clown poles

[severine]

more unprovoked insults hurled my way.

keep it up, someday i wont come back here and then you'll all be sorry.

You're going to take all your toys and play somewhere else?

:lol:

 

[Greg]

I could see Pat going postal. Definitely.

 

[jack97]

You're going to take all your toys and play somewhere else?

:lol:

This is what I did... http://travian.wikia.com/wiki/Travian_Wiki

I am in a top rated alliance, we have a strong meta and confed with another top alliance.We dominated our sector and caused evil to all that opposed us.

MUAHAHAHAHA.... *cough,cough*

 

[powbmps]

 

[Greg]

:lol: Nice!

 

[bvibert]

How did that picture of Pat get on there?

 

[2knees]

How did that picture of Pat get on there?

man, flickr is blocked at work for me. someone put that in the gallery so i know how i'm being picked on.

 

[Greg]

man, flickr is blocked at work for me. someone put that in the gallery so i know how i'm being picked on.

The new ultimate insult:

You're such a clown pole!

:lol:

 

[jack97]

Look at the length of these clown poles.... the guy is doing the swing turn drill on the flats, poles don't even touch the snow.

 

[Beetlenut]

I'm 5'7" and my poles were cut to 41". I liked the shorter length, before I fell on them and broke myself. I think I will cut another inch or so off of them for next time.

 

[Greg]

My new poles are 46". Still haven't committed to chopping them yet. Probably should just get baskets for my old poles (~45") and whack them to 44".

Cut them to a bit over 45" most of the season. Just recently cut them down to 44" and I'm loving them in the bumps now once I corrected my hand position. 44" is the perfect length for me. I'm 6'1".

 

[mondeo]

A few of the guys I was skiing with over the weekend were talking about pole length on the chair. One of them commented on how most bump skiers use poles that are too short. He was using 46" poles, and I think he said his height was 5'11". Poles were sized according to Evan Dybvig. Comments were made about what comparing pole size was like. Hilarity ensued (well, maybe not hilarity.)

I'm 5'10" and use 44". They may be a little too short. One of the things short poles hides is improper planting practice; poles that are too short can compensate for planting on the top of the bump rather than the backside.

 

[gmcunni]

i felt like my poles were too short last weekend when i was on GB. felt like my hands were over my head the whole time. Then i straightened up and it felt better.

 

[Madroch]

Went to 44 from 50- am 5'9"-- seem about right-- not that I would know..I do know I am having fewer issues with my shoulders being thrown open and arms back.. but that might be attributable to the hours spend breaking down the film on Greg and co....

 

[jack97]

One of the things short poles hides is improper planting practice; poles that are too short can compensate for planting on the top of the bump rather than the backside.

I stopped worrying about where the tips hit the mogul; backside or top. Makes me look down and prevents me from looking out 3-5 bumps ahead. As long as they don't get in the the way, I'm cool with that. The other reason is that the bumps take different forms, last week with the warm spell, the bumps where not that high while three weeks ago they where way taller. Couple of ways you can adapt due to terrain; cast the pole at different angles by flexing the wrist to start the plant and let the elbows extend to make tip contact (if the bump is low).

What I found was key (for me) was to focus on the casting and absorption; somewhere along the way, the tip will make contact .

btw, look at the way sammi and travis cast the poles with the wrist and the way travis elbows flexes and extends.

http://www.mogullogic.com/movies/sammiabsorption.wmv

http://www.mogullogic.com/movies/travistiming.wmv

 

[deadheadskier]

Having never cut my own poles is there an easy / recommended way of removing the grips? Mine are 46", I'm 5'8 and am thinking of going down to 44"

 

[Greg]

I stopped worrying about where the tips hit the mogul; backside or top. Makes me look down and prevents me from looking out 3-5 bumps ahead. As long as they don't get in the the way, I'm cool with that. The other reason is that the bumps take different forms, last week with the warm spell, the bumps where not that high while three weeks ago they where way taller. Couple of ways you can adapt due to terrain; cast the pole at different angles by flexing the wrist to start the plant and let the elbows extend to make tip contact (if the bump is low).

What I found was key (for me) was to focus on the casting and absorption; somewhere along the way, the tip will make contact .

btw, look at the way sammi and travis cast the poles with the wrist and the way travis elbows flexes and extends.

http://www.mogullogic.com/movies/sammiabsorption.wmv

http://www.mogullogic.com/movies/travistiming.wmv

Well said. The only issue I've had with going shorter is occasionally missing a pole plant, i.e. casting the tip over the bump. Not that you should be relying on the pole for balance or support, but not feeling the pole plant can really throw you off balance.

Having never cut my own poles is there an easy / recommended way of removing the grips? Mine are 46", I'm 5'8 and am thinking of going down to 44"

Warm the grip and upper part of the pole with a hair dryer for several minutes. Once it's good and warm, stick the grip in a bench vice (protect it with a rag or something) and twist the pole out of the grip.

Cut the pole with a sawzall or hack saw and use a rubber mallet to pound the grip back on. You might want to file down the cut end if it's jagged (especially on alum poles) and maybe throw a bit of electrical tape over the end if still sharp. The grips on some poles like K2 4-Speeds are really soft and spongy. I've have a cut pole bust through the top of a pair of those.

 

[mondeo]

Having never cut my own poles is there an easy / recommended way of removing the grips? Mine are 46", I'm 5'8 and am thinking of going down to 44"

Warm up the grip to get it off. After just holding the grip for a while in a room at 60°F, I was able to twist it off. I've heard of the blow dryer approach, but I don't have one, and I didn't feel like sticking it in boiling water.

To get it back on, I dunked the end of the pole in alcohol and just slammed the grip back on with the floor.

 

[jack97]

The only issue I've had with going shorter is occasionally missing a pole plant, i.e. casting the tip over the bump. Not that you should be relying on the pole for balance or support, but not feeling the pole plant can really throw you off balance.

Yeah sometimes missing a plant happens to me but if you think about it then the bump wasn't that high to begin with nor the trough was too deep....so its not much of a bump. Instead of freezing up waiting for the tip to make contact, its best to continue down the line...ok, easier said than done.

What I found by accident while making short turns in the flats was just to use the motion of flicking down the wrist or extended the elbows to start the turn instead waiting for tip contact. This helps in making faster turns since I don't have to wait for the tip contact and making myself late for the next turn.

Check out this vid of ryan johnson, former Canadian freestyler. His plant are not to touching the snow, downward motion of the wrist and elbow is starting the turn initiation.

 

[gmcunni]

after making it through almost the whole season on my short poles i was ready to cut my "good ones" down. the old aluminum poles were easy to work with but when i tried to remove the grips on the composite poles i failed. need to try again with the hairdryer trick.