Exposure....?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by mtbMike, Sep 13, 2019.


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  1. mtbMike

    mtbMike iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    PRESCOTT!!!
    Name:
    Mike
    Current Bike:
    Ibis HD5, Ripley & Mojo 4
    I keep seeing the word "exposure" used on other threads about trails that I never think about having "exposure" as it relates to MTB'ing. I googled the term and there are several links with MTB specific slang terms but not one of them defined exposure. I found this on a hiking/climbing site..."Sections of a hiking path or climbing route are described as "exposed" if there is a high risk of injury in the event of a fall because of the steepness of the terrain. That's a very broad term vs the way I always think of exposure.

    For me, when I tell people "this trail has some exposure", I'm saying "you don't want to fall here under any circumstances" as in "we'll be calling life flight for you". That usually means there's a cliff or a long drop where you don't want to be going off the side like some places on Portal in Moab or even Little Creek outside Hurricane.

    What does it mean to you?
     
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  2. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    I think you nail it. Exposure is, once again, very subjective. Gee maybe we can come up with a rating scale for exposure too! :sneaky::whistling:
    I figure if @rossage can fall off the side of it, then it must be exposure.
    If we are talking about @DangerDirtyD ? The word exposure takes on a whole different meaning! :eek::rolleyes:
     
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  3. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.
    I agree with you in that the hiker definition isn’t accurate for us.

    If there’s a narrow trail, and a cliff to the side, that is exposure for me.

    The outside line climbing Zen Trail, for example... Probably my most significant exposed success story. Straight down off the Mesa.
     
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  4. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    It meant 150' of rag doll tumbling in 2011 for me.
     
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  5. mtbMike

    mtbMike iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    PRESCOTT!!!
    Name:
    Mike
    Current Bike:
    Ibis HD5, Ripley & Mojo 4
    Yeah, if you're riding Zen CC, I'd say that area off to the right would be considered exposure in a few places. Excellent example. If you've ever ridden Secret Trail on Gooseberry Mesa, it has a few points where you're 2-3 feet from a drop into a coffin barring divine intervention. I have a couple friends that refuse to ride it again.
     
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  6. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    Exposure is a mental phenomenon. I don't think of it as relating to injury at all. Because when something is exposed enough to be called exposed, it's usually a DNFU situation where you would be dead or wish you were if you screw it up. I've used the term for many years in climbing and scrambling FWIW.

    People have wildly varying tolerance to it, of course. I was about to be short hauled by helo off a cliff 1000 feet off the deck. Just 100' rope clipped to my climbing harness from the ship. The pilot expressed concern that I might pass out from the exposure. The medic with me on the ledge was, of course, also a climber. She set him straight: Don't worry about that, this guy is a wall climber. She and I shared a smile and continued. :sneaky:
     
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  7. mtbMike

    mtbMike iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    PRESCOTT!!!
    Name:
    Mike
    Current Bike:
    Ibis HD5, Ripley & Mojo 4
    That's my point. I just see the term "exposure" used to describe trails where the likelihood is you might slide down 10-15' if you go off the trail. Some people also use the term to describe a rocky/technical trail section where the exposure is going OTB and smashing your grill.
     
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  8. Bill

    Bill Member

    Location:
    Costa Mesa
    Name:
    Bill
    Current Bike:
    it's black
    Grade "R" for risk of getting seriously hurt or killed, Grade "X" for not even bothering to call Life Flight.

     
  9. Redman

    Redman iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Henderson, Nv
    Name:
    Kevin
    Current Bike:
    SC OG Hightower 29'r
    EXPOSURE

    over stated
    over rated
    over exaggerated

    In the dumbing down of trails this term has become as common as P-line. Society feels we need to over exemplify things so that the clueless folk can be somewhat aware of what might injure them. Just like warning signs that get used nowadays and we’re unseen 10 years ago.

    “ oh yeah, there’s some exposure on this trail. There’s a creek that runs next to it. It has some rocks.” o_O

    For me, I don’t see exposure, I see the trail.
     
  10. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    West Anaheim
    Name:
    Mark Whitaker
    Current Bike:
    Giant XTC with pedals
    Exposure is a steep, south-facing trail. :gag:
     
  11. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    Blast from the past exposure:

    "Don't look, Ethyl!"

    :D

     
  12. Cornholio

    Cornholio iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    CA
    Name:
    B
    Current Bike:
    Huffy
    Like this?

    upload_2019-9-13_17-24-35.jpeg
     
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  13. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.
    This spot, specifically... There was a conga line on the inside line when I hit it during True Grit, so I took the exposed line. I'm not sure why, but that didn't bother me that much, even though exposure isn't my favorite.



    Gooseberry was awesome... That's one I'd like to go back and do again when I'm not banged up.


    Edit: I think there's also a secondary meaning to exposure when it comes to sun exposure. Like Santiago Truck Trail past the Luge turnoff. Most of the trail is fine, but the last 1.5 miles to Old Camp are east facing, and tend to be 10-15 degrees hotter than the rest of the trail. There are a few other trails I think of in terms of my likelihood to bake. Anyone else think that way?
     
  14. da big hills

    da big hills iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    pearl harbor
    Name:
    cagey
    Current Bike:
    enduro 29
    Exposure is based upon what the slope is made of. The wrong side of Space is not that steep but there the soil under the chaparral is covered with duff. I have exited on the wrong side and slid all the way down to the lower switchback. Wildwood is mostly rock and scrub. I was hit as I waited for the dweeb on the right side of the trail. my forks compressed and it launched me across the trail where I ended up 6 feet down with my feet above me. It is so steep that if I moved I would slip further down the cliff. I grabbed some buckwheat and it pulled out. That is exposure. I crashed on Mr Toads and it was soft screed at the angle of a sand dune. I ended up way down off the trail laying on some chamise. I heard the tinkle sound of little screeds dropping. I was head first face up (seems I am always head first face up). On both sides was air and the ground was 10 feet below. This is maximum exposure, when there is no ground below you. I do not recommend getting yourself into such a mix. Most times when I go off exposure it is during a climb. I always end up doing a summer sault or two, don't try this at home
    Happy trails in the high chaparral
     
  15. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    A person's perception of exposure will vary, so one person'r pucker factor might be that 1o' slide down an embankment Mike mentioned. Another rider might not think about a death drop aside the trail with tech moves to get by it.

    Anything with extra thought-provoking air like a steep trail, blind feature, cliff beside the trail, open slab, roof, arete, spine, summit, etc, is exposed in my book. What's extra thought-provoking is what's extra thought-provoking to you. For some people, walking outside probably feels exposed...

    It's just like ratings – can be debated until the cows come home. Woohoo, internet!!!! :geek:
     
  16. da big hills

    da big hills iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    pearl harbor
    Name:
    cagey
    Current Bike:
    enduro 29
    my last crash was on a climb like the one the dude was doing on the left line where he was translating the bed rock at the top. You saw him almost stop and said WOO. I did stop and it was a long way down for my plant foot, it missed and I went down & joined the rock. Me and the bedrock were one.
    Still hurt from the single trac
     
  17. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    West Anaheim
    Name:
    Mark Whitaker
    Current Bike:
    Giant XTC with pedals
    That's exactly what I was referring to. Like around mile 5-6 of MTT.
     
  18. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.
    Very good point... And I immediately thought of Eric, who is a friend of @Fijirob and joined us at Kokopelli. Like you, he's a rock climber. Unlike you, he had very little prep time on the mountain bike. Basically he was a beginner on the bike, but with absolutely zero fear, whatsoever. He rolled everything without hesitation, including the double black Jeep trail from top to bottom.

    Edit: I meant Koko, not True Grit...
     
  19. Grego

    Grego iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Fullerton
    Name:
    joe
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  20. rossage

    rossage iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    East Sacramento
    Name:
    Ross Lawson
    Current Bike:
    Highball
    Exposure is what it is, to you.
    Exposure is to be acknowledged and respected, but not fawned over.
    Exposure is the obstacle that's not there, but it is.
    Deal with it.
     
  21. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    West Anaheim
    Name:
    Mark Whitaker
    Current Bike:
    Giant XTC with pedals
    They put a tube in the lung.
    Was it worth it?
    Consider next ride.
     
  22. buggravy

    buggravy iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Calabasas
    Name:
    Matt
    Current Bike:
    Transition Sentinel
    The term exposure gets thrown around a lot in snow sports as well. Simplest way for me to think about it is that exposure, as it relates to terrain, doesn't necessarily increase the odds that you will crash (though it might), but it increases (in some cases dramatically) the damage that will occur if you do crash. A "no fall zone" = maximum exposure.
     
  23. rossage

    rossage iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    East Sacramento
    Name:
    Ross Lawson
    Current Bike:
    Highball
    Yes, it was worth it. I have no lasting physical problems and my memory is shıt so....yeah.
     
  24. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    It takes a pretty bad injury to not be worth it. Something lasting, like paralysis or losing a limb. Or death.
     
  25. rossage

    rossage iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    East Sacramento
    Name:
    Ross Lawson
    Current Bike:
    Highball
    Yeah, I hate dying, it's so selfish.
     
  26. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
  27. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    ^Caption: I stopped to let a team of three guys pass me on the Shield Headwall. Big exposure for days...you'll feel that for a month afterward.

    Helmet cam distortion or real exposure?... http://www.ousleycreative.com/misc/badfinger.mp4
     
  28. da big hills

    da big hills iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    pearl harbor
    Name:
    cagey
    Current Bike:
    enduro 29
    I remember this video. Exit on the wrong side, summersault down the hill. I always figure you get one chance to make that plant, if you get two your lucky, if you get 3 thank your lucky stars. This guy made it ok, but you leave the trail you must stick the feet after the first rotation, unlucky the second, and totally F"ed on the third. I have never rotated past the third. On you way back up to the trail you look and see how many big rocks your head just missed. That is when it starts getting a bit scary.
    Happy clipping out on the right side trails.
     
  29. SS Barby

    SS Barby Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Palmdale, CA
    Name:
    Barby
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley LS/ Esker Hayduke
    That's an old video. I remember watching years ago. Great example.
     
  30. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Exposure - the kind where there's a cliff or super-steep hillside to the side of the trail
    Exposure - the kind where you are subject to unfriendly weather - high winds, high temps, lightning, blizzards, etc.
    Exposure - the kind depicted with the naked lass above (courtesy of @Cornholio)
    Exposure - the kind in the military where you are a highly vulnerable target
    Exposure - financial risk
    Exposure - legal liability as in negligence or fraud
    Exposure - any situation that reveals a true lack of competency (like, being president, for example)
    Exposure - light hitting film

    Am I missing any? Have I exposed another of my weaknesses?
     
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