What would you change about park design?

It's just copied, that's the point. It's a shame because they could do so much creative stuff but it's just the guy who runs it can't be arsed to let the shapers think up new things *I don't even think they can, they're all Technine guys and some in the team who hate skiers* and it all comes from Killy, Bear, Whistler and SPNZ
 
There was a mini pipe at the mashed potato meltdown this year at springs with a couple small rails and bonks in it, definitely one of my favorite things they setup this year for it too. Whoever said more snowboarders is correct, 90% of them love skateboarding as well and love making terrain parks flow like skateparks which is a blast, but also like saga said steeps of snow can be jumps drops can be done from one groomer to the other in the right area just think creatively the mind is what limits your ability to do things until you see them in different perspectives.
 
This reminds me of that discovery channel show where the people would do some kind of stunt and the show would overcomplicate the physics aspect.

Most people build jumps thinking about the people that are going to hit them. You build landing and a take off that match each other. You test said jump. You determine what needs to happen to tweak it. Sometimes you might have a change in weather that complete changes the speed. When you test it you notice that you can barely clear it, or can't at all/ other people are casing it none stop. You can change the angle of the take off or if it's a lost cause move it a little closer to the knuckle.

Instead of being out their with an accelerometer trying to make sure the jump fits a set standard It would make more sense to test the feature and see what happens.

Sometimes you can actually do a better job just building a proper jump than jumping through all these extra hoops. When you build a jump you plan it out in advance. You take into consideration what you want if everything works out, the space you have, the snow you have, the speed you'll have, the people that will be riding the jump. You make a plan and see it through, making changes along the way as you see necessary to make the outcome a better feature.

I feel it make more sense for most people to build a jump using every jump they've ever built or ridden to help guide them through the process. I'm not saying that knowing more about the sport and the dangers is worthless, I just felt the need to mention that sometimes it simply isn't necessary to deliver a good product.

No matter how perfect the jump, it's always going to be a dangerous sport. Also with all the parks killing it out there you will still have many throwing together jumps with minimal effort or knowledge.

 
"I also believe we'll be able to design jump curvatures that minimize the risk of riders becoming inverted and landing on their heads. "

The main thing with that is people that just don't know or care building jumps. I can't stand take offs that are built so terribly that if you hit it safely there's no way to clear it, and if you clear it you need to invert or the jump will kill you.

I actually remember one particular time we were building a jump and the take off was ridiculously steep. It was built by a guy who really didn't know much about the sport in terms of what worked and what didn't for freestyle. I told him the take off was way too steep and needed to be reworked(It wasn't even close to safe)I told him that people were going to land on their heads if they hit it. He had a local test it and the kid landed straight on his head. Same person built a step over a couple years before where the takeoff felt like hitting a wall. I had spins dialed at the time, went for a 7 off the toes(snowboarding) Ended up completely inverted and splitting my nice protec helmet into 2 pieces.

People like that are where I def agree about the unnecessary dangers out there. I just wanted to point out that I felt experience and testing said feature is more crucial than anything else IMO.

Also glad you aren't taking responses as negative. I was thinking the same thing on my last post. Posted a few times in a row but I like threads like this about park design and they don't come around that often.
 
Does anybody remember the progression of the big 1/4 pipes? I think that's a good example of something where a project like OP is discussing is very helpful. People trying to take that much speed into a big 1/4, they messed around with the shapes of the transitions to help people carry a lot more speed to the top and boost it.

Then I just replied to a bunch of people in the thread in one post like I should have at the start. I'm done though, sorry about so many posts.

pgapro". Doing a 15 ft. jump will always be safer than doing a 45 ft. jump."

Not at all.

Several times I've ridden smaller jumps that are far more dangerous than the inferno jumps at mount snow. I don't think that was your point. But my point was

"A ski resort which lets people ski through their parks without helmet or back protectors, even if they do not have any experience, can not be really interested in peoples safety."

So not forcing the public to do something that honestly SHOULD be left up to them makes the mountains anti safety? I don't have a problem with skateparks or mountains having their own rules, but you're worrying about something that really is up to the individual. Regardless of the mountains rules I can wear a helmet, wrist guards, butt pads, back protector, floaties, or anything else I want.

luc

"about qparks: what they dont realize: with that super low salary they pay to shapers, you can't expect that the shapers are willing to go super creative and invest extra (mostly unpaid) hours into the park."

I feel like you shouldn't work in the job if you aren't going to try and kill it. I def agree that a lot of places under value and sometimes run out good workers, but I think using low pay as an excuse for not putting in the effort is weaksauce.

cleargoggles

"Laax is a copy of Killington and Bear a year behind, It's not creative or technical, It's a good park but is very copied from others "

I feel like you need a mix of both to have a good park. As much as I love seeing creative features that a mountain thinks up, I believe that people should always be looking at other mountains for inspiration. If you never copied another resort you would have to relearn everything. Basic jump building, angles for kinks, what setups people like and don't like. I value creativity but functionality should never be dismissed. I like checking out what mountains are doing, seeing the good the bad and using it too make what I build better without having to make the same mistakes. I think if more mountains had a folder of the best things other parks were building we'd see progression in many of the smaller parks. Some resorts just seem to live under a rock.

 
Definitely agree with you here. I can't tell you how many times I've watched weekend warriors at Vail take waaayyyy too much speed into a 10 foot jump and send it to flat.

Aside from jump shape I think a very important part of safe jump building is establishing a starting point so the speed can generally be figured out for those who don't have the experience yet. If you build a 10 foot jump with a 100 foot steep in run beginners aren't going to know to start lower or speed check before hitting the lip. The way parks are being designed these days most people assume the starting point is the starting point and you can just go from there. Some parks do a really good job of this with bigger jumps but this method needs to be used for all size features. I think everyone can agree that speed checking 10-20 times into a jump isn't as good as making a few turns and catching the landing perfectly. Speed management is also key for features in a row. When you can land a jump and just cruise into the next one it is a lot safer and smoother. When you have to speed check a lot in between it creates bumps and uncertainty. Same goes for not enough speed. Its sketchy having to land perfect and then point it into the next hit.
 
i would really like to see a few less difficult features in my park. i would consider myself an average park skier and i can hit all the features, but i'd like to see just a flat or down rail for doing some of my harder tricks on
 
The problem is that Qparks essentially just want drones, that will follow directions but doesn't bring much to the table in terms of creativity in the design. This is what happens when you have a huge operation like Qparks, in order to fill your positions, you need to also hire people who don't really give a shit, and are more there to just shred and party. I think the way to go is to have some sort of system that would help identify those people that are truly passionate and are willing to make this their career, and then make it at least some what worth their while, i.e pay them a salary they can live off.
 
Little mounds of snow

3-10 ft quarterpipes on the side of the trail. They are so much fun. Like this but not nesecarily with coping
images


Also these things like at the very bottom of this hill. the log thing.
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