Jumping Journal: March 13, 2009

Not a chance...did I say that??? Couldn't of.  No way.  I wouldn't ever say that.

 

Last Sunday...same as Saturday warm and for the most part sunny.  It was quite obvious the damage was going to be incredible to the jumps.  Two days in a row of warm sunny conditions wasn't going to do the jumps any kind of good at all.  Two days of low to mid 50 degree weather wasn't going to keep jumps jumping when the K25 is all natural snow on the inrun and landing hill.

 

Monday saw a high of 43 and a low around 30 with 4.25 inches of snow.  Yes, wet, heavy, sticky, sloppy kind of snow.  I haven't seen snow like this in a LONG time.  Monday night a group of us got together to work on the K50 to see if we could get it in shape to jump Tuesday evening.  Trying to cut a track on the inrun was a pure joke.  The snow kept sticking to the track cutter blades and you just fought yourself more than making headway.

 

After getting a halfways decent track cut we decided to let the inrun setup over night and jump on Tuesday evening.  Tuesday saw a high of 41 and low of 21.  It didn't really cool off until late evening.  I went up to the hill thinking jumping might be possible but I was mostly going up to try to drop off the computer and make sure everything was setup for Mud Meet on Saturday.  Some of the kids jumped the K25 after waiting around a while for it cool down so conditions could stabilize and freeze back up.  Tom, Dan and Sam jumped on the K50 and I just about joined them.  Heck I had put on my jump suit and was putting on my boots when Dan opened the door of the jump inn to head up the hill and yelled down to Tom and Tom said he stuck in a couple of places.  My mind started to change.  I finished putting on my boots and watched Tom take his next jump.  I had pretty much already called it off.  When he landed aroudn 25-26 meters and he would normally jump at least 10 meters further, I said this isn't worth it.  I changed back into my regular clothes and left.

 

Wednesday saw freezing rain and rain with a high of 51 and a low of 36.  I knew the K50 was done for the winter.  Not a chance it would be jumped again without a decent snow storm coming through.

 

Thursday turned colder with a high of 34 and a lo around 22.  I went up the hill figuring I would help get some work done on the K25 to get it ready for Mud Meet.  I knew it was going to take work on the landing hill at least.  I figured since they covered the K25 inrun and the top of the landing hill with plastic before the rain hit on Wednesday the inrun should have been pretty decent and part of the landing hill should have held up.

 

The inrun wasn't too bad other than up in the house where it was down to plastic.  Pretty much the entire inrun still had usable snow depth on it.  The landing hill was going to take some work.  I helped Esky roll up and put the plastic away while Tom and Sam were being crazy jumpers over working on the K50 inrun.  After we finished up on the K25, most of the work was going to be saved for Friday evening instead, I went over to see how things were going on the K50.  On the walk over my guess was simple...not a chance of saving it.

 

I knew their would be enough snow but trying to do anything with it thanks to freezing rain/rain/freezing temperatures was going to make it near impossible to do anything.  The worse matter was that by the time the jump off was scheduled to happend on Saturday the temperature was already forecast to be in the low to mid 40s.  Not looking good.

 

Tom and Sam was right up around the bar starts working on trying to fill in the top of the jump.  I helped out a little bit before going back down and getting into a conversation with a former ski jumper who is looking at making a comeback thanks to seeing other guys his own age out here jumping.  We both thought Tom and Sam was insane.  We talked awhile before we both headed home.  After eating supper and working some more on the scoring program for Mud Meet I got an email from Tom...it came about 11PM, saying they had just finished up prepping the inrun and was wanting to get back over there Friday afternoon to cut a track and try to jump Friday evening.  I was shocked!  I couldn't even respond right back to him.  I realize Tom is a perfectionist, but there was no way he could have ever gotten that inrun prepped for a track to be cut today.  When I left around 7:30PM or so Thursday evening they were still around the bottom of the bar starts.  It took them about an hour to make it 20 feet down the inrun.  No way they could have made it rest of the way down in another 3 hours.

 

I left around 2:30PM for Storrs Hill this afternoon.  Figuring I would be spending most of the rest of the day there helping get the jump/s ready for the meet tomorrow.  I arrived to find Tom and Sam walking over toward the jump inn.  I talked with Cannonball and he made it sound like the initial focus was going to be trying to get the track cut on the K50.  I was surprised until I got over there and saw Tom and Sam did one hell of a fantastic job prepping the hill last night.

 

We set out and got everything setup and cut a new track on the inrun.  It was looking super by the time we finished cutting the track.  I next went over and started helping out to snow the top of the inrun.  Polish snow storms, you gotta love'em.  By this time it was getting close to 6PM, time for the ski hill to open up and Jay, who typically runs the hill on Friday evenings still had grooming work to do so he ask if one of us guys would go over and run the lift for him.  I...shall you say...got the job.  I headed over and spent the next 1-1.5 hours running the lift.  Tom and Sam had comeback from supper and Jay finished up grooming the bottom part of the landing hill and outrun on the K25 and all the landing hill and outrun on the K50 and came back to relieve me telling me Cannonball said it was time for get over to the K50 and jump.  I knew I had one thing to do first...warm up.  I was freezing my butt off.  I wasn't dressed to be standing around in one place for 1.5 hours.  I was dressed to be working for 1.5 hours.  I went into lodge for a few minutes and warmed up enough to walk over to the jump inn.  I warmed up nicely over there and suited up.  Tom, Sam and Dan were already out jumping.

 

I walked up the hill and it was looking great, given the conditions of the past week or two, it was looking SUPER.  Tom and Sam did one sweet job on getting it back into shape.  I walked up the inrun and after Tom took his jump I moved the bar and decided to take the first jump from the top bar instead of going from the house on the first jump.  I got the signal and headed down the inrun.  I caught myself early on trying to look at the bottom of the inrun like I did last Saturday.  I shifted my focus back to where it rightfully should be.  I jumped, I think late, at the takeoff and didn't go very far.  The takeoff seemed weird.  I think it was the fact the snow looked more like ice at the takeoff, colorwise.  It seemed like their was dip right at the takeoff...like I said I think it was visual perception because of the darker colored ice on the right ski right at the takeoff.  I landed and rode the landing hill into the outrun.  Everything went smooth.  That's what I wanted more than anything else.

 

I walked up for the second jump.  After Tom went I removed the bar and put on my skis in house.  I got the signal and started down the inrun.  I jumped late again at the takeoff.  I was still being 'thrown' by the ice at the takeoff.  It was another short jump but it was a bit longer than the one before it.

 

The third jump was further yet and I didn't really notice the ice effect anymore the rest of the evening.  I knew I was still jumping late so I decided to work on the timing on the next and final two jumps of the evening.  Jump four was better yet.  I was feeling a bit more comforatble/confident...something that has seemed to be missing this winter.  The timing was better but could still be better.

 

The fifth and final jump of the evening was I believe the latest I've had. It had to be 8:45PM when I took the final jump of the evening.  I don't think I have ever jumped this late into the evening before.  I had the best timing of the night and the best jump of the night.  I was finally get down around below 30 meters again.  The rest of the night I was at or above 30 meters.  Definitely a short, distance-wise, jump session for me.

 

Dan and I finished off the night by spending the next 45 minutes to an hour helping Cannonball snow the landing hill on the K25.  With a little bit of raking working as it warms up tomorrow morning it should be real nice for the jumping portion of the ski meister event tomorrow at Storrs Hill.

 

Can't wait...I've always enjoyed Mud Meet, and hopefully given everything involved...I'm looking forward to the hoop of fire once again.  I'm still untouched on that feat.  Every time it has been lit and someone has jumped it...I've also jumped it.  Tomorrow should be no different.

 

Ski you there,

Crash