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Skis for maximizing your bump skiing practice time?

KingGrump

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As for a ski for learning bumps, the way I see it is: "Easy terrain, challenging ski. Challenging terrain, easy ski."

That's a good bit of wisdom there, Grasshopper. :duck::ogbiggrin:

To ski Taos the Taos way, a quick turning (skinny) ski is generally not required. Compliance is a better attribute to have.
 
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MissySki

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This came up on my YouTube feed and thought of this thread.


Another video from her profile of her adult mogul class.

Liked the drills in the first video and just wow wow wow would I love to be able to ski like some of the folks in the second video.
 
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Tony S

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Liked the drills in the first video and just wow wow wow would I love to be able to ski like some of the folks in the second video.
Well, those were the coaches, eh?

But honestly my reaction to that video - yes, I just watched the whole thing - was a huge eye roll. :rolleyes:

Like SO MANY bump instruction videos, the thing was filmed on a perfect day with perfect snow on perfect bumps on a wide and low pitch blue run. (Okay, maybe the seeded bumps were a little steeper, and definitely more constrained, but still ... babies as seeded courses go, and SOFT. And we only got to see the instructor ski them!) I mean, come on. That terrain, in those conditions, is not what most of us have problems with. The powdery shots, in particular, were like, "That's a top 20 day for me, lifetime. In what way is that supposed to help me cope with reality?" SMH
 

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Like SO MANY bump instruction videos, the thing was filmed on a perfect day with perfect snow on perfect bumps on a wide and low pitch blue run. (Okay, maybe the seeded bumps were a little steeper, and definitely more constrained, but still ... babies as seeded courses go, and SOFT. And we only got to see the instructor ski them!) I mean, come on. That terrain, in those conditions, is not what most of us have problems with. The powdery shots, in particular, were like, "That's a top 20 day for me, lifetime. In what way is that supposed to help me cope with reality?" SMH
Just another day at The Jane. :ogbiggrin:

The natural bump runs are black, not blue. Golden Spike is at 1:24, and this is Drunken Frenchmen, for example:



That's some excellent bump skiing on not an easy run.
 

Tony S

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Just another day at The Jane. :ogbiggrin:

The natural bump runs are black, not blue. Golden Spike is at 1:24, and this is Drunken Frenchmen, for example:



That's some excellent bump skiing on not an easy run.
Very nice skiing. And I'm prepared to believe that it's steeper than it looks because .. . we know how that goes. I remain steadfast in my assertion that that is total idiot-proof hero snow.
 

Tony S

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I've only been to Mary Jane in the (late) spring, but yeah, if you are a bumper it is a special place. Good bump skiers make good bumps.
Well that's part of my perennial point. Where are the videos that show students learning to ski the appallingly standard fare NE bumps on Haynes at Jay Peak or on Grand Canyon at Mad River Glen? Where's the beef?
 

KingGrump

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Where's the beef?

Come to Taos, you can have the whole cow.
Oh, you do come to Taos. Guess you ain't vegan.

I have skied MJ a bit over the years. Even spent a month there few years back. The bump runs are nice. Good snow. Got a good rhythm to them. Not a lot of hairy stuff like Taos.
 

SSSdave

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Julie Ray and I that have similar small thin body forms would ski rec bumps well together. Flowing through soft bumps like that is an ultimate visceral feeling I greatly enjoy. And definitely not at all boring. For those with years of built up neural plasticity repetition, after turning like that for thousands of turns over a period of weeks in peak winter conditions, one is skiing on auto more by feel in The Zone. Would be fantastic to actually ski those Winter Park bumps sometime during mid February into March period this year. Generally I'd rather more often ski a field of bumps at Maryjane gradients versus steep large bump lines because the former are more viscerally enjoyable. In any case variety and some challenge is part of fun and the game.

At one point she talked about hand position comparing it to driving. I'll get to how that relates to mogul skiing lower after briefly covering some biomechanical basics that I am no authority on beyond common sense.

The quadrapedal ancestors primates arose from moved on 4 limbs with a head and hind end that primates evolved a full torso bipedal motion from. Any practiced dancer or gymnast will immediately be aware of the balance and opposing symmetries involved. Further mammals evolved from the same vertebrate bilateral segmented torso body symmetry as reptiles and fish, and that even reflects similar movement patterns in invertebrates as worms where it's structural essence first arose.


All dance forms rely on moving the parts of the body in harmony. What that harmony looks like, however, varies from dance form to dance form. In modern dance, using the body as a whole is often a preference... in general, a fully integrated use of the body is a principle of modern dance. This means that as you execute even the smallest movement, your entire body is involved.

When we humans drive a car with our hands on a steering wheel looking ahead on a road at where we are driving, we are using some of the same brain motor control regions with hands up in front on a wheel as a quadrapedal animal does aiming their forelegs. What reptiles used, our bipedal walking movement control brain evolved from so shares the same basic structure.

...the concept of countertension, (~ counterbalance) which means giving equal energy to two opposing parts of the body. If you extend your right leg behind you and your left arm in front of you and reach each in the directions they are pointing with equal energy, you are using countertension. It is a way for you to create an energetic connection, or tension, between these parts of the body.

One can experience this in basic relaxed walking as arm counter the opposite leg movements like an inverted pendulum, a natural rhythm in all mammals though almost all others step with their fore limbs while we upright use them for balance, fine control and stability. When I am mogul skiing, I am using some of the same upper body aiming brain control structures as when I am seated in my car driving. Actually driving requiring standing like with some old deliver trucks would be a bit more similar. The GoPro8 1080p videos I recorded March 31, 2021 view the video from the perspective of my eyes because I oddly mounted the camera in front of my helmet brim just above my eyes to look down at my ski shovels and only the near approaching snow. Thus as I move down the slope, the center frame at 2/3 frame height is the approximate snow location this person was always looking at. By choosing the time of day for optimal shadow, a better grasp for what my whole body was doing is somewhat realized.

If with hands out in front imaging holding a steering wheel while one stands up while looking at a reasonably large enough pc display staring at that center 2/3 spot, you will see in the new phase of each turn where I am next turning towards. By easily stepping side to side in sync, swaying body, foot edge to foot edge, with the turns and sound of skis on that day's firm to icy surfaces complementing visual synchronization, one can add aiming that imaginary steering wheel in front to turn just as I was. In doing so one will begin to understand the above snippet "as you execute even the smallest movement, your entire body is involved." Actually I Amazon ordered and sometimes use an actual plastic toy steering wheel while watching these runs on repeat for say 15 minutes standing up in front of a 24" 4k monitor that has been training my motor control mind to react quickly to the visuals.

 
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KingGrump

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BTW, MJ is the only place I see skiers with bump skis on a consistent basis. There are also a few hanging around Bear Mt. at Killington. A lot more at MJ though.

FWIW, bump skis create different shaped bumps than all mountain skis.
 
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MissySki

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Well, those were the coaches, eh?

But honestly my reaction to that video - yes, I just watched the whole thing - was a huge eye roll. :rolleyes:

Like SO MANY bump instruction videos, the thing was filmed on a perfect day with perfect snow on perfect bumps on a wide and low pitch blue run. (Okay, maybe the seeded bumps were a little steeper, and definitely more constrained, but still ... babies as seeded courses go, and SOFT. And we only got to see the instructor ski them!) I mean, come on. That terrain, in those conditions, is not what most of us have problems with. The powdery shots, in particular, were like, "That's a top 20 day for me, lifetime. In what way is that supposed to help me cope with reality?" SMH
This is true, they did not look like troublesome bumps. They looked like a great layout and conditions of bumps I'd love to practice on over and over again. But.. while I might FEEL like a superstar in that sort of terrain and in those conditions, I'm quite sure I don't LOOK anything like that. And darnit I really want to!:roflmao:

I would also like to see the students skiing.
 
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KingGrump

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This is true, they did not look like troublesome bumps at all. They looked like a great layout and conditions of bumps I'd love to practice on over and over again. But.. while I might FEEL like a superstar in that sort of terrain and in those conditions, I'm quite sure I don't LOOK anything like that. And darnit I really want to!:roflmao:

MJ has some of the nicest zipper line bump runs in NA due to a confluence of factors. Hero bumps. Well worth a trip and/or a camp there.

Few seasons back, had a forum member who normally winters in MJ spent a winter at Taos. The first thing he asked me was where are the zipper line bumps. I told him we ain't got any. Terrain too steep. No frequent refresh from large storm. He wasn't a happy puppy that winter.

Bumps at different area will ski differently. Don't expect Outer Limit (Killington) or the Alta Chutes (JH) to ski like that neither.
 

KingGrump

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*shrug* your bodies, run any keto diets you like.

Atkins all the way.

Like my new skiing outfit? Note the spiffy helmet with mips.

1669221153202.png
 

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