What's good for you?

[James]

How many of you do this, and if you don't why not?

There is some truth to the old adige of, "what does not kill you makes you stronger". Lots of common phrases thrown around on the topic in our sport like, 'don't just ski what is good, ski what is good for you'. It has always interested me that so much of most mountains don't get skied when the conditions are not pristeen. I have noted over the years that if you do this often others will start trying it, at least for one run.

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For 50+ years I have always tried to put down a few runs every ski day on some less than desirable snow or terrain. It is always an interesting experiment to go play in the stuff that most people shy away from and it is normally pretty easy to find on any given day. You will be hard pressed to convince me that it doesn't hone the skiing skills (and survival skills). Some examples of the stuff that might get hit in a day depending on conditions:
icy bumps or steeps.
several day old manky crud.
funky bumps (extra points for bad viz, especially on this one)
the groomer line (ballroom on one side, crud and or bumps on the other) 3 turns on each side and back across can be entertaining.
breakable crust, within limits.
refrozen stuff.
wind buff
crud in general.

There are some limits to my game and new rules keep getting added every year, after all there is snow on the peak (who am I kidding, it's a damned glacier up there):
If it might fall on you, don't go there.
If it hurts very much don't do it again.
no ducking ropes solo unless others can see me, and NEVER if there is a "CLOSED" sign.
when skiing solo, stay in places where somebody might find the body.
stop playing this game when you get too tired.

Do you intentionally ski this kind of stuff, and where do you drew the lines?
If you have some variations to the game, would love to hear them.

What type of snow was that? It's very hard to tell from photos. Could be broken pow.

It's good to ski stuff on the wrong type of skis. Like using square tipped race skis off piste. Very touchy. The worst was when instead of going over the slushy rotten snow mogul it just speared it and went in. Made me wish for the slalom skis, which are pretty damn fun in wet spring snow. The Stormrider95's on the same rotten snow spot later were like cheating. - No imminent risk of suddenly pirouetting.

 

[Wilhelmson]

View attachment 46774
What type of snow was that? It's very hard to tell from photos. Could be broken pow.

It's good to ski stuff on the wrong type of skis. Like using square tipped race skis off piste. Very touchy. The worst was when instead of going over the slushy rotten snow mogul it just speared it and went in. Made me wish for the slalom skis, which are pretty damn fun in wet spring snow. The Stormrider95's on the same rotten snow spot later were like cheating. - No imminent risk of suddenly pirouetting.

Good point, and it makes going back to the right skis lots of fun.

 

[Uncle-A]

Unfortunately I have had so much time skiing icy conditions, because they were the only conditions, that they have become less of a challenge. I am not sure if this is what this thread is about because many are talking about crud. But the constant skiing on the icy conditions has sharpened the skills to ski it.

 

[Bad Bob]

View attachment 46774
What type of snow was that? It's very hard to tell from photos. Could be broken pow.

It's good to ski stuff on the wrong type of skis. Like using square tipped race skis off piste. Very touchy. The worst was when instead of going over the slushy rotten snow mogul it just speared it and went in. Made me wish for the slalom skis, which are pretty damn fun in wet spring snow. The Stormrider95's on the same rotten snow spot later were like cheating. - No imminent risk of suddenly pirouetting.

That shot was some 4 or 5 day old cut-up powder that had gotten just a bit heavy and inconsistent. Not that bad really. You are right on the choice of skis. I normally cruise around on some Nordica Enforcer 100's, they will plow through that stuff pretty well. The right tool makes it easier.

Taken on the speed bump I run a pass at 49* North, what just seems interesting to me is all of that terrain that gets ignored while most people are out on the groomers during this kind of day (on a powder day those that can are all over the hill but not so much when the snow starts setting up).

The original question was simply, do you intentionally ski some less than premium snow conditions on purpose. Personally feel that it is a good idea for maintaining your ability and versatility as a skier. Not suggesting that anyone ski stuff that will hurt them; just stuff that will make you ski it, rather than just cruise it, occasionally.

I won't go into a lot of crap either, like this shot. A very thick breakable crust on top of some older powder in very nice trees--------NOPE!

 

[Olesya C]

When I am skiing in mid-atlantic/PA I will ski in nearly any condition. I strive to improve my skiing and expand my comfort zone gradually, I found that taking lessons and mileage are a key to that, so I try to get out there and ski as often as I can, doesn't really matter or not the snow weather is good or not.

When skiing in PA. I will not ski bumps when they are blue ice everywhere. I have gotten to the point that if bumps have patches of ice here and there I will still attempt to ski them but that's as far as I have gotten. I ski icy groomers all the time, no other options sometimes when skiing in PA. Like others said the right ski makes almost any condition fun - my Magnums excel on hard snow and I am slowly learning how to carve cleanly on them and better edge control in general, they are a great tool for that. I don't love very icey conditions, but hey I deal with it - I have to.

When skiing out West I won't ski untracked pow that's very heavy or breakable crust, you could say I don't have enough skill and experience to deal with that and that I like my knees to not be injured. If it's very firm/refrozen stuff I will stick to the groomers. In low visibility I will stick to narrow/tree lined groomers or low-angle/moderate-angle trees if available I sometimes get vicked vertigo in wide open spaces in low visibility. I love tracked out powder and the soft bumps that start to form when it becomes tracked out - my BMX 105 make those conditions super fun, they also cut through heavier tracked out snow quite well.