Which local resorts currently have a decent bump run?
OTW was very good last weekend at Tline. However, getting thin and will need some care to get it back to being skiable by next weekend after this weather. You would have to keep an eye on the Trail Report to see if that happens as it is currently closed.
Snowshoe has three trails (possible more, I didn’t go to Silver Creek). Sawmill, the left side of lower shays and Knot Bumper. The drop in for knot bumper is the only trail at Snowshoe that scares the shit out of me. It is steep and very bumpy.
If Snowshoe gets a couple of warm nights and they skip out on grooming look for some nice bumps to form on the Western Territory. A few weeks ago I showed up on a Monday at 9am at 35 degrees. It warmed up a little bit throughout the day. The afternoon was great spring bumps from top to bottom. Particularly Upper Shays > Lower Cupp. Blew the legs to pieces by about 3pm.
It's been nearly 3 decades since I really focused on skiing bumps. Those days were primarily spent on the best Heavenly, Kirkwood, Alpine, Squaw, and Sierra at Tahoe had to offer. What was great about those days was the symmetry of those bump runs. I believe this was because bump skiing was more in favor then and many skiers knew how to ski bumps (always turning). Today there is a lot of skidding so the backside of the bump becomes elongated which packs down and ices out. I see many skiers traversing then wiping out. All of this combined with the popularity of snowboarding over the last 30 years sharing some of these runs have produced asymmetrical bump runs.
This asymetrical spacing is readily apparent at the top of Knot Bumper. It looks like just a skid for about 10+ feet then 1 or 2 turns to get to the best part of the run. Sawmill and Lower Shays don't present much in the way of great bump runs as I've never seen much height to them. I use to take my daughter for race training at Liberty and the closest thing to what I remember as decent bump runs are the 2 double black backside runs Upper Eastwind and Upper Strata. These are 1/4 or 1/5 as long as what I use to ski but were fun and a good workout over a couple hours.
AndyGene wrote:
Snowshoe has three trails (possible more, I didn’t go to Silver Creek). Sawmill, the left side of lower shays and Knot Bumper. The drop in for knot bumper is the only trail at Snowshoe that scares the shit out of me. It is steep and very bumpy.
But its only like 50 ft long. I find it works best to just go fast and furious and hope for the best :). It is my favorite single named trail spot on the mountain. The snowshoe coulior. Knot Bumper in general can make a great spring bumps run.
I agree with above, that a lot of bump runs now become lines of troughs which is not as much fun. They need to be goomed and then reseeded.
Snowshoe could become one of the best bump resorts if they ever decided to put another lift between Treetop and Leatherbark extending down the mountain halfway between Ballhooter & Soring Eagle base lifts. I know this is a pipedream but a few new runs with straight fall lines and somehow modifying the green cross trails to still allow people across the mountain would be great. There is some serious steep just behind the condo complexes. One can only dream:)
It was actually my recent trips to snowshoe that inspired me to ask the question about bump runs. Knot Bumper has bumps, but it is really difficult to find an extended area of well-formed moguls. A typical pattern is bump. a few feet of skied-off snow, bump. I guess this reasons for this are noted above. Lower Shays is similar but with even more spacing (and less defined moguls). Fun but not really a bump run. I am not great (to say the least) at moguls but I would like the opportunity to get better!
Top of Knot Bumper is really fun, I've only been able to really ski it well a couple times.
This is my first season as a snowshoe regular so I am not an authority on typical Lower Shays conditions but I have only ever seen large moguls on it once - about 10 years ago in March. Great spring moguls that even I could ski. I was hoping to see more of that this March.
Snowshoe use to have some great bump runs. Skiers left on Choker was sweet and would have zipper lines under the lift. Unfortunately, SS cut Heisler Way and eliminated the top part of it. The lower part of Knotbumper is fun and usually has some zipper lines. The top part is usually ice or mud and its best to just launch the top part and land on the couple of bumps on the bottom before the flat spot. Cupp Run use to be the best bump run on the mtn. Upper Cupp would have small soft bumps and lower Cupp would have large bumps and zipper lines. Ski Patrol would sit just above mid-station and if you didn’t ski well they would pull you to the side and make you ride the lift back up at mid-station. This kept the novices off lower Cupp and kept the bumps uniform. Each spring they would hold a bump contest and party on lower Cupp, which was a blast. This all changed when a Japanese company bought SS and they didn’t have any bumps for a number of years. SS was my home mtn, so I took up snowboarding since they groomed everything. Intrawest bought SS and started to let things bump up, but they never let lower Cupp bump up because people complained that they never got to ski the longest run on the mtn. because it wasn’t groomed. Intrawest cut Shays and did a lot of development, but they also jacked up lodging and lift ticket prices and drove a lot of people away, including my family. Intrawest figured this out after a while and that’s why they now offer inexpensive season passes. Lower Shays can get some bumps, but it doesn’t get the sun like Cupp does and can be really icy. I need to get back to SS, but its hard to drive past the Valley without stopping.
Goosebumps at Seven Springs is the dedicated bump run there. Nice bumps are usually found skiers' right of Stowe slope and skiers' left at the top of The Spot. Bumps on Stowe and The Spot are usually machine made therefor uniformly space.
I love skiing bumps. I can't zipperline them these days like I used to in my teens and 20's, but would love to get back to that conditioning and technique (I just turned 38).
I can't speak to Lower Shay's conditions this season, as I broke my arm there MLK weekend (when it was completely flat), and haven't been on snow since. That said, Lower Shay's has the steepness that when it bumps up can make it fun.
I agree with the earlier comments that a combination of snowboarders and less skilled skiers has made the uniformity / lines of bumps really challenging. Much easier to zipperline uniform bumps like you find out west.
I guess it's been too long since I've skied most of Knot Bumper, but I find the best part the (very short) drop-in. You need decent snow, or you'll wind up gouging your skis (so many people side-slip). I don't remember much about the rest of the run, and a big part of the issue is you have to take Ballhooter to get to it, so I mostly stay away.
All that said, probably my favorite bump run in the mid-A is Exhibition at Whitetail.
Reisen wrote:
I love skiing bumps. I can't zipperline them these days like I used to in my teens and 20's, but would love to get back to that conditioning and technique (I just turned 38).
I can't speak to Lower Shay's conditions this season, as I broke my arm there MLK weekend (when it was completely flat), and haven't been on snow since. That said, Lower Shay's has the steepness that when it bumps up can make it fun.
I agree with the earlier comments that a combination of snowboarders and less skilled skiers has made the uniformity / lines of bumps really challenging. Much easier to zipperline uniform bumps like you find out west.
I guess it's been too long since I've skied most of Knot Bumper, but I find the best part the (very short) drop-in. You need decent snow, or you'll wind up gouging your skis (so many people side-slip). I don't remember much about the rest of the run, and a big part of the issue is you have to take Ballhooter to get to it, so I mostly stay away.
All that said, probably my favorite bump run in the mid-A is Exhibition at Whitetail.
Hi: I just started learniing how to ski bumps and I did my first bump/mogul trail at Liberty - Lower Strata(?) the past Saturday - it was a blue trail with bumps. I was wondering, in terms of steepness, how does it compare to Exhibition at Whitetail? I want to practice more on bumps but don't want to over-terrain or get overwhelmed...
I skied about half dozen times on that bump trial at Liberty and I managed, neither gracefuly nor elegantly, but I made it down without falling.
I was at Whitetail today and Exhibition looked good.
fosphenytoin wrote:
Reisen wrote:
I love skiing bumps. I can't zipperline them these days like I used to in my teens and 20's, but would love to get back to that conditioning and technique (I just turned 38).
I can't speak to Lower Shay's conditions this season, as I broke my arm there MLK weekend (when it was completely flat), and haven't been on snow since. That said, Lower Shay's has the steepness that when it bumps up can make it fun.
I agree with the earlier comments that a combination of snowboarders and less skilled skiers has made the uniformity / lines of bumps really challenging. Much easier to zipperline uniform bumps like you find out west.
I guess it's been too long since I've skied most of Knot Bumper, but I find the best part the (very short) drop-in. You need decent snow, or you'll wind up gouging your skis (so many people side-slip). I don't remember much about the rest of the run, and a big part of the issue is you have to take Ballhooter to get to it, so I mostly stay away.
All that said, probably my favorite bump run in the mid-A is Exhibition at Whitetail.
Hi: I just started learniing how to ski bumps and I did my first bump/mogul trail at Liberty - Lower Strata(?) the past Saturday - it was a blue trail with bumps. I was wondering, in terms of steepness, how does it compare to Exhibition at Whitetail? I want to practice more on bumps but don't want to over-terrain or get overwhelmed...
I skied about half dozen times on that bump trial at Liberty and I managed, neither gracefuly nor elegantly, but I made it down without falling.
If you're just starting on bumps, then Exhibition (a black) is probably not ideal. Sometimes you have no choice (the blues tend to be freshly groomed), but you will have an easier time on a flatter slope. I've skied Liberty, but it's been long enough ago that I don't remember any specific trails. I'm sure others can weigh in with better information.
The other thing I will add is that bump skiing is even more condition-dependent than carving. That is, soft snow / soft bumps are dramatically easier than icy bumps. If you have the leg strength, and balance, I know people who ski soft bumps without good technique, but just absorb the shock. You can't do that on firm / icy bumps.
For the most part, I’ve found the “bumps” on Exhibition to be horribly shaped - in many spots more like spines than troughs. Formed by too many people who don’t know how to make turns.
JohnL wrote:
For the most part, I’ve found the “bumps” on Exhibition to be horribly shaped - in many spots more like spines than troughs. Formed by too many people who don’t know how to make turns.
I would agree with this, but would add this is my take on every bump run in the mid-Atlantic. You really have to get to Vermont or out West to find uniform fields of bumps.
Is the lack of bumps due to conditions?
I know when we have good storms roll through a lot of resorts let bumps form naturally on the black runs. But if there is a lack of natural snow they turn into ice chunks and the trails go unused.
Another factor seems that machine snow just isn't good for bumps. Maybe it's the water content, but machine bumps always turn into ice bumps.
For a few years I was really focused on improving my bump ability. Then that stopped when most places went flat. Here and there we get a few stretches of nice bumps locally. But if you miss them right after the storm I find they're usually unskiable.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Blue Knob. Some of my best days on bumps have been there. Extrovert can be nice, Stembogan is excellent. With a good storm they let Deer Run bump up too, which is a great entry level bump trail. And for that once a decade storm you get bumps through the glades too. After a killer storm if you can't ski bumps then it's very hard to ski at a place like Blue Knob or Timberline.
Reisen wrote:
JohnL wrote:
For the most part, I’ve found the “bumps” on Exhibition to be horribly shaped - in many spots more like spines than troughs. Formed by too many people who don’t know how to make turns.
I would agree with this, but would add this is my take on every bump run in the mid-Atlantic. You really have to get to Vermont or out West to find uniform fields of bumps.
To me, Exhibition is the worst in the Mid A. The Drop, Ex, Upper Thunder, Goosebumps generally have decently shaped bumps,
JohnL wrote:
For the most part, I’ve found the “bumps” on Exhibition to be horribly shaped - in many spots more like spines than troughs. Formed by too many people who don’t know how to make turns.
That is why I don’t play blackjack or ski bumps; afraid of screwing things up. I should have clarified my post: “they looked good from the lift.”
wgo wrote:
Top of paradise at Mnut has a short section (about a dozen turns) of nicely formed bumps. I think these were actually seeded after Mnut made a ton of snow there earlier in the season.
Yep, the bumps on Paradice were seeded. Impressed that they managed to keep them.
Off The Wall was some fun bump skiing this past weekend.
Glen Plake was at Whitetail last weekend. Someone said he taught a bump clinic while there Might they have seeded Exhibition in preperation?
http://www.skiwhitetail.com/content/presidents-day-weekend
crgildart wrote:
Glen Plake was at Whitetail last weekend. Someone said he taught a bump clinic while there Might they have seeded Exhibition in preperation?
http://www.skiwhitetail.com/content/presidents-day-weekend
Yes but was he on 220 cm skis?
Glen Plake skied CVR yesty
crgildart wrote:
.. Might they have seeded Exhibition in preperation?
Negative. They don't seed. Just skier created for the good and bad on top of whales.
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