seemed like a fluff article to me, minimal information and such a shallow overview.
How in the world could you calculate the infinite possibilities of how the human body hits and acts off a jump. It can be a "average" consensus at best. So taking into account the bodies movements and translating that into a real world solutions for average every day riders I don't see. Maybe this can be used in specific pro training jumps and Xgame building and such. The ability to standardize and add this to the everyday resorts across the country and world, I don't see being practical.
Plus there are so many experts already that have mathematical equations on the proper building of park jumps that have not torn up the human body,
I think I remember these guys. They tried to do a kickstarter type project to get people to fund their jump research, but it failed.
The big problem here is that they're trying to solve a problem that isn't a problem. Most park designers already know what makes jumps safer and how to build them safer, the research they're doing is just unnecessary and bloated.
It's mainly economic reasons as to why every mountain can't build perfectly shaped jumps. It costs more money to build, design and maintain a perfectly shaped jump and landing with low impact risk vs. building a crummy high impact step-down jump and calling it a day.
Yeah, I mean even if they get a bunch of info, they are still going to have to average it right? So the jumps still not be perfect. I think it might help a little. But not to the extent that these people are wanting. Big cooperation's with means to make the jumps awesome already might look into it. But that is the next problem. How do you get the resorts to buy into this?
You don't have to get resorts to buy into it. They already do hire the best they can afford and do what they can to design great jumps within their budget.
There are already guys out there who far more knowledge in park shaping and safe jump building then these researchers will ever know and they're already hired by some of the biggest ski fields out there. It's not a lack of knowledge, just money and snow.
For example, Whistler pays a lot to hire an amazing park guy out of Australia every season and the jump lines he designs and builds are noticeably better, safer and flow together amazingly well. The Whistler XL park rocks and the jumps are amazing for the terrain that's available.
They also spend millions upon millions of dollars just to shape the dirt, make enough snow to get the jump line built and get crew to maintain it. A good park cost an absurd amount of money to build and maintain, more than most mountains can afford.
It's simply a matter of cost, not a lack of knowledge. These guys are honestly just researching for the sake of researching, they aren't really finding anything that's helpful to any experienced park builder.
It's simple send your guys to cutters camp, get them cat experience, get testers hitting jumps at 7 a.m. before the park opens, have a dedicated park crew that rakes the features at least hourly, shuts it down if something is wrong, and is prepared to tell people to change things.
I think that you guys are underestimating the value of research and experimentation. I think that everything can be improved with scientific study. It may just take some time and effort.
The best jump builders right now may be able to build jumps just from experience and instinct, but that does not mean that the best jump cannot be mathmatically modeled. I'm not sure if this guy will get anywhere with his research, but I am sure that at some point someone will figure it out and make a bunch of money.
Once a successful model is found it would eventually become cheaper for resorts to build parks. They won't need to hire experts to layout their parks, but could instead hire a bunch of cheap labor to build to the specifications of a template calculated from a jump model.
I know definitely know less than you guys about this stuff but the way I see it, and I know this is kind of obvious and why it's up to the rider, but they'll never be able to design them effectively because all jump features have a specific speed range in mind... and last time I checked snowboards don't have speedometers.
Pretty sure the guys building the Dew Tour on top of years of experience are using math and physics. The problem is a jump at 8 in the morning on a 20 degree day is not the same that afternoon when the temp is now 32, sun blasted, and been getting hit all day. It's a changing dynamic.
There's factors that will never be able to be accounted for.
They can research away all they want but the guys is building "Ski Jumps" not park jumps which is a completely different thing.
Wax and rider skill almost made me over shoot an airbag jump. Everyone else was bombing it and landing in the middle. I do the same and land 1 board length from the end.
If you are a cat operator and you can't stand back and see if a jump is made correctly then no amount of research will help you. At my local hill the cat operators suck and I have seen them build the perfect launch, then immediately destroy it and build a crappy one.
Air & Style contest hosted at the Bird's Nest in Beijing, That jump is built for ski and snowboards specific math and physics! Its structure is built from metal tubing and a flat wood or plastic platform with a layer of fake/blown snow over it. My point is the science is already there but features made out of natural or blown snow change constantly. Just like BA said.
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