Each time you get off the lift you see the same sign, “Terrain Park”, like a beacon beckoning you to get gnarly…
This time you give in. Instead of the usual cruiser run, you strap in your back foot, give your snowboard a few hops and glide towards another attempt to slay jumps, rails, boxes or whatever else your local park has in store.
When it’s time to start upping the ante, a little bit of patience and common sense can go a long way in leading to a progressive and injury free season in the terrain park.
Warm Up
Take a lap; take ten laps, why not? Ride switch, do some ollies, try some flatground tricks. Give your body a chance to realize that it's riding before you huck it off booters, it'll thank you.
Scope it first
Even if its a park you hit every day, snow conditions change daily. Check all the features. Cruise past jibs and take a look at the ramps and landings; do some speed runs up to any bigger jumps and get a feel for how the snow is moving that day, the speed you'll need clear, and feel out the angle of the landing.
Start Stock
New tricks can wait until you know how everything hits. For the first few runs you want to do the tricks you know you can land first. This is where you dial everything in; work out the kinks as it were. Clear all of your jumps and slide all your features to the end so you can try some new tricks without any surprises.
New Trick, Old Feature
You are in the park to learn tricks, but remember to pick a feature appropriate for learning a trick on. Most riders didn’t learn how to 360 off the sixty-foot jumps, and it’s a safe bet that you shouldn’t either. The opposite goes for trying new features; always use your stock “I can land this 10 out of 10 times” trick for first hits.
Know When to Back Off
Instincts are a really big part of the park game. Know your limits and recognize when they are being pushed too far. Nobody gets better at snowboarding laying on their couch injured, so try to get all gung-ho Joe out there. Of course you can’t get better if you chicken out all the time either; here is an entire post that covers what fears to heed and what fears to overcome.
Safety First
We’ve all heard this cliché phrase used thousands of time, either in the schoolyard or the workplace, but who would have thought it applied to snowboarding too? Be aware of other riders. It’s your responsibility to make sure features are clear before you hit them; call your drops and use signals to communicate with others. Respect gets respect, and being conscious of yours and others safety is all part of enhancing your own progression.
Showing posts with label Safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Safety. Show all posts
Bear Mountain, Is It Time for Change?
It's been almost 60 years since Snow Summit paved it first trails. In that time the resort has seen its share of difficulties; from an endless struggle against sparse precipitation to holding onto and building on an already small customer base as resorts like Mountain High entered the competitive ring, Snow Summit and Big Bear Mountain Resorts have always managed to serve Southern California the best riding conditions the area has to offer.
In the 1990s, Snow Summit recognized snowboarding as their most promising investment and the company began putting in hours to innovate and pave the way for terrain parks as we know them today.
It worked!
Bear Mountain has built its reputation on its parks, enticing riders from some of the snowiest areas in the world to come to sunny, dry Southern California. They are the only all-mountain terrain park, meaning from the tippie top to the very bottom you can shred everything from jumps, to rails, to pipes in one smooth run.
And the park sure has gotten busy! Everyone wants to get out there and start doing those sick tricks they see in movies and magazines, and Bear has always prided itself on having something in the park for everyone. So now there is a new problem:
If you've ever had the opportunity, you know how fun it can be to flow through Bear's park--and also how dangerous. Not dangerous as in, "snowboarding is inherently dangerous", though.
As more and more unskilled--or at least uneducated--riders make their way into the park the dangers of snowboarding at Bear Mountain have escalated to new heights
It definitely isn't a bad thing to encourage progression, but nowadays a lap at Bear or Snow Summit is almost guaranteed to include riders climbing all over jumps, weaving in and out of rails like it was a slalom course, or sneaking up to rest on landings (perhaps the most dangerous thing you can do in a park).
The other day I was forced to pull out of a kicker line when a skier and his son parked themselves right behind the lip. Where they were, the ramp hid them almost completely. I knew there were riders lined up behind me and the situation was set up to turn fatal, so I approached the dad to get him off the lip.
"Hey man, what are you doing? People come flying off these things, you can't just stop on the landing like that." I explained.
"Fuck you! I can stop wherever the fuck I want!" was his reply.
I absolutely love Bear Mountain and Snow Summit. Nothing beats the feeling of a clean lap through their parks, hitting feature, after feature, after feature, after feature. That's why I hate having to say this, but things are simply getting too dangerous, and I think it might be time for a change.
Whether that change comes in a more structured park layout or a serious campaign to enlighten their customers about park safety and etiquette, right now we have a company with an all-mountain terrain park telling everyone to come ride it but not how to do so safely.
Bear Mountain, I sincerely hope you will make park safety your biggest focus going into 2010/2011.
In the 1990s, Snow Summit recognized snowboarding as their most promising investment and the company began putting in hours to innovate and pave the way for terrain parks as we know them today.
It worked!
Bear Mountain has built its reputation on its parks, enticing riders from some of the snowiest areas in the world to come to sunny, dry Southern California. They are the only all-mountain terrain park, meaning from the tippie top to the very bottom you can shred everything from jumps, to rails, to pipes in one smooth run.
And the park sure has gotten busy! Everyone wants to get out there and start doing those sick tricks they see in movies and magazines, and Bear has always prided itself on having something in the park for everyone. So now there is a new problem:
If you've ever had the opportunity, you know how fun it can be to flow through Bear's park--and also how dangerous. Not dangerous as in, "snowboarding is inherently dangerous", though.
As more and more unskilled--or at least uneducated--riders make their way into the park the dangers of snowboarding at Bear Mountain have escalated to new heights
It definitely isn't a bad thing to encourage progression, but nowadays a lap at Bear or Snow Summit is almost guaranteed to include riders climbing all over jumps, weaving in and out of rails like it was a slalom course, or sneaking up to rest on landings (perhaps the most dangerous thing you can do in a park).
The other day I was forced to pull out of a kicker line when a skier and his son parked themselves right behind the lip. Where they were, the ramp hid them almost completely. I knew there were riders lined up behind me and the situation was set up to turn fatal, so I approached the dad to get him off the lip.
"Hey man, what are you doing? People come flying off these things, you can't just stop on the landing like that." I explained.
"Fuck you! I can stop wherever the fuck I want!" was his reply.
I absolutely love Bear Mountain and Snow Summit. Nothing beats the feeling of a clean lap through their parks, hitting feature, after feature, after feature, after feature. That's why I hate having to say this, but things are simply getting too dangerous, and I think it might be time for a change.
Whether that change comes in a more structured park layout or a serious campaign to enlighten their customers about park safety and etiquette, right now we have a company with an all-mountain terrain park telling everyone to come ride it but not how to do so safely.
Bear Mountain, I sincerely hope you will make park safety your biggest focus going into 2010/2011.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
