I'll give you an example, last year I spent the season in Whistler and a few weeks before Xgames Mark McMorris showed up to Whistler for a week or so ( I know it is not skiing but still ). I was looking at him in the park riding and he was a good snowboarder but he wasn't f*ckin amazing. But then he shows up at Xgames and gets double gold. Pretty sure it is the same thing for pro skiers. If you see them cruise around in the park, they are good skiers, but when it comes to to contests like Xgames and World Cup, they are f*ckin amazing. But then again this is my opinion but these riders know when it's time to throw down some tricks and runs

i feel a pro doesn't have as much to prove when he's cruising in the park, but it's the only place an am can be noticed

SkiCocaI'll give you an example, last year I spent the season in Whistler and a few weeks before Xgames Mark McMorris showed up to Whistler for a week or so ( I know it is not skiing but still ). I was looking at him in the park riding and he was a good snowboarder but he wasn't f*ckin amazing. But then he shows up at Xgames and gets double gold. Pretty sure it is the same thing for pro skiers. If you see them cruise around in the park, they are good skiers, but when it comes to to contests like Xgames and World Cup, they are f*ckin amazing. But then again this is my opinion but these riders know when it's time to throw down some tricks and runs

Its like ANY other sport. You could be the fastest sprinter, shoot the lowest round of golf, best RB, etc...when it comes down to it. If you can't perform in a contest situation it doesn't matter. Thats the difference.

SkiCocaI'll give you an example, last year I spent the season in Whistler and a few weeks before Xgames Mark McMorris showed up to Whistler for a week or so ( I know it is not skiing but still ). I was looking at him in the park riding and he was a good snowboarder but he wasn't f*ckin amazing. But then he shows up at Xgames and gets double gold. Pretty sure it is the same thing for pro skiers. If you see them cruise around in the park, they are good skiers, but when it comes to to contests like Xgames and World Cup, they are f*ckin amazing. But then again this is my opinion but these riders know when it's time to throw down some tricks and runs

This, if your job is competing or producing video parts you aren't going to be going HAM when you're just cruising the park. If you get injured you're fucked. So when they aren't training or filming or competing they aren't going to be pulling out all the stops, whereas if you don't get paid you are going to pull out all the stops all the time so that you try to get paid.

@stevestunt slays

Lol Carson is from my home mountain and everytime he comes back every park rat within a 10 mile radius will stalk him. It's understandable though because he is always throwing bangers.

Come to CO before big contest season.. it's insane how hard the 'super pros' kill it. I'm always impressed by AMs, but the skiers at the top are there for a reason - and when everyone's pushing it, it's obvious.

Now if you had made the argument that AMs are pushing it in more creative, stylish, unorthodox ways.. I might give you that one.

Often now a days, pros use tricks that will score well in competition. Some of these tricks don't necessarily have the banger effect of the tricks outsiders (non-competition guys) want to see.

reBlockeCome to CO before big contest season.. it's insane how hard the 'super pros' kill it. I'm always impressed by AMs, but the skiers at the top are there for a reason - and when everyone's pushing it, it's obvious.

Now if you had made the argument that AMs are pushing it in more creative, stylish, unorthodox ways.. I might give you that one.

thats kinda at what I was gettin at

Because you're watching a gaper dressed identical to whoever pro skier you think you're watching. Its a common mistake.

reBlockeCome to CO before big contest season.. it's insane how hard the 'super pros' kill it. I'm always impressed by AMs, but the skiers at the top are there for a reason - and when everyone's pushing it, it's obvious.

Now if you had made the argument that AMs are pushing it in more creative, stylish, unorthodox ways.. I might give you that one.

or go lap 3 kings at PC on pretty much any given saturday for that matter. you will definitely see some pros fucking shit up

I can't remember the video but I think it was Wallisch talking about how you really only throw certain tricks a few times a year (in comps). Those guys aren't just robots who can thrown down 24/7. That shit takes a toll on the body. Also a resort day for a an AM might be when he's making new edit to get his name out while the pro is cruising saving his body for the competitions.

There is a really old thread on newschoolers that Matt walker (I think) made in like 05.

About how a pro skier came to a mountain and wasn't throwing sick tricks, he was just Skiing regularly. Everyone then shot on him, aa the memory's

B_KI can't remember the video but I think it was Wallisch talking about how you really only throw certain tricks a few times a year (in comps). Those guys aren't just robots who can thrown down 24/7. That shit takes a toll on the body. Also a resort day for a an AM might be when he's making new edit to get his name out while the pro is cruising saving his body for the competitions.

this is actually a response to a question i asked wallisch in a thread on here years ago haha.

relevant part starts at 3:15

IMO most of the time, AMs cannot do crazy the same high-spinning technical tricks like the pros in comps, therefore their way of getting noticed is by highly influencing style into their skiing to stand out. This "style" is usually what appeals to NS as a whole, so we like them more.

inb4 pro/am joke

This a huge misconception. You're assuming pro skiers go out everyday and throw insane hammers, doubles and flips off rails every single hit. Do you honestly expect that to happen? How do you think they got to where they are now? Everyone needs to work on something to progress to a new trick. You might see Bobby brown doing a switch 5 all day in park and think "wow he sucks"... but there a ton of reasons why he might be doing that. Maybe hes working on a new axis for a switch dub, maybe hes trying a new grab to throw into a double he already knows. Or maybe he just wants to do the tricks that he thinks are fun because he wants a break from contest tricks.

Pros dont go to PC and Breck everyday and say "yes! The gapers are coming, i have to impress them with my hardest tricks all day and on every feature!"

That'd be similar to assuming a guitarist picks up his guitar and writes an album quality song every single day. Or an artist picking up a brush and painting a masterpiece everyday. There are stages to progression.

The tricks you see in video parts or an edit, for example, take a really long time to perfect. Skiers dont go to the resort with a filmer and trick idea then immediately stomp it and call it a day. It can take hours. They work for those shots and often have to land the trick several times before they're happy with it.

Side note: have you ever seen a skateboard demo before? It defies your expectation of the skaters because they certainly dont land their tricks first try every time.

SteveSteppinb4 pro/am joke

This a huge misconception. You're assuming pro skiers go out everyday and throw insane hammers, doubles and flips off rails every single hit. Do you honestly expect that to happen? How do you think they got to where they are now? Everyone needs to work on something to progress to a new trick. You might see Bobby brown doing a switch 5 all day in park and think "wow he sucks"... but there a ton of reasons why he might be doing that. Maybe hes working on a new axis for a switch dub, maybe hes trying a new grab to throw into a double he already knows. Or maybe he just wants to do the tricks that he thinks are fun because he wants a break from contest tricks.

Pros dont go to PC and Breck everyday and say "yes! The gapers are coming, i have to impress them with my hardest tricks all day and on every feature!"

That'd be similar to assuming a guitarist picks up his guitar and writes an album quality song every single day. Or an artist picking up a brush and painting a masterpiece everyday. There are stages to progression.

The tricks you see in video parts or an edit, for example, take a really long time to perfect. Skiers dont go to the resort with a filmer and trick idea then immediately stomp it and call it a day. It can take hours. They work for those shots and often have to land the trick several times before they're happy with it.

Side note: have you ever seen a skateboard demo before? It defies your expectation of the skaters because they certainly dont land their tricks first try every time.

What I've noticed in PC, one easy example is Jonah. He's out there literally everyday, from 9 to 4, crushing it. Seems like, he just blew up recently and is super hungry to follow last season up. Then I see Wallisch and company and they're out for like two/three hours max. Wallisch isn't throwing down like he's trying to win Xgames (if he competes, doubtful) but he's "cruising" the park for him, which if on film would be banger, but he's not even really trying. That's the difference. The hungry are out for blood and the kings are just out chillin, establishing they're reign. For most of us our goal is to progress in the park, for Jonah and Tom, riding the park is a way to practice for bigger and better things elsewhere, each are at different stages in their careers. It's all a matter of perspective, and it's fun as hell to watch.

jwillybut when I saw Carson Kerr I flipped my shit

this is not possible. no one flips out on 7s and sketchy blind 4s out

TRVP_ANGELthis is not possible. no one flips out on 7s and sketchy blind 4s out

I think he means when he saw Kerr's girlfriend he flipped out...

If you're cruisin around in the park with your friends on a tuesday afternoon, maybe you don't want to huck dubs for little Timmy to see. It's risk reward

I also think it depends on the style of skier. Like I've personally seen Keegan Kilbride up at Sunday River and he wasn't going the biggest, but damn everything he did was sooooo smooth. He's wicked gnarly in the streets and great on rails tho, but I feel like if I saw spaghettli maybe he'd be hucking his meat a little more.

TRVP_ANGELthis is not possible. no one flips out on 7s and sketchy blind 4s out

I think it was the gucci goggles that had me smitten at the time tbh

How is this even a question? Pros got their bag while Am's are still chasing it.

struggle, grind, then shine dude. It's the three stages of a real Skier.

I may have slightly stalked Keegan Kilbride when he was at Loon for a few days this winter when he was coming back from rehabbing his knee, which was my first experience seeing a pro in the flesh.

Even coming off a knee surgery I was mindblown at how effortless and easy he made everything look. Didnt even look like he was trying and was throwing down harder than everyone.

This is kind of a hard thing to compare. I've found that watching pros lap a park, they make it look super effortless and flawless in a way. It may not be as "sick" because their mellower laps are 1. mellower so your expectations are compromised and 2. probably very textbook and flowy so it doesn't stand out to you as much? Then on the other hand when you see an am put down a sick run or trick, it's probably got a little more character and rawness to it which might make it seem more exciting than the textbook *insert whatever trick here* you saw from the pro? I don't know, I'm not trying to start a style debate but that might be what makes one or the other more appealing to you?