I'll finish up on mirror neurons from the last post, but before I do, some words about the past two weeks. I've been up at Mt. Hood for the past ten days or so, and it's been a long while since I've skied there. For some reason, after I graduated past the development team, we were always going off to New Zealand or S. America. Certainly cost is an issue, but gosh, you can get an awful lot done at Hood with the proper chemical broadcasting apparatus....
Gone are the glacially slow double chairs that begin to turn at 6:30 or so every morning for coaches and staff, 7:00 for everyone else. Detachable quads have taken their place (yes, this is NEW to me...) Also gone are any traces that skiers are the only snowsports participants who want to partake of Oregon's delicious summer snow. Truth... there's a lot of snowboarders up there... lots of camps with buses emblazoned with Nike, Rebok, etc... big names, for a big sport with big money; a great sport to "be seen" in. Very exciting times continue for boarders and their ilk, but the whole counter-culture appeal thing seems long gone. To me, the leading edge of fashion is something that hits you and gets your attention, without giving rise to nausea. There are so many baggy snowpants, dreads, and Dirk Diggler sunglasses now that, gasp, I really don't even see them any more... they're not on my radar. They've also installed several hand tows in and around the parks, so really, the boarding culture is seen but not felt in the lift lines. I like having them there... Their focus on creativity is actually something I think that's undervalued in the sport of alpine ski racing. No doubt this opinion of mine will come out as my posting continues. Hopefully you'll agree in time.
Regardless of how you feel about those who don't slide around on skis, the things that those in x-sports do remain quite spectacular, at least to me. The sport appears to have matured to the point where those who are in it to make a fashion statement only will soon be looking for the next thing that grabs people's attention with clothing, as opposed to miraculous body control and such. When that happens (e.g. form following function rather than the other way around) I'll be even more of a fan.
One thing that hasn't changed at Hood is the snow. Although I haven't been there in over two decades, there seemed to be no sign of global warming. Granted, the end of June is a fabulous time to partake of Hood, but, generally the snowpack this summer season seemed deep enough to last for a good long while.
Salted snow. As I mentioned in a previous post, Hood has a rather unique snow composition, at least to the uninitiated. On a typical 60+ degree day with the sun high in the sky, you can expect a couple of runs in the morning that will either be frozen or will have a nice thin layer of melt on top of mature corn. It's very fun and easy to ski. The thickness of that layer rapidly deepens however, especially towards the bottom of the mountain, and soon it's pretty apparent that the best natural conditions are retreating "up" the mountain as the morning wears on. Most decent ski racers can, will, and should, tune into the conditions in which they find themselves training. Hood is no different... generally salted summer snow firms up OK, but will consistently peel away even with higher edge angles as the athletes challenge the lateral adhesion capacity of this type of snow. The result is a generally later and lower exit beneath the gate that can be pretty frustrating to the uninitiated, especially on the pitch of the upper half of the Palmer lift where most of the training lanes are. As the speeds increase, and exits get lower, most athletes will simply increase their edge angle for better grip (as would usually be effective with mid-winter ice conditions). This doesn't really work as well on summer salted snow. Apparently this hasn't changed.
So what, exactly, can one do? I mean, someone has to figure this snow out and win the race, as it were, and I would in any event assert that the whole point of our sport is to meet the variables present in the sport as they are, as opposed to how we wish they were. Indeed, this ideal is true for most sports.
I often analogize the Formula One race car approach for this type of situation. When Michael Schumacher has a hot surface, he's going to get more drift, all things being equal, out of the same amount of wheel turn. Professional that he is, no doubt he adjusts not only his line but his timing to accomodate this situation. Racers need to nurture this instinct, and trust it, before they tip out of the starting gate when the clock is on and it really matters.
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