Hi, I ride at Kirkwood as well. I'm assuming you are referring to the
jumps on the left run of the "Stomping Ground" that runs directly to
the superpipe. I see a lot of people crash on those jumps and I think
the main issue is that you don't have enough speed to clear the flat
transition before the landing. So the jumps at "Terrain Garden"
generally are shaped like trapzoid, with an uphill takeoff point, a
flat transition, and a downhill landing area. If you go slowly, you
don't go very high or far and land short in the flat. Since you didn't
go very high, you don't fall very far and your legs are able to absorb
the force of the impact. Now say you go a bit faster, you get more air,
fly farther... but don't make it to the downhill landing and still hit
the transition. With the added height and speed, your legs will not be
able to absorb the impact of your landing, you will feel a massive jolt
and will likely bounce and crash. So what you really need to do is to
land on the downslope or the "landing of the jump" if you land there
with you board flat and under you, you will feel virtually no "jolt"
when landing.

Because you mention "washing" out on your jumps, I think you are also
landing on edge or with you board at an angle to the direction of
travel and skidding immediately upon landing - this is a *very* common
problem I see at the stomping ground and comes from the natural urge to
slow down the moment you land since you pretty much always land going
faster than you did taking off. You need to resists this urge and
"stomp" you board flat down as you land and ride straight down the
landing for say about 10 feet before trying to turn or slowdown. This
is kind of like how a gymnast "sticks" his or her landing and holds
still for a second to reacquire their balance before raising their arms
to greet the judges. You need to be balance and "ready" before you can
speed check or turn... better riders can "recover" more quickly from a
jump so don't be fooled... all of them pause a moment after they land
to recover.

Just to make sure it's not your board... tell how much do you weight
and what is model/size snowboard are you riding? Feel free to ask any
questions if I wasn't clear on something.
--Arvin

ihm wrote:
Started doing more jumps and park this past season.

I don't have problems with doing beginner jumps. (The jumps near
Hole
n the Wall lifts at Kirkwood.)

I was able to approach beginner jumps at a pretty fast speed, catch
good amount of air (so I was told) and stick my landings no problem.

So I went to the next bigger jump, but I have problems sticking my
landings when I approach the jump at higher speeds, trying to catch
more air. (These are the jumps at Stomping Grounds at Kirkwood.) If
I
approach the jump at a slower speed, I was able to stick my landings.

It feels like my leg turns to jello while landing and my board washes
out from underneath me.

I know that rider ability and skill level has a lot to do with why I
am
not sticking my landing.

But I have this nagging feeling that my snowboard is washing out
under
me and couldn't stick my landing because the snowboard couldn't
withstand my weight at this force.

So my question is -- Is there a possiblity that my snowboard could be
a
reason why I'm not sticking my landings?!?!?!?!

Thanks