 Poster: A snowHead
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My regular ski buddy did one for the first time last year. Of course being a competitive type I quite fancy learning how to do it as well.
Suggestions please?
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brian
brian
Guest
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Small small, work your way up.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Kramer,
Don't, it will catch up with you in knees and backs later...
I know this because I have 2 prolapsed discs from a drop I did a few years ago. It didn't help that it wasn't my choice, either...
Injuries will stop you skiing before old age.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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kitenski, I'm only thinking of 6-10 feet, nothing huge.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Start on small jumps. Work your way up. Start at 1ft on Sun; get to 5ft+ by Fri.
Some of the UK Snowdomes offer jumps in the 2 - 5 ft range. This is a good place to start.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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In the words of the world record holder, "all you need to do is sack up you pu55y" 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I cant even lift a cliff. I would probably drop it on my foot.
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In most situations, don't drop from a stationary position. Back up, and have some speed when you go over the lip, a small pre-jump at the edge will help you stay centred in the air.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Just don't do what I do
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Poster: A snowHead
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Just do it...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Know what it is you're landing on. Hands forward and down. Stretch for the landing. Style It!!
Seriously, having seen a boarder do a fantastic "air to inverted in stream 15 feet below" (how he didn't break his neck I'll never know) know exactly where and what you are launching off/landing on.
A small pre jump may help stability but isn't always possible. Stay tight in the air, the more you open up the more likely you'll end up back-ish and flailing. Spot your landing and stretch for it (but don't lock your knees out!). Aim to land on your heels to avoid a "landing-to-faceplant". A cheeky styled grab never hurt anyone...Enjoy
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Kramer, on the whole not a great plan but I had a lesson on how to do it last season. First, scope the landing to ensure it's at the correct angle, no rocks etc and the run out is OK. Then visualise the jump, where you are going to land, and how you are going to ski out. Next ski towards the jump keeping up a reasonable pace otherwise you will hit your ski tails and go head first. 'Pop' off the edge as you would if you were going off a kicker (I was told it's a good idea to practice this first to ensure you get airborne) then 'stomp' the landing, ideally landing in a four point position initially, where both skis and both poles all land at the same time to give you stability. Don't do what I did first of all, which is on landing be so surprised that I'd done it without injury that I forgot to ski off and promptly fell over. The other thing to bear in mind is that once you get to the point of no return, you'll be surprised how high a six foot drop looks, largely because you are looking at it from (in my case) 6'2" so what you thought was 6 foot now looks nearer 12. Once you have landed and skiied off, go straight to the bar and brag.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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BGA, when I caught up with my mate after he dropped it last year, his eyes were wide, there was no colour in his face, and he decided that was enough off-piste skiing for that day!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Kramer, I'm up for a practice... bring on the EOSB
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Kramer, once I landed one properly I skiied straight to the bar to bask in the glory. By the end of the evening what was at best 7 feet had become 15ft with a grab. Exaggeration is also a key skill when it comes to dropping cliffs. To be honest I wouldn't make a habit of it as I worry about the effect it would have on my lower back, although having practised it held me in good stead in NZ recently when I took some unintentional air off a ridge and remembered the importance of stomping the landing with my weight in the correct place
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Kramer, I was only joking on the other thread, 'self harming' is not indicated - please!!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Kramer, the most important thing is the landing. Never jump off anything into an unknown landing zone.
What you're looking for is a nice and steep LZ with plenty of room. NEVER jump on to the flat.
After around 6' you need a fairly good run out, once you land you'll need some straightline room to find your feet again before you check your speed with some turns.
"Winding down the windows" is the most common first time trait, this can really upset your balance. Look to bring your knees up towards your chest and force your hands forwards and down.
Before landing extend your legs and then suck them back up to absorb the force. Try not to introduce your knees to your jaw / mouth / teeth / tongue. I've lost a tooth on a measly 15'.
Aim to land slightly on your tails and better to have your weight slightly back rather than forwards. It's hard to explain but your weight position as it will vary with height dropped and landing conditions (type of snow and pitch). Once you get above a certain height even top athletes will "back slap" or "back check" a landing, better to land on your bottom or back than your head.
It's addictive when you start to stomp landings, it makes you want to go bigger and bigger. It's also silly and an easy way to start putting yourself in hospital...
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parlor, A.K.A. Huckshmuck
He knows what he is talking about.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Kramer, protection protection protection and all the stuff parlor said.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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All of the above is excellent advice. FWIW, I'd highly recommend TAKING the advice, unlike muggins here. I've taken a fair few drops of up to around 8ft, mostly without too much embarrasment although little style.
The one time I ignored all of the above advice, took a seemingly harmless drop without really a) scoping the landing or b) treating the mountain with the respect it deserves I ended up with the ankle injury I am still carrying today, 7 months on.
It's fun, when it works, but just try to limit the risks.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Love all the advise about pre jumping and not landing on the flat - I know only too well how true this advise is. I wasn't actually intending to jump (well fall) but it was a powder day in Chamonix, flat light (that's important to note) skiing along in knee deep untracked powder on the edge of a blue piste, happy as larry when suddenly with zero warning i'm free falling, I shat myself, seemed to last forever but probably less than 1 second. I landed with an almighty fud. Thinking, my god was that a cliff I just fell off, took me a few seconds to dust off, look backup hill and look at what I'd just fallen from. I was basically on a bloody cat track (bloody in 2 senses - 1 the blood pouring from my now broken nose and what the hell's this cat tracking doing here type bloody). With all the recent fresh snow an innocent cat rack cutting right across the piste had an uphill ledge about 12 feet high at the point I skied over it. With no warning, limited forward velocity I fell straight down on to a hard packed cat track. One broken nose and more seriously a broken heel bone - which resulted in the blood wagon down and an end to that season.
So look for the landing, always be careful in flat light, make sure your warmed up, flexible and relaxed - I think that saved me from worse injury as I'd been skiing for a few hours previously was well warmed up and took most the impact quite well.
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Poster: A snowHead
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 First I have to say, I don't have a huge amount of air-time under my belt but do have a few memorable moments, a few of which came from the MSB in Wengen last season.
I agree that the steep landing is critical.
As Parlor says, landing on the tails is better than the tips BUT considering that the landing is steep, I don't think landing on your tails should be foremost in your mind or you'll tend to end up too far back.
No-one's mentioned 'soft snow' yet though! It makes a world of difference to the confidence if you know you're going into nice deep soft stuff. Obviously it makes quite a difference to the landing too.
This picture is of the galleried section of the rail tunnel up to the Eiger Gletscher in Wengen.
Lampbus and I jumped it with the guide at last year's MSB. I know it might not look huge but from take off to landing this was within the range you specify, probably about 8-10ft but the snow was so soft that we barely felt the ground as we landed.
...and before anyone asks, no, this is not how Lampbus did his knee in. He survived the powder and the steeps and the jumps and the race (just) to blow himself out running into a snowdrift at a snail's pace
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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admin, actually......
The more I think about it, I wonder if I did some damage when I found that fencepost when I lead down the side of 'oh god' (or whatever its called). A couple of times after that I felt my left ski wandering off on its own in an odd way, but just shrugged it off. The final snowdrift may just have been the final straw.
It was a very solid fencepost just deep enough to catch it with the inside ski whil the outside one went over or round it. The resulting twist and loss of that ski would do the damage - I might even have hit it with the toe of my boot which would do the deed even if the binding released.
I will probably never know.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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oh and the most important tips Kramer are
a) make sure at least one other snowheads is there
b) make sure he/she has a video of your first attempt!
Last time I followed a guide off one I landed on a heap, wish I'd read this thread first 
Cheers,
greg
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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kitenski,
when you are with a guide who wants you to drop off a house........it was well snowed in and only the top balcony clear of the snow....
and when he promises you a beer if you do it and land it.......ok, you stack it a few more mtrs down the hill but the run out did that,...... then make sure he isn't scottish and actually ffffing pays up..!!!!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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SMALLZOOKEEPER, not sure if I could keep up with you (on any level)!
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OK - first attempt and second to follow hehehe. AND... I already know all the things I was doing wrong.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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attire would be important I would imagine. bright/contrast enough so you could adorn a front cover, yet dark enough to mask any evacuation the body feels is necessary before the impending death arrives 
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FAQ
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