Jumping Journal: January 22, 2007

Tired...that easily describes how I feel right now as I try to type this out, hitting more wrong keys than correct one.

 

Yesterday afternoon I took off for the Newport jump to help setup the equipment to make snow overnight last night.  I got there around 2PM and by 3:30 we were finished with setting everything up.  The plan had been to setup 2-4, take supper 4-6 and then start making snow at 6.  It ended up being cold enough when we finished setting up at 3:30 that we started the guns then instead of waiting.

 

I spent the entire night out making snow.  I came home once for about 5 minutes around 2AM but otherwise I was at the hill until around 7:45 this morning.  I did manage to grab about 2.5 hours of sleep between 4 and 6:30 while some other help had arrived but it definitely wasn't enough sleep to say the least.

 

I arrived at Storrs Hill around 3:30 this afternoon and ended up taking a short nap on the couch in the jump inn.  Still only 3 hours of sleep before jumping this evening I knew would provide for an interesting evening of jumping.

 

The first jump was quite late and I was all over the inrun.  It seemed like I was being bounced around the top half of the inrun until the last jump or two of evening.  It was the weirdest situation I have seen in a long time.  After landing I found myself being pulled forward through the transition but handled it fine.  I was WAY too far forward going through the transition.

 

The second jump was slightly better but it still wasn't anything like I was jumping a couple of weeks ago.  The distances I'm seeing right now are dismal at best.  I'm barely hitting 30 meters most jumps right now.  I know the slower conditions tonight due the natural snow that was falling was helping to slow things down somewhat but it stills seems like I should be making further distance than what I'm getting.

 

The third jump was pretty much the same as the second.  Supposedly I had some nice power at the takeoff but I was quite late so it gave no effect on the jump.

 

The fourth jump was a little better but the forward position through the transition that I had had trouble with on all the jumps so far this evening ended up biting me and sent me down to the ground.  My first crash of the winter.  Thankfully it wasn't much of a crash.

 

Jumps five through seven all got a little better then the one before it but I still wasn't jumping any kind of decent distance.  It does seem like something has changed but I can't quite put my finger on what it is that has changed since we was jumping the 50 over Christmas.  It just feels different and the lack of distance sure makes it look different as well.  I just wish I could figure out what's causing it.

 

Well, now to head back out to Newport to hopefully...finish up making snow out there.  Can't wait for the end of snow making season.  Boy, am I ever whopped right now.

 

Crash