Jumping Journal: February 12, 2008

A night to remember.  Definitely a night like none I've had in quite a while.

 

I arrived at the hill a little later than normal thanks to a screw up in communications.  Given everything else aside I headed on up and helped out with the lift until the racing program was finished for the day.  I had been expecting the snow to have started by the time I got around to jumping but it hadn't.  The forecast is calling for 6-10 inches of snow overnight into tomorrow morning before changing to freezing rain and rain late tomorrow morning into the afternoon.

 

I suited up and headed up the hill to join Matt and Dan as well as my fellow teammate on Team Sticky Quack Quack, LMAO!!!!!

 

I put the skis on and get lined up with the track and get the signal.  I headed down the inrun and end up noticing the same spot as last night.  It almost felt like I might have went over a bump with the left ski which was wanting to throw the ski to left as well, causing the ski to want to go out of the track.  I jumped at the takeoff and came in for what seemed like a short landing.  The jump didn't seem very good at all but walking back up Nick was saying that he thought it was my best first jump of the evening that he has ever seen me take.  I was questioning that statement BIG TIME.  I initially thought the jump only went to around 30 meters but after the second jump I'm thinking it may have been closer to 35 meters.  I may have just been downplaying the jump thanks to the inrun.

 

I made my way back up for the second jump.  This time around I managed to get much better set in the inrun, the best in close to two weeks.  I jumped without much effort at the takeoff and went down to the 35-36 meter area.  It definitely was a bit longer than the first jump but not by 5-6 meters, hence why I figure the first jump was longer than what I initially thought it was.

 

The third jump was better still.  I just wasn't putting anything into the jump.  I didn't have any kind of power at the takeoff.  The inrun was going smoothly but I was leaving all effort behind on the takeoff.

 

The fourth jump was once again better.  I was still in the same general area but everything was starting to feel like it was coming together.

 

Roughly around the fourth or fifth jump time frame I was up top putting on my skis when Miss Tip-In made her way to the top of the tressel.  I call her that since she likes to brag, like a fool, about having tipped in six times in the past year.  I took video with Matt's camera of her tipping in down in Salisbury on Sunday.

 

As she was starting to put her skis on she made the comment 'We must be on the same team'.  I kinda looked at her and than she point to her skis, err ski tips.  Just like mine her ski tips have duct tape on them.  I made the quick comment that our team name must be Team Quack Quack Sticky.  Then I quickly realized that didn't sound as good as Team Sticky Quack Quack.

 

Jump five came together the best of the evening thus far.  I had a smooth inrun position and jumped quite frankly the hardest I've jumped thus far at the takeoff.  I ended up reacting in the air and briefly unlocked my left knee and I saw the entire ski move closer to me and I knew it shouldn't be doing that.  The jump was getting much closer to the 38 meter range.

 

Jump six was BY far the nicest jump I've had thus far, PERIOD!  It may not be the longest, but given the slower conditions with the recent snowfall and new track on the inrun it was in reality the best jump ever.  I headed down the inrun and had some nice pop at the takeoff.  I ended up, not planning on it, putting in a V and I just held a real nice flight position all the way until I landed.  It was easily a 40 meter jump.  About the only thing missing would have been a telemark landing.

 

It has seemed like I have started to have ths crazy streak of jump six being the best jump of the night.  It never use to be like this but this year it is.

 

Jump seven, as to be expected, wasn't another run of the mill jump.  It ended up down around 37-38 meters once again.  Definitely it wasn't as nice as the previous two jumps.

 

I ended the night after the seventh jump.  It brought me up toe 204 jumps on the K50 so far this winter.  I only had 204 jumps off the K50 during the winter of 2006.  Gee, I guess I'll have to chase the mark of 307 jumps I took last winter.  Actually I'm hoping for a two year total of 650 jumps off the K50.

 

Keep the ski tips up,

Crash