Rails can be intimidating, no doubt about it. However icy a kicker is (and how ever badly out of control you are when you hit it) you can always cling to the idea that the stuff you’re about to slam down on is snow.

Even if you know that the fast-approaching knuckle is more likely to be solid ice than soft powder (a Jean Claude van Damme glue-and-broken-glass-covered fist rather than that of a helmeted-and-gloved amateur boxer) it often still seems somehow less intimidating than the cold hard steel of a rail, or the sharp edges of a box.

However, this need not be the case. nine times out of ten, the slams you take on rails or boxes will not be horrendous taco moments or coccyx-breaking enemas. And as a rule you tend to ride rails at slower speeds than kickers, giving you more time to get your board/arms/knees down before your spine or your face.

Plus, because your average dome has a hell of a lot more rails than kickers (including usually some beginner friendly boxes) you’re much more likely to be able to get the practise in on rail tricks.

So if you’re heading down to your local slope to get your shred legs in before the season starts, or if you find yourself venturing into the snowpark on your first day up the hill, don’t shy away from the rails and boxes. Instead, why not try one of these tricks? Who knows, you might unleash an inner Jed Anderson you never knew existed.