Park-only skiers, a new (maybe) view...

outerlimitz

outerlimitz

Member
I've seen a lot of views on people that ski only park, and here is what I have come up with. I apologize if this is trite and has been said before.

I agree that if someone only does park and never learns how to ski the whole mountain at all, then that is lame. And, chances are, without the fundamentals of skiing, you can't be good at park (unless you are a gymnast like those aerial guys). I'd be interested to hear about anybody that truly kills the park but never learned to ski the mountain.

But in most cases, if a "park-only" skier is *really* good at park (good 3s, 7s, etc...), it probably means that he (or she) is just bored of whatever mountain they have access too. I challenge you to find a really good park-only skier from VT or NY who doesn't rip in general and who would not jump at the chance take a trip out West, even if they were not allowed to ski park the whole time.
 
Yeah, you make a good point about the east, hence why so many good park skiers are in the east, cause well, they have nothing else to do. Here in the west, we hit the park on days that there isnt good snow (hence week or 2 since last snow) which happens, but otherwise, we are usualy hittin pow or some good snow.
 
thats what happened to me- when i was little i raced, then competed freestyle, then just skied trees and the whole mountain. I was so bored of killington after skiing since i was two that i was gonna switch to snowboarding, then i started riding park and fell in love w/ it....
 
i think your right because you have to have the fundamentals of skiing down and most of the time it is harder to ski stuff on the mountain that whatever you are doing in the park
 
the only thing to da at my mountain is park, because its not really a mountain, bu more of a bump. i can hold my breath and make oit to the bottom of the run so the only good thing to do is hit the park
 
yeah, so many people is the park like cant even carve into a jump for gods sake. they skis like they're the jibberish guy and just kinda turn their skis sideways to speed check. it always makes me laugh when a kids talks shit and then cant even hold an edge.
 
see this is where i always get mad because people are say that park skiers cant be good skiers, but i skied for 14 years before i got into park (im 17 now) so i would consider myself a very good skier. however, now, i am very interested in park, and its pretty much all i do. and for some reason people have a problem with that
 
oh totaly, im just saying those park rats are always bragging about how good they are at "skiing" when in reality they really cant ski.
 
i dont think anyone said park skiers cant be good skiers. or if they did they probably said it because they suck at park and want an excuse to avoid the park. But i am saying that if you cant ski the whole mountain, no matter what you can throw down off the huge booter, you are not a good skier.
 
im from minnesota so all we have is park. one of my friends i ride with is a strictly park only rider though. he would definitally rather go to bear than any other place out west just to shred the park
 
fuck anyone and fuck their thoughts on what can be regaurded as true skiing. Guys who can ski big lines and do bc kickers are the ones who have the opportunity to. Just cause those lucky motherfuckers who ski thta shit are able to doesnt mean the rest of us aren't skers.
 
alot of skiers dont have the knowledge nor the connections to ski bigger mountain stuff.

i know that I would feel uncomfortable heading out with some random hippy guid to ski a bowl or something.

i know there si some great lift accessed terrain in tahoe, but alot of the time i am skiing alone, and park is where i have the most fun.

and plus i come from a skateboarding background, so i do not look at a mountain like most people do, in fact i find the whole "line aspect" overrated.

in first descent shaun white was talking about how he couldnt see a line on a mountain, i saw like four different ways that looked plausible. i mean, it wasnt a giant peak or anything, but still, if i wanted to I could, but it just is more limited when your skis stay on the snow.
 
I agree with that for sure. On a similar note, doesn't it piss you off in warren miller movies (and other ski movies for that matter), how the pro skiers always talk about their choice to ski instead of take a real job, like the rest of us wouldn't if we had the choice...
 
take it easy man, no one was sayin people that just ski park suck they were just sayin skiers that can do both are better cuz they are more well rounded
 
i know alot of people cant ski good out side of the park. im not saying EVERY park skier isnt good outside, but alot of people just dont do enough to learn the fundamentals.

i know that i pretty damn good at skiing all mountain. not like pro, but i can hld my shit together. i was basically forced into it because my friends dad ski raced semi professionally for 17 years and whenever i was with him he wouldnt quit telling me when my stance was wrong or whatever, and since then ive gotten so much better at everything including park.
 
Although I paritally agree with you, my initial point was that it is tough to be a good park skier without the fundamentals of turning and balance. If you dial those in, and decide that you want to focus on park, more power to you...
 
over course there are standards. We don't have to put other people down, but we definitely need standards. Advancing the sport is key
 
I agree with you outerlimtz because its not like you can pizza into a 60 foot gap, you hav to be comfortable going fast, and being comfortable with those speeds then launching into the air takes alot of practice and talent. You have to have a couple years under your belt atleast. Also if you think you can turn pro hitting rails that dont need speed, good luck. You have to be good at everything.
 
im not necessarily into backcountry because where i normally go SUCKS dick so that why i prefer to ride park, but i guess u can say i have some skills in riding them mountain, because you have to be able to reach the park in order to ride it.
 
i like skiing park and i like skiing everywhere else, its more fun, and you are a better rounded skier.
 
yea i kow that...you missed my point of how its all about what opportunities one may have.

People who bitch about park rats should try saying it to some poor smuck from the mid west..where all he has is a shitty land fill to either learn do carve on 200 vertical feet or slay the park and would kioll for the opportunity to ski even a decent east coast park..not to mention bc shit.
 
if your a strong skier i bet you would be more comfortable in park but i also think park rats develope a rad style and do become solid in park if its all they do
 
I completely agree. Most skiers who have been skiing since an early age quickly dominate the mountains here in the east. The park is literally a sanctuary for a sport that has become boring. People always feel a need to learn or progress at something. And well, terrain is limited here for progression. I'd definitely jump on a chance to go out west. But I will at least be going to tremblant over spring break... and thats much better than pennsylvania haha.
 
I'm one of the "taught myself to ski" kids. I took 2 lessons when i was 9, and never skied again 'till i was 14. From then to now,(I'm 19) i've just followed my friends, and tried to do what they do. Surprisingly, i'm better now that one of my friends who has been skiing since he was 4. the difference with me is that i'm willing to push myself. I'm not afraid to fall down, so I've progressed much faster. After my "learning years* I felt pretty comfortable skiing anywhere on the mountain, but couldn't ski bumps to save my life. One day I just kinda ventured into the park and hit a few of the smaller kickers. It was way more rewarding for me than just doing alpine all day. So i've skied park ever since. Doesn't mean that I'm in the park all day long, but that's where the majority of my time is spent.
 
I agree. Although I personally cannot STAND people who just sit in the park all day, and granted, some people are naturally good in the air but have shitty form on the ground. However, I found myself last year being bored back east if the whole mountain wasnt open and just spent the whole day skiing backwards and in the park 90% of the time...something I had never done before.
 
i sit in the park all day unless there is pow or cliffs or lines to be had elsewhere... i hate skiing bumps and groomers... however i can ski all mountain, i raced for 7 years and bumps for 2... so yea, however i know a kid from tahoe who cant ski but kills it in the park... he is dope
 
ive noticed though the skiers who can rip all mtn throw down harder in the park than some of the parks who never cant actually ski the mtn...
 
I don't only hit up the mountain when the snow is good, in fact I like trying to rip/huck when the snow sucks. It makes you a much stronger skier. In the spring time I'll usually ski mountain all dya and do park for an hour in the afternoon just to dick off
 
all i ski is park, and why the hell not? i'm not that great, so what.. do you expect me to throw tricks off pow booters n shit if i can't do them in the park first? i feel park is the first step. once you get good at that, you can bring it to urban or back country. plus, i love riding park. the feeling of progressing every day i'm out there is awesome. i love the sense of accomplishment once i nail a new trick, or grease that rail with steeze.
 
i agree with you... my friend who is freakin amazing at skiing can do a spin past a 5... and can do rails good... and posted a video last year of him doin this and he got railed on... he kicks my ass and anyone elses ass that i know in the BC... He's a true skiier that can ski everything and can land anything in the BC. theres my rant.. late
 
There is a ton of incredible big mountain terrain in Tahoe that is lift accessed. Just explore a little bit and get to know the mountain. But pay attention to cliff signs until you know the line you are in. About 5 years ago a snowboarder died in the fingers at squaw valley because he did not follow signs and got in over his head. Very sad. There does not need to be powder to enjoy KT-22 or C2 or many of the other great areas Tahoe has to offer. In fact, if you only enter steep terrain when there is powder, you will never be a great big mountain skier, only a great jibber. Just search around a little bit, you do not have to follow sketchy hippies to have fun. As to finding the whole "line aspect" overrated I am not sure I get that. I have never heard anyone who can both kill the park and kill big mountain lines say they prefer the park. I wish they did though, if everyone wanted to do nothing but ski park that would leave more powder for me.
 
exactly why i got into park.. i ski in southeast indiana, not much of a challenge there so i ski park. there is always something new to learn or another challenge to overcome
 
the way i put it is an east coast skier can easily learn how to ski BC ( i have done it, not hard)......but bringing a west coast rider to the east is a different story. ( i.e. learning how to ski on ice, rocks, glades with no pow, HARDCORE COLD like -50 with out wind chill, etc.)
 
im a snowboarder who switched to skiing 2 years ago so i jumped right into the park my first day even though I could barely make it down the trail. I've never skied powder or real backcountry and Im sure its amazing but until then, the park is will youll find me 90% of the time.

Like with my freeride team at school, im probly the 2nd best jibber in the group of 16 kids but I end up doing the most boring, edging/turning drills with my coach than almost anyone else cause I dont have the form that all the kids who have been skiing for super long or raced have and he knows it. It also doesnt help that I do all the drills riding T halls on ice...

but i think as long as your having fun who gives a fuck really? If i had powder bowls to ski I would ski them. but i dont
 
Yeah totally right, in Virginia thats all we have to do the mountain got lame after a season. It helps to know how to handle a fear in other situations that you may run into on the big mountains out west (on top of a big line of cliff)even though we may not be able to experience the skiing out west a few times a year
 
I've been skiing for like 11 years on the east coast mountains before starting to do only park. I just don't understand how i could have started park without even learning to carve... And yeah, i would definitely take a trip to the west coast, cause i could finally ride deep pow. stop blaming east coast skiers because they are only doing park, thats all we can do. if i had fucking huge mountains filled with pow, i would fuckin rip them!
 
I've been on the snow since 7th grade, now I'm a freshman in college and I was only skiing for the last 4 years. A friend of mine taught me how to do parallel turns on skis on my first day and I never really snow plowed. The only thing about my skiing is I really no idea how good/bad of an all mountain skier I am because all my friends stick to the park and I'm in PA so the slopes aren't too challenging, I'm terrible at moguls but I ski everywhere else just fine. I pretty muc learned how to ski by watching popele go down the hill while I was riding the lift up, if I saw someone who looked smooth and flowed down the mountain then I looked at what they were doing and I learned to ski that way.
 
its kinda hard to see how people don't like to go out of the park seeing as i ski at squaw. it would convert any of you
 
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