Jumping Journal: December 11, 2005
Out of all the days of jumping in Lebanon that I have had over the past five years, this one had to be the more interesting of them. After 6 inches of fresh snow fell on Friday I got up to Lebanon this afternoon expecting to see pretty decent conditions. I figured we would probably just take a few rides down the landing hill to pack it down and then go up and start jumping. I also kinda figured that we might find some snowboard tracks going through the outrun. What I didn't expect is what I ended up with. Can you say SURPRISE!
Turned out the inrun and landing hill was just like I expected. The outrun was a totally different story. Jay, the hill manager, had did a little grooming for us, err against us. They have been making snow on the alpine slopes that sit right beside the 25 meter jump for the past week or two now. From what I was told they had made a pile of snow right next to the outrun. Jay came in sometime after the snow on Friday and push the snow onto the alpine slopes. What he forgot to do was groom out the outrun after he had made all the snowcat tracks in the outrun. Dan and I show up and find the outrun with snowcat tracks all over the place and ice chunks piled one on top of other right around the fall line.
After 30-45 minutes of doing work around the fall line to get it in decent enough shape so we thought we could jump it, we got dressed and headed on up and took three outrun a piece and managed to get the landing hill pretty well packed. It was definitely the wildest conditions that I have ever skied on the 25. I've skied conditions like that elsewhere but never in Lebanon. Granted then again, everything is still closed and the actual jumping season isn't even considered to have have started yet. The 50 meter jump is always the first hill that gets prepared/jumped and then they start to make snow on the 25. Mother Nature has just provided us with a nice way to get started early this year on jumping on snow.
The first couple of jumps were just getting used to the inrun. Yes, we just skied the track into the fresh snow on the inrun. Sure the track was 4-5 inches deep, much deeper than it normally would be, but we didn't care any. I also was using the first two runs to try to get used the dip I had noticed right below the K point on the landing hill. Problem was I only noticed while riding the landing hill and never noticed it at all while jumping. Problem solved???
By the third jump I was getting more settled in and I was thinking more about technique. It seemed this afternoon I was able to pull the technique together about the best I have so far. It sure felt like it at least. With the exception of the one or two jumps, from the third jump on I pretty much was having as solid of technique as I have ever had.
I ended the day with nine jumps and now have 30 jumps on snow so far this winter in the three days that I have been out. Amazingly, no crash so far this winter, then again I haven't jumped the 50 yet, that's when the crashes will start.
At the end of the afternoon Cannonball congratulated both Dan and I for being crazy enough to jump under those conditions. I guess maybe that's why the masters class in Lebanon is known by the nickname "Lunatic Fringe".
It sounds like next weekend will see jumping pick up big time as it's currently being planned that the 50 meter jump should see opening day next Saturday. Of course, Mother Nature will totally dictate that, but the forecast right now is for perfect snow making conditions pretty much all week long. Next weekend is looking to be awfully interesting to say the least. Maybe my luck will change this winter. I think I shall find out soon enough.
Jumping Tip: Let me clarify one thing before the jumping tip. I jump with blown out(sides blown out so their is no ankle support) boots. For me to jump and see my ski tips come up any at all on the 25 or quite often even on the 50 I have to cock my ankles big time. I did put on a decent pair of boots one day last winter and found that I didn't have to do anything to get the ski tips to come up, the support, from not having the sides blown out, brought the ski tips up on their own.
I have seen many times so far that just thinking about technique in a different fashion can have a dramatic impact on being able to get the technique down and not being able to get the technique down. For me to be able to get the ski tips to come up with my boots and for me to be able to "move out over the skis" I have to drive through the heel at the takeoff instead of jumping with the whole foot. If I think of trying to jumping with the whole foot, nothing happens...well, I do waste a jump. If I think about driving through the heel, the ski tips come up and the body goes out over the skis like it should. I end up with much better technique as a result. It might just be that thinking this way works for me while trying to think of jumping with the whole foot is complicating the procedure in my mind.
If your having problems trying to jump with the whole foot try driving through the heel instead and see if that makes a difference. By driving through the heel, I think mostly of just trying to push down with the heel at the takeoff, kinda like you are trying to push over a wall.
Each of the jumps this afternoon where I was doing it I noticed the ski tips come right up to meet me without me even having to try to cock my ankles. It almost seemed like I was jumping in a decent pair of boots instead of the boots that I had on.
Until next time
Keep the ski tips up,
Crash
Turned out the inrun and landing hill was just like I expected. The outrun was a totally different story. Jay, the hill manager, had did a little grooming for us, err against us. They have been making snow on the alpine slopes that sit right beside the 25 meter jump for the past week or two now. From what I was told they had made a pile of snow right next to the outrun. Jay came in sometime after the snow on Friday and push the snow onto the alpine slopes. What he forgot to do was groom out the outrun after he had made all the snowcat tracks in the outrun. Dan and I show up and find the outrun with snowcat tracks all over the place and ice chunks piled one on top of other right around the fall line.
After 30-45 minutes of doing work around the fall line to get it in decent enough shape so we thought we could jump it, we got dressed and headed on up and took three outrun a piece and managed to get the landing hill pretty well packed. It was definitely the wildest conditions that I have ever skied on the 25. I've skied conditions like that elsewhere but never in Lebanon. Granted then again, everything is still closed and the actual jumping season isn't even considered to have have started yet. The 50 meter jump is always the first hill that gets prepared/jumped and then they start to make snow on the 25. Mother Nature has just provided us with a nice way to get started early this year on jumping on snow.
The first couple of jumps were just getting used to the inrun. Yes, we just skied the track into the fresh snow on the inrun. Sure the track was 4-5 inches deep, much deeper than it normally would be, but we didn't care any. I also was using the first two runs to try to get used the dip I had noticed right below the K point on the landing hill. Problem was I only noticed while riding the landing hill and never noticed it at all while jumping. Problem solved???
By the third jump I was getting more settled in and I was thinking more about technique. It seemed this afternoon I was able to pull the technique together about the best I have so far. It sure felt like it at least. With the exception of the one or two jumps, from the third jump on I pretty much was having as solid of technique as I have ever had.
I ended the day with nine jumps and now have 30 jumps on snow so far this winter in the three days that I have been out. Amazingly, no crash so far this winter, then again I haven't jumped the 50 yet, that's when the crashes will start.
At the end of the afternoon Cannonball congratulated both Dan and I for being crazy enough to jump under those conditions. I guess maybe that's why the masters class in Lebanon is known by the nickname "Lunatic Fringe".
It sounds like next weekend will see jumping pick up big time as it's currently being planned that the 50 meter jump should see opening day next Saturday. Of course, Mother Nature will totally dictate that, but the forecast right now is for perfect snow making conditions pretty much all week long. Next weekend is looking to be awfully interesting to say the least. Maybe my luck will change this winter. I think I shall find out soon enough.
Jumping Tip: Let me clarify one thing before the jumping tip. I jump with blown out(sides blown out so their is no ankle support) boots. For me to jump and see my ski tips come up any at all on the 25 or quite often even on the 50 I have to cock my ankles big time. I did put on a decent pair of boots one day last winter and found that I didn't have to do anything to get the ski tips to come up, the support, from not having the sides blown out, brought the ski tips up on their own.
I have seen many times so far that just thinking about technique in a different fashion can have a dramatic impact on being able to get the technique down and not being able to get the technique down. For me to be able to get the ski tips to come up with my boots and for me to be able to "move out over the skis" I have to drive through the heel at the takeoff instead of jumping with the whole foot. If I think of trying to jumping with the whole foot, nothing happens...well, I do waste a jump. If I think about driving through the heel, the ski tips come up and the body goes out over the skis like it should. I end up with much better technique as a result. It might just be that thinking this way works for me while trying to think of jumping with the whole foot is complicating the procedure in my mind.
If your having problems trying to jump with the whole foot try driving through the heel instead and see if that makes a difference. By driving through the heel, I think mostly of just trying to push down with the heel at the takeoff, kinda like you are trying to push over a wall.
Each of the jumps this afternoon where I was doing it I noticed the ski tips come right up to meet me without me even having to try to cock my ankles. It almost seemed like I was jumping in a decent pair of boots instead of the boots that I had on.
Until next time
Keep the ski tips up,
Crash
posted by Ryan Crawford at 11:15 PM
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