Freestylers strive for Hart Attacks in midair

With moves named the Cliffhanger, the Hart Attack and the Superman Seat Grab, freestyle snocross jumpers are bound to get a few bumps and bruises.

Jason Semler, an 18-year-old Valley resident who signed a professional contract recently, said he has about 30 tricks in his aerial arsenal, but finding time to do them while in the air is the hard part.

"You've got two seconds to poke out your tricks," Semler said. "Sometimes, guys try to get two tricks out of a jump, too."

Semler said due to his high-flying profession, his mother hasn't seen but one of his jumps.

"My dad is really into it, but my mom is scared of it I think," Semler said. "She has only watched me jump one time. I jumped 150 feet, and I could hear her screaming the whole time through my helmet and the noise of the snowmachine and everything."

That was last April at an event at Alyeska. Since, Semler has signed a pro contract with Team BRAAAP Pack, and now he takes his stunts to arenas around the country.

Being a freestyle snocross rider requires Semler to be part acrobat, part rider. On a Hart Attack, for instance, he'll jump hundreds of feet and while in the air, be totally perpendicular to the ground, with one hand on the seat, the other on the handlebars and his feet pointing toward the heavens. On a Cliffhanger, Semler will let go of the handlebars completely, while his feet come up under the handlebars, holding him on the snowmachine while he tries to extend his legs as much as possible.

"All the limits I ever thought there were have been broken," Semler said. "The only thing you are limited by now is the time you are in the air."

A perfect example is one of Team BRAAAP Pack's latest attempts -- a complete backflip. That's the biggest envelope-pushing trip on the International Freestyle Snocross Association circuit.