Awesome interview. I love Jon's attitude. He's got it made and he's still chill about everything. I like the double flips he's pulling, too. Jon's right, as long as style and variation is important, trick's are going to change radically. There is only so much spinning can do. Flipping adds a new feel.
I don't expect the sport to go too much in the disciplined aerials direction, but what I do expect from the increased level of difficulty - which inherently brings greater risk - is a backlash to come from the injuries that keep mounting. Our sport will always be dangerous, but there will always be efforts to keep that danger in moderation, which can inhibit progress. Take the article about RCR's commitment to end jumping, a prime example of safety-conscious efforts ultimately influencing many who love jumping at RCR's resorts. I've always believed that it comes to the individual skier (and parents, depending on the skiers prudence of age) to assess a certain feature and trick and then decide if it is safe enough to attempt something. Injuries are common because we simply don't moderate our progress. A common instance is pushing ourselves to try new tricks while we don't have the form of the easier ones down, yet. RCR's jump to halt construction on jumps is nonsensical. If a skier is not ready for a certain feature, then prohibit those skiers from entering certain parks, build more entry-level parks, or manage the resort in a more accommonable fashion. The efforts of RCR's upper-management seem slackened when they hit their resorts' skiers with a ban, rather than working to construct a better plan that accommodates both the skiers' and resorts' interests. A consumer-centric business would have done the latter.
there's a huge storm dropping ridiculousness on new england. my problem - i go to school in hartford and am too broke to pay for gas up to vt and another lift ticket (bolton isnt open and thats where my pass is, also, if anyone wants me to write something about how frustrating ticket prices are these days, post it). anybody know some good hiking within a few hours drive of hartford? i was gonna hit rails in shitford but apparently its gonna rain tomoro mornin, so i dunno wuts up with the snow here...
good work schmuck, nice article. jon is a great thing for the sport, does not think he is a thug, or a gangster, just having fun, just loves skiing and being himself. it is great to see