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Why so many good park skiers come from the east

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Gr0mo
Posts: 707 - Karma: 3,663
Why do so many good freeskiers in the community come from the east coast? I guess you could argue it has something to do with the population density over here. Still, theres something else.

Tom Wallisch comes from Pittsburg and every ones favorite AM, Stepp comes from roundtop? Both of those places aren't exactly the first place you look for good skiers. The reason the east coast generates great park skiers is simple; its the best way to challenge yourself out here.

The west has such great skiing. When I go out to Breck, its hard to find time to lap the park. There's just so much awesome terrain I never really think about it. At my home mountain the terrain is limited, and thats putting it nicely. The only real rush i get there is hitting the park and going big. For a lot of us, once you get to a point the only way to get better is to get to the park and practice that pretz 2.


tldr;
The park is the most challenging thing to ski on the east.
11 years ago
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danbrown
Posts: 11939 - Karma: 21,834
i wasnt referring to comp skiing, just a regular saturday
11 years ago
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cheerio
Posts: 1032 - Karma: 3,416
Faster laps and making the most out of something that could be the worst
11 years ago
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Randy_Quench
Posts: 5447 - Karma: 4,348
I would also argue that because there is rarely pow to shred, skiers ski park all day erry day. where as if you are from the west you probably ski the mountain a lot more.
11 years ago
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mattbeck
Posts: 62 - Karma: 114
It's just shitty parks, and typically people don't live as close to resorts in the east as they do out west. Most people out east can only get in laps on the weekend and since we have much less time, we try shit every day.
11 years ago
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Malcolm
Posts: 15953 - Karma: 9,501
Because they're used to riding all sorts of sketchy shit.
11 years ago
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GML
Posts: 224 - Karma: 192
I ski at china peak in Cali and didn't have a jump the whole season.
11 years ago
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Crankset
Posts: 1176 - Karma: 497
Tight trees, often-marginal conditions, steep pitched terrain and ice.

If you can ski the gnarliest stuff on the east on your 'average' day, you can ski anything.
11 years ago
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hippy.
Posts: 3106 - Karma: 14,374
I timed my lap (with the ride up) 5 minute in total..I ski for about 6 hours each time I go ~72 laps
11 years ago
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Crankset
Posts: 1176 - Karma: 497
I'm pretty glad not to ski at a mountain like this...

15 is a big day, including some out of bounds hiking though
11 years ago
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AndreyaZvonar
Posts: 701 - Karma: 2,271
The east has plenty of great terrain especially in VT and NH, but i feel that kids are so good here because the weather doesn't phase them. If its rain, wind, snow, or sun, people just shred all day and hike rails
11 years ago
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-snochainz-
Posts: 130 - Karma: 273
kdes6with no milk!


HA.
11 years ago
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250r
Posts: 2276 - Karma: 1,013
when i was a kid skiing at sugarloaf i was more in to skiing the mountain, trees occasional pow and what not, but didn't get that into park, at least not as much as i have now that i moved to whistler. pow is still my favourite but park is good for no snow and spring/summer days.

i must say though the groomer trails at sugarloaf are way more fun than anything at W/B. In Whistler they'd never put the time and effort into winch catting a trail like upper gondi or nitro. Dave Murray is our downhill course here, doesn't really have any point as steep as the headwall or cribworks. I remember flume being a lot of fun to air into too. Fuck now I wanna rip around there again, its been a while.
11 years ago
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Molasses
Posts: 32 - Karma: 71
Way out here in England we have very little skiable snow each winter (in fact this year we had no snow at all), but we do actually get some decent skiers, James Woods being the most well known about - even though all we can ski apart from maybe 1 week a year is snowflex. I think the only reason that we get any good skiers then, (apart from the fact snowflex is almost completely painless to fall on) is the fact everyone feels like they have to throw down hard and try new shit every time they ski in order to keep pace with people from other countries. So for example, this year has been my first year of park, and Ive been at my local hill/mound every other day pretty much all year and been able to progress pretty fast, got my first rodeo 5 down yesterday and was so close to landing a double front, as well as this slightly younger kid who just went so hard and learnt underflip 1, misty 3 and hand drag cork 5 all in 3 hours of each other and off a jump that's literally 3 metres long. So if its anything like this on the east coast - kids going harder in order to keep pace with the west then thats probably why there are more east coast park skiers.
11 years ago
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.tomskis
Posts: 380 - Karma: 1,025
Same reason Australia puts out decent skiers despite having such a small skiing population. Shit conditions = better skiers
11 years ago
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7295 - Karma: 18,720
I would say it has more to do with relation then anything else. As was said above on the east you may get 75-100 runs. Now if they are all in the park you are practicing movements and getting muscle memory. This is the biggest factor. As said out west you may do a few park laps but then you may go for a shred. So there is not the same kind of repation. It the same reason the uk produces some great rail riders. Domes are similar to the east I that you just lap the same park over and over. Do anything enough times and you will get good at it.
11 years ago
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skier58284
Posts: 1705 - Karma: 5,366
~Gotama~If you can ski the worst conditions, skiing the best conditions is easy. Simple as that.


>if you can ski on mud, hucking 50 foot cliffs is easy
11 years ago
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KravtZ
Posts: 6637 - Karma: 2,629
East coast kids ski on pretty weak conditions a lot. Often during the mid winter the park is frozen solid and landing hurts pretty darn bad sometimes. I think that east coast kids just don't have the variety as well in terms of the terrain.

That being said, depends on where you come from in the east. Mountains now have some pretty massive parks being built even in shitty areas. Up north in Vt, nh, etc there are some massive parks. Mt snow is a park epicenter. Someone can be a park master riding there.

But a good skier from the east can definitely adapt so well out west on bigger terrain. Seen it countless times when I spend a lot of time outwest. Just some basic things like getting adapted to steeper terrain, figuring out how to track down lines and just big mountain techniques and what not.
11 years ago
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Yaraelpoof.png
Posts: 1556 - Karma: 6,418
There is not enough powder to distract us from park. Parks are also normlay icy so there is plenty of speed.
11 years ago
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ChipDirt
Posts: 54 - Karma: 54
~Gotama~If you can ski the worst conditions, skiing the best conditions is easy. Simple as that.


Perfectly said
11 years ago
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ChipDirt
Posts: 54 - Karma: 54
ABallsI'm still waiting for the day when a kid from the west posts an edit of his trip out east.


No one wants to hear your shit aballs gosh fight me
11 years ago
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ChipDirt
Posts: 54 - Karma: 54
m4ttm4n1cuz we eat nails for breakfast


With no milk
11 years ago
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ChipDirt
Posts: 54 - Karma: 54
ABallsThe real title should be why so many good rail skiers come from the east. Jumps are typically not the best on the ice coast.

Not true your just scared of them
11 years ago
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Turkelton
Posts: 2829 - Karma: 8,558
CranksetI'm pretty glad not to ski at a mountain like this...

15 is a big day, including some out of bounds hiking though


cmon that's bullshit, you can get 20 runs in the morning on especially bigger mountains if you get first lift and just keep lapping. Got something like 35 runs in 5 hours last week with my bro just going ham doing laps round every lift
11 years ago
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Errl
Posts: 2082 - Karma: 451
theabortionatormeh it goes both ways. There are kids from the east that could tear it up at those comps. As well. The better quality parks and better riders might be more consistent out there but there is still a lot of talent coming from the east.

I also wonder what would happen to some of those west coast kids if they hit the ice coast on a typical ice coast day.


They would instantly turn into one of those chairlift chads that never stop telling you how much better it is out west.
11 years ago
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250r
Posts: 2276 - Karma: 1,013
ErrlThey would instantly turn into one of those chairlift chads that never stop telling you how much better it is out west.


well i must say to be honest, sugarloaf isn't that much more icy than whistler. Sure theres more terrain, and more consistent snow, but because it is a costal mountain we get a ton for melt/freeze cycles. This year in particular...really been just as icy as the east coast, with maybe a bit of pow now and then.
11 years ago
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Mr.noodle
Posts: 1361 - Karma: 4,655
m4ttm4n1cuz we eat nails for breakfast


With no milk

skiersupremeim not gunna call bullshit cuz im not from the east, but that seems a little high.


Usually the chair ride up is longer than the actual run
11 years ago
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Spiri7o
Posts: 2163 - Karma: 1,100
Tavastithey have nightskiing. (i know some western ski resorts have it too but less than in the east)


I agree this is a factor
11 years ago
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BungHole.
Posts: 698 - Karma: 1,422
Senator.dickwadWith no milk



Usually the chair ride up is longer than the actual run


The chair ride up is longer than the run? Isn't that normal?
11 years ago
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Duck_Sauce
Posts: 288 - Karma: 4,005
Because the entire metro boston kids have to deal with Nashoba, Bradford, Wachuestt, Blue hills, sundown, all these places combined height is the average resort height out west. we lap faster, shittier conditions, night skiing, no pow days, and plenty of urban spots to produce killer East coats killas
lapping loon or WV's park is incomparable. more westys should come out and try it!
11 years ago
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_CC_
Posts: 3890 - Karma: 747
danbrownhaha youre talking about already established pros. there are literally 30+ kids youve probably never heard of that ride PC every day that would be in the top 3 best at any east coast hill. the average skier here is exponentially better. i'm sure the same case could be made for summit county and other western locations as well.


It's very true. There's kids in Summit County (although many are spoiled Satan spawn)that are miles better than anyone I knew back home in New England.

That being said, being so bored you have to hit the same 5 rails all day goes a long way.
11 years ago
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_CC_
Posts: 3890 - Karma: 747
Duck_SauceBecause the entire metro boston kids have to deal with Nashoba, Bradford, Wachuestt, Blue hills, sundown, all these places combined height is the average resort height out west. we lap faster, shittier conditions, night skiing, no pow days, and plenty of urban spots to produce killer East coats killas
lapping loon or WV's park is incomparable. more westys should come out and try it!


Nosnowba fo life
11 years ago
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Chubz.
Posts: 13918 - Karma: 25,673
TOAST.I can get over 10 laps in an hour on a weekday morning.


i could get 10 laps in under a half hour lol #smallhillperks
11 years ago
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