The Younger Generation is failing skiing.

This is spot on. But as others pointed out, more pow for me! And seeing kids hike park all day then rolling through once or twice and showing them up is always a nice feeling.
 
Definitley agree.

I will be 16 in January and have been skiing since I was 3, my dad taught me everything. Then last year I skiied park for the first time. Just a way to make skiing more fun.
 
I agree, I see way to many of those kids. I understand that they can "just have fun even if they are bad" but they would have more if they were actually experienced. Everybody has more fun when they are good at something
 
Just be happy they aren't tracking up your pow and let them be. What are you gonna do, go teach them how to ski properly?
 
I guess it's their loss, if someone is hiking a rail all day while missing out on a pow day, that's their fault. However, I do agree that people should atleast have basic skills before venturing in the park, not just to and from.
 
Tom wallisch's landings are clean. No arguing that. But, I'm sure he can ski big mountain just as well as most patrollers, who are required to be "3+" skiers so they can access the hardest terrain. Just saying, Tom wallisch doesn't exactly 'suck' at skiing and I'm pretty sure he worries about his form. Commentators are spot on hen they say that judges score him so well because of his transition between rails and jumps earn him a fair amount of points. Not to argue, but for people who want to take it to the next level, you can't suck at regular skiing and turning and stopping.
 
So, using your logic, if I can ski very dynamically being a PSIA certified instructor, but if I can't ski park very well, am I failing the newschoolers generation? I am not disagreeing with you, but just think about their chosen path of progression. Some choose to learn, and perfect their skiing abilities on and off piste, while others choose to first take it to the park. I may not be part of the younger generation, but I am part of this newschool generation as we all are. So tell me, because I am not great at park, but can rip it anywhere else, am I failing skiing?
 
I came into this thread ready to kick the fuck off, but after reading OP, I wholeheartedly agree. +k for dealing with this subject in a well balanced manner and constructing a coherent argument unlike so many dealing with issues like this.
 
Did u even read the op haha u r the exact opposite of what OP is talking about hes saying that people should learn the basics before going into the park.
 
Exactly why I dislike the kids that call you out when you miss your 5 but don't call their drop and cut you off the next jump.
 
No, he is saying that people are "doing it wrong" by not learning to ski first, but in others mind I could be doing it wrong by not progressing as rapidly as I could in the park before skiing regularly.
 
No it's not at all. We are discussing methods of enjoying recreation, not operating a potentially lethal machine.
 
i have respect for anyone who hikes a park jump on the east coast while the lifts are running. if they suck now there going to be good cause there actually "trying " to get better. plus who gives a shit about a pow day on the east coast hitting 5 foot cliffs into tight trees does not sound appealing.
 
Who gives a fuck if hes 14. i know 10 year olds that charge lines at squaw as well as the big mountain skiers who have been skiing for 25 years. im 15 and have skied since i was two. it doesnt matter your age if you know what you are doing
 
Quoting yet again for emphasis. These are kids we are talking about. They are finding their favorite ways to enjoy a sport we treasure in the most innocent way they can: by emulating some of their heroes. Trust someone who sacrificed some serious amounts of skiing time the last year and a half in order to pursue a job: it's always in the back of my mind and those memories as a kid and as an adult still haunt me every once in a while when I can't go shred. I still have my first ski pass from when I was 5 years old in Germany, horrified at some of the trails my Dad pointed at and eventually encouraged me down. I'd KILL to go ski a shitty jump all day to reminisce and relive even a shred of what I've experienced on the hill.

I've made countless friends on the mountain, I treasured time with my Dad on the mountain, and I asked my most loyal shredding partner to marry me on the mountain. So frankly, I don't give a fuck how any kid, teen, or full grown adult chooses to embark on that path.

 
my old room mate used to get called a faggot and a poser because he pushed mongo when he skated and now most skaters in boston know his name from his movies/ segments.

(kevin manning)
 
Touche -

I'd argue its not quite as prevalent as in skiing, as there is very few snowboarders that don't ride park vs. skiing where an immense part of the sport is not about it.

I speak only anecdotally, and use the comparison that half of snowsports is snowboarding, whereas only a small percentage of snowsports is 'freeskiing'. I'm lumping in ski instructors, racers and old people that just ski on weekends and hate 'those damn kids'. I'm also assuming that they feel that park skiing is 'not real skiing'.

Neither of us have real scientific data, so I will admit - my point may not be true. Yours might not either.
 
This is one of the many reasons you're a boss Mr. Steele, couldn't of said it better myself. Most kids don't get the privilege to be born on the slopes and learn proper form and all that jazz. I didn't start skiing till I was 13, but I fell in love with it and learned how to actually ski better along the way. I will admit that watching Tanner Hall in the 2003 X Games when I was a little kid definitely got me more interested in the sport, and overtime became a passion. Even when I skied like a little idiot but I was having the most fun ever learning a new trick every time I went out to ski. As long as you're having fun it doesn't matter about all of the other stuff, and if you care so much that it angers you, then take a chill pill and do something else.
 
I'd also add that regardless of sport, I think a person is being a fucking idiot by making fun of beginners, park riders or anyone enjoying the sport in whatever manner they so please.

Of course, not in a manner that causes harm to others but that is it.
 
You can tell those who actually know how to ski apart from those who don't so easily in the park.

The people who know how to ski have the appealing forward, agressive stance with skis typically pretty close together and the others have the awkward baby deer shit going on.

I don't know why they dont learn to ski first. It makes park skiing so much easier.
 
ya so im from minnesota, and not many people know how to actually ski here. i learned to just deal with them and not really care.
 
This ^^^

Yeah sure ive been skiing since i was 5 and for the past two years have been into park, sure on a nice day i like to hike some rails and get better but i love to take some average runs and work on my skiing, skiing backwards, carving for jumps, controlling speed, etc. Yeah obviously on a pow day you're not going to ski park but i always see kids doing it when i lap through the park quickly and i just put my head down and keep skiing as they hike a dumb butter box while im skiing some pow or glades. Like these 12-13 year olds think they're the next Tom Wallisch, smh go ski real stuff and enjoy park when it's time.
 


these guys god they're so fucking annoying.

every time I see them on the hill I feel like bashing their skull in.

they act like they're the shit and give everyone so much attitude.

they also suck dicks hahaha
 
I'm also missing where all these east coast resorts that are just dripping with pow everywhere are?

I mean most times in the east a 'pow day' consists of about 3" of fresh on top of ice. At least when they groom the park the landings are a bit softer.

More than half of the ski resorts in North America fucking suck. Park is the only thing that makes them bearable. I mean what...are people supposed to carve corduroy or bash gates all day to pass your certification as a 'real' skier?
 
this, sorta.

i ski a lot of park, only been skiing for 3 years now, but i still took time and learned how to actually ski, i may not be good at powder due to the being on the east coast, but that doesn't mean i ski pizza or with my feet super far apart ALL the time, granted i'm sure occasionally i look like a fuckin idiot.

not all brand new park rat skiers only slide rails, some of us actually do enjoy just skiing, and do learn how to actually ski while learning to ski park.

that being said..i do agree with this thread, the kids who just go straight to park without putting any effort into actual skiing ruin the sport, and eventually all we are going to have is a bunch of nick goeppers and bobby browns, who just toss dubs and look fucking retarded the entire time
 
I've been skiing since I was 2 and 1/2 years old. I am a very good skier, but only recently have I been trying to get good at park. I've always known my place though, there is nothing worse than the 11 year old who has a Go-Pro on a pole and cuts lines and then does the stupidest looking box you'll ever see.
 
im pretty much in the same boat as you... for the top paragraph

Lets get one thing straight everyone, Bobby and Nick do not have bad style. They are just developing their style still because they are young.

That is all
 
Clearly you've never been to jersey... Pow for days.

But 100% this. Like I said, I learned to ski (Whatever that might mean to you.) at a young age before I ventured into the park. By that, I mean learning to turn, keeping skis close and parallel and all that. But now I just hang in the park. I still enjoy going fast and making tight turns and all, but that's not all skiing is.

It's not all about pow and trees either. I can't even ski the trees cause there's no snow in them, cause 90% of it is manmade. No cliffs to jump off either. Usually no moguls, cause that will be a gaper genocide. The trails are skinny, not steep and filled with gapers. When I make my yearly trip out west I don't touch park stuff, but not because I want to do "real skiing." It's because the skis have sharp edges, the trails are wide and relatively empty and you can actually go through trees. And I enjoy all of that too. There's no real skiing, just what you do.

And I still say that learning to make turns and have proper form is good for you, but I could care less if people do. As long as they stop running into me when I'm tying to ride.
 
What's that? I grew up skiing a hill in West Virginia. There's a point where you either choose to ski park or quit. I chose park. And now I get to hear this elitist bs all the time from old dudes on the lift "grumble grumble no form grumble"
 
And I thought that only existed in racing, until I went to ski camp last year and had a coach tell me I was skiing wrong because I didn't have poles.
 
Great post from David. You really shouldn't be able to tell someone that there is a correct way to ski. That is because skiing itself isn't a very correct thing to do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top