How old is too old....

[snoseek]

My only advice is to totally feel comfy and dialed with a nice slow turning 180. Start them on small riser types in soft snow and step up to bigger hits as you feel more comfy. When you are 100% and the time feels right throw in that extra 180.

 

[SkiDork]

you know what blew my mind about that day, there was a kid who literally was snowplowing down course yet he threw 720's. I have never seen anything like it before. I dont mean like step turns, it was a full blown snowplow at times.

that was the dude iceman was worried about, he dueled him in the finals

 

[Abubob]

Uh, think twice my friend. I don't know what kind of helicopters you did in the past but airtime has changed the sport considerably. I'm able to spin the 20' and 30' foot hits but when it gets above that I just can't spin slow enough. What that means is the 360 you didn't think you'd make now over rotates to 540 or some other rotation that ends just as poorly. Compound that with the fact that you can't hit a big jump slow anymore unless you want to case it on a table top and splat but hard. I stick to the simpler combinations when I hit the big ones so I at least make it to the downhill part of the landing and spin on the little ones. I'd suggest you try the same.

Oh - I'll be thinking lot more than twice - believe me. Anyways, we called them helicopters because the skis stayed flat through the entire rotation. It makes for a slow spin. That kid that everyone is noticing doing the 720's is pulling his knees up, dropping his tips and keeping his arms in. Until I can pull myself in like that I doubt I attempt any spin maneuvers.

 

[2knees]

that was the dude iceman was worried about, he dueled him in the finals

actually, the guy I was thinking of was in the 18+ bracket. Jarod referred to him as Snowplow Paul.

 

[dl]

I turned 50 this year. Skiing with my son and a few of his friends, I pulled off a 3 when they weren't expecting it. Gotta maintain the respect as long as possible.

Your body will follow your head. Once your head stops turning, the body stops too - with less than desirable results. Practice off the hill without skis and start from the head. Too many people come in to the jump all wound up - their arms will only spin the body so far. Try without skis and without winding up and see if you can get your head to lead the process. As noted earlier, weight should be equally balanced and not heavy on one foot. It takes practice but it's also a bit of a mind game. Good luck.

 

[Mpdsnowman]

I turn 50 in another couple of months. I must say I am in the best shape of my life literally...

Normally I would have said 70 is too old but I cant say that anymore...I know fathers of my friends who are in their mid 70,s . One goes every year to a meet I put on and he skies better than he ever did. Sure he doesnt do 360's heli style...\\

but he still skies awesome...I snowboard now, I think its alot easier as you get older.Its not as much torture on the knees as skiing is..

 

[mattchuck2]

I don't understand this thread.

Don't you guys jump off of diving boards, piers, or cliffs? Do you ever use a trampoline, or even jump off a curb?

Just practice doing that stuff this summer. Work on leading with your shoulder, body positioning in the air, and staying upright. See what happens when you extend your arms away from your body. Start small with 180, then go to 270, then 360. It's not hard to jump up, spin around, and land back where you started.

I think you're making it harder than it needs to be. Do you do 180s on skis? Do you do Whirlybirds (on snow 360s)? You just have to start small, on small jumps, and work your way up.

 

[2knees]

Don't you guys jump off of diving boards, piers, or cliffs? Do you ever use a trampoline, or even jump off a curb?

Do you do 180s on skis? Do you do Whirlybirds (on snow 360s)?

Yes, not lately, not in years. Sometimes I use the neighbors with the kids. why would I? Not on purpose. Ballet isn't cool anymore.

 

[jaywbigred]

I don't understand this thread.

Don't you guys jump off of diving boards, piers, or cliffs? Do you ever use a trampoline, or even jump off a curb?

Just practice doing that stuff this summer. Work on leading with your shoulder, body positioning in the air, and staying upright. See what happens when you extend your arms away from your body. Start small with 180, then go to 270, then 360. It's not hard to jump up, spin around, and land back where you started.

I think you're making it harder than it needs to be. Do you do 180s on skis? Do you do Whirlybirds (on snow 360s)? You just have to start small, on small jumps, and work your way up.

I can do a full 360 from a standing position in sneakers. I jump off stuff often when I'm walking around, especially home from a bar or something like that, have since college when my buddies and I referred to the walk home from Collegetown bars to our house as "a meeting of the Cornell Freestyle Walking Club". Since a very memorable episode of the Office, we started adding/yelling "parkour!" with each jump. I can do a flip off a diving board. I can do a 180 off small jumps as previously stated, and I can whirlybird, though I've never heard it called that.

Obviously I need to keep practicing. Maybe more dry land training, though I don't have access to a trampoline. Maybe need to hop around more in ski boots to get used to it?

 

[Abubob]

From this vid its obvious you need very little air to pull a 360. Its at 1:50 where they show "side hits". They barely get off the ground.

 

[Nick]

I've only done 360s from 4' or higher kickers. Tried lower once and never even got close to making it around.

 

[Cheese]

I've only done 360s from 4' or higher kickers. Tried lower once and never even got close to making it around.

It's not the height, it's the air time. As a random guess I think I can spin as fast as 1 second but can't seem to spin slower than 3 seconds. The tough part is judging the air time before you pop so that you can adjust your rotation rate accordingly. It's not like you can spin around in 1 second and then coast straight and level for 2 seconds till you hit the ground. On the other side, if you're committed to a 3 second rotation rate and run out of air in 2 seconds ... well, we know how that ends.

 

[gmcunni]

From this vid its obvious you need very little air to pull a 360. Its at 1:50 where they show "side hits". They barely get off the ground.

saw some punk ass kid do almost a full 3 just standing near the lift. he squatted, corked, jumped and spinned.

 

[Cheese]

I've only done 360s from 4' or higher kickers. Tried lower once and never even got close to making it around.

But you pulled a 180 on the Magic Carpet at the Loaf without issue ...

 

[jaywbigred]

So Mount Snow has an air bag this year a few times...

 

[Huck_It_Baby]

I'm 33 and do them all the time. It's all in the head and has nothing to do with the age. If you throw it correctly it's not hard on the body at all. They are easier to do off a bigger hit because you can get a little more hang time to complete the rotation. In your video you don't appear to be confident going into it and that is # 1. Bring your knees up to your chest some and don't try to force it. In other words understand that it isn't necessary to spin as fast as you can. You will end up up flailing and it won't be natural.

As you come to the lip of the jump keep center weight and let it pop you up a bit. Just as you are taking off drop the shoulder you rotate into and bring those knees up a little. Don't force the spin! Your body will naturally rotate once you drop the shoulder to set that initial spin.

A good way to get comfortable is to practice 180's. Just hit some little jumps on the sides of the trails. It's very easy to pivot into a switch position. The trick to progress from 180's to 360's in my book is to land your 180's but CONTINUE to rotation after you land so you rotate right back into skiing forward all in one motion. Don't land the 180 then swing those skis back the way you just rotated them from. Make it one fluid 360 only the last 180 is after you have landed.

Hope that makes sense. Good luck! Don't give up

 

[jaywbigred]

Well, I am sure landing them is low impact...it is crashing that is tough on the 32 year old body.

I have no trouble with the 180 esp of smaller hits but that is prob good advice re: continuing the spin. I will try that....

 

[Cheese]

Well, I am sure landing them is low impact...it is crashing that is tough on the 32 year old body.

I have no trouble with the 180 esp of smaller hits but that is prob good advice re: continuing the spin. I will try that....

Your body follows your eyes therefore stuck at 180* usually means you're looking at the jump mid flight and stopping your rotation early. This is very common when starting out because beginners want to know how far they've made it around and the jump is the 180* point. Unfortunately, focus on the 180* point means landing at 180*. You need to continue your head and eye movement while flying until your eyes are looking at the 360* completion point.

Before hitting the jump, find a focus point far in the distance beyond the jump. This is the 360* point you want to find almost immediately while rotating. This keeps your body spinning and will keep the rotation of your body on axis.

Crashes at rotations greater than 180* are likely safer than crashes landing switch. Falling backwards while skiing backwards will pull considerably even if your binding toe pieces are designed to release on the z axis. I'd rather land at 270* or 405* and have a simpler toe release.

 

[BeefyBoy50]

I did my first 360 at crested butte last spring- funny enough I didn't even try it in the baby terrain park, I was too scared. My friend and I wound up building a jump into the crusty powder in the back yard of the cabin. Being a diver at my high school, a 360 shouldn't have been as hard as it was- I have to do all sorts of frontflips and gainers and other things in meets. Being on skis, however, it really is completely different than normal. I did what you did when learning- started my twist while on the jump, got stuck in the air, and landed on my back. You really have to do what the X games skiers do, it isn't just for style: make sure you lead up to the jump building a bunch of rotation by twisting in the direction you want to. Once in the air, really focus on not stalling your twist by leading the twist with your head and looking in the right direction. Skis are heavy and they are hard to twist around so you have to make sure you keep them close together and that you are powering through the twist with your hips. In my opinion jump size doesn't really matter, and I learned the 360 on a small jump because I was less afraid of hurting myself so I really focused on the twist.