53’s Journey

[Doug Briggs]

you would like powder more, if you werent pushing on your skis.

(I'm jumping in to this conversation as I was tagged by @James . I haven't read much of this thread.)

Your post is unclear to me. Do you mean not to brush your turns or let your tails push out in powder?

 

[Started at 53]

Scares you, so you leave plenty of room or potentially stop to stay safe? Or scares you, because you try to pass or are close behind anyway, and are afraid they'll hit you?

The uncertainty is what bothers me, I give others a wide berth. But you never know what others are going to do, and that is the thing. I can stop, and did a couple of near stops today when I was not sure of a clear path.

 

[Josh Matta]

Thanks for your opinion

do you push down on your outside ski, or balance on it?

 

[Josh Matta]

(I'm jumping in to this conversation as I was tagged by @James . I haven't read much of this thread.)

Your post is unclear to me. Do you mean not to brush your turns or let your tails push out in powder?

no I mean pushing down into the ground...

 

[Doug Briggs]

I allow for any and all possibilities within the realm of physics for those that are down the hill and/or ahead of me. So while I'm skiing, my own path in my own way, I'm watching for any possible conflicts ahead of me and typically aiming for the 'no contact is physics-ly possible zone (NCIPPZ)'. It really helps. If there is no NCIPPZ, then I slow down, I don't pass.

 

[Started at 53]

do you push down on your outside ski, or balance on it?

I push down on the outside ski and tip the inside ski as per HH. If you read up a bit you will see that I finally got my left footed turns to carve last week. It was the first time I could FINALLY get the left tail to trail the tip with any consistency. Still not there, but making a lot of progress. The right footed turns are a lot better. My crash on January 10 really hurt (pun intended) my progress as I injured the LCL on both knees.

Josh, I skied a fair amount of powder days this year, and to be honest I really like firm crispy groomers. But who knows what the future holds.

Edited to add: by pushing down I mean almost all of my weight is on the outside ski, my inside has very little pressure. So pushing down? Balancing? I am adding this as I am feeling both to be honest at the same time.

 

[Doug Briggs]

(as mentioned before, I'm jumping in without reading much of this thread. I'm commenting for the purpose of educating any readers that are here to learn how to ski powder. Let me know if this discussion isn't germain. I'll cease posting it. Really, I will.)

The deeper the snow, the more you need to balance between the two skis. If you are touching bottom with your outside ski, you can pretty much ignore the fact that you are in 3D snow because you have actually gone through it and are back to plain old firm snow skiing.

The need to balance between the skis is a result of many things. A couple are:

• developing better flotation
• allowing the skis to perform similarly with regard to tipping, lateral and fore/aft balancing

The second point (skis to perform similarly) is critical in 3D snow as when your skis are plowing through the snow you need them to have similar responses to the resistance the snow is giving you. If you (the figurative you) pressure/stand-on one ski it will probably have more resistance to moving forward than the ski that isn't pressured as it is in deeper and displacing more snow. The result is the inside ski develops a mind of its own and doesn't track along with the pressured ski. In most cases this results in the inside, light ski tracking far inside the turn (divergin) and the skier being twisted around, loosing their balance and falling.

 

[Started at 53]

(as mentioned before, I'm jumping in without reading much of this thread. I'm commenting for the purpose of educating any readers that are here to learn how to ski powder. Let me know if this discussion isn't germain. I'll cease posting it. Really, I will.)

The deeper the snow, the more you need to balance between the two skis. If you are touching bottom with your outside ski, you can pretty much ignore the fact that you are in 3D snow because you have actually gone through it and are back to plain old firm snow skiing.

The need to balance between the skis is a result of many things. A couple are:

• developing better flotation
• allowing the skis to perform similarly with regard to tipping, lateral and fore/aft balancing

The second point (skis to perform similarly) is critical in 3D snow as when your skis are plowing through the snow you need them to have similar responses to the resistance the snow is giving you. If you (the figurative you) pressure/stand-on one ski it will probably have more resistance to moving forward than the ski that isn't pressured as it is in deeper and displacing more snow. The result is the inside ski develops a mind of its own and doesn't track along with the pressured ski. In most cases this results in the inside, light ski tracking far inside the turn (divergin) and the skier being twisted around, loosing their balance and falling.

Great post! I am not comfortable weighting both skis as you say is best for 3D powder. I am really weighting one ski at a time. And yes in 3D snow I do feel the inside ski get a mind of it’s own which is weird and scary to a 57 year old still learning.

Due to my flawed personality I really like and crave repetition and the known, so much so that I did not even like going to play new golf courses. I am your prototypical OCD person.

 

[Josh Matta]

If the ski is sufficient float you can ski in on just the outside ski.....

Also being able to maintain outside ski balance usually means its pretty easy to ski 2 footed when needed.

 

[Started at 53]

If the ski is sufficient float you can ski in on just the outside ski.....

Also being able to maintain outside ski balance usually means its pretty easy to ski 2 footed when needed.

I trust you and your knowledge, but can you imagine how scary that might sound to me?

I love the certainty of being able to tilt/lift/slide in my inside ski without undue influence of 3D snow or crud.

I am comfortable in crud tho, I know my skis just cut right through no problem.

 

[James]

That was spooky especially when I realized who it was. I don't like getting passed like that; there was a small margin between me and the trees and she used it for the overtake. I guess she knew what she was doing.

Honestly, had you hit Mikaela and injured her, what would we do? It's not a no fault situation. Even if it might be hers, we'd have to blame you. We'd almost be morally obligated to ban you for life. Then maybe two years later you sue her for pain and suffering?

 

[Doug Briggs]

I trust you and your knowledge, but can you imagine how scary that might sound to me?

I love the certainty of being able to tilt/lift/slide in my inside ski without undue influence of 3D snow or crud.

I am comfortable in crud tho, I know my skis just cut right through no problem.

It really comes down to knowing your limits and pursuing your own passion.

I skied with my kindergarten buddy, whom I hadn't seen for 45 years, for a couple days this past week and he had some crazy rotary going on. Yet he was comfortable and happy. He knows he rotates and how it limits his ability to make quick turns, but he is content, in his 2 - 3 weeks of skiing a year, to rotate and enjoy the turns his way. It didn't keep him from keeping up, in control, and covering over 33K vertical skiing groomers.

 

[Mike King]

Ha, I said I understood the bitching! Did I say I was bitching? That would be a big fat NO!!! Don’t try to put words in my mouth!

CYA

I pushed off at 08:55 this morning, did 10 runs in 75 minutes, waited in lift lines less than 2 minutes total, both waits were on Carpenter at the main base, both were in the singles line. I got fed up, yep you read that right, and went to find my stashes. I skied to the lift and rode on the lift without sharing the chair 8 straight times. I was skiing an area that afforded me three choices off the lift, I chose runs depending on which had the least amount of traffic. When I encountered all three busy, that was it for the day. I don’t need to deal with crowded runs and dodging people. I have come a long way this year, I now understand all the bitching about beginners being unpredictable to pass due to no skiing pattern.

I didn't put words in your mouth -- you typed them on the internet.

 

[James]

I didn't put words in your mouth -- you typed them on the internet.

Ok, that was funny.

 

[Started at 53]

When do you know it is time to stop for the day??? See Below

I mean I was freaking 4th in the singles line

I was an epic morning, skied stashes up high as it was 35* when I shoved off at 8:55. Snow was epic/hero stuff. Skied 17 runs and called it a day as it did get busy at the lift as you can see.

Interesting in that I felt I was skiing fast, but did not quite hit 30MPH. I think my speed is more constant for the whole run than it used to be. Did 17 runs today mostly on nearly empty runs, all runs were top to bottom non-stop. Today was the first day all season I did not ski Success.

It is kind of funny, but adjacent runs were crowded, the couple I frequent had very little traffic.

 

[Seldomski]

@Started at 53 - I know this lift above and have experienced this type of line. However, it only lasted for a couple runs before the line was back to nothing. It also happened at almost the exact time you mentioned (i.e. mid-morning, like 10-11-ish).

Soooo... not sure what the deal is with this lift. Is there a bus that comes by at that time? Breakfast buffet closes? Ski school causing a backup in the lift line that lasts for 20 minutes? Maybe it's early morning Ruby Lift traffic dumping to this lift? Is there a bus stop over there?

I think you may be giving up too quickly. I have seen this phenomenon at many resorts. One lift gets bad, but generally everyone is thinking the same thing. "This sucks!" Then everyone bails and goes somewhere else.

Edit to add: and that line is really not bad... pretty standard at many places. A little on the long side for DV.

 

[Started at 53]

@Started at 53 - I know this lift above and have experienced this type of line. However, it only lasted for a couple runs before the line was back to nothing. It also happened at almost the exact time you mentioned (i.e. mid-morning, like 10-11-ish).

Soooo... not sure what the deal is with this lift. Is there a bus that comes by at that time? Breakfast buffet closes? Ski school causing a backup in the lift line that lasts for 20 minutes? Maybe it's early morning Ruby Lift traffic dumping to this lift? Is there a bus stop over there?

I think you may be giving up too quickly. I have seen this phenomenon at many resorts. One lift gets bad, but generally everyone is thinking the same thing. "This sucks!" Then everyone bails and goes somewhere else.

I never see ski schools in that area, no clue about a bus stop. I was ready to quit tho, I did 17 runs and that is plenty. I did head over to the Jordanelle area to ski a few extra laps, but the ski schools were everywhere over there so I hung them up after 17 and sat around and chewed the fat with some friends and had lunch.

If you seem me out, say Hi

 

[James]

No one uses that lift anymore. It's too crowded.

 

[Started at 53]

Another great day, did laps for a while in some warmer conditions, it was 44* when I shoved off this morning. For the 2nd day in a row I hit the perfect time for no flat light for about 1hour and 45 minutes. It was soft on the bottom from the beginning so I headed up to get firmer conditions and it was very good. Never hit any crowds and just ripped top to bottoms for 11 runs and called it a day as I have domestic stuff calling.

The Bomber Pro Terrain skis were awesome

It was funny, a friend asked about them and I told him he could take some laps as I was not in a hurry to head out. He skis on Volkl skis, but had taken notice of the Bombers recently and was curious. He came back and said wow I fell. Of course I was concerned about him, but he said he was all good. He said he had never skied on skis that were so fast. I just laughed and then told him there was no special wax or anything, just great components. He is a believer

These have replaced my All Mountain skis as my new favorites!

 

[raytseng]

@Started at 53 - I know this lift above and have experienced this type of line. However, it only lasted for a couple runs before the line was back to nothing. It also happened at almost the exact time you mentioned (i.e. mid-morning, like 10-11-ish).

Soooo... not sure what the deal is with this lift. Is there a bus that comes by at that time? Breakfast buffet closes? Ski school causing a backup in the lift line that lasts for 20 minutes? Maybe it's early morning Ruby Lift traffic dumping to this lift? Is there a bus stop over there?

I think you may be giving up too quickly. I have seen this phenomenon at many resorts. One lift gets bad, but generally everyone is thinking the same thing. "This sucks!" Then everyone bails and goes somewhere else.

Edit to add: and that line is really not bad... pretty standard at many places. A little on the long side for DV.

When there are random line backups, I believe it most often it's due to lift stoppage. By far they cause lines to backup faster than any other reason.

It could be blamed on a beginner falling, but also sometimes I attibute the blame to an Adv. skier who too aggressively tries to join up with a beginner triple last second, and gives them less room for the error either at the base or the top station, or miscounts and loads 5 in a 4. Stoppages are by far the most detrimental then a partial load on a particular chair.

Other stoppages are not due to people mistakes, and are for ski patrol loading equipment/gear; sitski or other special load; or machinery issue.