Ski/Snowboard talk/pics/whatever thread

[DcifrThs]

Originally Posted by mouthtoilet

poc gear while looking super gay is also so overpriced too, that helmet is like $350 and it doesnt even have built-in headphones

wowwww. my helmet freaking rocks and it was $80 and has built in headphones (but personally i dont use them. i think it's dangerous)

[jpindacasa]

Originally Posted by DonkSlayer

I didn't read through this thread so forgive me if this has already been discussed. I'm going to be boarding on an artificial surface this weekend, where most of the slope is rather steep. I had a not-terribly-sober conversation with a friend from college like 2 years ago that I SHOULDN'T get my board sharpened prior to boarding on an artificial surface. Does that sound right? On a scale of 1-10 for talent/ability I'm probably a 4 at this point.

man made snow? yes sharpen your edges

if your talking about the artificial snow turf, I have no idea. probably doesn't matter.

I'm curious where your going though, when I was in elementary school we took a field trip to the children's museum, we got to try skiing for the first time on that artificial snow turf stuff, just on a tiny little hill.

[LolDonkamentz]

Originally Posted by DcifrThs

wowwww. my helmet freaking rocks and it was $80 and has built in headphones (but personally i dont use them. i think it's dangerous)

I think it can be dangerous when on the piste, off piste I think its ok. Also, if I get buried, I at least want a good playlist on while I wait for someone to dig me out....

[brutti]

Originally Posted by mouthtoilet

poc gear while looking super gay is also so overpriced too, that helmet is like $350 and it doesnt even have built-in headphones

I've never listened to music while skiing.

1) Usually skiing fast with friends

2) Crowded slopes can be dangerous

To be honest I'd rather try to avoid visitting the hospital again. I've had a few concussions and 3-4 which has been major. I truly want to avoid taking more damage to my head otherwise I'll end up as Cassuis Clay.

[DcifrThs]

honestly i'm totally music free. even off piste i wouldn't, i want to know if i hear something worrisome from the trail (somebody yelling at me to watch out, or being courteous informing me of a rock or something). also, i really enjoy the sounds of skiing. it's a natural high anyways. it's not like running or other exercise where you want to tune lots out (no pun intended).

question i come to you all for: i'd like to learn how to do a 360/helicopter. i've watched some training vids and examples but obv that wont help.

info: i'll be trying this out west next week (YAYYYY). i can currently safely and consistently do the 90degree turn of skis while torso is forward (fakie? twisty? no idea what this is) and i can comfortably get about 3-5 feet of air when i jump.

1. how much air do i need to safely complete this trick?
2. how risky is it assuming i'll be doing this at the end of a mogul run into powder or on a trail, again, with powder or at least soft snow as the landing (not on one of those man made jumps/turrain parks)? i DO NOT WANT TO RISK getting injured if the risk is 'high' or 'medium' as i love skiing too much. it's just not worth it
3. what should i keep in mind. i've had people explain that i should twist my torso before the jump, keep my weight forward, and importantly to spot my landing as i turn the 180 and then bring my head back around so it's facing the same direction as my tips.

thoughts/help here appreciated

[mouthtoilet]

Originally Posted by brutti

I've never listened to music while skiing.

1) Usually skiing fast with friends

2) Crowded slopes can be dangerous

To be honest I'd rather try to avoid visitting the hospital again. I've had a few concussions and 3-4 which has been major. I truly want to avoid taking more damage to my head otherwise I'll end up as Cassuis Clay.

i agree listening to music while riding is dangerous but i find riding lifts/gondolas boring without it and most helmets have a mute button which you press when you get off the lift.

anyway, just giving you **** about the helmet, if i could afford to blow that much on a helmet i would, but i cant justify it especially when you have to throw it out if u take a knock on it.

[Skleice]

Listening to tunes is the ****. Just keep it low and u still hear what's going on around you while enjoying some sick beats. I actually think I ride better with tunes cuz it relaxes me.

[edavis09]

Originally Posted by DcifrThs

question i come to you all for: i'd like to learn how to do a 360/helicopter.

This could be good, please get video of any/all attempts.

Anyway, try doing standing 360s with all of your gear on, sans skis. If you can confidently and comfortably do this, you may just have the skills to pull off this daunting freestyle maneuver. Next, you will have to find a suitable jump and corresponding speed. Do straight airs/spread eagles/whatever funny ski trick you want until you feel comfortable with the jump and landing. Make sure the jump has ample landing space, especially towards the direction that you will spin. Good luck, get those gnar points brah.

Originally Posted by Skleice

Listening to tunes is the ****. Just keep it low and u still hear what's going on around you while enjoying some sick beats. I actually think I ride better with tunes cuz it relaxes me.

+1

Tunes make riding even more enjoyable for me. Relaxing during the late day cruisers, or to get the adrenaline going for those bigger lines/jumps etc...


In regards to the ski tracks... I am still skeptical about the accuracy when reports come in of novice boarders hitting the high 40's, although it's kind of hard to really refute the data if I don't have any other sources to compare speeds (of my own).

Here's my results from last Saturday, they seem pretty accurate although I did have 25,517 total vertical feet traveled - according to "epic mix" b/c I didn't turn on the ski tracks until my 3rd run or so. I'm not sure if I actually went any faster than my previous high (supposedly 49.1 mph), but the app may have had better coverage on the south-facing slope on my run of 57 mph (china bowl @ Vail).

[DcifrThs]

edavis,

good stuff. yea it's kinda tough to say how accurate skitracks is when my friend registers 46mph or whatever and she's an "ok black diamond" snow boarder. then at the same time i'm going faster than i can remember and registering 50.8mph when last year i got 58mph going slower (i think) than i did this year.

re: the 360, i can definitely do the standing 360 w/ my gear on. that's not a problem. i'm super comfy in my boots and can do standing 540s w/o my gear comfortably. unlikely i'll get vids of this as i'm still not sure it's worth the injury risk since i love this sport so much...i'd KILL myself if i hurt myself doing something like this. i can do spread eagles/fakies easily w/ full extension and clean landings. not sure how much harder the 360 is though.

hey...aren't you rob gaffney? i can't BELIEVE you're a pro. i'm a WAY better skier than you :-)

im going to deer valley this coming friday. not many gnar points to acquire in utah i don't think (not worth getting a pass pulled for naked skiing lol) but if anybody knows of good stuff to do there, lemme know.

[swede554]

re: 360's. This is how I learned it by having a pretty sick park rider give me some pointers in exchange for a beer.

Let's say your going to do it by rotating counterclockwise (to the left). As you're approaching the lip of the jump, I mean basically as you're about to get airborn, I find it helpful to kind of "throw" the right shoulder across your body. This "throwing" motion helps getting your upper body rotating and your legs/skis will follow. This guy does a pretty good job explaining it starting around the 1min mark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7sffQ3qvpo

Like he says, you can overdo it and it won't look that good, but when you first try it I find that exaggerating the motion makes it easier until you get a better feel for it.

You don't actually need that much air to do a full rotation. It can be done with as small as a 2-3 foot jump as long as you rotate fast enough.

Once you're airborn as your head is rotating it's easy to get a little spooked. Try and spot the landing, but don't rush it, you have to allow it to happen naturally. That's something I didn't get at first. I would get messed up because I was uncomfortable losing sight of my landing while in the air, but you just have to accept that there's a short period of "bluriness" so to speak.

Ok gonna attempt some super sick paint skills here. This trick/shortcut is really helpful to learn a 360.

"jump 1" is just a straightforward 360. Straight takeoff-->air/360-->land.

"jump 2" is kind of the same thing but you're cheating alil bit. You have to find a good spot that will have a correctly angled embankment. You ski up to it from the side and as you approach the take-off kind of turn up into the hill. As you get airborn you've already completed 90 degrees of the 360 on the snow so all that's left is the final 270. easy peasy. Hope that explanation made some sense.

[DcifrThs]

swede,

that is an incredible post. really A+.

this doesn't seem nearly as risky as i was thinking. do you agree?

i've read this a few times already and will do so more as the ski trip gets closer. looks like i'll be trying this :-)

THANK YOU

[jpindacasa]

Originally Posted by DcifrThs

swede,

this doesn't seem nearly as risky as i was thinking. do you agree?

have confidence in yourself bro, I don't ski, but in boarding, bmx, skateboarding and all the other **** I've ever tried to learn stuff at. You have to have positive thoughts. If you think you are going to crash before you even try, odds are your going to get owned. that's my experience.

on that jump #2 example, I think you can find a lot of spots to spin a 270 like that on the side of catwalks, once you get the feel for that an extra 90 degrees wont be that hard.

Better yet, go to the back country, build a kicker, and do this into powder. that **** is so much fun

[DcifrThs]

Originally Posted by jpindacasa

have confidence in yourself bro, I don't ski, but in boarding, bmx, skateboarding and all the other **** I've ever tried to learn stuff at. You have to have positive thoughts. If you think you are going to crash before you even try, odds are your going to get owned. that's my experience.

on that jump #2 example, I think you can find a lot of spots to spin a 270 like that on the side of catwalks, once you get the feel for that an extra 90 degrees wont be that hard.

Better yet, go to the back country, build a kicker, and do this into powder. that **** is so much fun

tyty.

i will say that once i commit to something i'm 100% at it with skiing. when i know i want to do a 'speed' run, i visualize the fun im about to have and know i'm going to tear the **** out of the run and picture it happening, the turns, the points in the run where i can gain the most speed etc. i take 3 big deep breaths in and out and then go. it's now kinda like a ritual/habit. now ofc i dont do that for every run but it's to be safe...almost superstitious for when i'm aiming to go >50+mph (almost every run i go 35-45mph unless it's a mogul run and i dont do the breathing thing before those).

same reason why i always have my alta sticker on my right ski and i always have the slightly looser pole grip on my left hand. it's a comfort thing that makes me feel supremely confident. like "i've done this a million times before, get ready to enjoy the **** outta this"

my question above is more related to BEFORE i commit to doing this. i love this sport. and i wouldn't dare try anything where there's a chance i can get injured. given swede's description, and the realistic 3-4 feet of air i'll need, this seems like a gimme and i can't wait to try it. i just want to be sure there isn't a risk i'm missing here?

[stinkypete]

dcfrths,

please stop calling whatever twisterish trick it is that you do "fakies". fakie is riding backwards. that's all it is.

[DcifrThs]

Originally Posted by stinkypete

dcfrths,

please stop calling whatever twisterish trick it is that you do "fakies". fakie is riding backwards. that's all it is.

after a decent amt of googling, i have no idea what this is called. i guess "twisty"? it's when you jump and keep your torso facing forward while your skis go 90degrees to the side and then you bring them back tips facing forward again. no idea what to call it.