Jumping Journal: February 02, 2010

Will there be six more weeks of winter or not?  By the forecast of that sly little groundhog there should be six more weeks of winter left here in the Upper Valley.  The sun has been shining and the snow sure hasn't been falling much this winter.  During the month of January there was really only three storm fronts that came through.  Each of the three storms seemed the linger on for quite a few days.  The New Years Day storm never seemed to go away and all it produced was flurries most of the time.  Only 1-1.5 inches during the day and another 4 inches overnight eavh night.  It stuck around three or four days before finally moving out.  Two weeks later another storm, this time on Martin Luther King Holiday.  It stuck around for two whole days before moving out.  The all day rain storm hit last Monday and lasted all day long.

 

I've been spending the past month babying my left ankle.  I guess you could more so say trying to get any kind of enthusiasm built up to jump.  After the crash on January 5th my ankle finally did swell up about 24 hours later and to this day it still has a built of swelling left.  It never has had any kind of pain but the swelling has been there the whole time.  I think the swelling has mostly been a psychological thing more than physical.  Like I said the enthusiasm to jump hasn't been there.

 

I've been out around the hills three or four days a week helping out at the Newport jump or going to high school meets or even going to the weekend competitions but I haven't been doing any jumping.  I just haven't had the motivation to even want to jump.

 

Today I saw the plan was to jump the K50 at Storrs Hill before the send off party for Nick Alexander who is leaving tomorrow to head for Vancouver to represent the U.S. in ski jumping.  I decided since I knew I was going to go up for the send off I might as well see if I couldn't manage to get the month of February off my list as well while the month is still young.

 

February 2010 marks the 150th consecutive month of ski jumping on the K25 at Storrs Hill.  As far as it's known there is no other ski jumping in the world that has ever managed to make that accomplishment.  Heck the K25 started jumping year round about the same time Nick Alexander started ski jumping.  February would also mark my 110th consecutive month.

 

I arrived at Storrs Hill a bit late due to running several errands in the process of heading up to Lebanon.  I found preparations were well underway for the send off party.  The satellite TV trucks were already there getting equipment setup to send out live feeds during their newscasts.  I walked over to the jump inn and saw a Dan take a jump.  I knew something seemed a bit strange.  I don't think I had ever seen Dan jump that far on the 50 before.  It told me one of two things...either Dan was finally starting to get the idea or the inrun was fast.  I didn't know which.

 

I suited up and headed up the hill.  I was a bit surprised to Nick Burke flagging so early in the day.  Normally he isn't around until the usual 6:30PM practice time and it was only 4:15PM.  Given his occupation I figured he would have still been at the office.

 

As I got to the top of the knoll I saw someone was up getting ready to get on the bar.  It looked like Bill.  I rode the landing hill and it felt a bit strange.  As I got back to the stairs I took a look and sure enough I noticed the toe of the right boots was trying to come up out of the binding.  I had the same thing happen to me before heading down the inrun last summer on K25.

 

As I started up the inrun the jumper yelled for the signal and than started down the inrun.  It wasn't Bill's voice.  I didn't know who this masked man was.  After I got up top Dan took his next jump and Sam was getting ready for his next jump.  I asked Sam who the other jumper was.  He said it was Walter.  Gee, as it turns out Walter ended up grabbing his first two jumping in 23 years off a K50 this afternoon.  It wasn't to be the end of the day a long shot...not yet.

 

I got the skis on and got the signal from Nick.  I started down the inrun.  I was playing it safe to put it mildly.  I just wanted a rebuilder jump after all the jumps I had had so far this winter.  I jumped at the takeoff and didn't go for the most convining jump.  It was kind of a mix between jumping and sliding off the end.  I found myself trying to back out in the air, not surprising given the first time off the jump in roughly 10 months.  Again I needed a nice, clean, safe jump...nothing more.  It seemed like a typical jump.  I didn't really pay all that much attention to how far down the hill I went but it seemed like all the rest I've had over thepast six or seven year of jumping on the 50.

 

I walked back up for the second jump.  This time I was feeling better on the inrun.  I wasn't fully tucked but I was getting down much nicer.  This time I jumped nicely at the takeoff.  I did back out slightly in the air but not as much as before.  This time as I landed I noticed I was way the heck down the hill.  I was landing around 35-37 meters.  The jump wsn't that good of a jump.  I quickly figured out the inrun had to be awful darn fast.  I knew the reason why Dan was jumping so far and it wasn't his technique had improved.

 

I walked back up for the third and what I had planned to be the final jump of the day.  I got the signal from Nick and made my way down the inrun.  I was getting set real nice in my inrun position.  I jumped at the takeoff and managed to keep the arms under better control but still had a little arm movement in the air.  I ended up a little short of the previous jump.

 

Instead of heading for the walk back up the jump inn I decided instead to ride the landing hill back to the stairs.  I was going to wait and see what Sam was going to do.  I started walking up the stairs figuring he would go for another jump.  He decided to call it quits so I was going to the last jump to myself.

 

It was the best inrun position I've had in a LONG time.  I ot nicely set.  I didn't have the upper body up slightly like I normally do on the K25 during the summer months and like I did on the previous jump.  Instead the chest was resting on the knees.  I jumped at the takeoff and was smooth and clean through the air.  The arms stayed at my sides nicely and I just rode it out until I landed.  I was still in the 36-37 meter area but it was the nicest feeling jump I've had since sometime last winter and maybe even before then.

 

I changed clothes and headed on over for the send off party.  It was good getting to see Nick again.  I saw him back in the late summer but otherwise I haven't seen him in probably a year or more.  As the send off party was winding down several kids and adults took to the K25 to do some jumping.  I had thought about joining them but I didn't.  As I was getting ready to leave I knew I had to go back over to the jump inn to pick up my jump suit.  I had forgotten to take it with me after I finished jumping.  As I walked over I saw someone go flying through the air.  I decided to investigate and find out who was jumping on the K50.  It turned out a couple of high school kids and one of the juniors was jumping.

 

I stuck around and talked with Tara and Kathleen on the coaches stand while they jumped.  As they finished up Bill came over and said to keep the lights on as Mike and Colin were coming over to ride the landing hill.  As it turns out Colin is the only jumper out of the whole clan of new jumpers that came out last summer that is still in the Upper Valley.  The rest of them head out west for the winter months.  Mike and Colin rode the landing hill and then Dan and Bill managed to talk Colin into jumping it for the first time.  I stuck around and had to watch his first jump off the 50.  Knowing how quickly he took to ski jumping I had to see his first jump.  I was quite highly impressed but not highly surprised.  He came back up and took a second jump before calling it a night.  He was getting down 30+ meters right from the very first jump.  Nice job Colin.

 

What jumping holds next who knows.  I may practice with the high school kids tomorrow night before their next to last meet of the high school season.  If not it may be a week or so before I jump again.  Like I said the lack of enthusiasm isn't giving me any kind of a push to go jump.

 

Keep the ski tips up,

Crash