I think the "Dropping Cliffs" thread is a more appropriate place for this discussion. I created a separate thread because cliffs and other natural features are totally different animals from meticulously maintained park jumps with designated landing zones.
That said, I agree with
@hbear
Park jumps are fairly black and white; you are given a takeoff and a landing. You can watch people hit the jump to figure out the appropriate amount of speed needed to land in the sweet spot.
Natural features are more of a gray area. That's what makes them fun. They give people the freedom to interpret the terrain in their own way.
Again, I don't want to get too much into this here because I think it is a discussion for a different thread. But here is a quick example.....
This is a popular feature at Arapahoe Basin. If you look closely, you can see tracks in the snow where others have landed. For a lot of people, they see these rocks as separate obstacles, often referred to as a "double". They will carry very little speed and take two separate airs. I like to ski fast and take chances, so when I look at this feature I see one big air. I'll ski into this with a huge amount of speed and attempt to clear both cliffs in one shot. For me personally, cliffs are more fun when there is more risk involved. Being forced to jump over obstacles leaves very little room for error. The riskier the line, the greater the rush. But that's just me. Everyone is different. And the big mountain is the perfect venue to express yourself through your skiing. It is less about the maneuver you are performing in the air and more about how you got into the air in the first place and where you intend to go from there.
