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World Record Cliff Drops

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InfernoHits
Posts: 4755 - Karma: 192
This might be my complete and total ignorance towards the big mountain scene since I rarely get to ski it. But is a world record cliff drop THAT impressive. To me it doens't look like it takes skill looks like it just takes a ton of balls. I mean from waht I can see they fall 200 ft with dins at 14 land on their backs and just stand up and ski away. Doesn't seem that great, but please tell me if I am wrong here because I really don't know.
Mar 29 2006 7:08PM
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Billiards.
Posts: 6853 - Karma: 816
Yeah all it takes is balls. Theres no way anyones gonna actually land a 244 footer.I bunnie hill skier could do it. Its just like you push off and go. I just like to watch big lines with spin variations off of spines and small drops. That shit is sooo fun to watch.
Mar 29 2006 7:12PM
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Shadows
Posts: 8068 - Karma: 43
it does take balls, but you also got to be physically fit and flexible. so its pretty much the same as park skiing.
Mar 29 2006 7:14PM
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shagalabagala
Posts: 2101 - Karma: 10
you don't LAND anything that big, your knees would shoot into your face, and that'd suck
you are forced to land on your backish butt
Mar 29 2006 7:15PM
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llyon
Posts: 153 - Karma: 18
It also takes incredible air balance to not end up upside down after falling for 4.5 seconds. But true, no real skiing ability.
Mar 29 2006 7:15PM
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InfernoHits
Posts: 4755 - Karma: 192
see but I don't think it is like park skiing because it seems park skiing takes a lot more skill than free falling. I dunno maybe I have to try it first
Mar 29 2006 7:16PM
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Holte
Posts: 10740 - Karma: 7,816
well, i think it's a little bit more than just that. It's like saying anybody could hit Chad's, all it takes is balls. But I agree, it sure seems like cheating to land on your back and say you landed it.
Mar 29 2006 7:16PM
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Ice-Is-Scary
Posts: 0 - Karma: 87
yeah it takes a ton of balls, people who have never dropped a cliff in their life don't respect the amount of courage/stupidity it takes to "just push off". But whatever park skiing is easy too. You don't even have to make a turn in the park, you just go up to a jump and pop and drop a shoulder or wind up and throw your arms to the side, nothing really tricky there, it's just practice and repetition, it's not real suprising there are 10 year old kids who can kill the park, its easy.
Mar 29 2006 7:20PM
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chrismoJBEATS
Posts: 5898 - Karma: 44
well ur rite
i mean like at that hight not much skill just balls
but u gotta have skill for the landing
there is a certain way u gotta land them
and also the takeoff but other than that
i think its all balls
park skiing is harder
big cliff=20% skill 80% balls
park=30%balls 70%skill
Mar 29 2006 7:24PM
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eheath
Posts: 61603 - Karma: 123,089
20%skill? ok dude i want to see you even walk up to a 230-290ft cliff, then u say it takes no skill. If you fuck up like jamie did, you land on your head. Park skiing takes no skiing skill at all. Big cliffs actually take skiing skill. Most freestyle skiers that do cliffs can go into a park, hit big tables too, and do 3, 5, or 7s on them too. Sorry but they are both about 50 50 on the balls skill level.
Mar 29 2006 7:30PM
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FUUUCK
Posts: 18426 - Karma: 4,888
its way more than just jumping off a cliff
Mar 29 2006 7:33PM
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canuck
Posts: 1124 - Karma: 137
How about you go drop one that size and then you may have the right to question the skill it takes.
Mar 29 2006 7:39PM
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chrismoJBEATS
Posts: 5898 - Karma: 44
actualy yeah ur right i didnt realy think of the %ages that much
i just kinda put wem down
Mar 29 2006 7:40PM
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traer
Posts: 690 - Karma: 12
yes
Mar 29 2006 7:45PM
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chrismoJBEATS
Posts: 5898 - Karma: 44
yeah i would if i had the balls
ok
and 2
park skiing does take skiing skill casue u have to know about edges and carving and whatnot
big cliff
hike up ski straight fall, land on ass get up
Mar 29 2006 7:48PM
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eheath
Posts: 61603 - Karma: 123,089
1. You dont have the ball, so shut up.

2. Carving off of a jump takes absolutly no skill at all. And edges? You really have no idea what you are talking about

Its alot more than skiing straight, falling(which you jump) and you try stayin perfect for that long in the air. You go out and do it, then you can say it was easy, if you live.
Mar 29 2006 7:54PM
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chrismoJBEATS
Posts: 5898 - Karma: 44
^ ok i dont have the balls
do u?
and yeah edges is gay i was just tryint to think of shit to back myslef up
Mar 29 2006 7:55PM
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chrismoJBEATS
Posts: 5898 - Karma: 44
10063 Posts
why u gotta rub it in
?
Mar 29 2006 7:56PM
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FUUUCK
Posts: 18426 - Karma: 4,888
im going to have to call you out on this one, park skiing does take a lot of skiing skills, mostly stance & balance but also pressure control, pivoting, and edging on rails, timing and coordination is also a biggy
Mar 29 2006 8:09PM
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AKFREERIDE
Posts: 1718 - Karma: 11
so why dont we have more young youth into big mountain. i wish we did. all my friends are more park skiers. i dont find it fun.

but back to the skills vs. balls. it takes a tremendous amout of both. first you need balls to get up there, launch that fucker, and not shit your pants while doing so. i mean come on. rollin off a 250 footer. what are you thinking. last thoughts and wills to god? thats what id be doing, making peace with myself.

but cliff jumping takes a huge amount of skill. maybe not at pierres level of like 250 feet. but for something landable like a 100 footer, you need so much skill. takeing off from a lip of a cliff is so much diffrent than a lip of a table. you have no clue what its going to do, launch you in every direction imaginable. you dont know if your tips are going to sink, if you can pop. who knows. in the air, you gotta keep your composure. if you start flailing and screaming and kicking your legs at halfway through, your fucked if you wanna land it. you gotta keep it tucked, or throw a trick in there to keep your composure. and landing takes a shitload of skills. you dont want to be so far forward that you eat your knees, but you dont want to have your back land on your tips and smack your head. its alot harder than park.
Mar 29 2006 8:40PM
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skodeo7
Posts: 14949 - Karma: 9,234
yea but I was reading this guy Leo is actually a nasty skier all around, throws 7s and shit. This is all second hand knowledge obviously but I've heard hes got more going on than jumping off of football sized cliffs.......or atleast he does until he dies
Mar 29 2006 8:43PM
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Billiards.
Posts: 6853 - Karma: 816
but with that you need to have the skills to take on the in run. I beginner skier can push off over a cliff. But sure as can not skier 53 mph down a choppy inrun.
Mar 29 2006 8:45PM
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Melvs
Posts: 15174 - Karma: 480
dropping a flat faced cliff with a known ladning area takes very little skill.

finding a dropable 200 ft+ clff, scoping the landing, getting everything checked out, and then being able to send it... that's serious skill, mized with a high dose on insanity.

I've only dropped a 35 footer, and that was into a huge amount of snow, but the landing was unknown to us, and neded up being flat. I landed and rode away, but boy my head hurt the rest of the day. I can't imagine doing anything over 75 and walking away from it!
Mar 29 2006 8:52PM
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TylerS
Posts: 2720 - Karma: 49
ya tons of balls and just bracing yourself for the landing
Mar 29 2006 8:52PM
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SirFryanator
Posts: 11149 - Karma: 1,415
park doesn't require you to ski steep stuff
the only way you find cliffs in in the BC and that takes real skill to do. Park, I think doesn't take much skill at all. As somebody said above, it takes reps. I'm sure I could land a 900 cork in the park with one year of practice. But I couldn't do a 250 foot cliff in the next 5 years. No way. I probably won't ever.
Mar 29 2006 8:56PM
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InfernoHits
Posts: 4755 - Karma: 192
most arguements here have been "you wouldn't even be able to look at a 250ft cliff" but thats goes back to the balls not skill. Only one person has actually defended the skill section of this and that was the skill of scoping a landing not even skiing skill
Mar 29 2006 9:02PM
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AKFREERIDE
Posts: 1718 - Karma: 11
haha. and in the backcountry, sometimes you have the possibility of the landing zone avalanching. landing zones are typically the perfect slope for holding snow for avys. it usually dosnt happen. but you should watch the snowpack. i dunno why i think its funny. but just imagine what your thiking when you come off a huge fuckin cliff, relieved your still alive, and have the ground move away with you in it.
Mar 29 2006 9:03PM
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SirFryanator
Posts: 11149 - Karma: 1,415
I argued the skill part. Look at my post.
Mar 29 2006 9:04PM
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BusyJohnSohn
Posts: 3483 - Karma: 29
all u guys who are saying "you go try it if you think all it takes is balls", you are pretty much agreeing with him. He wouldnt do it because he doesnt have balls. So you are proving his point.
Mar 29 2006 9:05PM
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alev
Posts: 7819 - Karma: 410
putting it that way, youre so right. but calculated hucks like hugos, were he does 80 footers and lands on his feet, or 50 footers with tricks are real sick. but i agree about tyour park skiing comments
Mar 29 2006 9:09PM
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Melvs
Posts: 15174 - Karma: 480
try hitting anything over 50 feet and tell me it doesn't take some skill. I learned the hard way you can land wrong on your feet, and fuck it hurts a lot, not to mention finding the money spot on the landing, and judging the speed you need to land in that spot. I don't have a ton of expeirence dropping cliffs, but from what little I have done, I have a lot of respect for it. Balls are a big part of it.
Mar 29 2006 9:21PM
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Durtschi
Posts: 6897 - Karma: 1,878
i think it is fucking calculated
Mar 29 2006 9:25PM
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Aenigma
Posts: 11256 - Karma: 424
Cliffs take more skill because:
-You can't judge the takeoff
-You can't judge the landing
-A cliff is unmaintained; it isn't perfect like a park
-A landing off a cliff can have any sort of density/snow depth
-Dropping is a lot harder than jumping over a table
-Then there's the ball factor: A 20 foot cliff takes the balls that a 40 foot table does(generally)
I'm sure there are a ton of other things I've left out, but that's just what I could think of in a couple minutes.
Mar 29 2006 9:33PM
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skirbrt88
Posts: 1090 - Karma: 23
leaping off of shit lemming style, and landing on your back, and then having to have someone help u get dug out of the snow is fucking retarded. that all that kind of stuff takes is some big hairy balls and a death wish. the stuff that seth and sage and hugo and pep and all those guys are doing is so much more impressive than skiing of 200 foot cliffs
Mar 29 2006 9:48PM
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Ice-Is-Scary
Posts: 0 - Karma: 87
Yeah I would agree, I respect chargers more than straight huckers. But in park skiing everything is measured and maintained and calculated for you all you have to do is ski off. I can't remeber the last time I landed on rocks in the park, or had a take off completely break away on me and sweep me off cliffbands, or hit rocks/small trees hidden under the snow on the takeoff of a jump and get kicked into a half backflip 270. They are completely different sports. I am all for people doing whatever kind of skiing they want to, hell tons of my friends exclusively ski park (well maybe not tons) but I just don't think park gets the blood flowing, it's pretty straight forward and you can accurately guess what is going to happen.

And for the guy that said leo is a sick skier, he admits himself that he's not a real good skier, in his words "I just like to fucking send it"
Mar 30 2006 1:11AM
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pierceme
Posts: 1483 - Karma: 11
Cliffs are definetely one of those things that u can watch in a movie and say "That doesn't look that hard" and then get out there and be like "fuck this, where'd that helicopter go?" I ski midwest and never thought cliffs looked hard at all, even in person. But then I got on top of a couple maybe like 10-12 footers out west and u definetely find urself second guessing. And then u start thinking how Jamie Pierre drops 200+ cliffs and just want to end ur life right there cuz u know u'll never be that good.
Mar 30 2006 1:34AM
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Hctiws_iks
Posts: 2077 - Karma: 25
yea, when your on top of a cliff its different, its scarier for one,
as well as judging speed and where your going to land then staying stable in the air, ect.
in park you know exactly where to go,
its a controlled enovironment.
Mar 30 2006 8:34AM
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n-o
Posts: 3457 - Karma: 41
but park skiing isnt really skiing either
Mar 30 2006 8:53AM
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ESB
Posts: 9274 - Karma: 10,648
anyone ever consider the possibility that "skills" and "balls" are basically the same thing? As in, people are capable of doing what they are confident enough to attempt, and confident enough during the attempt to pull it off.

at any rate, i'll just say what I usually say. if you dont think jumping off a 200-foot cliff is skillful or impressive, why dont you go out sometime and stand on top of one, and look down. and whoever said 'a bunny hill skier could do it' is an idiot. think about the calculation involved. correct speed for the takeoff. not catching a fucking edge on the takeoff and cartwheeling into a nose press on a jagged rock. staying solid in the air. knowing how to absorb the impact best. if the guys who did this werent skilled, theyd all be dead. this guy leo's slipup last week, i think, is evidence of how easily this shit can go wrong.
Mar 30 2006 9:04AM
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yetigonecrazy
Posts: 931 - Karma: 10
park skiing = stupid and for special ed kids who cant actually ski but think they can...

big mountain skiing = actual skiiing for everyone else, and the only way to do things.
Mar 30 2006 9:14AM
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Ice-Is-Scary
Posts: 0 - Karma: 87
I think that's an excellent point, skiing is 90% confidence. Whenever you are scared of something before you drop in you usually eat shit. Anytime I hit shit very agreesively and fearless I always stomp it, I think it's because you continue to make descisions throughout the entire trick/cliff/line whatever it may be instead of entering panic mode.

People may think it is skill because they slowly work their way up to bigger and badder things, because your confidence slowly builds as you enter new aspects of skiing.

Last season for instance I started dropping cliffs early-mid season. I thought 8 footers were pretty big but still a lot of fun. Less than 3 months later I was flipping 50+ footers. I think skiing is all in your head once you ski for a few season and understand the processes. I just dropped a lot of cliffs and came to the realization that anyone can do anything at anytime, pro or not, we are all human and we are all subject to the same laws of physics. I feel thats when I truely stepped through into a new realm of skiing.
Mar 30 2006 11:51AM
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waynewong
Posts: 1359 - Karma: 23
your are 100% corect...in fact earlier this winter I dropped a small rockband in alpine meadows BC (M1 for those who know the area) and when I landed the entire lower portion of the 45-degree 15-foot wide coulour ripped and took me for a river ride for another 300-feet, also tore away my brother who was filming and he lost his backpack.
Mar 30 2006 11:53AM
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CooksCorner
Posts: 3939 - Karma: 22
Ya its all about confidence. Flipping and spinning really arnt all that difficult, its just knowing you can do it that allows it to happen.
Mar 30 2006 12:00PM
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snowbird4life
Posts: 2265 - Karma: 26
such an aw inspiring post.


thank you.
Mar 30 2006 12:07PM
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Billiards.
Posts: 6853 - Karma: 816
You just need knowledge on where to go aff and shit. With park you need air balance, rail balance. You need to be able to reech for grabs while spinning in the air. And you need to know how to get speed and also have big balls.
Mar 30 2006 12:29PM
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wallner_m
Posts: 181 - Karma: 44
cliffs dropss are sick but it isnt great that you know when you jump a big cliff that you can´t stomb it......that sucks i think

so park and bc kicker shredding is much better i think.....
Mar 30 2006 12:31PM
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pbandj
Posts: 5610 - Karma: 28
jamie pierre said himself "it doesn't take any skill you could do it too if you weren't such a pussy"
Mar 30 2006 1:11PM
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powder4breakfast
Posts: 386 - Karma: 69
people who say its cheating to land on your back off a cliff have prolly never dropped a big cliff. if they had, they would understand what it is like to have your knees bust through your face. it would be absolutely impossible to ride out of some of these big cliffs without back slapping. they don't back slap because they are scared or made a mistake, it is done on purpose to keep from braking every bone in their face on impact. deffinatley takes skill as well as balls. if you don't think so, it's because you haven't dropped big. and if you drop big without skill, you will soon get hurt doing it. guys have died and been seriously injured on lesser drops than piere. he scoped that sucker out for like 7 years and killed it with out any major injuries. deff skill
Mar 30 2006 1:35PM
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Ice-Is-Scary
Posts: 0 - Karma: 87
Yeah there is a limit of how big you can stomp, I'd say it's in the area of 70-90feet depending on the landing, thats about the limit of possible consistant stompage and you have to be the man to stomp at that size (hugo, morrison, exc). And you need to be going really fast and have a good lineup of takeoff angle vs landing angle.
Mar 30 2006 3:38PM
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japie99
Posts: 2128 - Karma: 19
Yeah true. I guess it would be so hard to stay in the right position with all the fear and screaming.

So I dont think you can compare park skiing with jumping off big cliffs. As I said skills for jumping off big cliffs is to stay focused while youre shitting in ur pants. And yeh skills in park as u all know is spinning and flipping. So shut up with comparing coz its def not.
Mar 30 2006 4:04PM
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Teenage_Zero
Posts: 177 - Karma: 14
PARK = skill is in the technicality/style of the moves

CLIFFS = skill is in not getting seriously injured when landing (staying in control through whole process of drop)

To say either of these takes no skill is completely ignorant. It also requires balls to do either of these at a high performance level. I don't even know why I posted this...as this argument will never be solved.
Mar 30 2006 4:19PM
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