Riding Rough Terrain

[SkaFreak]

Today I was riding through a lot of chop and bumpy ice, which always used to make me really nervous. The landing of the one kicker they had in the park (just a couple feet worth of a lip onto a dropoff) was pretty crappy as it had not been groomed since the last storm and had countless Texans (not generally known for their skiing abilities around here) eating it on the landing. Because of the conditions, I decided to try something new. In a lot of the ski videos, you see people riding with their upper body fairly still and their legs basically acting like shocks on a car, violently bouncing around. I decided to give it a try emulating this a bit to see if it helped smooth it out at all....and it did. I can't believe how much smoother it made bombing rough terrain. Now, it only really works when you are holding a lot of speed through this kind of terrain, and it takes some *strong* thighs to get your legs back down to make a quick stop. Hopefully this will help some of you other riders. Just take care when starting out. The first times I tried it I chose lines that had no real danger if I fell and slid for thirty yards or so. Being comfortable with this technique let me actually hit the kicker without worrying, and had some of the smoothest airs that I've ever had. No pics today, but I'm going back out tomorrow so we'll see. I kinda suck royally in the park, so don't expect much.

[DaWeasle]

hey man.. when I come out in Feb we need to try to ride together.... But besides that I usually ride like that. If I don't I feel like my knees take a beating. It also make moguls smooth as ice.. I love it, and now I hate you because I really want to skiboard.... j/k.. haha. I have a month and a half then I'll be on the slopes!

[SkaFreak]

I'll see what I can do when you're around. Lift tickets are a bit expensive at Ski Apache compared to skiing elsewhere for me, but I'll try to work it in.

[jjue]

Nice pointer , Skafreak .. I think that is a very nice way of riding rough terrain ,

unfortunately , at my advanced age .. I am not really going through the stuff fast enough to really do this ... not brave enough ..

[SkaFreak]

Yeah, I'm feeling it tonight. Definitely going to have to get the muscles worked up for it, but I was just straight bombing icy crud today. Kinda sketchy feeling at first, but once I knew I had control it was a good feeling. I can already tell that this is going to be a big progression season for me.

[DaWeasle]

I'll keep you in touch. Where would you like to ride I might be able to accommodate something?

[SkaFreak]

I will be at Sipapu a lot this season, as well as Angel Fire. I will also be heading up to Taos a couple times, because despite the obscene lift ticket prices ($66) the terrain they have there is worth it. Angel Fire is a little pricey as well ($59) but I was able to get a set of 6 tickets (non-transferable though) for only $130. Angel Fire has a lot of really nice wide blues that are perfect for bombing and great park setups, both big and small. They also have a few blacks that are pretty entertaining and you can sometimes find some good powder stashes. Sipapu is the smallest, but lift tickets are only $39. They have some really nice glades that usually have pretty good powder and a couple that are fairly steep. I don't remember if you were military yourself or how you got the Oakley's, but if you are active military it will save you some cash at any of them.

[DaWeasle]

Yea I was looking online at lift tickets, and since I am in the military I get in pretty cheap..

[SkaFreak]

KK, then active military prices are: Taos $50, Angel Fire $47, Sipapu $0000000000.00

[DaWeasle]

I got the oakleys here... www.usstandardissue.com for 50bucks. You have to be military though to get some. That is pretty cool all those places are like a 20min drive from each other. I am got promising anything. But I'll try to make it up there. My family has a time share in ruidoso so that is why I go down there. I have free food and lodging..haha

[SkaFreak]

Understandable. I go to those because I do it as a day drive from Albuquerque. Get up at 6, hop in the car and drive out there. Depending on which one it is anywhere from 5 hours in the car to about 6.5 total, but I'm addicted enough to the snow to make it worthwhile.

Lets take this to pm for anything else we need so we don't kill this whole thread with a two person conversation, heh.

[DaWeasle]

So.. you only go for half day?... If I went for a half day I'd lose my mind... If you want to come to ruidoso I might have a place for you to stay for a night, and you can skiboard for a whole day.. I'll even throw in a 20 so it's "cheap"

[SkaFreak]

Nope, I go for full days. I get up absurdly early (depending on where I am going I am on the road between 5:45 and 6:30) then drive up, get there about the time lifts open, ski a full day, then at the end of the day I get back in the car and drive home. If you're willing to toss in $20 to drop the price of the Ski Apache ticket I might come down there. As for a place to stay, my college is only about 2.5 hours from Ski Apache, so we'll see how things work out as we get closer to your trip.

[DaWeasle]

hell yea dude I'll throw in a 20spot... no problem. I havn't really had the chance to ride with other skiboarders. I would really like to see other stlyes.. ect