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Bumps vs steeps vs trees vs carving

jseeski

Skiing a little BC powder
Skier
Joined
Mar 16, 2018
Posts
191
Location
Salmo, British Columbia, Canada
Right. There's less skier traffic on the sides of the trails, and the skiers that do ski there tend to know what they are doing because they aren't worried about their skis unexpectedly sending them into the trees.

Skiers cautious about their control tend to ski the middle of the trail, far away from the sides. Most skiers fall into this category where I ski, so the bumps in the middle tend to reflect the irregularities in their skiing. Those middle bumps also get more traffic, so the troughs get deeper. Catch-22.

I am always envious of the perfect formation of whole bump fields on big mountain slopes out west.
It's common for there to be more loose or soft snow at the sides, too, for the reasons pointed out by Liquidfeet.

After years of skiing bumps at Mary Jane, where they can be trenched and very close together, I find the bumps where I ski now to be more enjoyable. There is less skier traffic and more frequent snowfall, which makes softer, rounder bumps. There is also more space because the bumps are mostly artifacts of very large boulders under the snow, rather than skier traffic. Some of the drops on downhill sides are, um, substantial.

In advanced age, I find the key always to be balance and fundamentals. If my balance is accurate, I find it relatively easy to make the required turns, adjust turn radius and line as necessary or as I want, and complete the turns to keep the speed comfortable. When balanced and moving accurately, I do not feel a need for "quick feet," yet I am always ready for the next turn. If I get out of balance, the turns take more muscle and they tend to be late, which causes trouble for the next turn.

There is some justification for claiming that different technique is required for hard, icy bumps than for soft ones. I would suggest, however, that the fundamentals remain the same, while the tactics change. For some bumps, I find pivots work well; for others, a rounder, "loopier" turn is a good fit. I often find retractions to be highly effective, just as they are in deep powder.

For trees, accurate movements are also a huge benefit. With enough experience and accurate moves, you are ready for the next turn before you need it and you are confident that your next turn won't send you into a tree.

Powder is far more forgiving, especially in an open bowl with no trees. You can make mistakes and just take more room if you need it. In the trees, powder can help with speed control and make it less necessary to put as much of a finish on each turn. But, of course, trees demand that your turns be pretty reliable and accurate.

It is quite possible to ski powder very much as if you're carving on corduroy. For powder, it's necessary to keep more pressure on the inside foot (but not too much, or you'll find yourself leaning up the hill and unable to make the next turn). To carve, you tip the skis and allow the sidecut and the decambered ski to pull you into and through the turn. In powder, you tip the skis and allow the base of the decambered or rockered skis to give you a nice arc. This can even be done without unweighting. Of course, there is also the traditional porpoise bounce method, or, one of my favorites, simply retracting and allowing the skis to float up nearer the surface so it is easier to add some steering through the transition.

All four (carving, bumps, trees and powder) are fun, but I'll readily admit that I'd rather do some off-piste, even if it's ugly, than spend the entire day laying railroad tracks on the corduroy.
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,444
Haven't posted on this long wandering thread
30C5AF64-45C4-4E17-AED4-5A9F9960A668.jpeg

Is there really shrubbery in the middle of the trail?
 

SSSdave

life is short precious ...don't waste it
Skier
Joined
Sep 12, 2017
Posts
2,516
Location
Silicon Valley
I watched the whole ride up. That's a great looking bump run :D

And at significantly higher altitude (8.9k to 9.5k) than the majority of other Tahoe region bump slopes so more pleasurable skier tracked packed powder snow surfaces most of the season without the firm icy freeze thaw spring surfaces in my videos. Notice how regular the mogul patterns line up diagonally in James's snapshot? A sure sign of lots of good bump skiers.

View attachment 132046
Is there really shrubbery in the middle of the trail?

Droughty winter conditions, not everything is buried. Unlike groomed slopes, such obstacles are of little concern to bump skiers. Even earlier there are logs and rocks.
 

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