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The Official Michigan Winter Thread

490K views 8K replies 153 participants last post by  sabatoa 
#1 ·
Alright everyone since Summer is over, fall has just begun and we've already had our first rail jam of the year, it's time to start a new thread for the 10/11 winter.

Last year we had the "Southeast" michigan thread, but I think we should do all of Michigan. Sure, most of population lives in S/E michigan but we all ride the same resorts in the LP and even the UP if we get a chance, so we should have one thread to bring everyone together.

Cheers everyone we're probably only like 70 days from open resorts!
 
#2,751 ·
So this weekend I think I'm going to take a break from driving up north and go somewhere closer to home. I'm heading either to Cannonsburg or Bittersweet and was wondering which would be better for the non-park rider. I stick mostly to blues and some greens with the occasional black. I've been to Cannonsburg but it was a few years ago on my very first time snowboarding so I didn't make it off the beginner slope and I've never been to Bittersweet.

Any opinions on these two? I should also throw in that my wife is going and she skis so that should be taken into account. Thanks.
 
#2,754 · (Edited)
I live between GR and Lansing so Cannonsburg is about 40 minutes one way and Bittersweet is about an hour and ten minutes. Not that it's a big deal, but I was just wondering if it was worth that extra bit of driving.

Sounds like Bittersweet might be the place for us if it's 100% open. We too are going Saturday, but it's kind of a date for the two of us to get away from the kids for a night so I'll probably scrap the idea of a meet-up with you guys this time.

Edit: Forgot to say thanks for the feedback. So thanks.
 
#2,756 ·
Oh no we are definitely not staying overnight. With twin two-year-old boys and a five-year-old girl and all of our family up north, it's difficult enough to get a good sitter for 5 hours or so. Also, we're doing a two-day trip to Boyne next month so there's always that to look forward to.

We actually had originally planned on being in GR on Saturday night though; my buddy's band out of K-Zoo is playing at The Pyramid Scheme. However, my priority is snowboarding this time of year.
 
#2,757 ·
Funny, we are almost the same. We have twin girls that will be 2 in Feb, and a boy that just turned 4. I can get my parents to come and stay the night about twice a year. Lately my wife and I have been taking our vacations with our own friends...she went to New York City in October, I'm going to Whistler in Feb...I think I win.:D
 
#2,758 ·
Nice! There is something to be said about separate vacations, although my wife & I do a "together" vacation, too, we have always done separate trips as well. She's in Florida as of yesterday afternoon for a few days with our 9mo daughter and grandma. I'm going to CO in March with friends -- but I took today & tomorrow off work to shred locally. I win :D
 
#2,762 ·
I am taking tomorrow off, but can't decide between Caberfae or Cannonsburg.
Caberfae, they've had a lot of snow up there this and last week. My friend was up there Monday and said the snow was awesome and I was just there on Saturday.

Normally I have my Fridays off but I have to work tomorrow. Fuck I'd like to go.
 
#2,767 ·
I'll tell you what, you can be surprised by what they can do. Our daughter was 4 when we first took her to Caberfae last year and she didn't get it right away but she had fun. That was the most important part.

Last weekend we paid the 39 bucks (which included rentals and everything) for the 2 1/2 hour ski school. We left her alone for it and came back after a couple of hours and she was able to go up the tow rope and come down the bunny slope to a complete stop without any help whatsoever. And she didn't want to leave when it was time to go. Money well spent.
 
#2,769 ·
I am not sure if I am going to make it out there or not yet so I wouldn't take it. I am still debating it because I am trying to sell one of my old boards, and I still want to buy a contour roam2. To please my wife I need to sell some stuff first before I buy another board. What time will you guys be out there tomorrow?
 
#2,771 ·
quick mini edit from yesterday. forgot the memory card for my Sony cam so ended up just taking a few clips from my phone. No problem, GS3 shoots in full HD so aside from being a little shaky (hopefully Youtube will fix that for me) it actually turned out pretty decent.



For those of you who don't know the back story I basically have not hit any jumps in a few seasons since I knocked myself out. Just been real hesitant/fearful of them. I know I don't look that great on jumps but it was a big deal for me to A) hit the jumps (even the small ones) and B) throw a backside 180 (which I'd never done on a jump before).
 
#2,775 · (Edited)
That kind of shit right there is why I'm so hesitant to start hitting jumps. I mean, what's the general progression (psychologically as well as physically) to it for someone who generally just cruises?

Glad you're alright overall though man. Did you have a helmet?
 
#2,776 ·
Yep I was wearing a helmet unfortunately the helmet goes on my head not on my ass/hip :)

That was a sort of freak accident. Basically we had gone inside for about 40 minutes to have a beer or two, temps dropped rapidly while we were in, and this was the first lap after we went back out. I underestimated/did not account for the change in speed as the slopes firmed up, went in waaaaay to hot, didn't commit to anything and went off the lip off-balance. Overshot the landing transition and came down on my ass on the flat.

Out cold for about a minute. I called it a day after that. Could barely walk for a few days but was back on the slopes 4 or 5 days later I think. Hurt for quite a long while, and to this day now my right hip makes a clicking/popping noise that it never did before.

It is funny to look at this and like Sam's accident and even though we both got pretty wrecked (him moreso) we both got *really lucky* because both cases could've been worse.

But this is the only time in ~16 years of snowboarding that I ever really hurt myself until about a year later when I banged the same hip and saw stars falling off the wall ride...

General progression assuming you can already ollie:

Ollie off rollers and push piles, pop off side hits/transitions between trails, pop or ollie from the knuckle of jumps (to get a feel for landing on the transition), start hitting small jumps (5-10 footers - low consequence even if you knuckle them you won't blow out your knees or anything like you could on a much bigger jump), and then progress your way to larger & larger jumps.

I was never really comfortable trying anything bigger than about a 25 footer which are about as big as they ever build at Pine Knob or Mt. Holly. I have seen 50 foot jumps in person and they scared the shit out of me.
 
#2,778 ·
It is funny to look at this and like Sam's accident and even though we both got pretty wrecked we both got *really lucky* because both cases could've been worse.
So freaking true. Was I pissed I ended my season, hell yeah. But we can move, we didn't end up like the poor kid from Massachusetts.

Even last year some guy got himself paralyzed from waist down at Highlands messing around in Funland. My guess same thing, came in hot and blew himself out landing flat or sumshit.

You want to learn jumps, cool. RELIGIOUSLY follow all the advice and tips. Get the speed right. It's one simple thing that makes the difference between a little bang or a day/season ender.

I didn't follow my own rules, I didn't watch where other people dropped in from to gauge the speed. Bad call.
 
#2,777 ·
Cool I"ll keep all that in mind. Thanks.

I always seem to have my worst falls near the end of the day/night or after going in for a break. Never fails.

I think it would help if I ever get a chance to ride with people who can do these things already; I'm the kind of person who learns best by being shown how to do stuff. Everyone I go with either skis or just rides down the trails, which is still a lot of fun and all don't get me wrong.
 
#2,784 ·
But Leo is right and I mentioned this at MTH that one day (not sure who was on the chair with me). The drop zone method only works for the first hit in a line of features. From that first drop you need to make sure you have the right speed for the first jump but also enough (or more than enough) to carry you through the rest of the line. After you land the first hit, you don't get to "drop" in again, you can only speed check at that point.

I'm not saying the drop method is useless because it's not, but what's more important (and what the drop method is a proxy for) is gauging speed. You should be able to know, regardless of where you dropped in, whether you have enough, not enough, or too much speed for the next jump. Dropping helps you gauge that speed and puts somewhat of an upper bound on it, but that's it.
 
#2,785 · (Edited)
I'm not arguing against your (and Leo's) point about a jump line but like I told him, it's apples and oranges because our original convo was about a single jump, not a jump line. I concede that each jump line is going to have it's own nuance and speed checks could absolutely be needed.

My point was only about a single jump. I have ZERO experience hitting a line.

This all started because I told him that you're better off finding out where your drop in is rather than doing a number of speed checks because then every time you hit that jump you're going to have to remember to get those same speed checks in. You're better off knowing where you should actually drop than relying on multiple checks leading up to your hit.


...and then of course on that very run I take my own advice and shit all over it and launch myself into next season. FML lol
 
#2,789 ·
I'm not arguing against your (and Leo's) point about a jump line but like I told him, it's apples and oranges because our original convo was about a single jump, not a jump line. I concede that each jump line is going to have it's own nuance and speed checks could absolutely be needed.

My point was only about a single jump. I have ZERO experience hitting a line.

This all started because I told him that you're better off finding out where your drop in is rather than doing a number of speed checks because then every time you hit that jump you're going to have to remember to get those same speed checks in. You're better off knowing where you should actually drop than relying on multiple checks leading up to your hit.


...and then of course on that very run I take my own advice and shit all over it and launch myself into next season. FML lol

Or just drop in real high and make the appropriate speed checks. It's not necessarily about making the exact same speed checks but knowing your board/speed/feel well enough to make the *right* speed checks and a good setup turn on to the lip, no matter where you drop from. Same result :)

You do have a point but like you said it's limited to one jump and that's it, after which you need to worry about speed checking.

The drop zone is a good starter tool and that's why the "watch where others drop and follow their line" method is always preached to beginners in the park. It is easy to emulate, and it works for the most part. But after you get good at that, the next step in your progression is to be able to gauge your speed and check as circumstances dictate (which as the tape shows, is not advice that I followed...)
 
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