Big Mountain Comps

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Daniel.

Active member
So, I really enjoy big mountain skiing and have been told i am an exceptionally good skier. I would like to do some comps next year, but will only be 16, so what do you have to be able to do to do well in these comps/ what comps can a 16 year old enter and possibly win?

thanks guys
 
Just pick a clean, smooth line with airs that you are comfortable with and charge it. If you have multiple runs, get one nailed before you start trying to go big, that way you have something to fall back on. As a 16 year old that's new to competition, don't expect to win anything, just go out there and enter everything you can so you can gain some experience.
 
i bet you really could do it if you're not totally bullshitting. the line you choose and how well you ski it are basically the 2 big factors... for instance, if you choose an easy line but ski it solidly, depending on the comp, you might place better than a burly line where you kill yourself. then again, nobody likes to see a pussy ski.
 
well yea im not expecting to win i just wanna have fun but was wondering what kibnd of exposure i could get..but thanks for the feedback...just what comps can i enter
 
Lots of comps have under 18/junior categories, I think Red and Fernie do, not sure about comps in the U.S.
 
dude you have to cliff huck!! can you do that shit? and some grabs to throw some steeze doesnt hurt. Also you have to be able to SKI steep chutes and vert open spaces. you pretty much have to be able to throw down on any thing on the mountain. that means not just groomed runs and trail marked ones. THat means go out of bounds of rocks and over shit that nobody else likes to go over!!

gettin the idea..?
 
This is a very important question. In order to do well in a big mountain competition, you had better be skiing at a big steep western mountain AT LEAST 4 days a week. Go to biglines.com and read the recaps of the comps, then take a look at the standings. They usually have the home mountain listed for each skier. If you are killing it at squaw, snowbird, mammoth, or whistler, then you may start thinking about entering some comps. Do you know anyone who enters big mountain comps? If you ski at a good mountain I am sure there are some locals who enter these contests. They might be famous guys you have seen in movies, or they might be local superstars who are known at the mountain. If you get a chance to talk to them, do so. If not, watch them ski to get an idea of what level of ability it takes to compete. There are many video clips on biglines, but be forewarned: Video does not do any type of justice to the steepness of the terrain at these venues. Take the cirque at kirkwood, it is MUCH steeper in person than it looks on video. When you watch a video, imagine the lines are twice as steep, and the cliffs twice as big, as they look on the video. These are all guidelines on your decision. I think there is a website called freeskiers.org which has more info. If you live in Utah you should be familiar with the venue at snowbird, if you live in Tahoe and ski kirkwood you should recognize the cirque. Good luck and have fun. And be ready to huck 40 feet to icy landings, those guys go off!!!
 
Dude, I know a bunch of guys that kill it everywhere they go. They compete in comps at Kirkwood, BC, Telly, CB, Bird, etc.

Most of the guys who are good enough to even compete never get any exposure. You've got to be the best of the best and then some to get yourself noticed at the big mtn level.

Good luck...
 
Don't go into big mountain competitions expecting to be catapulted into stardom. Not only is that the wrong attitude to have when you're skiing, but you'll also be sorely disappointed when you find out big mountain gets NO coverage in comparison to every other facet of skiing. Competing is super fun though, just enter any and everything you can in your area and go balls out!
 
aahahahaha. Hopefully he knows he'll be skiing big mountain in a big mountain contest. the guys that get noticed are either hucking the biggest and sketchiest cliffs, or throwing really impressive tricks off smaller cliffs. There's not much middle ground. Pick a good line.
 
umm...online.

just curious...didn't you say you know someone who drops 80 footers on naxos?

that in NY or OOtah.

and regarding comps...just go do them.

Get a full face, backprotector, shorts if you want, mouthguard, and big balls.

I know people, not pros at all, who have just gone and done them and podiumed.
 
yes i know someone who dropped an 80 footer on naxos a couple of times, but i think he was lucky they didnt break cause he got lucky
 
if you want to win the comp just ski smooth technical stuff with a cliff or two on the way down and try to hit every feature u can. i dunno about exposure though cuz in my last comp there were only four juniors and like all of us got people tryin to hook us up now.
 
the main mistake for peolple who are new to comps is that they try to hit every feature possible on the way day. DONT try to do that if you want to win, or do semi-good.

i think enter one next year. if you like it keep at it and go out and keep working to get better at it. if you dont like it,then you dont like it.

watch vids on the snowbird, red, fernie, kirkwood comps and figure it out for yourself.
 
the world freeski tour has 3 stops in the us. jackson, snowbird, and kirkwood. i competed at jackson and snowbird. at snowbird there was not a junior catagory and i was sixteen so i had to sign up as an eighteen yr old to compete. its a world tour so u get some crazy dudes from france and some pros from the us. on the training day at snowbird a french dude hucked a 80 footer and landed on rocks and broke his back so this shits burl. get used to 50 footers. they judge u on line choosen, air, style, and aggression.
 
We have a junior comp in Whistler for 13 and under kids and 18 and under kids every year. it jsut happened last week but next year it will be bigger and more people will be able to participate.
 
^ You're talking bout the US freeskiing nationals with those three comps. Go to freesking.org for info on all NA tour dates. There are alot more like Crested Butte, Snowmass, Taos, etc.

You should be comfortable hucking onto hardpack for one! Most times thats what you'll be skiing, and you need to be able to go at least 20+ feet in those conditions and going fast, skiing technical shit.

Just go enter some and get some experience! Take it from there.

Oh, and Ive never heard of any comps requiring back protectors although most people do wear them. Full faces are kinda gay, too. I mostly see them on tourists at the bird.
 
by hitting the features i meant more along the lines of trying to be creative in the line you pick, its not all just finding the biggest cliff and hucking off of it (though thats pretty fun). its trying to be original and find a line that nobody has even thought of before.
 
Big mountain comps are hard, and full on gnar, you have to sit on a mountain top untill your number is called and then totally cold you haveto throw down hard and drop huge cliffs onto ice on occsaion, there are soo many good skiers, but the vibe is awesomeall of the worldtour comps 90% of the people you will meet willbe some of the nicest people you ever come across everyone cheers and its a great atmosphere,If your only a junior i sugest you go to the comp in Crested Butte they have a Junior comp and the venue is gnarl but not that gnarl, the qualifers for bm comps are usualy on kool spots, in order to win the key is to hit as many features as fast and as clean as possible ive seen guys only drop 15 footers and 25 footers in there runs and win pure skiing skills, The rules state though that you cant score higher than 2 points in anyother catagory higher than your line score, the line score is the difficulty of the line you pick and hhow steep and the exposure is.Its alot harder than you think to do well in these comps, there is a mental gameto itand the judging takes a while to understand.
 
Well i was talking to a guy once who judges big mountian comps, and he said that important aspects are line choce, which involves the technicality of your line, the fluidity of the line so you will get less points if you keep crossing across the fall line to get to different features. then there is how you ski it, do you charg it or are you hesitant, do you stomp everything? ect. then tricks, so do you just straigt it or do you throw flips 3's rodeos ect. Also he says that the judges tend to be older and do not understand how hard some tricks are, like a left three to a right three. so go inverted but do not expect the judges to tell the difference between a d-spin and a rodeo. and style is only marganily important, Also be ready to charge in flat light and heavy fog on shity snow.
 
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