Okay, confession time. Most normal people spend August doing normal summer things. Beach. Ice cream. Complaining that it's too hot. And for a couple of weeks, that was literally me. I was back home in Bali, surfing, eating my body weight in mango, and getting a tan line so dramatic it should have its own Instagram.
But here's the thing about being a snowboarder from a country with zero snow: winter is never where you are. You have to chase it. So I did what any reasonable Indonesian snow girl would do. I packed my wetsuit away, dug my snowboard boots out of the cupboard (sorry, Mum, about the smell), and flew Down Under to Cardrona, New Zealand.
From 30°C to minus something in one flight. My body is still filing a complaint.
Step One: Swap the Surfboard for a Snowboard
If you read my post about surfing in Kuta, Bali, you already know surfing is my reset button. It's also secretly amazing snowboard training. Balance, reading terrain (okay, water), popping up fast, and falling a LOT while pretending it was on purpose. Same skills, different temperature.
Still, there's nothing like that first chairlift ride after a few weeks of salt water. Cold air hits your face, the mountains go on forever, and your brain goes: oh right, THIS is home too.
Why Cardrona (Again!)
This is my third season training in Cardrona, and if you missed last year's adventure, you can catch up on my 2025 trip chasing winter Down Under. Cardrona is basically a freestyle playground. Rails, tubes, jump lines in every size, and a vibe that's super chill but also kind of makes you want to try things your mum would rather not watch.
It's also the perfect bridge between seasons. When the Alps are green and full of cows, the Southern Hemisphere is doing its snowy thing, so I get to keep training instead of forgetting how my legs work.
Back with Coach Mitch!
The best part of coming back? Training with Mitch again, for our second season together. Mitchell Davern is a Kiwi freestyle snowboarder who used to compete internationally (he even won the World Rookie Tour slopestyle finals back in the day, no big deal), and now he's the guy at the bottom of the rail yelling "YES! Again!" at me.
Second season together means we skip the awkward "so... what tricks can you do?" part. Mitch knows exactly how I ride, which bad habits sneak back in when I'm tired, and that I work way better with a joke than a lecture. We have a really good thing going, and honestly, a coach who believes in you before you believe in yourself is a total cheat code. (Shoutout to all my coaches, by the way. I wrote a whole love letter to them in Flying High with My Awesome Snowboard Coaches.)
Jib Life: Rails, Tubes & Boardslides
A big chunk of this trip was all about jibbing. For the non-snowboarders reading this (hi Grandma!), jibbing means riding on stuff that isn't snow. Rails, tubes, boxes, basically anything metal or plastic you can slide on without crying.
My focus was boardslides, where you slide sideways along the rail with the board across it, and spinning off the rail at the end, turning in the air as you jump off so you land clean and ride away. Sounds simple. It is not simple. The first few tries, I spun off like a confused washing machine. But Mitch broke it down step by step: shoulders, timing, where to look, and slowly it clicked.
Now I can boardslide and turn off the end with style (and only a little bit of screaming). Progress!
The Medium Line: 360s, Both Ways!
Okay, this is the part I've been DYING to tell you about. On the medium jump line, I've been landing clean 360s, both frontside AND backside. Clean as in: no butt check, no hand drag, no "I meant to sit down there." Just spin, spot the landing, stomp it, ride away like it's nothing. (It's not nothing. I screamed inside every single time.)
If you're new here: frontside means you spin facing downhill first, backside means you spin with your back to the landing for a moment, which is way scarier because you're basically trusting the universe. Getting both directions consistent is a big deal for slopestyle, so I'm super proud of this one.
After my back injury earlier this year (the whole story is in Sidelined by My Back and The Road Back: What Recovery Really Looks Like), feeling strong and confident in the air again means more to me than I can fit into one blog post.
And Then... 540s!!!
Once the 360s felt solid, Mitch gave me That Look. You know the look. The "you know what's next" look. So yep, I started throwing 540s. That's one and a half full rotations in the air, which means you land riding switch (the opposite way to normal), so your brain has to do maths mid-air.
I've landed a few now! Not every try, and some of the attempts were, let's say, creative. But landing my first ones felt AMAZING. All that time flying into airbags at Saitama Quest in Japan really paid off. Airbag first, snow second. Smart and less ouchy.
What I'm Taking Home from Cardrona
- ✅ Clean frontside and backside 360s on the medium line
- ✅ My first 540s
- ✅ Boardslides with a spin off the rail
- ✅ A Bali tan and NZ goggle marks on the same face (very fashionable, very confusing)
Most of all, I'm bringing home confidence. Every new trick is another little step on my road to becoming Indonesia's first freestyle snowboarder at the Winter Olympics. A girl from a tropical island landing 540s in New Zealand? Hopefully that inspires someone back home to try something everyone says is "impossible".
Up Next: Spain, the Gym & Then Laax
Now it's back to Spain for a few weeks of gym training to build up muscle strength for the new season. Yes, that means squats. So many squats. My legs and I are currently not on speaking terms. But stronger legs mean bigger spins and softer landings, so it's worth every wobble. Then it's back to my home mountain for the new season at the Laax Freestyle Academy, riding in my ROXY gear the whole way!
(And if you're wondering how my year started: back in May, before Japan, I was up in Finland at Camp Good Times with Nitro Snowboards. Yes, my calendar is chaos. Fun chaos.)
A massive THANK YOU to Mitch for another epic season, to everyone at Cardrona for being the friendliest mountain crew ever, and to you for reading all the way down here. You're officially part of the crew now.
Want to see the 540s in action? Follow me on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube for the clips (including the not-so-clean ones, because I'm honest like that).
See you on the mountain! 🏂💜
Zazi
PS. Follow the adventures of Zazi, Snowboard Girl & Indonesian Model, on Instagram: Click Here!
