Rail skiers....

tommyp1ckles

tommyp1ckles

Active member
ive been skiing for the last few years but due to the fact that my home mountain doesnt really have jumps (super super east coast) but has some decent rail setup ive sort of become a "rail only skier" and i wondering if anyone can relate.
 
same. my rail game is so much better than jumps. (claim)i can switchup both ways, 270 off both ways and do a couple of the easier pretzles (/claim), but i cant 3 over anything over like 20 feet. its kinda embarrassing.
 
yeh haha ... whenever i go to a decent park all i can do over jump line is straight air...
im wonderin if tramp training over the summer would help...
 
It will for air awareness while trying a trick or for learning the feeling of a new trick. But the only way to get used to big jumps is to hit em'.
 
I had the opposite problem when I started skiing park, and I'm kind of jealous that there's a generation of skiers that's starting out on rails. Rails teach great balance and edge control and I can definitely say my overall skiing has improved since I've learned to ski rails well. So, becoming a good rail skier first is a good base, in my opinion. Solid rails skills will help you progress faster in other aspects of the sport when you have the opportunity.
 
Yeah I'm kinda stuck with doing 3's and possibly 5s off a 25 footer. Next season I am just going to work on my rail work alot.(270s out both ways, some switchups, and 270 on)

 
i cant do shit on jumps just like 5s sw 3s nd backies... i love rails though so much better on them than i am on jumps
 
i also forgot to mention that our hill is getting a super pipe within the next few seasons
im hoping that tranfers over well to jumps.....i rode one in killington a while back and it was super fun.
 
Definitely. Its all about knowing how to make your body spin in different ways. I always try a trick out on a tramp before i do it for real.
 
I have the same exact problem! The jumps at where I ski are just really crappy so I've never been motivated to hit them. I've found you just really need to sac up and go for it cause you don't know until you try. :) And finding someone who is a good motivator and pushes you really works great too! It's all mental, don't think.. just go for it.
 
i can 270 on, 270 off sometimes get a 450 off depends on the rail. And on jumps the only thing I can do is a 180 but yet that is the only thing i have tried.
 
Yup, this is the story of my ski life. I just hit up Keystone and i slayed the rails, but didn't do more than a three in the Large Jump line, not to be confused with the X-Large Jump line
 
claim.

i am better at rails because the kickers at my hill SUCK.

the only people that have fun on them are the gapers that roll over the lips.

 
yeah im way better at rails. the rails and jumps suck at smuggs but atleast you can fix the kick onto the rail
 
im the exact opposite... i could spin a 7 before i could even slide rails but this year i buckeled down and am sliding both ways and got 2s out but all you need to do is just hit jumps more...if you already slay rails then just focus on jumps for a few weeks and it will all come together
 
Pretty much anyone from the East Coast is a rail only skier, they also like to get railed when they come out west and to try to ski powder.
 
at my hill they always have a nice jump. problem is that in indiana the weather is shitty most of the time its either too icy or too slushy/slow. for this reason i am way better at rails (both 2s, both 4s, both sw ups, sw on, lip on, some 2s on) than jumps (1s and 3s over 45-50s and occasionaly a 5). i definitely wish i had good days for jumping more often but whatever, i like rails more bc i get more practice on them
 
i still enjoy jumps but i would rather hit a rail any day. it might just be because im better on rails so jumps get boring for me. I think if i start to push my self more it will be more enjoyable
 
luckily im west coast so i got a little bit of everything, my mountain definitly has better jumps than rails though
 
false.

I have skied east coast my whole life. All you have to do is GO to the good jumps. If your mountain doesnt have good jumps (like mine) you have to go to other mountains to step your jump game up.

being a good all around skier (pow, jumps, rails, and turning in general) is more important than being good at just rails. If your a really good skiier out of the park, you will quickly become a great skiier in the park.
 
actually

it's PRETTY MUCH true.

not to say that they aren't killer jump skiers but to alot of us, rails are alot more bountiful.
 
while i ski at loon and i think there jumps are sick so i hit there rails but dont really hike them because big jumps are way more fun than rails.
 
Im all rails, not just because our jumps are tiny but, I have so much more fun being technical than going big. Im going to work on my jumps though so I can acheive self satisfaction and do better in comps other than rail jams
 
i'm decent on rails, i can 270 on, and switch up sometimes, and 270 off both ways, switch on, and all that, but only land my 3 sometimes off small jumps haha
 
well you are sadly mistaken. Liberty does have decent jumps, they are just small. Roundtop built bigger shit this year, could have gone there. and don't even try to tell me big boulder doesn't have hittable jumps.
like williams said, you just have to make the effort.

and getting comfortable with jumps is just a process. if your not good at them, work at it. there are definately jumps in southern pa that will allow you to progress to a point. It is more about the kids you ride with than the type of parks/jumps you hit. there is a reason that roundtop has produced some amazing skiers. evan, pmin, bennyb, steve stepp (i could go on?) all would have killed to learn on the jumps lib had this year.
sorry it just pisses me off when people complain so much about those three resorts(whitetail, lib, roundtop). i spent a fair share of my time bashing it, but i am thankful for what that place provided me with, and i would look at skiing the way i do now because of it.
end rant.
 
im sure lots of people especially in the nj/pa/ area can relate to you. im from jersey and i do a lot of rails but i still love jumps a lot more. so unlike most people in jersey, i feel like im better at jumps than at rails. my home mountain never has a big jump to offer unfortunately, but i just try to make the best with what i have to hit
 
I'm better at rails than jumps because I practice on backyard setups all the time, and I think rails are less intimidating. I'd rather be shredding pow any day though.
 
one thing i find about rails is that you dont get hurt very much... i have the most rediculous falls on rails and i never seem to put myself out for more than 5 minutes.
 
yeh im gonna have to disagree with that
id rather see a skier who specializes in either park,pipe and jumps or backcountry stuff and is very good at what he does than an ok all round skier
not that theres anything wrong with riding allmountain but for some either we enjoy park rails more or simply cannot go anywheres that can support other types of skiing
the closest hill with decent jumps is several hours away and i dont have a car.
 
what he means is that if you have the skill to be an awesome skier outside the park (stance and balance, edging, line judgment, etc.) then park will be easier for you, because all those things are necessary to be able to ski park at a high level. I can't think of many pros offhand who don't have a racing background of some kind, and there's a reason for that. If you can only ski park, you're pretty close to an aerialist- they can do all kinds of spins and flips but most of them can't actually ski. Pipe requires a huge amount of edge control and a good skiing stance, and no one just starts off skiing backcountry, you need a considerable amount of all around skiing experience to do that well.
 
yeh that is true to some extent, i had a lot of techincal experience before i got into park riding... as for backcountry ... i can only dream of doing that at any hill near to where i live, not to mention currently my only skis are invaders.
and i have to disagree that park riding is close to arials... parks today are incredibly varied so you have to be versitle if you want to ski park... even more so for urban stuff...
 
opposite here. i suck at rails but am good at jumps, my pictures show both points pretty well. i just don't naturally get rails but i still have a good time
 
le relais have a pretty decent line of jumps+ you have one of the best jump's park (mont-orignal) not so far from quebec.
 
i used to ski only jumps and only really liked jumps. but then the good mountain with good jumps went out of business so now i ski at a shitty mountain with ok rails and terrible jumps. so next year i will mostly ski just rails it sucks
 
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