My Halfpipe Progression: A Sunny Pipe

This is the third installment of My Halfpipe Progression: a sunny pipe in Tignes, 2006. See also part 1 and part 2.

As I mentioned in part 2, I couldn't wait for the weather to clear up. I'd been riding the halfpipe for a few afternoons in snowy conditions, and wanted to find out what I could do when I could actually see the walls...

Man it was so much fun. This was me getting my first little airs out of the pipe; going above the coping! It felt nice. Of course, watching the video back I was like: "damn, I didn't get my best runs" and "I went higher than that" - but at the end of the day I'm still pleased. To be honest, the photo that Wilka took (the one on the banner of this page) is probably about as high as I got. I would have like to see that run on video :-)

It's also worth pointing out how quiet the halfpipe is, even when the weather was good. From what I've experienced, this was a pretty damn good halfpipe, I was spoiled having it this quiet. What's more, one of the days was the same day as the Protest Jib Vib.

Some things I've noticed about my halfpipe riding (relative to a beginner):

• I should take more speed into the halfpipe when I drop in. If I get it right I can make my first hit the biggest, and hopefully carry this speed through the run
• I go higher on the frontside wall. I think this is because (a) I hold the edge better going up this wall and so take more speed, and (b) I land better on the backside wall and so retain more speed from the previous hit*
• I still need to build consistency, I guess that will come with practice

*On the frontside wall I tend to come down on a toe edge meaning that I have to transfer edge on the flat bottom and do a little carve thing - so I lose speed.

Unfortunately I don't think I'll get to update this Halfpipe Progression series for a while, at least not with video. I did do a few runs in Deux Alpes last week, but that was about it. Hopefully I'll get some more practice in during the next winter...

The music is by Jack Johnson from his album On And On. I can't really ride to Jack Johnson, it's too chilled out. However, this track seemed to suit the sunny, relaxed atmosphere of the halfpipe in Tignes. The whole album is excellent - but then again I don't think there's a Jack Johnson track that I don't like. I hope you enjoy watching!