MJB Posted October 13, 2009 Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 An idea has been growing in my head. GOAL: Expose snowboarders to alpine riding and racing. WHERE: working with a ski area, ideally at the edge of a park, or going in or out of the park. open to the public. HOW: Set a gs course, let the berms build up to knee high over a couple of weeks. maintain it as a smooth consistent C shape w/shovels/rakes and slipping (cat cant fit in there). Have a sign at the top that introduces riders about racing (gs, sl, sbx) and let them know how to get involved. how to run the course. WHY:The advantage is that it doesn't require sharp edges, special equipment or the ability to read a line and is fun and it flows. building a stoke for racing/carving. CHALLENGES: Ski hill may be shy in keeping something open to public they cant groom/control easily. Maintaining the course regularly. And maybe Rob Stevens could run it on his noboard :) here is a link to a bermed GS we did in June a couple years What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Stevens Posted October 13, 2009 Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 Back at Norquay in the later 90's, we built a course for bikes on the snow, where we used the blade of the cat to make berms. Basically, the operator dipped one side of the blade and let it sweep back, pushing up an instant berm. The benefit was having a pre-determined radial curve, unlike letting one build up over time that could take any shape at all. It was fun to ride, that's for sure. The area did not want to leave it up as they felt it would dissappear into the flat light on a bad day, causing people to eat ****. Something like that would be a blast on the No... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Ace* Posted October 13, 2009 Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 Like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJB Posted October 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 Ace, Yeah sortof. but trying to make it so you dont have to throw your board on edge to get it around. cool picture by the way. wheres that? I am thinking more of a real gs course slope, but building up troughs, that are smooth and berm like (25 meters). so you dont have to lay it out to get some direction. Like a snake run corner in a good concrete bowl, such as whistler bowl, but lower walls. all you have to do is put your board in the berm and go with it. no real edging needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philfell Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 That's funny this year in South America we set a GS in the slush and let it berm up just like that. I was sweet and all the riders had a blast, both hard and soft booters. One problem I see with doing it on a public area and letting it stay is the grooming issue. It would be a pain for the cat driver to work around the course on a daily basis if the course were in a park like you suggested. And another problem is to get berms like that you need good riders setting the line the first day and soft snow, a combination that isn't always to be had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 For some reason, this makes me think of the infamous annual Mt Baker bank slalom course. Is that what youre thinking of ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJB Posted October 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 While that is just as cool, to have the Baker banked slalom left up and maintained all season. This is not the Baker or Neil Edgeworth banked slalom. those take place in ungroomed gullies, and are only around for the duration of the event. This would be for any normal ski area, as long as they have 150-250 meters of distance to use on a green/blue slope. It requires no natural terrain or extra snowmaking on it. Its a normal GS course but you let build up the rut/berm/bank. For example - there will be 10 gates, 25 meters apart, and they will have knee high rut/berm/bank that are smoothed out and shaped as time goes on. every seen the berms in a dualcross mtn bike race, more like that size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queequeg Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 Maybe this is a bit off topic, but since it relates to the topic of increasing exposure of Alpine riding through a more playful enactment of competitive disciplines I figured I'd throw another idea in the hat. When I was in HS I used to ride at Sunapee a few days a week midweek (our school had no PE program so that is how we got PE credits). Every now and then we would see these short GS'y race courses set up, but the gates in the course would occasionally be interrupted by these big jumps (not unlike what you see in the park these days but without the soft-landing-downslope side). I never saw anyone run one of those courses (or what they're even called), so I'm not sure how the event worked exactly but it seems to me like it would probably be a SUPER fun event to watch. I'd love to see something like that for alpine riding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuff Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 I think it's a great idea, and with some creative planning could be a really fun feature, and even has potential of accomplishing your goal of introducing more riders to the race disciplines of boarding. My biggest concern in safety is that one good warm/cold temperature swing would turn a banked GS into a bobsled/luge run. Also wouldn't be much fun for Ms Sally Skiier to "discover" a frozen berm on a powder day. If a park crew was on-board early in the planning, I wonder if they could be swayed to keep an area open for a banked GS course.. perhaps have room for some 'naturally formed' banked turns like in your photo, and maybe even some of varying size and radius? Storytime: At one of our previous SBX comps, the local hill allowed us to set a course through the park, with the stipulation that we couldn't alter any of the existing park features. It wasn't pretty, but with some shovels and strategically placed gates, were able to rig a course to incorporate some banked turns using the sidewalls of the existing park jumps and table tops. If the park is not an option due to space or grooming schedule, perhaps another location.. Mogul fields are just formations that are left un-groomed for long periods of time. Perhaps a lane adjacent to a mogul run? Incorporate a 1-cat width groomed track down the middle for beginner/intermediate riders to escape when they get over their head in the bumps... I dunno.. Just spit-balling some ideas now.. Here in the Midwest, where the runs are short/narrow/crowded, and training space is at a minimum, I could predict a big backlash from management about the potential loss of usable space. In presenting your idea, it may be beneficial to emphasize.. and keep repeating the theme that the banked GS course could be used by all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJB Posted October 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 I like the idea of an escape lane of 1 cat width wide. Great idea. Two local ski areas are willing to discuss it! Not sure of the real cost in time and effort either to execute this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp1 Posted October 18, 2009 Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 Fun Parks are awesome. Hobacks @ Jackson Hole were the neatest Natural Fun Park I've ever been at! We had a blast there every day & that was on 'sticks'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJB Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 One of the areas has agreed to try it this season for 1 month, waiting to hear back from the 2nd. Now to work out the logistics and details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco Posted October 22, 2009 Report Share Posted October 22, 2009 Great idea. Over the years, several of us (mostly heroically Jonah) have advocated for some sort of board racing program at our home resort of Bristol Mountain, but to no avail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 My local bump grooms new snow ?? Any resort even willing to discuss this idea in this liability chill world deserves the hero of the year award here's my vote:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 Mucho thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 Like this? Wow, EC-ing on a Dupraz with soft boots. Any video? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvingchef Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 check out this thread, post # 26 fast forward to 2 minutes and 28 second that's Erwin on a Dupraz with Burton C60 don't know which softboots http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=25033 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 Very nice. Hoping to take delivery on my own Dupraz soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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