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Slim

Making fresh tracks
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I have to ask again--why some people don't like skiing groomers?

Today was about as good a day as you can get for groomers (and some off-piste, too.) Soft, grippy, cold temps, perfection. And a great chance to hone in on some new skills I've been working on.
 

fatbob

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Traffic, feckwits, loons and other liabilities. A nice packed natural snow groomer is a thing of beauty but it often doesn't last long in that condition before getting scraped or polished....

Plus a groomer which is then refrozen is a special kind of hell ... the rills....the rills
 

beginnerskier96

Putting on skis
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I honestly think we need more practice. I know I will need a lot more practice sessions and lessons before I can ski in the backcountry alone.
 

Doug Briggs

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Because they're boring.

Trees, moguls, hells yeah.
If you only make the same size turns all the time and don't challenge yourself, sure it's boring. You don't have to ski groomers in a boring fashion, though. You just need to use your imagination to add challenges to your skiing.
 
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Slim

Slim

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I‘l answer for myself, and others can say why they do or don’t like skiing them.

For me, first of all, It’s not that I don’t like skiing groomers at all, it’s just that I like other things much more.

Here are my reasons, not in particular order:

I love deep powder. Who doesn’t? Anytime you see snow, people on foot are going out of their way to walk in it, kick up clouds of it, stomp in it, there is just somehting about deep untouched snow that humans (and dogs) can’t resist!

I like more rugged, natural and interesting terrain. Visually for one thing.

I like mountain biking much more than road biking too. Same thing.

When I stand on top of a groomer, it's immediately obvious that I will get to the bottom, and there isn’t anything to figure out. I prefer the ‘puzzle’ of looking at the terrain, and figuring out how and where to get down.

I love the floating feeling of powder

I love the feeling of up and down, fast and slow that you get in moguls

I don’t like that there are other people blasting by at warp speed (although having someone come straight at you as you are both curving around a tree from opposite directions, is even worse))

On a cold day on a easier groomer, I get cold: high speed= wind+little effort
 
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Josh Matta

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I love good uncrowded groomers, G forces you can pull are basically impossible to find off trail unless your on wind packed powder.

I generally hate groomers if they are

1. Crowded
2. Icey
3. not a smooth groom
4. was groomed yesterday.

i get far more tired skiing groomers, than I do off trail simply because I have to resist so much more Gforce.
 
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Slim

Slim

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And let’s get some reasons from the people who do love them? What do you love about it?
 

eyvoom

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I just love being out there and sliding!

When the groomers are skiing well I love it! Nothing compares to the feeling of laying a ski way over on edge and ripping down. With good conditions on a good trail, you can cruise down without worrying about too much other than the turn itself.

As stated in the posts above, there are times when groomers are less than desirable to be blasting down. Poor snow surface and too many people can quickly cut back on the fun. That's when jumping into the bumps or trees is great! Trying to gap bumps or finding fun lines through the trees is always exciting. Trees and bumps can also have less than stellar conditions as well though.

Because I find just about everything fun to ski I try to mix it up and head where the conditions and traffic are the best.
 

nemesis256

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If you only make the same size turns all the time and don't challenge yourself, sure it's boring. You don't have to ski groomers in a boring fashion, though. You just need to use your imagination to add challenges to your skiing.
You are correct, and I do try to mix things up on groomers. Ungroomed is just so much better relatively. But groomed is still skiing.

And let’s get some reasons from the people who do love them? What do you love about it?
Speed, G force, high edge angle.
 

Posaune

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It's not that I don't like skiing groomed slopes, but that the challenge of skiing the "wild" slopes appeals to me. Sure, I can change turn shape on groomers, but I MUST do it on the stuff off the main trail. Making that happen while having it flow is a real turn-on for me.
 

river-z

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Why do some people like to sit on the beach in Florida when they go on vacation? I wouldn’t but I understand why some people do. Why do some people like groomers? I don’t but I understand why people do. Why do some people ask why other people don’t like groomers? This I wish I could understand.
 

James

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Last season we had one day, think it was MLK Monday, no one was around. Super windy. One trail had absolutely perfect windbuffed. Smooth, consistent, sunk in just enough for great sensation and edge hold. Almost as good as powder, maybe better than corn except for the cold.

Groomers in spring can be very interesting with a sea of choppy corn. Early though, they might be perfect smooth creamed corn, which at the time seems better than powder.

What’s up with “Polls” without voting?

Yet again we post this:
 

tch

What do I know; I'm just some guy on the internet.
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Slim, you said it yourself: you like riding mountain bikes. Well, some of us are roadies. I like the rhythm, the flow, the speed, the grace of skiing a good groomer fast.
 

Josh Matta

Skiing the powder
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The thing is groomer skiing to me has way more sensation than road biking, well unless your racing a tight crit.
 

Crank

Making fresh tracks
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I enjoy skiing groomers. I just enjoy non groomed a lot more.
 

Ogg

Skiing the powder
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I don’t get a lot of days in per season so when I’m skiing I usually go for the most challenging terrain I can actually ski(not just survive). At this point that is moguls, trees etc. I do enjoy carving on a nice uncrowded groomer and may take a couple laps when I find one but I’m always drawn back to the rougher stuff.
 

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