Why riding and spinning backward are among snowboarding’s most underappreciated and valuable skills

By EDDIE PELLS In Shaun White’s early days riding snowboards, the sport was so new that his mom was still getting the hang of things after a lifetime of skiing. Among Cathy White’s rules: If Shaun, his brother and sister wanted mom to accompany them down the mountain, they had to ride “switch” — backward — so she could keep up. That, in part, is how a snowboarding champion was born. “All winter, we rode switch, all day, every day,” said White, the three-time Olympic gold medalist. “We’re falling and figuring it out. By the end of the season, I was so proficient at riding switch. It was a real gift my mom gave me.” Though...