An editorial on Moguls by ChowdahRidah
BUMPS!
Some thoughts....
I used to live on the East Coast so I know what people mean when they say some days bumps are the only thing challenging to ski. It's a reality if you live on the East Coast.
I live in Colorado now and here I view bumps like break dancing, they're totally 80s, totally geeky, obnoxious, and lame but on some days you just can't help yourself. But to be a dedicated "bumper" outside of the east...I have questions.
I used to race and enter bump contests in the 80s and early 90s. Knowing how to arc a race turn is far more essential to all around skiing than knowing how to ski bumps. If you use the "bump turn" outside of moguls you look like a total gaper. I noticed that in the most recent Olympics some of the competitors are actually starting to carve turns in bumps instead of sliding which was GREAT to see. Especially since that dude won the silver or bronze, can't remember...RESPECT MON.
In the late 80s there were some of us that wanted to change the style of bump skiing to be more free. The style then as it is today is boring and stiff. Some of the ways in which we felt we were evolving the style was using longer skis (to carve and take bigger / longer air), ski the run WAY faster, and switching in and out of zipper lines seamlessly and smoothly. We hated that we had to use just 1 zipper line. It was like practicing in a bubble that only existed in mogul contests and not on the other slopes. The art of being a good mogul skier outside of the course totally rested in the ability to move back and forth between zipper lines in one fluid motion and no loss of speed. This is an aspect that isn't even displayed in contests. Obviously this movement was not successful. You hear Hattrup and Plake talk about in a few movie segments from that era. It was inspiring to say the least to our movement.
That brings me to ski lengths. Hey guess what technology has changed! I think length is now totally dependent on your individual style. For example, I used to ski on GS 210s for mogul contests and general free skiing. The length enabled me to attack moguls at a very high rate of speed and ski everywhere else on the mountain with no chatter. Today's ski simply don't chatter at any length, so you can go shorter. Now it's just a question of your personal style and preference. Due to my ailing knees and as you get older you're not quite as quick, I just recently moved from 195s to 180s (Powder boards). The 180s enable me to make quick turns whenever I feel like it and as I said before they are totally damp at high speed. I don't ski bumps like I used to (If i ski them at all), the shorter length enables me to ski them very smoothly but not aggressively. With age you just become more aware of the abuse. It's not as exciting to watch but I'm still ripping down the hill at a pretty fast rate just real smooth and effortless.
One last thought...Moguls today SUCK because SNOWBOARDERS screw them up. :FIREdevil It only takes 1 or 2 of them to completely decimate any line on the hill. You get ripping along over 4 or 5 bumps then you either hit an ice spot where they cleared the mogul out or you hit a bump where they made the front wall totally vertical. It was never like this before they arrived. :fuckyou: Trust me, go to Taos or some place where they don't allow snowboarders and you'll see what I'm talking about. Why can't resorts post signs to keep them out of bump trails??? Most good snowboarders don't even like bumps and are smart enough to stay out of them but there's always a few idiots that have to try it???? Like I said it only takes 1 or 2 to completely destroy a bump field. I have watched this with my own eyes:eek:
Let's win our mountains back! Did we stand down when the Nazis invaded Pearl Harbor? Well we ain't standing down now. Who's with me? :yourock:
