HighAngles wrote:I think I know the reaction here among fellow PMTS advocates, but I'm interested in hearing perspectives on off-piste skiing. What are you guys looking for when choosing ungroomed terrain on a mountain?
When 'skiing' downhill becomes 'mountaineering' or 'bushwhacking', I, personally, start to lose interest (no issues with those things when going up / earning turns). Can I ski that kind of terrain? Sure. Do I get a sense of satisfaction out of it? Not really. Do some people get satisfaction out of it? Yeah.
I'm also not one to use terrain to define ability, and certainly not to define technical capability. Those who do use terrain to define ability/capability are often skiers who haven't developed much beyond the technical-level of an intermediate, even if their tactics and athleticism allow them to survive on the terrain on which they choose to base their expert claim.
As you know HighAngles, I tend to seek snow quality above all else... If the good snow is on a green groomer... I go there. If the good snow is on double black chutes or in the trees... I go there. In other words, I don't go seeking a specific type of terrain. I rarely consider trail markings or ratings. You may recall skiing the same trail for three hours in a row one day last spring when I was visiting—because that was where the best snow on the mountain was… A few days earlier, skiing that same trail was the last thing on our minds as it was a powder day.
If it hasn’t snowed in days, but the groomers are great, why would I go knock over trees with my face to find what little remnants of powder might be remaining so I could enjoy 4 turns? Same for when it snows—why would I go trying to find a mushy groomed run when there is fresh snow, either powder or crud, on every trail. In the spring… why chase either of those things when there are perfectly good slush bumps or corn snow to be skied? I guess I just don’t have the ego that says “to prove that I’m a real expert today I must ski particular terrain.” When watching ‘real’ experts ski, we tend to be acutely aware of it, regardless of the terrain we are observing them on. If a skiers needs to use terrain to justify why they are an expert, they probably aren’t an expert.