You can use regular snowboards and skis but if you plan to do more than a single flip, you’ll need to order water ramp skis from Goode or learn How to Fiberglass Your Skis   

Summer Camps

Mogul & Freeride camp:  www.worldfreeridecamp.com

Aerial, Trampoline, Mogul & Freeride camp:  www.freestyleamerica.com

The Importance of Trampolines & Water
Following is my response to a Snowboard coach who needed to "persuade Risk Management that training off-snow on a diving board or trampoline is not only good for training, but safer than practicing tricks on-snow."

Deep powder snow landings could be as safe or even safer than any other landing. However, those conditions are very rare and most skiers and snowboarders do not understand the significant differences between snow conditions that may look the same but are extremely different. Even a familiar site can change drastically throughout the day and even in four feat of powder, there can be tree stumps or rocks hidden just a couple inches below the surface.
 
Serious injuries in sports are most often the result of athletes trying to do more than they are prepared to do. It is impossible to prepare for a big step from one skill to the next without finding smaller steps that safely bridge the gap between what would otherwise be a potentially dangerous leap of faith. In addition to the safety benefits, if an athlete is allowed to take smaller steps, each new skill is learned more precisely and becomes more natural so that it is performed instinctually. Once a skill can be performed without thinking about it, the athlete is then free to focus on adding the next skill. This process ultimately increases the quality of the most difficult skills.

The key to maintaining limitless potential is to continue to strengthen and expand one's foundation. The foundation for a new trick includes not only the quality of the most basic trick but also each level between each trick. For example, if an athlete can performing a 360 landing squarely but their 720 lands off-center, they might never fix the 720 without learning to land square on a 540 first but even going from 360 to 540 can be a big step for some. That's why landing in water, on a trampoline or in a foam pit makes it easier to progress from one trick to the next. It allows athletes to focus on the quality of the skill without worrying about which direction they end up facing. Much time, effort and frustration is wasted when the athlete's number one goal is to complete a new trick rather than focusing on performing portions of the maneuver properly.

The easiest, safest and most lasting changes are usually made in relatively small increments. If an athlete wants to learn a double flip for example, it can be learned one quarter flip at a time by first learning 1&1/4 into the pit, then 1&1/2 into water, then 1&3/4 into the pit then a double into water or a pit. Just doing the tricks is not nearly enough. The biggest mistake I see athletes and coaches make most often is  thinking that merely performing a skill and living to tell about it means that the athlete is ready to move on to the next skill.  The athlete should be good enough at each step to perform it on different apparatuses with a wide variety of speeds, height and intensity while maintaining good visual contact with the landing surface and making mid-air corrections in order to land accurately and consistently before moving on to the next step or attempting that skill on snow.

Many athletes spend there entire careers accepting that significant flaws are there to stay and they may never reach the top of the podium because those flaws either hurt scores, cause injuries or limit there potential to add new skills. Ultimately a drive to succeed is the most important factor but it cannot stand alone. It is that determination that motivates the best athletes to realistically examine every part of their performance from every angle.  Those who find the most small steps between short term goals and have the patience to master each step before moving on are usually the one's who reach the highest level.
 

Beginner Jumping on Snow

Many skiers and snowboarders learn their tricks in terrain parks where the varying lengths and steepness’ of the in-runs make hitting the jump with the right speed difficult. Many injuries are sustained when jumpers takeoff without the right speed because they often land on the flat area in front of or past the relatively short landing hills. Jumpers get hurt even when they land on the sweet spot because the landing hill is relatively flat and firmly packed.

Aerial sites can be safer for learning new tricks before taking them to terrain parks or natural hits because you know exactly where to start to get the right speed, the kicker is a more consistent shape and maintained better and the landing hill is bigger, steeper, at a consistent pitch and softer.

If you're taking air at your local ski area, make sure your landing area isn't flat or hard packed. Have someone, who can see the landing hill, tell you if it's clear or not. A steep powder landing is best. Start small and think about your safety not impressing your friends. You'll be impressive a lot sooner if you never have to take time off because of an injury.

If you don't hit the jump with the right speed, you may not make it to the landing hill or you may out jump the landing. Either way, you land on flat packed snow and it hurts. The best way to find the right speed is to follow someone with experience down and stop just before going off the jump. If they land on the landing hill, try to imitate their speed and take off. Keep track of what you're doing to reach that speed. (start point, number of turns, etc.) Watch their takeoff, if they extend, you'll need to extend, if they absorb, you'll need to absorb.

Often times, in terrain parks, kids push themselves to do more difficult tricks than they are ready to do. They don’t want to take the time to get used to the jump because it takes so long to get up the lift and back to the park to hit it again. Traditional aerial sites have a short lift to the top of the site and kids are able to take many more jumps per hour than they can in terrain parks. This encourages them to take their time and not try to do too much before they are ready. They are more willing to start small because it takes far less time to do enough jumps to work safely up to the big ones. 

In short, no man made structure on earth is cooler than an aerial site.

2002 Air Sites - MULTIPLE PHOTOS