# Take-off question



## Technine Icon (Jan 15, 2009)

First of all when you say "popping", I am assuming that you mean ollieng(in other words using the board's flex to get more air. The best time to ollie off a jump is right at the lip(top edge of the takeoff). Too late and nothing happens, too early and you miss the "pop" that the lip gives you. There could be a few reasons as to why you are not getting much are: not enough speed, not a steep enough lip, popping too late or too early. Jumping is just going off the lip with both feet level, while "popping" is using an ollie motion to gain more air time off of the lip. In both cases, it is important to flex you knees in mid-air in order to absorb the shock of the landing. I hope that helps a little.


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## BlackBlue55 (Feb 23, 2011)

> First of all when you say "popping", I am assuming that you mean ollieng


I'm actively choosing not to ollie off of jumps in order to master the basics first. What I'm doing now is a centered pop off of the jump (see: How to insure you have a centered stance on your snowboard | Basic step by step exercise off the toe edge | Key Aspects Coaching). Another reason is that the jump is not flat.



> not a steep enough lip


Currently, I don't think we have a lip. We made the jump by making a waist-high snow mound and then used our boards to smooth it. Do I have to make an actual, physical lip or is this just a technical term to reference the tip of the jump?



> I hope that helps a little


It did! Thanks


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## earl_je (Oct 20, 2009)

Technine Icon said:


> First of all when you say "popping", I am assuming that you mean ollieng(in other words using the board's flex to get more air.


unless he rides a plain rocker board, then 'popping' would be pressing both nose and tail to pop the reverse camber up..


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

BlackBlue55 said:


> The problem I'm having is that I don't seem to get much air off of the jump.


It sounds like you're doing things reasonably close to correct. BTW, 'pop' refers to jumping off both feet at the same time, and it's different from an ollie. The question of getting height might be because you're jumping at the wrong time, but IMO it's more likely the shape of your jump. I've been building a lot of them lately on the bunny slope on Seymour (in many shades of wrong), and I find that the amount of curve on the ramp makes a lot of difference, as does the shortness of the curve.

If you don't have a 'scoop' shape, i.e. if your ramp is just like a board set up at an angle, you won't get a lot of lift. It doesn't take much scoop shape to get good lift, and too sharp of a scoop will cause you to compress as you hit the lip and lose lift. If you have the right length and a good scoop shape, then a hop right at the lip will give you a LOT of air.


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## BlackBlue55 (Feb 23, 2011)

> unless he rides a plain rocker board


I have an all-mountain freeride board (151 cm).



> to pop the reverse camber up


I'm 99% certain my camber is normal. If the board was flat on the ground, the middle of the board is the highest point.

Thanks Donutz! Now it seems much more obvious why I'm not getting any air. The jump is pretty flat with a slight curve. I'll have to go out and restructure it. Also, should I do anything special for the lip?


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## PanHandler (Dec 23, 2010)

try to square it up so you have a distinctive lip that you can pop evenly off of.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

BlackBlue55 said:


> Thanks Donutz! Now it seems much more obvious why I'm not getting any air. The jump is pretty flat with a slight curve. I'll have to go out and restructure it. Also, should I do anything special for the lip?


Not really. Mine just kind of drops off at the end, although as panhandler says, squaring it off so it's distinct is a good idea. The only time I have problems with my builds is when I don't have enough snow mass at the sides and at the end and it starts to compress down as I use it. The important thing is to have enough curve to toss you into the air, but a mellow enough curve so that it doesn't cause you to lose control, i.e. feel like you just hit a mogul. Takes a bit more work to make the whole structure a few feet longer to accomodate that, but it's well worth it for several hours of sweet air.


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## init (Mar 8, 2010)

earl_je said:


> unless he rides a plain rocker board, then 'popping' would be pressing both nose and tail to pop the reverse camber up..


How is popping different on a camber vs rocker deck? When your strapped in the entire base is level with the snow, so it doesnt matter.


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## BlackBlue55 (Feb 23, 2011)

> When you say "50 degrees" are you referring to the slope you are on, or the angle of the jump?


50 degrees is the angle of the jump. The angle of the terrain is probably between 20-30 degrees (mellow), so the lack of a transition in the jump is probably the cause of the problem.



> popping a little early won`t sacrifice too much height or distance


This is good to know! Now to dial in the timing...


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

init said:


> How is popping different on a camber vs rocker deck? When your strapped in the entire base is level with the snow, so it doesnt matter.


There is one place where it _might_ be different, but I don't have enough experience in this area to really comment authoritatively. When you're going through the transition on the jump, which is a concave area, the board will be bent into a rocker shape by your weight. This can be thought of as a pre-load. If you're on a camber board, the preload will be more significant. When you pop or ollie off the jump, the board should snap back into shape, giving you a little more oomph. Seems to me a camber board should impart more oomph, but I don't know how significant it would be. Unfortunately, I've only started these kinds of jumps with my current board, so I don't really have a basis for comparison.


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## sook (Oct 25, 2009)

Donutz said:


> Seems to me a camber board should impart more oomph, but I don't know how significant it would be. Unfortunately, I've only started these kinds of jumps with my current board, so I don't really have a basis for comparison.


Difference in ollie power between rocker vs. camber is noticible for sure, significant is all in how you ride. But the various kinds of tech they put into the board can help compensate. My DH2 can ollie just as high as any of my cambered boards. Before I busted it all to hell, that is


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