Goepper first to win a major slopestyle without poles?

Henrik won big air without poles...

I think people need to realize poles are fucking pointless for skiing park. Judges have accepted it (4 years ago you'd get deductions for no poles) so hopefully more slope/pipe skiers start realizing it and go no poles if they like do that better. I haven't used poles in the park for a couple years now and I know a lot of guys doing the same and honestly who fucking cares? I hate all the yuppie big mountain dudes/skiers who think theyre super bad ass who hate on people not using poles. I hate skiing around the mountain without pole but when it comes to park skiing, they just get in the way.
 
Which big air did Henrik win without poles? At least not the one when he did the nose butter trip :p
 
Wasn't he no poles at dew tour last year?

Anyways, goepper didn't get docked which is a big deal IMO
 
I don't hate people who go no poles. I hate people who go no poles that can't even fucking get through the lift line without flailing all over the place and stepping on my shit.
 
He was yeah, but went back to poles. I think he may be giving up on no polesWhy should Goepper have been docked???
 
yeah this. i can't imagine wanting to not have poles in lift lines, on flats, etc but meh, dece snowboarders do it fine so whatever
 
This. I choose to use them because it makes moving through lift lines infinitely easier. Not to mention they help with regular, non-park skiing.
 
Yeah but snowboarders push with their free foot doe. Skiers either have to do that thing where they put their skis in a V and make an ice-skating motion or they use poles to push themselves.
 
You think he had no style?? Did you fucking see his run? It was sick as fuck! That lip blind 4 on the wallride was absolutely fucked!

And eheath i agree. I've been doing both this year. I feel so much more comfortable on jumps with no poles, but i can go either way on rails. Out of park i do either also, but on harder stuff (steep trees, bumps) i prefer poles, obviously. Just my opinion.
 
oh yeah well i was thinking more about flats, or when you're coming into a rail and youre just a bit short on speed, situations like that where they wouldn't unstrap and push

but yeah i mean honestly that's one of the biggest reasons i prefer skiing: that ability to add or subtract speed so much better, so i see going pole less and snowboarding as similarly inferior in that particular aspect of riding. no biggie tho
 
i remember a few years back, i think it was either the US open or the Aspen open. Anyways, it was right when wally was on the come up and he did one of those comps without poles and got docked points. i see it as just another stupid "X vs. Y" thing people love to get into. it couldn't effect me at all, really. its fun to ditch them for a few runs, but i like them because i mix it up between park and off-piste/ groomers.
 
in competition it should not matter at all.

and they are pointless for park but it comes down to preference. I personally dont like how it looks sometimes but could see why some like it.
 
poles do not get in the way of skiing park at all. goepper killed it without poles. makes relying on them to land etc.. much harder.

side note, how would candide do his amazing pole plant takeoffs if he didnt use poles? weird...
 
no poles make me feel more free honestly. I always feel like they're in the way a lot of the time, also I get some nasty skier's thumb and wrist on just random falls or if I just land wrong.
 
Remember when Wallisch slayed Aspen Open in like 07 and scored like 45.00 because he wasn't holding poles? That shit was whack as fuck. I guarantee you Tom wouldn't have ever skied a slope contest with poles had that not happened. Now, sponsored by Scott, probably no way he drops em.

On the Goepper subject, I actually thought his first run looked pretty damn good. I think his style is developing. He's still not my absolute favorite or anything, but I think he's getting better.
 
May be a dumb question but.. I know back in the day if you lost a piece of equipment during your comp run you would be penalized or that, now people are allowed to ski without poles, but if you choose to use poles and drop/lose one during your run does that go against your score in anyway?
 
Or reach a happy medium

"Park poles" as ive heard some people call them, but really just shorter poles. Stay out of the way in park but still useful on the mtn and lift lines, w/e

I'm 6'1" and use 36" poles everywhere just fine.
 
Now for me I have to use poles otherwise my hands just feel out of place, but other than that I really don't think they add or take away style. Really just preference.
 
Does he really count though.? He had a medical reason for not having poles. He couldn't hold them even if he wanted to.
 
I think more attention needs to get paid for this. I'm all for hating on someone with absolutely no style, but you can't just hate someone for the sake of being on a bandwagon.

Again - his style is very 'contest' - but he was super tight in that dew tour run. If you don't give that respect then you're the worst kind of sheep.
 


There's no question that everything was well executed, his run was stomped, all his tricks well grabbed and everything. The problem is his style, it's very aerealistic and has no flavor to it.
 
I thought it was pretty funny that all the announcers were ?!?!?! as to why he had no poles (or as to why he had a regular glove and then a HUGE mitten) until he actually mentioned his broken hand. Haha.
 
Had anyone else done that lip on blind 4 out of the wall ride and made it look that effortless and stomped that shit so hard, people would've shit the bed.

Anyone, go back and watch that trick on the wallride and explain to me how that wasn't motherfucking dope.
 
Please, keep talking. I'm sure everyone, including Nick Goepper, cares about how you feel about someone's style of skiing. Your cute little "my favorite skiers" list is important to us.
 
to those that think judges are docking people for not using poles you really need to get checked. they're not giving lower scores because skiers don't have poles, they're giving lower scores because most that go without poles look like absolute shit and have no idea what to do with their hands so their waving and flailing around.

i've been approached by a number of coaches after comps accusing me of this and straight up their skier wasn't smooth at all. imo henrik is probably one of the only skiers that can get away with it because of his smooth style and coordination. goepper got away with it because his run was tech and was able to quickly lock in his grabs and hold them all the way through the trick. he's not a "no poles" kind of skier and you probably won't see this from him again
 
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