The Death of the Drop-In Ramp

Fuck that noise!

Remember when film crews used to have to roll up to urban spots with a giant wooden drop-in ramp that looked like it was built by a blind middle schooler with rusty nails and a brick and stood out like a lighthouse for cops looking to bust the ill sesh going down? Now anyone who wants to hit the 12-stair behind the gym only has to have their buddies pull a giant rubber band until it’s taut and ready to nail your filmer in the kidney to get enough speed for nearly any kind of urban Amped 2 stunt. The Banshee Bungee was admittedly a pretty genius idea, and like any trend except afterbang and tall tees, pro crews are already on the way to rendering it obsolete – now you can buy a wakeboard winch, pour some 87 in there, and actually go uphill. The war to make skiing irrelevant to itself rages on, with gravity its newest victim.

Bindings Get Cool

Neon binders? Now I don’t have to snowboard.

Orange Rossis? Neon green 2012 Jesters? Wowwwww! The only part of ski equipment that resisted white surburbia’s teenage dreams of poor fashion choices and dumb bright colors has finally caved. While it remains to be seen whether tomorrow’s ski bindings get garnished with fuzzy little things and zippers a la Full Tilt, young skiers who can’t poleplant or get out of the backseat to save their life will now have the option of a 100% neoned-out setup come next Christmas. Somewhere in whatever heaven Germans go to, Hannes Marker is cursing at us from the top of his slalom course in his turtleneck and gaitors.

Physics Are Out, As Are Knees

Remember when you when you went off a jump, you used to land the same direction you took off in? 2011 proved that that shit is for pussies. Now you can boost off a jump and land flat on a wall – that is facing you – going the opposite direction. How this maintains momentum, and how your joints can survive it, we still don’t know, but in typical fashion, skiing’s upper echelon has redefined the limits of human physics. Leak: the 2012 X Games money booter will feature not a landing, but a wallride facing uphill. Good luck kids!

The South Still Doesn’t Produce

Despite the fact that there’s some rails there now and two seasons ago I claimed we’d see a Superunknown winner from sur of the Mason-Dixie line, the South has yet to produce the talent exponentially better shred destinations like Pennsylvania have. I’m still going to be holding my breath until Brogan 2.0 appears out of thin air and has a Georgia area code… who’s with me?

(Ross Rowan reppin’ for Appalachia, but still a few years away from a Superunknown invite. Someone should also tell YoBeat about the guy at 2:47.)