How old were you when you started riding park and am I too old to start?

Patrick_Bateman

Patrick_Bateman

New member
I'm about to turn 27 (5'9 155lbs and pretty athletic) and started learning the ski basics this season (never skied before). Going downhill on greens and blues were kinda boring so I started beginner terrain parks.

Just recently spent a bunch of money on my own skis since rentals made me mad (I got Line Anthems, Look PX12, and Salomon SPK boots... thus I am set up for park). Now people are telling me and I am reading that I am too old to be doing/starting freestyle. Plus I keep hearing that I should really be an advanced skier before I should try park (again, I'm a beginner).

I don't plan on being a pro (obviously) I just want to have some fun, should I just block out the advice from others or should I keep going on greens and blues to get better? If that's the case It'll be harder for me since I bought park specific gear.

How old were you when you started riding park?
 
Just go for it. The only thing that matters is that you are doing something you want to do.
 
if i were you i would get really good at skiing outside of the parks before you start. its helpful just to be very confident and comfy on your skis.
 
i was was 13 when i started park. and just so you know being able to ski the whole mountain helps alot for learning park, and with your style. i am in no way disscurraging you from park skiing, it's fun, it's why we do it, but dont spend 100% of your time in the park.
 
i was 14, but if you want to try it, try it! its just for fun anyway. you could always spend half the day in the park and half working on your skiing.
 
Yea, I'm not scared about it. I got a 2 hour lesson my first day then I went off some small jumps and landed a couple. I've moved up to blues on my second day of skiing and could control the speed (I was going pretty fast too). I tried to keep it under control since I didn't want to endanger anyone else on the hill.
 
Yea, I didn't plan on it. Just wanted to spend a little more than half of my time in the park. I still warm up on greens and then blues. Thanks for the advice. I researched the Anthems and found them to have pretty good all mountain ability for a park ski.
 
I went to summer camp in '01 and '03. My home hill never had a park. I moved out to Seattle a year and a half ago and last winter was my first full year of having a park. I'm 24 now. I'd say if you just take it easy and stay within your abilities, then the jumps in a park are pretty well design to minimize impact. I can't emphasize the importance of flexibily and conditioning though. Always stretch before skiing and learn how to crash well.
 
It would be a good idea to have a good skill foundation to build on going into the park. Spend your time all over the mountain, ski powder when you get it, mess around in the park and on groomers when there isn't any.
Anthems are a fat enough ski you shouldn't have any problem in powder. Just because they are a park ski also doesn't mean they won't work on groomers, unless you are racing or are going fast and hard enough that you need really good edge control I think nearly all park skis will do great on hardpack.
Anyways there is no reason you should let your age slow you down, just remember to keep having fun. Good luck.
 
I watched a retired high school teacher (late 50s, early 60s) learning to spin onto boxes the other day. You're fine.
 
Get some crash pads. Falling when ur 12 you fall 3 feet, and when u r old like us we fall harder and farther. I taught a buddy of mine to ski and ride park in the same year we were 21-22. That was a couple years ago. if you have no fear start on some boxes and then progress to rails. and take it easy on jumps becasue you won't be able to judge ur speed at first. ur park skills will help with ur overall riding.
AND DON"T STOP RIGHT AFTER A JUMP IN THE LANDING... you will get smacked or a ski in the face
 
It's hard to have fun when you are preoccupied worrying what other people are thinking about you. Go have fun.
 
You aren't even that old. Sounds like you are making the right progress and don't be afraid to fall. Go for it bro.
 
skiing is all for fun, if park is fun do it, don't limit yourself because other stuff is fun too, but who cares how old you are. If the park is fun and you want to ski it. Maybe be careful, so that you can keep doing what you like, but go for it.
 
ski what you want as much as you want man

but i do agree with gettin real comfy with your skis before/while you get into park
 
Starting trying to ski park and being a "park rat" about 18 and this year I just started trying new shit.

But my cousin starting skiing park when he was about 27 or so and is learning rails and 2s off and 360s and stuff and he is one of the most fun people to ski with (Hi Craig!).

You are never too old to start something new and I say go for it man because I am sure you will have a hell of a lot of fun.
 
we need to get summersover in here. he spotted and videotaped his dad poaching his backyard jib with all his park shit on. i think it was summersover at least.

never to old to learn something new
 
I was 19 when i hit park with skis for first time, started skiing at 18. i'm 23 now. just do w/e makes you happy. if you like just hitting boxes and straight airing with some gaper ass grabs go for it! whatever makes you happy. Don't mind people hating on if you suck. I've scene too many gapers straight airing 40ft'rs doing daffys, but you know what they have the biggest smile on their face.
age has nothing to do with it. do what YOU want
-B
 
My dad started learning spins and grabs in his 50s. He can boost a solid 5 feet out of a pipe now too. You're not too old.
 
I started park at 19. My buddy started doing park with me at the same time. I skied for about 15 years prior and I'm very good at skiing, he had never ridden before.
Honestly we are progressing at about the same pace, I don't think being a good skier really even helps you ski park. If you can hold a straight line and some decent speed then that is really all the actual skiing you are going to be doing when it comes to park anyway. Being good at something like gymnastics would be much more beneficial.
 
Honestly, you can never be too old. So long as your still on your two skis and able to ride down the mountain, you can try anything you want. I just started riding park this year, my tips would be to just be careful and don't be afraid to start off small. Definately practice skiing the rest of the mountain before you start chilling in the park; what i would say is to take a lift where you can take a run down a regular run and then catch the park from there. Basic skills can really only be learned riding the trails, as the park doesn't really hold any natural obstacles.

The Main thing is to do what you enjoy! have fun man
 
i would say that your age is not a problem. just be ready for some weird looks every now and then. as far as where you should be skiing i would say that if youre having fun in the park with some small jumps and boxes and stuff that you should ride what you like. but i would also suggest spending half of your time outside of the park moving to more hard terrain just to work on some basic ski control and learning to ski switch on beginner hills.
 
I agree as well , never to old. I took a break from skiing when I got married and had kids. Now my kids are old enough to be hitting up the park so I am in there with them and I think I am more into then they are. I am 38 years old. What does happen with age though , is your mind will start to shut you down , and the falls seem to hurt more then they used to ,lol. But as long as your having fun thats what counts. My crew consists of 3 guys , combined age of about 120 years old. Yesterday we spent the day along the riverbank building jumps and working on some spins. laughing our asses off.
 
Never too old. Take a look at your priorities, you aren't afforded the ability to heal as fast as younger folks so you'll have to take that in to account with your learning curve, but if you are looking to do it just for yourself I think you can get lots of enjoyment out of it. I would't worry about what the others around you are throwing down, just progress at a rate that brings you fullfillment and you should have an awesome time.
Oh yeah, the most important advice, take inspection runs. DO NOT blindly hit jumps, ski down and inspect them, look at the take-offs, the gaps, the landings. Speed is really important to get a grasp on, and where a 90lbs 10 year old starts from to get enough speed may not be the best spot for you. Inspect. Inspect. Inspect, the easiest way to avoid unnecssary injuries.
 
I started skiing when I was 11. I'm 20 now. I started skiing park seriously this year at 20. Partly due to park skiing and park skis not being as big as it is today when I was 11, but also due to 2 years of injury when I was 16 and when I was 18. I might not be progressing as quickly as I would if I was 12 but in just a few weeks I've learned flat boxes, c boxes, some flat rails, culvert jibs, and am working on getting down 1s and 3s right now.

I'd say you still have plenty of youth in the tank. Split your day between learning new stuff in the park and bettering your ski technique. If you can ski with someone else in the park. That will speed up your progress better than anything else.
 
11 or 12. but you are only as old as you feel... so just go out there and fuck shit up, its entirely mind set. you don't have to ski for years upon years to be good, you just have to go at it with a clear mental picture every day your skiing and you will get exponentially better.
 
your only too old if you think you are, keep your confidence up and you'll do fine man.

best of luck, and you should do like, a parkumentary. make edits like 2 times a month showing your progression, and let NS help you.
 
Like quite a few others here I started later on. I was in college when I started hitting the park regularly. Growing up in the midwest terrain parks were pretty much non existent and we'd be lucky if there was one jump, so it wasn't until college that good parks popped up in the area. The biggest issue holding be back was the threat of injuries. I was competing in sports in college and now with a full time jump I can't afford to be sidelined for more than a day or so. Start out easy and work up slowly would be my suggestion. I've also noticed that I will be a bit more sore than I was a few years ago for similar falls, so take a break between days if you're a bit stiff. Riding on those days usually makes things worse and often end with bigger falls.

Go for it though and have fun with it.
 
Definitely not too old, but I would suggest really working on the basics of skiing which are the foundation of all skiing disciplines, control and confidence is so important in park and you learn that by progression to tougher trails, more technical terrain and making turns at higher speeds, living in the park won't develop these, so a good mix of the small parks and all mountain skiing is important.
 
Yea dude go for it. My dad is a ski instructor at my mountian, he is 56, and he was doing a clinic where they had to learn to ski switch (helps alot with teaching people because you can watch what they are doing). All the ski instructors are in their 40's and 50's learning to ski switch. You can never be too old to try something new. I started skiing in the park when it first opened at my mountain (I was probably 8) but didn't get twin tips until I was 13. I am now 18. Once you start getting comfortable, don't go thinking you are invincible. I tore my ACL on a 720 this year, and am sitting here 4 days after reconstructive surgery. Injuries can happen to anyone. I have been skiing since I was 4, this was my 15th year skiing and my first injury from it. If you do get injured, don't let it hold you back.

Another thing is you should definitely get comfortable skiing all over the mountain. It will help alot. Like someone else said, take a normal trial down and then hop into the park if you can. That way, you get the best of both aspects. Park skiing is alot of fun, but there are alot of stuck up kids who will hate on you for not being good. You have a really nice setup, kids are going to mock you because of it. Just ignore them, if they are that immature, just ignore them. Don;t worry about what other people think of you. As long as you have a good attitude and are having the time of your life, it is all good. It also doesn't hurt to ask if you need some tips in the park.

Best of luck man, I hope you get out there and have alot of fun, don't give up.
 
I am 26 and have always considered myself a backcountry/pow skier, but started getting into park a bit last year in the spring. Learned backs, 5s, 7s, lincolns and now this year with the shitty snow in CO I have been skiing alot of rails.

Ski slides, one footeds, hippy killers, switch-ups, k-feds, multiple 2s, etc. Its fucking FUN!

Never too late to start man.
 
I would definitely try park but you should be comfortable on blacks and the rest of the mountain so that park will seem more fun/easier.
 
This,
I was 20 when I started riding park, I'm 23 now. If you are in the midwest there is no reason not to try, also wear a helmet, rails can hurt. If you are really really scared of falling and actually hurting yourself I know some older guys 35+ that go into the park with some body protection under there jackets. I mean you aren't that old so click point shoot.
 
exactly what malcolm said. its super fun, don't let people try to discourage you from trying. you should do what you want and have fun doing it, that is skiing to me. never to old to have fun, and that sounds like its your mindset so go for it.
 
Yeah, def wear a helmet. I even rock thin padded shorts too. You can't even tell you are wearing them, but they help alot. Falling 80 times learning stuff like blind 2s will lead to ALOT of hip bruises.
 
oh and my friends dad ride the park at stevens, hes like 50 and he hits the down flat down rail and can 270 out and throws some 3's and 5's off the waterfall jump (at stevens)
 
Im 26 and I still ride park, granted I didnt just start. If I were you, work on some moguls and some more basic skiing around the mountain for awhile and then start doing some 180's and progress into 3's. Yea it is better to learn earlier, but honestly, the older you get, the better air sense you gain. Granted, the wrecks hurt alot more though....

I plan to be riding park into my 40's ....
 
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