skiing blacks & moguls?

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Why do you feel like you 'have' to ski moguls? Why not just ski what you enjoy?

After a cross-country brainwashing that lasted until my first steep slope at 13, I've had the good fortune of skiing all over the states... Colorado (Keystone, Vail, Breckenridge, Aspen, etc.), Utah, Oregon (I live here! Hood is good, Bachelor is better), Illinois (hah... those aren't mountains... they're hills!), Wisconsin (only slightly less 'hah'), New Hampshire (Sis has a ski-in on Bear Peak, Attitash), etc. and while I have spent more time than I would have preferred in the moguls, I feel like some folks do it just for the bragging rights (although... maybe it's just the people I ski with ).

Yeah, I can do it. Yeah, it's an art. But it's also extremely monotonous, and to me at least, doesn't hold the same appeal as carving big wide swaths into fresh powder on a smooth but steep slope.

I love steep black diamonds, even double blacks, but give me a 12' cornice drop into 3' of pow into an untracked bowl off the backside, not a bunch of uncomfortable hard and repetitive bumps that make me feel like I'm done for the day at lunchtime.

Ski for fun; explore the mountains. If you feel like you don't belong in the moguls, don't bother!

-Tad

PS- I ski Salomon Streetracer 09 Pilots (great ski whether there's new snow or not!) in 175, with S912 magnesium bindings at 6'4", so depending on your height, 169s may be fine.
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The right equipment is definitely useful, and it will help. When I skied on the Pro Mogul Tour, we were on 200s, and they were skinny. Times have changed, to be sure. There's certainly more maneuverability on shorter sticks, but there are a couple of considerations that are designed into the mogul-specific skis that make them better suited to the bumps.

First, they have a softer flex. They don't "shoot" you out of the turn, and they tend to absorb more energy than a slalom ski. This is important so as to avoid the unloading (think "boing").

Second, they have a narrow waist, and this is to speed up the edge-to-edge transition. Frankly, you're not really edging in the bumps, as you're more centered over the ski. But, quick transitions are important for direction changes in the fall line or the zipper.

Bump skis, however, aren't all-mountain or all-around skis, and they have their shortcomings. They're quick turners, so they're "nervous" and their soft flex allows them to "flop" around at higher speeds. They're definitely not ideal for carving on hard-pack. That said, if you really want a pair to fool around with, Hart seems to be the big brand these days (the F17). I've skied on Salomon, Rossignol, Atomic, Volkl and now Fischer, but I haven't done a serious bump run in decades, so it's hard for me to comment on the current offerings. However, ALL products are pretty good. Even the Head Liquid Metal is interesting.

Anyway, to be totally honest, I don't think you specifically NEED a pair of bumpers, based on your description of your skill levels and experience. Bump skis are designed for guys like Deneen & Co. who have specific needs and super-high expectations from their equipment. You just maybe need to go a little softer in the flex department. Your 169s are about the right length (give or take a few), so I don't know that I'd go much shorter (again, the ability to use the ski for other purposes will diminish the more specific you get with it), if any. If you really want, go check ebay. I'm betting you can find a pair for cheap. They may be somewhat worn-out, but that's ok. Or, find a shop that demos bumps skis (the better shops may have them) and take them out for a day.

CW

 

I've only been skiing twice, but tackled a single black diamond slope on my first trip (Sugarbush, Vermont) and a double black diamond slope on my second trip (Canada). I had a bit of a head-start as I was already a very good figure-skater (roller) and took to skiing fairly quickly.

The thing I managed to do with moguls was not to attempt to slide from mogul to mogul, I kind of jumped from one to land on top of the next. It's very satisfying when you get it right (and managed to get enough air to turn 180 degrees), a little painful to get wrong, and far too tiring to keep up for the whole day. It's quite a severe workout and about one black diamond course a day is about enough. I guess shorter skis would make it easier to rotate in the air without inadvertently catching on anything, but as long as you're getting enough air from mogul to mogul then I don't imagine it would be a problem with standard skis. As I didn't know if I'd really take to skiing, I was just using rental skis and that worked out just fine.

I got the most enjoyment from the blue square slopes and some of the easier single black diamonds. Probably wouldn't do double blacks again in the foreseeable future, as although I got down the slope, I didn't really enjoy it. One thing I thought was really cool for a bit of variation was a slope that had a half-pipe on it half way down.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

More and more often I would like to avoid the moguls and especially more risky "out of bounds" ,steep trees for "experts only" etc.
I think it comes with age,knees are no longer the same and prevous "fearlessnesness" is mostly gone.
I do want though(along with my wife-great skier herself) ski with my teenage boys and that's what they want to do,skiing on Blues is "beneath" them.....
Therefore I suffer....

 

195's for most terrain, but I drop to 165's for bumps. For me, I simply cannot control 195 in bumps -- it might be all in my head, but I certainly feel more confident on them. I've never been on shaped skis, so I can't comment. Mine are old K2 straight skis.

Truth be told, I think I'm on the ragged edge of being too old (or out of shape) for bumps anyway. The wear you down and the rest of the day can be quite rough.

 

You don't need different ski's you need to take some lessons. You will have a hard time progressing if you ski 10 days a year without some help.

Next time you go to the slopes try a bumps workshop, often it's just a couple of skiers so you can get pretty good attention for a discount. If you an Jennie do a full day private lesson you will be amazed at what you learn. I usually like to do a workshop or private lesson with my family at the front end of our trip so I can work on what I was taught.

A pair of 169 shaped sport level rentals are fine for most anything. Skiing bumps is all about turns. If you can turn - really turn - you can control your speed, if you can do that you can ski anything on the mountain.

We should jump in you plane and head to C.B. for some lessons.

 

As stated above, bump lessons can really help you learn to deal with them. That and a good set of knees. My suggestion is to go with a good all mountain gear set-up if you only want a single set-up.

That set-up would allow you to have fun on groomed, bumps, powder, glades and able to deal with the occasional boiler plate that a soft ski would chatter all over.

I telemark, so my gear & technique is certainly different, but the same gear choice applies. At one point, I had my area cruising (210), soft bump/backcountry powder (200), and backcountry "do-all" (205 - wish they were 195-200, but they float well in powder with a pack on and I can carve trees). That only works if you live close to the mountains and you know where you are going and what you plan to do for the day.

 

Been skiing my whole life and use to be on my college ski team. I always loved moguls, but unfortunately puts on alot wear and tear on your lower body. Avoid them if you can and just enjoy skiing. I rarely ski moguls today because I have alot of lower back problems. The good thing with today's ski's you can use them pretty much everywhere. Its not like you have to buy different ski's for different conditions. But if it really is bothering you, get a lesson from an instructor.

 

Rob,

If you like to ski the blacks and double blacks but don't care for the bump look for a different ski area, wolf Creek in S. CO not far from Taos has lots of steep runs but most of them are powder runs with very little in the way of bumps. Plus soaking in the hot springs in Pagosa Springs is a great reward for a long day of skiing. The biggest plus about WC is the short lift lines.

http://wolfcreekski.com

BTW my daughter has taken to skiing lately and is hitting the black runs after her 3rd lesson

 

Wolf Creek was lots of fun when I was last there in 1986, but I totaled my truck hitting a mule dear at 65mph on the way to Pogosa Springs. Those things will jump in front of you faster than a tree on a glade run.

 

I can relate with you on that one living in MT it is the same thing here. Even driving in town you have deer running out in front of you.