“Freestyle is not new but it is alive and thriving in many new ways,” states the forward to the brand new Park and Pipe Instructors Guide from AASI/PSIA (American Association of Snowboard Instructors and the Professional Ski Instructors of America). “In developing this book, we ventured into new territory, much in keeping with the spirit of park and pipe. We hope concepts about riding continue to stay as vibrant and edgy as the freestyle culture itself.”

The Park and Pipe Guide (P&P Guide), two years in the making, debuted in the fall of 2005. It’s a sizable little tome, 156 pages, and was made for instructors, mountain operators and risk managers to consider as they begin or refine their freestyle programs. It delves into safety, coaching methods, freestyle foundations, and the ins and outs of jumps, rails and pipes. It’s not meant to be the definitive text on the subject, author Chris Hargrave points out, rather an introductory foray—albeit a carefully researched one—into creating a more standardized and informed freestyle culture at resorts and ski areas.

“I think it fills a real void,” AASI education director Linda Crockett says of the manual. “There was a real need to make sure people know how to move through parks, that instructors are available to take students through parks, and that the mountains are all on the same page.”

The P&P Guide points out that the information included in the book is to help instructors and ski schools develop freestyle education programs if they have not already done so, and to offer up new tips and methods to those who are more experienced.

“We wanted to create something that was very simple, basically a stage-one step, for instructors so that they had something to go by and something to follow,” says Chad Frost, a member of the task force that helped put the book together. “It’s a framework to look at things in a step-by-step way.”

The idea of creating the manual was birthed by the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), which realized there was a general dearth of resort industry knowledge about the freestyle arena. The organization went to PSIA and AASI and asked the groups to put together what would become the P&P Guide. The two groups formed the task force, conducted training sessions, and brainstormed like crazy. The results of all the work form the Guide, and it’s now available to you for $24 on the PSIA and AASI websites (www.psia.org and www.aasi.org).

One of the immediately obvious attributes of the book is that it’s directed at skiers and snowboarders, or “riders” as they are collectively referred to throughout the text. Parks these days are full of both, Crockett says, and it was a no-brainer to create a manual that addresses both factions. The Guide’s photos feature both snowboarders and skiers and each step is careful to point out the difference between the two disciplines.

Another outstanding feature of the book is that—and this is important—it’s not corny. The language used is in line with park lingo without trying too hard to be “cool” and the book acknowledges, in a very un-primitive way, that coolness is a major part of the freestyle scene.

Developing teaching methods that emphasize steady progression, communication with students and the etiquette that keeps parks in relatively safe working order are key to making freestyle riding something that everyone involved is comfortable with.

“The best way to influence change in freestyle teaching is by adopting effective tactics that are reasonably safe, and that work for you and your students,” Hargrave writes. “Furthermore, as instructors, we have a prime opportunity to help the freestyle industry and culture thrive by improving the level of education and understanding we bring to parks and pipes.”