-like construction (poplar wood cores, laminated topsheets) tuned for tramp elasticity, with rounded edges and smooth sidewalls to protect mats and fabric. The Pro adds the latest generation training bindings with dual-buckle retention and highbacks for tip-to-tail response, while the DOLLO emphasizes accessibility and value with a compact 95 cm format and a one-year warranty. Supporting products include a Balance Bar for jib stance and edge control drills and a high-density Training Mat for safe landings and repeated takeoffs.

Reverse camber profile to flex with the trampoline and keep spins predictable.
Universal four-hole mounting interface for quick, secure binding setup.
EVA foam base and rounded geometry to be tramp-safe and home-friendly.

Ride feel: who it’s for (terrains & use-cases)

These are training tools for freeskiers of all levels—park riders dialing grabs and axis control, big-mountain skiers polishing takeoff mechanics, and all-mountain skiers seeking consistent body position and balance. On a trampoline, the short length and light swing weight translate to higher airtime and easier rotation control; the reverse camber helps emulate ollies, presses and butters you’ll later use on rails and side hits. Off the tramp, pairing the Balance Bar with the tutorials lets beginners engrain basic stance, scissoring and edge changes before sliding their first box at the hill. Intermediates use the setup to link 270s, pretzels and switch takeoffs; advanced riders use it to explore new axis (corks, bio, misty) in a low-risk environment.

Team presence, competitions, and reputation

Ski Addiction leans into credibility through coaches and collaborators who live the discipline. Tutorials frequently feature Whistler-based coaches like Dean Bercovitch and Mark Draper, while the DOLLO Tramp Skis were designed in collaboration with freeski icon Henrik Harlaut—an X Games multi-gold champion with an Olympic bronze to his name—connecting the product directly to park and big-air progression. Rising athletes such as Aidan Mulvihill (Team Canada) appear across training edits and terrain-park tours, reinforcing the brand’s role as a skills pipeline rather than just a gear catalog. The result is a reputation for practical, no-nonsense instruction backed by equipment that holds up to thousands of reps.

Geography and hubs (heritage, testing, venues)

Headquartered in Whistler-Blackcomb, Ski Addiction tests and films where park culture is woven into daily laps. The local terrain-park infrastructure—graded lines from progression features to XL jumps—provides real-world continuity between tramp practice and on-snow execution. Beyond Canada, you’ll see training clinics and content filmed at destinations like Thredbo in Australia, reflecting a global footprint supported by a “Try Our Gear” locator of partner gyms and tramp centers. For pure resort planning and travel info, start with the official resort pages for Whistler and Thredbo.

Construction, durability, and sustainability

Tramp Skis use ski-factory construction with poplar cores and sturdy topsheets to maintain a lively flex after heavy use. Bindings feature cushioned EVA bases and dual-buckle straps that lock feet without pressure points; highbacks add leverage for presses and butters. The DOLLO specs call out a 95 cm length and a rider-weight ceiling that keeps rebound predictable on consumer trampolines. While Ski Addiction doesn’t publish a formal sustainability roadmap, its training-first approach reduces trial-and-error injuries and broken edges that often come from forcing new tricks on metal and ice. Durable materials and replaceable hardware also extend service life. Warranty support and clear mounting guides further encourage maintain-and-repair over replace-and-discard.

How to choose within the lineup

If you want the most realistic ski feel and binding lockdown, pick Tramp Skis Pro. The poplar core and Gen-4 bindings deliver a firmer platform, crisp tip-to-tail response and the security advanced riders appreciate when practicing off-axis rotations. If you’re budget-conscious, new to tramp training, or outfitting a club or gym, the DOLLO Tramp Skis offer the right flex and safety geometry at a friendlier price and length that works in tighter spaces. Add the Balance Bar if rails are in your future: scissoring, counter-rotation and edge-change drills on dry land will accelerate your first slides and 270s. A Training Mat is worthwhile if you’re setting up in a garage or backyard and want repeated, cushioned takeoffs and landings.

Why riders care

Progress in freeskiing comes from quality repetitions. Ski Addiction’s value is simple: it makes those reps safer, more frequent and more precise. Tutorials structure your learning; tramp skis and bindings convert theory into muscle memory; and the gym-to-hill flow lets you bring new tricks to snow with confidence. For park riders eyeing slopestyle lines, for freeriders refining takeoff timing, or for all-mountain skiers looking to move with more balance, the system offers a faster feedback loop. Add the legitimacy of collaborators with X Games and Olympic resumes, and a home base at Whistler-Blackcomb, and it’s clear why this Whistler startup has grown into an international training reference. If you’re exploring brand ecosystems on Skipowd, start at the sponsor hub for Ski Addiction, then tap official event profiles like the X Games and the Olympics when you want athlete context behind the tricks you’re learning.

Brand overview and significance

TFE Productions is a ski-first content studio and YouTube agency that helps athletes, resorts, and snow brands turn ideas into watchable, repeatable videos. Instead of chasing one-off film premieres, TFE focuses on the systems behind growth—story ideation, filming, editing, and especially “packaging” (title, thumbnail, hook) that makes ski content discoverable. For Skipowd readers, our hub page for TFE production collects the brand’s collaborations and training-focused videos in one place.

Why it matters: ski channels live or die by consistency. TFE’s remit is to compress the learning curve for rider-led channels and resort updates, pairing on-snow literacy with platform fluency so a trick tip, park tour, or storm recap can find an audience beyond your immediate crew.

Product lines and key technologies

TFE sells services, not hardgoods, but the “product” feels concrete if you’ve ever tried to grow a ski channel. Typical building blocks include: discovery-driven story ideation; filming that respects speed, line choice, and snow texture; edit coaching or full edits to improve pacing and re-hooks; and YouTube optimization that treats thumbnails, titles, and descriptions as part of the creative process. The studio also publishes practical playbooks—e.g., a fundamentals guide for skiers on YouTube and a detailed case study on scaling a pro skier’s channel—so creators can see how packaging and storytelling translate to views over time.

On set, the tech is pragmatic rather than flashy: stable follow cams, clean audio on windy ridgelines, and lens choices that keep terrain legible for viewers. In post, retention thinking (front-loaded hooks, mid-roll re-engagement, clear payoffs) is the real “technology” that keeps a tutorial or park lap alive after the algorithm’s first push.

Ride feel: who it’s for (terrains & use-cases)

Translate “ride feel” to creator feel. If you’re an athlete or coach running a rider-first channel, TFE’s value shows up in three use-cases: (1) structured tutorials that break down park and all-mountain skills; (2) resort or park updates that viewers can rely on during storm cycles; and (3) destination stories that stitch terrain, logistics, and etiquette into a format people will actually finish. Shops, schools, and resorts can use the same toolkit for weekly conditions reports, staff tips, and event recaps that look professional without a film-tour budget.

In practice, creators start with a tight, repeatable format: a park-lap “lab,” a rails progression, or an all-mountain skills series. Episodes stack quickly when the venue is consistent and the packaging is honest about what the viewer will learn in the first minute.

Team presence, competitions, and reputation

TFE’s “team” is the client list—athletes, coaches, and brands who want videos that work on the platforms riders use most. Recent seasons included a public case study documenting how a pro skier’s YouTube channel went from struggling to consistent five-figure views per upload, built on better packaging and story craft. The studio has also supported education-first creators and brands that care about progression. Inside the ski community, the reputation is straightforward: action-sports literate filming, clear packaging, and a bias for content that helps riders get better or plan their next day on snow.

Geography and hubs (heritage, testing, venues)

TFE works where progression happens: long park seasons in Innsbruck’s city network and spring-to-deep-winter cycles in British Columbia. Expect to see projects revolve around Golden Roof Park at Axamer Lizum (official resort: Axamer Lizum), in-town laps at Nordkette Skyline Park (mountain info: Nordkette), and big, camera-friendly venues on Canada’s West Coast like Whistler-Blackcomb. That mix—high-frequency park laps, variable alpine weather, and large-scale resorts—keeps formats honest and portable between continents.

Construction, durability, and sustainability

Here, “construction” means workflow. A typical TFE build looks like this: research and ideation tied to search intent → pre-production shot lists and scripts that respect on-snow realities (wind, light, speed) → camera and audio choices that keep features legible → edits that front-load value with clear hooks → metadata and thumbnails that align with the story, not clickbait it. The durable outcome is an archive of episodes that viewers return to each season (evergreen tutorials, park labs, destination primers) rather than disposable clips.

Sustainability is indirect but real: well-planned shoots mean fewer wasted days, a leaner travel footprint, and content that earns multiple seasons of utility. For creators, that’s a smarter spend than constant reshoots chasing trend waves.

How to choose within the lineup

Creators starting from scratch. Begin with strategy and channel “construction.” Define one repeatable series, build simple branding, and publish on a predictable cadence. Let early episodes prove the format before you scale.

Active channels needing growth. Prioritize packaging (thumbnails/titles) and intros that immediately confirm the click. Add edit coaching to insert mid-roll re-hooks so retention doesn’t fall off a cliff after the first payoff.

Resorts, shops, and schools. Use a weekly template: conditions + park status + one tip from a coach or shaper. Keep the segment lengths consistent and the metadata aligned so viewers know when to check in.

Why riders care

Because useful ski media makes better skiers. TFE Productions builds the behind-the-scenes systems that turn park labs in Innsbruck, deep days in British Columbia, and training edits into content that riders can find, finish, and learn from. For a deeper look at projects and approach, see the studio site at TFE Productions and our Skipowd page for TFE production.

The Ultimate Guide to Skiing Switch (Backwards)

Athletes

Locations

Sponsors

Oscar Blyth

Axamer Lizum

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