What are the toughest runs you've skied......

[Uncle-A]

Ice no problem, I can ski . Fog on the other hand is a mind game, know you can....its no problem, fear what you can't see (even just a little)....big problem.

These (and first difficult runs) bring back one thought I try and live by......

If in doubt, attack, if it kills you it was the wrong decision.

Still here and in one piece going strong.

All these difficult runs are caused by fear of not being able to. Have confidence in your skills let you overcome and conquer (not always pretty).

Yes, I can ski on ice also but is it fun? If the conditions are a problem and you are fighting to stay alive it no longer is fun skiing. It is just a struggle.

 

[Ogg]

Yes, I can ski on ice also but is it fun? If the conditions are a problem and you are fighting to stay alive it no longer is fun skiing. It is just a struggle.

I agree to an extent but I also get a perverse kind of pleasure from being able to ski the worst conditions with a modicum of grace. I also find it gets me on my game in a hurry.

 

[Crank]

I agree to an extent but I also get a perverse kind of pleasure from being able to ski the worst conditions with a modicum of grace. I also find it gets me on my game in a hurry.

I agree with this. However, if conditions are really sketchy and I know it I am gonna avoid anything that would qualify as one of the toughest runs. I do consider myself a fair-weather skier though. On days where the whole hill is a sheet of ice I stay home. If it hasn't snowed in a while I know my enjoyment factor will be kind of low and have a hard time making the effort to get out. Just lazy I guess.

 

[Alexzn]

Yes, I can ski on ice also but is it fun? If the conditions are a problem and you are fighting to stay alive it no longer is fun skiing. It is just a struggle.

One skier's problem conditions are the other's definition of fun. I will never forget one day at Squaw years ago when KT22 was all icy under gray sky. The only few people on the hill were sticking to Saddle and other bailout runs. There was literally one skier on the hill in a RedBull helmet who just keep lapping Nose and Fingers all day at high speed. That was Shane McConkey .

The reality is that for some very high-level skiers skiing "normal" double diamond runs in good snow is still boring. You wont be stuck on greens all day, would you? These guys are the same. I often see some well-known (locally) freestyle coaches free-skiing, sometimes they literally go from cliff to cliff. That's what they consider fun skiing.

 

[TheArchitect]

I've skied Alf's High Rustler, Tower Three Chute, Alta 1 Chute, Corbet's Couloir (more like got down), Goat and Starr. All of them were easier than the mistake I made going down Chin Clip at Stowe a few years back. 3/4 mile long steep winding trail filled with big nasty frozen eastern moguls. It's the only time in my skiing lifetime that I considered taking my skis off and walking down. I didn't but it was close.

It was Chin Clip that finally forced me to recognize/admit that I need to put serious work into my mogul skiing. I've made progress since then but when I only get 10-15 days a year on the snow it's very slow going. My groomer short turns are coming along nicely but it's slow to translate into the eastern bumps. Out west I'm a much better bump skier. Sigh...

 

[Wilhelmson]

Lol we skied high rustler on post dump hardpack and my sister wiped out and slid so far. I was already a ways down so my wife had to sidestep way up to get one if the skis. She's a runner and everything but on day 2 at elevation thats just tough.

But for every steep trail there are 3 woods chutes with cliffs and all sorts of stupid stuff

 

[Bad Bob]

The run between our ears is truly a slippery slope. Lots of talk of fog and ice on this thread as the culprit, but are they the real problem?
Over 50 years ago I was given some hypnotist seasons for stopping smoking. There was time left over and he asked if there was anything else I wanted to work on. Told him, 'skiing ice'. That made a huge difference and it has stuck.

Just saying there are things we can all do for ourselves.

 

[Uncle-A]

For this thread I am going to the SOS theory of why I don't ski the most difficult lines.
SOS = Slower, Older, Smarter.

 

[scott43]

Over 50 years ago I was given some hypnotist seasons for stopping smoking.

 

[Tonyr4]

I've skied Alf's High Rustler, Tower Three Chute, Alta 1 Chute, Corbet's Couloir (more like got down), Goat and Starr. All of them were easier than the mistake I made going down Chin Clip at Stowe a few years back. 3/4 mile long steep winding trail filled with big nasty frozen eastern moguls. It's the only time in my skiing lifetime that I considered taking my skis off and walking down. I didn't but it was close.

It was Chin Clip that finally forced me to recognize/admit that I need to put serious work into my mogul skiing. I've made progress since then but when I only get 10-15 days a year on the snow it's very slow going. My groomer short turns are coming along nicely but it's slow to translate into the eastern bumps. Out west I'm a much better bump skier. Sigh...

Really? That's interesting, I think the moguls are worse on Goat, Starr, National, or Lookout. I always thought Chin Clip was somewhat mellow for a bump run, you must of had an exceptionally bad day conditions wise. I'll always say that if you want a sea of relentless icy east coast moguls Outer Limits at Killington is the ticket. Sugarbush also has tons of icy bumps runs to practice on. In any event watching YouTube video of skiers who can really hammer moguls helped me speed my progression curve up quite a bit.

 

[Ogg]

Really? That's interesting, I think the moguls are worse on Goat, Starr, National, or Lookout. I always thought Chin Clip was somewhat mellow for a bump run, you must of had an exceptionally bad day conditions wise. I'll always say that if you want a sea of relentless icy east coast moguls Outer Limits at Killington is the ticket. Sugarbush also has tons of icy bumps runs to practice on. In any event watching YouTube video of skiers who can really hammer moguls helped me speed my progression curve up quite a bit.

The proper term is "firm". They're not "icy" unless they are at least translucent.

 

[Wilhelmson]

Really? That's interesting, I think the moguls are worse on Goat, Starr, National, or Lookout. I always thought Chin Clip was somewhat mellow for a bump run, you must of had an exceptionally bad day conditions wise. I'll always say that if you want a sea of relentless icy east coast moguls Outer Limits at Killington is the ticket. Sugarbush also has tons of icy bumps runs to practice on. In any event watching YouTube video of skiers who can really hammer moguls helped me speed my progression curve up quite a bit.

When chin clip is open and icy goat and starr are closed. Isn't national steep for like 5 turns and then is a blue? Outer limits is harder than chin clip in icy moguls. Steins too sometimes. Paradise on ice can be whacky.

 

[mdf]

I'll just say that it's remarkable that we're already up to 169 posts for an event that won't occur for another seven months.

Some of us (including me apparently...) are jonesing hard for winter.

The proper term is "firm". They're not "icy" unless they are at least translucent.

Now you've got me jonesing for icy moguls!

 

[Ogg]

When chin clip is open and icy goat and starr are closed. Outer limits is harder than chin clip in icy moguls.

The absolute hardest I've experienced OL is after it was mowed flat and frozen solid. I would imagine a revisit of those conditions at my current skill level and on the right equipment (FIS SL or GS maybe? If I had bigger cajones maybe a SG)) would yield better results.

 

[mdf]

The absolute hardest I've experienced OL is after it was mowed flat and frozen solid. I would imagine a revisit of those conditions at my current skill level and on the right equipment (FIS SL or GS maybe? If I had bigger cajones maybe a SG)) would yield better results.

The only conditions where I've done an OL run, said "why" and gone elsewhere it was solid, smooth ice with isolated knobs sticking up. You aimed towards the next knob, bounced off like a pachinko ball, and aimed for the next. Horrid. (Well, maybe I tried one more run later in the day. Yep, still horrid.)

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

The absolute hardest I've experienced OL is after it was mowed flat and frozen solid. I would imagine a revisit of those conditions at my current skill level and on the right equipment (FIS SL or GS maybe? If I had bigger cajones maybe a SG)) would yield better results.

@Ogg You were saying??

It's all in your head. Can you make quick short radius turns?If so you can ski moguls, Don't let the 3rd dimension psych you out.

 

[mdf]

.... Don't let the 3rd dimension psych you out. ...
@Ogg You were saying??

See, that's the problem. A sheet of ice is only 2-dimensional.

 

[Ogg]

@Ogg You were saying??

Icy moguls at least give you somewhere to stop and regroup. This was an icy pool table tipped to ~30 degrees. Nobody else was attempting to ski it. I have no idea WTF I was thinking. I was also an intermediate skier at best at the time. The walk up under the full quad chairs to retrieve my gear was humbling.

 

[Jack skis]

Speaking of ice, I don't remember where I read it, but here's the quote: "It isn't ice unless you can see the fish below it."
That's for you Eastern ice victims.

 

[dbostedo]

Speaking of ice, I don't remember where I read it, but here's the quote: "It isn't ice unless you can see the fish below it."
That's for you Eastern ice victims.

The other saying I know is "it's not ice if you can't read through it".