I think what some greatly underestimate is time on snow and time training gates. Just because you have a lot doesn’t mean you’ll be good, but without it you can be good but not competitive. Even being 98% as fast as the fastest say in two runs of slalom, say 100 secs, means you’re 2 seconds back. It’s a cruel sport.
There was a podcast that had Jeff Lackie, one of Mikaela’s former coaches (he still was at the time), on. You got almost nothing about coaching her, but one of the big things was their managing the time on snow. He said, including all the races plus training, the amount of timed runs they had in a year was 11 hours. That’s it. And actually getting that with weather issues etc., wasn’t easy.
Can’t remember where I found this. Bode as a toddler at Tamarack-
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Curious as to what was Bode’s time on snow and running gates up through high school was like? Similar to others, more/less?
I doubt that’s actually the reason. I can’t see it being more than the fairly insane jumps built with regularity. For the casual user, the half pipe is largely self limiting. Real danger comes when you start to get significantly out above the lip. This just isn’t going to happen for just about everybody. It’s terrifying for one so it’s not going to happen again for awhile.
I have no problem taking just about any intermediate kid in if there’s not a crowd. Jumps? No way. It’s too easy to get height and end up in a heap.
I think rails are actually the top injury producer, but serious injuries probably come from jumps and half pipe.
I would say the reason half pipes disappear is the expense of making them. I’ve heard the figure of 900,000 gallons of water for snow making for our pipe. And that’s not a big one. Maybe 15-18 ft high depending on the year. Years ago for a couple seasons we had an advertised super pipe, 22ft, with a minimum (long) length and pitch. I have been told our super was actually only 20 ft.
So then there’s that time/energy to blow the snow. After the snow, it’s like two weeks or more of pushing snow, often with two or three groomers, plus a small excavator. Then once you get it close you’ve got to cut it with a specialized pipe cutter that goes on the front of a groomer. I’m sure that thing isn’t cheap.
So, it’s a huge commitment for a mountain. Most of the public don’t ever go in. Somehow there’s a perception that they’ll suddenly be in the X games, ten feet above the lip. Not going to happen. Many regular skiers complain about the resources devoted to it, especially in low snow years.
As a side note, not sure I’ve ever seen a decent pipe at Killington though they certainly could’ve had one. Mt Snow or Stratton over the years, and Okemo. Some have been total garbage not worthy of the name.