Our gang got a nice line of moguls skied in at Liberty yesterday.  Lower Eastwind, skier's left.  Now there's lots of fun for turning & absorbing :)

Yep, several peeps on IDOnes.  I use the MR-SG 182cm.  Other folks in the posse use MR-CE (cracked edge), Dynastar Twisters, Rossi mogul skis etc.

IDOnes are great -- love at first turn :)

Also da gang is always happy to work with you on mogul technique anytime.  Bunch of good drills, mogul concepts etc to share if fun/interesting.

Most of the bump posse will be up at Lib on Mon & Tues. Stop by & ski a few with the gang if fun!

If I were there for sure - I actually live in north lake Tahoe across from Diamond Peak. We got over 2.5 feet of snow yesterday, all Sierra Cement.  Basically by 2 PM I was hitting cut up choppy stuff and totally disorganized bumps that I couldn't see very well. Braille bump skiing lol on frikin' Blizzard Bonifides 180s! It was just a bunch of absorbing, grunting and recoveries with several slams; I totally hurt today from top to bottom b/c my bump skillset has gone-to-hell since I don't get that much action any more since exiting Park City and this 62 year old bod can't take so much anymore. I do believe my bump days are, sadly, coming to an end.

I did, back in the day, had a great 3 day bump work shop with Sean Smith in PC. Man he so ripped - all deflection turns. Here is doing it in Lillehammer in 1994 Olympics - go to exactly 3:00 min into the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4fluxKMG1U

This is a pretty good workout that I did for while

promontoryclub.com

He would call me out relentlessly to ski the zipper-line all over The Canyons and said "... you should be out here doing this every day!" Dude, I could do that for maybe one seasons and then would have no knees left for the rest of my life. I think he didn't realize I was in my mid 40's at the time because I look young. 

Keep on rockin' those bumps tho!

Indeed! I highly recommend it - not only will it be awesome, it will really fast-track you to improving as you have to have that discipline to do well. And the culture is all positive like "yeah baby!"

dukegrad96 wrote:

Great to learn to ski bumps. 

 I cant do bumps.  I hate them honestly.  Maybe back in the day when I had abs...I could do them but I didnt like to.  I tried so hard to understand the attraction.  I look at bump riders like people that eat whole ghost peppers for fun.  I keep a cautious distance and distrust in them. LOL.  Joking of course..(no it is true)

Crush wrote:

Indeed! I highly recommend it - not only will it be awesome, it will really fast-track you to improving as you have to have that discipline to do well. And the culture is all positive like "yeah baby!"

 

dukegrad96 wrote:

Great to learn to ski bumps. 

 heh... My body gives them a "hell no". Always hated when the group would head that way. 

"Moguls" is actually a secret Mountain Ops term that means "someone dropped the keys to the groomer in a snowbank last night"

Grumpy dad wrote:

 I cant do bumps.  I hate them honestly.  Maybe back in the day when I had abs...I could do them but I didnt like to.  I tried so hard to understand the attraction.  I look at bump riders like people that eat whole ghost peppers for fun.  I keep a cautious distance and distrust in them. LOL.  Joking of course..(no it is true)

Crush wrote:

Indeed! I highly recommend it - not only will it be awesome, it will really fast-track you to improving as you have to have that discipline to do well. And the culture is all positive like "yeah baby!"

 

dukegrad96 wrote:

Great to learn to ski bumps. 

I’ve skied the moguls at Liberty many times usually at night. When they’re crusty frozen you really get a good workout. They are a good intro into bumps!

When you want to get a great bump run out west is a must. The best I have ever done is Moseley’s at PalisadesTahoe off Kt-22 Express lift. Last time there is wasn’t even called that as Moseley hadn’t won the gold in the Olympics but it was the same run. Symmetrical zipper line bumps. Awesome 🤩 

Last year at Winter Park Hole-In-The-Wall to Runaway to Trestle is a great test. 

Bumps are your best friend they test you and get you in shape!  Despite my knees getting old you should give them a go as it’s a great feeling to smash them. 

You don’t want to smash them, mash them, bang them, or any of the other harsh terms one hears.  You want to caress them.  Keep your skis in contact with the snow.  Drive your tips down as you crest the bump.  This is the ‘extension’ move.  It will keep you from being thrown into the back seat.  Absorption is easy; just use ankles and knees to bend and absorb.  But absorption without extension will quickly get you in trouble.

everyone who is good at bumps likes bumps and does them a lot.  That’s how they got good.  It’s a circular thing.  If that doesn’t appeal don’t feel obliged, go have fun elsewhere.

Denis wrote:

You don’t want to smash them, mash them, bang them, or any of the other harsh terms one hears.  You want to caress them.  Keep your skis in contact with the snow.  Drive your tips down as you crest the bump.  This is the ‘extension’ move.  It will keep you from being thrown into the back seat.  Absorption is easy; just use ankles and knees to bend and absorb.  But absorption without extension will quickly get you in trouble.

everyone who is good at bumps likes bumps and does them a lot.  That’s how they got good.  It’s a circular thing.  If that doesn’t appeal don’t feel obliged, go have fun elsewhere.

 The term used by a favorite Taos instructor of mine is "slither."  Skiing bumps out west for me has nothing in common with skiing a zipper line on hard snow in the east.  My Massanutten instructor said "flow like water" when he was teaching a bump clinic to instructors working towards taking the PSIA Level 2 exam.  Took a few Taos Ski Weeks for me to completely understand what he meant about how to accomplish that.

Yes, we ski in the main mogul line first, and then we add the Neighbor line second.

The second line ends up shallower and then it starts getting skied usually by more folks than the deep main line, and the shape gradually changes cause it gets more snowboard and carver-type traffic.

It's interesting that in classic mogul turn technique, we are also aiming to "caress" and "slither" through the moguls -- But we do it by NOT pivoting the skis.  Instead we roll the ski on its long-axis using Knee Roll and that way the Edge bites in without pivoting.

In the Eastwind pic have just finished absorbing the mogul, rolling knees to get Edge, and aiming skis directly straight at the next mogul with no pivoting.  The clean good Edge produces a nice slither straight on down the backside of the mogul and towards the next one.  Absorption with good heel-pull gives good Touch, or caress.

SuicideSix wrote:

It's interesting that in classic mogul turn technique, we are also aiming to "caress" and "slither" through the moguls -- But we do it by NOT pivoting the skis.  Instead we roll the ski on its long-axis using Knee Roll and that way the Edge bites in without pivoting.

In the Eastwind pic have just finished absorbing the mogul, rolling knees to get Edge, and aiming skis directly straight at the next mogul with no pivoting.  The clean good Edge produces a nice slither straight on down the backside of the mogul and towards the next one.  Absorption with good heel-pull gives good Touch, or caress.

 You've got the right pants to be in the moguls, looking good!

Nice!  My man looks 100% ! Guys used to say to pretend to have magnets on your skis. Snow contact is the game, not skiing tops etc. Direct line is the only practical tactic if you get serious about it and your bod can take it. Deep absorption so those knees come up all the way and then snap down is the key - and body discipline.  Your description "... roll the ski on its long-axis using Knee Roll ..." is a perfect example of making deflection turns. I used to have a mantra I'd use before every run ... "up Up UP Eric !" Absorb but stand up. Your "heel pull" comment is so right-on; that will keep your tips dipping on the front-side and be set up for the next one. Problem is my brain is programmed I can still do it but the body kinda is lagging. Maybe I'll get out and take ONE run and try to recapture it. Damnit I don't have any good bump skis anymore :-( Shouldn't have gave my Dragon Slayers to the local thrift store grrrrr!

SuicideSix wrote:

It's interesting that in classic mogul turn technique, we are also aiming to "caress" and "slither" through the moguls -- But we do it by NOT pivoting the skis.  Instead we roll the ski on its long-axis using Knee Roll and that way the Edge bites in without pivoting.

In the Eastwind pic have just finished absorbing the mogul, rolling knees to get Edge, and aiming skis directly straight at the next mogul with no pivoting.  The clean good Edge produces a nice slither straight on down the backside of the mogul and towards the next one.  Absorption with good heel-pull gives good Touch, or caress.

Crush wrote:

...Maybe I'll get out and take ONE run and try to recapture it. Damnit I don't have any good bump skis anymore :-( Shouldn't have gave my Dragon Slayers to the local thrift store grrrrr!