Bumps

[Max_501]

I've been spending some time in the bumps...

1) Flexibility- I have found that I've needed to increase flexibility in my legs, hips, and upper body. Without a fairly large degree of mobility skiing bigger bumps is a lost cause. When its time to absorb a big bump I need range of movement in my legs, I must be able to perform a strong counter acting movement, and my hips and back needs to be fairly flexible so I can bend forward when needed to stay in balance.

2) Short turns via tipping- You must have a strong short turn initiated by tipping to ski advanced moguls the PMTS way. If you don't have a PMTS style bullet proof short turn then trying to ski bigger or steeper bump runs the PMTS way will do little but build bad habits because you will resort to a pivot movement to get those skis around because you'll always be late. Work hard to master the bullet proof short turn from Expert Skier 2.

3) Fore/aft balance- its a must have skill for bumps. I pull the feet back all of the time.

4) Early movements- I have found that I ski bumps far better when everything I do is early. I flex BEFORE I hit the bump, I start to extend BEFORE I'm into the trough, I tip BEFORE I'm on the backside of the bump, my pole plant is ready BEFORE I need it.

5) Quickness of movements- When you watch someone fly down a bump run you will likely think that they have very quick movements. What I have found is that the quickness is a result of early movements. When the movements are late everything gets out of whack and bailing out in a traverse across the bumps is the result. However, when everything is early I find that I snake up and down the bumps without fear of getting tossed around.

6) Skis bend- I have been surprised at the depth and size of some of troughs that my skis will conform to. That said, there are still some deep nasty troughs I try to avoid by taking a higher line across the back of the bump.

7) Choosing a line - I just look one or two bumps ahead and deal with the terrain as it comes. I've tried picking out a long line I'll follow but it never works for me so I've given that up.

[idahorob]

And let's remember the stabilizing pole plant. That third balance point helps me control speed. It seems to give me that moment of float coming over the bump that takes the rush/panic out of tipping the skis, pulling the free foot back and extending down the back of the bump.

[h.harb]

Max501 you have it right on, on every count. Speed, or rather quick movements, in the bumps develop after you can do the 'Bullet Proof Short Turn,' as you noticed last year. Even skiing black bumps takes some time to adapt to, after you already have a 'Bullet Proof Short Turn'. Max501 had a very good BPST, but he still needed to learn the timing in the bumps he talks about in his post, to become successful.

Max you know that first hand. If one tries to ski beyond their BPST, from PMTS technique, in bumps, they will always push the tails, rather then engage the edges before the bump, rise instead of flexing before the bump, and spin the tails, instead of gripping or carving or brush carving. Once you achieve a BPST, improvements including flexibility, greater range of CB and tipping Max talks about, are key.

Speed or fast movements in skiing have always been a dilemma for skiers. Racers learn early that movements have to happen in your mind before you need them. That's why I suggest everyone who wants to be a great bump skier, should come to race camp, it changes your skiing. The gates force you into changing your timing without intimidation or the danger factor.

Recreational skiers are hesitant to make movements of releasing and giving in, so therefore they are always late with the release, flex, and edge change, they want to hang on to that all so false, reassuring, big toe, edge grip. After all that's what they were taught.

This is understandable given, if you look at old school teaching, stem, wedge, steering, everything is based on, 'hang onto the mountain with the big toe edge.' These movements, if not trained out of a skier will always reappear in a challenging situation, no matter what level of skiing you call challenging, it might be a blue run or double black for some, but it will always show up.

I know of only one or two of the Demo team members who know how to ski in control on double black without an up movement or a jump move, to displace the tails. This may work for some because they are good athletes, but if you ask them to settle down, absorb, stay on the snow, they won't know how to do it.


If you are still hanging on to the big toe edge and think you need it to control speed or finish turns, especially in bumps, you are not flexing and tipping at the entry of the turn. You are pushing and extending.

Max's list of bump skiing essentials are perfect. Since he it is talking to the advanced skier, I'll add one more movement or ingredient, 'leg extension', toward the bump in a bad line. Expert skier 2, pages 144,152,154.

Of course we would all like to have the perfect line through the bumps, where everything works. But that's just not realistic. So you have to have some tactics in case you are headed the wrong way, at the wrong angle to a bump. In this scenario, if you are headed straight at the bottom of a deep trough and you can't change edges or arc with the shape of the bump, . 'Extend your feet forward,' this will put you in the back seat, (but it will also lengthen the legs for more absorption), as soon as the tips contact the hole or top of the next bump, allow the legs to bend, not collapse, keep your shoulders high and up, bending at the waist is not helpful here as the impact will move your body too far forward; as the feet slow down going through the hole, at the bottom the bump. Try not to have the tips go into the deep part of the hole, weighted, you don't want to be forward with tip pressure here. Make contact with the bottom of the skis against the on-coming bump. The impact will be nominal and you will be on your way again looking for the perfect lines.

I've had to do this two or three times in a row on occasion when I was exceeding my limit. I don't recommend going that far to test this technique, as after the second one, you can end up going very fast on a steep bump run.

Once you have the straight at it version down, you can try it on the side of bumps as well. Remember in bump skiing, you don't want to be forward on your skis, especially not with the shoulders, keep the sternum upright, as the impact is greater on the body, if you are forward. If you let the skis go forward, after the edge change, (remember this extends the legs) your skis will slow again as they contact the next bump. This also helps flex the legs and control speed. I don't recommend trying this move unless you are already skiing black bumps with some degree of confidence.

Next time we'll work on the air turn, hopping over a bad trough.

[dewdman42]

Glad to hear those comments about the extension and letting the feet get a little ahead as you extend down the backside of the bump. I have found this to be key!! My boss looked at me kinda funny when I told him I like to let my feet get in front of me a little bit in the bumps, and he told me to make sure not to mention that in a PSIA clinic. He didn't get it.

The bumps come at you from the direction of down slope, not from directly down. If your feet are too far under your butt then you may easily go over the handlebars when you hit the next bump. You want your feet...your Base of Support(BOS) to be between your COM and the bump about the time you hit it and get that slow down. That means in front of you, compared to what we're used to on a groomed slope.

I also feel it better positions our legs so that if the bump is uber huge we can suck it up and our knees can come all the way up to our chest if they have to(as opposed to if our feet are under my butt).

Also, Max eluded to this, but just want to emphasize...look 2-3 bumps ahead(or better yet, don't look at the bumps, look at the space between the bumps where you plan to take your skis). If you focus on the next bump coming at you, you will always be late with everything. If you look beyond that bump at the next one, I have found its like being Neo in the Matrix and all of a sudden everything goes into time warp and its easy to keep up with the line.

[Max_501]

Glad to hear those comments about the extension and letting the feet get a little ahead as you extend down the backside of the bump. I have found this to be key!!

I think HH was talking about letting them get forward a bit when you have a trouble spot in front of you (I use the same technique in grab and go crud).

Do you push the feet forward whenever you extend?

[dewdman42]

Yes I do...a LITTLE.

[Max_501]

Yes I do...a LITTLE.

Do you pivot your turns or are they all PMTS movements?

[Ken]

1) Flexibility---don't forget to extend fully on the downside so you can flex fully on the upside.

2) Short turns via tipping---As Rich taught me, keeping tipping ALL the time. I ski bumps now that before I merely survived.

3) Fore/aft balance---Yep, for most of us, getting back on our heels means that we're doomed! The exception as noted is when the skis need to slide up an incline.

4) Early movements---I move so slowly that if I move early, it turns out to be just in time.

5) Quickness of movements---Tips from Jay & Rich...Have your new outside arm ready to plant that pole before you cross the fall line, and never bring that outside arm past the fall line. As Jay says, be ready to choose, "do I want to plant on this bump, or that bump, or that one there...bang, plant made; turn made." Bringing the outside arm forward of the fall line makes pole planting slower.

7) Choosing a line---Yep, don't focus on the bump you're on and don't try to plan a complete line. Looking two or three bumps works very well.


Ken

[dewdman42]

Yes I do...a LITTLE.

Do you pivot your turns or are they all PMTS movements?

I want to clarify something too. The bigger the bumps, the more I may let my feet get forward as I extend down the backside. In moderate or small bumps or bumps that are spaced out wide enough to carve turns around them...then its a completely different story.

As far as pivoting or PMTS, that is not related to the extension feet forward concept. We don't talk about pivoting in PMTS. B-)

What I can tell you is that in all conditions I am always striving to turn without pivoting...engaging my edges from top to bottom of the turn. But when skiing the bad boy bumps down the zipper line...a lot happens in a short amount of time. There are all kinds of survival situations encountered in nearly every bump run I make...even when it looks like I'm on fire. I'm pretty sure that I do use pivoting skills more often that I would like to admit on this forum. But I can't emphasize enough, that all of my turns are conducted with an ideal of turning top to bottom without pivoting. But I can't say for sure right now that its not being used in some minimal way.

[Max_501]

Some good info here.

[ChuckT]

Some good info here.

Awesome info! Thanks for bumping the thread.

All I need to practice is some snow now. We have record hot weather in SoCal now.

[Max_501]

[jbotti]

Agree, some great stuff here!! And timely because wth little snow bumps should be abundant everywhere!

[Max_501]

because the terrain changes so quickly in bumps, tipping to engage occurs with the legs bent to a great degree. The inside leg will be bent more regardless of big toe edge tipping (because the inside leg is always higher up the slope at the point when you are looking for Big toe edge). So the big toe edge will have to work hard to keep up with little toe edge tipping. A bent leg can always tip farther than a straight leg. So keep tipping the big toe edge until you feel it engage and hold.

A good rule I use is tip first (or quick and early) with the inside little toe edge and than get as much as you can with both skis.

[MonsterMan]

Next time we?ll work on the air turn, hopping over a bad trough.

h.harb

Please come back and finish the story Harald.