Jumping Journal: August 03, 2009

The nicest day of the year.

 

It doesn't get much more summer like...at least not in this part of the country.  After more rain and humid weather last week, some of it quite opressive today turned around very nicely and had to be one of, if not, the best day of the year so far.  The humidity was low the temperatures were in the lower 80s and the sun was shining brightly with just the slightest of wind blowing.  You couldn't ask for anything more...well, maybe a few more days like this before winter gets here.  It sounds like Augst must be coming quick as the low temperatures are suppose to drop back into the upper 40s by the end of the week.  I saw some Canadian geese today and I realize that is another sign that fall is coming quickly.  DRATS!

 

I arrived at the hill this evening to find some of the outing club board members having a committee meeting but I didn't see anyone else.  I saw several vehicles but no one was around.  I noticed when I got in the right position that the door on the jump inn was open so I figured they must be over there.

 

A few minutes later I saw Cannonball walking back to toward the lodge with a pair of skis over his shoulder.  As he set the skis down I asked him if he was planning on jumping tonight and he said they were for an old timer that is appearing might be making a comeback.  Right behind him was Dan carrying a pair of skis that he wasn't planning on using and then a minute or two later came the old timer with his daughter and a friend from California.

 

I walked into the lodge and changed clothes and came back out to find both Bill's getting ready to jump.  For the old timer he was just planning on riding the landing hill to get use to having jump skis on his feet for the first time since around 1981.  He said he has only jumped five or six times since the mid 1970s and the last time would have been in the early 1980s.  I just hope we can get him to continue to come out and take up ski jumping once again.

 

I grabbed the skis and headed up the hill with both Bill's, one high schooler and one junior jumper.  After watching the newbies ride the landing hill I walked up the jump and soaped up the skis.  I got the signal from Cannonball and had a pretty decent first jump.  I wasn't quite use to going that far on the first jump of the evening.  I haven't used soap for the first jump in about a month or so.  I rode through the sawdust and came to a stop much further out the outrun then I have been.  I still haven't figured out why the difference was present tonight.  All season long I have been coming to stop much sooner than I did on any jump tonight.

 

Before the second jump I noticed that Tara had showed up and was sporting her new look, crutches.  I guess in the past week or so two jumpers have taken nice crashes over in Lake Placid.  Tara ended up breaking her knee and had one massively swollen knee to show off tonight.  After I took my second jump I had the opportunity to see one of the most inflammed body part I think I have ever seen.  She said it doesn't hurt but I don't know how it can't given how much it is swollen.

 

Jump three was bit timid since I was having problems with one of the cords on my bindings.  I managed to get the cords repositioned/retied before I took the fourth jump and that helped to make things feel a bit more comfy.  I was still jumping around 15-16 meters on each jump and each jump seemed like I was making further into the outrun than I normally would.

 

By the fifth jump I was also starting to notice I was getting myself turned a bit more going down the landing hill so I was staying more centered on the landing hill instead of heading off to the right hand side like I have been doing all season long.

 

On the sixth and final jump of the evening I decided to keep the head/eyes up nicely in the air and found myself getting even further to the left going through the outrun.  It seemed like it was probably the best jump of the season so far even though I think their have been other jumps that were better.  The fact of keeping the head up helped to make it seem like it was better than any of the other jumps I have taken.

 

In all is was one of the nicest jump session I've had all season.  I hope there are many more like it between now and winter.  Time shall tell.

 

Crash