How about a post about skiing early NE conditions?

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How about a post about skiing early NE conditions?

Postby NoCleverName » Mon Dec 19, 2016 6:13 pm

It's been quiet here, so maybe a story about when skiing isn't exactly totally pleasant ... but PMTS comes to the rescue?

Early NE conditions are unlike the west. Here, because the trails aren't debris-filled with the odd boulder or stump they tend to open with marginal snow depths ... say 8 or so inches. But that doesn't mean there aren't challenges like frequent water bars ... or for that matter open water. So it was the natural snow trails at Bretton Woods opened with (a) about 6 inches of settled snow, followed by (b) 8 or so fresh powder that was tracked by a motley group of boarders and skiers to create an irregular pattern but yet not fully cut up, followed by (c) 30 mph winds that pretty much packed that, followed by (d) another 4 or so and then (e) ski this during another storm with flat light, some wind, and fog.

Ah, New England.

First tried out the i.Speed SS, but that proved a bit too stiff (actually). Normally the stiffer ski would plow thru powder mounds, but these mounds were not giving in. So the crazy quilt was directing the skis all over the place. So ... I got out the Skis That Shall Not Be Named because they are not only wider, but somewhat softer and more compliant.

Typically I use a pretty straight forward tail-lifting phantom move to go through shallow crud, but that wasn't working very well as you went from wind-blown powder, to a water bar, to a slick spot, etc. What I found that did work was more or less a weighted release, followed by the tail-up phantom initiated right at neutral.

My theory is you have to have full weight on the snow to keep the ski going in the direction you want. The regular phantom of course transfers full weight, but during that time the unweighted ski and to a certain extent the old stance was now free to be beaten around by conditions. The weighted release kept total command of the ski on the snow and permitted transition to the new ski with little opportunity for misfortune.

The fact that this worked with relative ease further demonstrates the exhausting futility of the up-move system.

So we went from a high of zero on Friday, to 40-something on Sunday, back to a low of -8 today. Ah, New England!
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Re: How about a post about skiing early NE conditions?

Postby CO_Steve » Tue Dec 20, 2016 3:31 pm

I've always said the difference between your greatest ski day and your worst can be a fine line. Sounds like you were more than a bit over the line.
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Re: How about a post about skiing early NE conditions?

Postby HeluvaSkier » Tue Dec 20, 2016 4:39 pm

Did you shoot any video of the conditions?
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Re: How about a post about skiing early NE conditions?

Postby NoCleverName » Tue Dec 20, 2016 5:48 pm

... no vid ... they closed the trails the next day and haven't been opened since ... pretty much impassable at this point because of thaw/freeze.

My point is that PMTS gives you an edge to turn the really bad into the marginally acceptable. Usually in the really cut up a certain amount of speed is your friend, but when the chop refuses to budge and the windblown can trap your skis you need to keep the speed down. With the weighted release/phantom you've got a certain amount of command over speed and can avoid hitting too hard what you really can't see. Plus the energy you need goes way down. I kept in mind HH's tip that the transition is an opportunity to relax and regain your strength. Taken in that light, the WR does save a lot of energy...in contrast to others who at that point are expending it in a popup. The power of the phantom right after that completely obviates what would be futile attempts to pivot or steer the skis.

One problem I had was actually timing the weighted release fast enough...it's so unusual to use it that getting into the rhythm with little time to spare was a challenge.

I'm going to put in another plug for Diana's new vid ... it's really improved my tipping and counter balance/action. A great help.
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Re: How about a post about skiing early NE conditions?

Postby B.Mulligan » Wed Dec 21, 2016 6:58 am

It's been a pretty banger good early season in New England, especially North of Killington. I spent a few mid week days up at Stowe and times that last batch of storms perfectly, and frankly it was some of the best and deepest early season snow, or heck mid season snow, I've skied anywhere in a long time. Plus the cold has helped most everywhere keep a base alive and well since Thanksgiving.

I have found that New England Keeps better surface conditions in bad weather and prolonged dry spells than Big western mountain. That's a function of elevation and smaller size to maintain, I think. Worst conditions I have ever skied have been at places like Jackson and Snowbird when they've gone a few weeks without snow, or worse, they've suffered a negative weather event and have had no snow. Don't get me wrong, when the snow is in, there's no denying that anywhere west of the plains is worth the price of the flight. But right now, except for certain areas of PNW, Northern New England has been the best bet this early season.

I'll throw this out as well, early season anywhere is always a crap shoot. I rarely plan a mid season trip more than a few weeks out to ensure getting on a plane is worth the flight, at least for coverage if not surface conditions. But planning early season trips to ski well ahead of time is a big gamble. Right about now I'd be willing to pay top freight to get to seatlle and ski the cascades, though.

It's always a conundrum-stiff, powerful tech skis in soft and deep New England conditions or something a tad more playful. I skied a Head rev 90 last saturday in the snow, it held up pretty well. I think I once or twice wanted a tad more buoyancy but not more power. We were off trail alot, though.

Here's to a good season! I see Crested Butte got a great shot of snow recently, maybe this is the year I finally tick that off my list.
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Re: How about a post about skiing early NE conditions?

Postby DougD » Wed Dec 21, 2016 8:00 am

Good story and lesson.

It reminded me of a day many years ago at the dawn of the shaped ski era. My buddies were all on traditional "straight" skis. I was demoing a brand new thing, the first K2 Fours. This was at Stratton Mtn VT, a mountain rightly famed for its frequent thaw-freeze cycles.

We happened upon a trail that was covered in refrozen chicken heads... maybe even turkey heads, they were pretty large. For Rocky Mtn skiers who haven't had the pleasure, chicken heads can occur when a grooming machine (Google it) makes a pass over warmed, wet snow (Google that too). If the snow is just gloppy enough, the machine leaves a wake of thousands of snowballs the size of... well, you get the picture. If the groomer doesn't or can't make a second pass, the trail will be littered with them.

Lets imagine that temps now plunge to -5F or so. Our once-soggy snowballs are now immovable and unbreakable. They've become "death cookies", since they'll deflect any ski that hits them in whatever random direction they choose. Imagine skiing a rock-hard, very rough washboard...

My buddies weren't about to ski that. I probably wouldn't have either, except that (a) I really wanted to test the behavior of these newfangled short, wide, curvy skis; and (b) there was a fallen skier halfway down the trail, and she didn't appear to be getting up.

Playing the good Samaritan, I skied gently onto the crazy surface. While the ride was rough, I was amazed at how easy it was to control the direction of my skis. This was pre-PMTS, but it was obvious that I must NOT push or pressure them. An actively pressured ski would just deflect more energetically in some unpredictable direction.

It also became clear that weighting both feet equally was the only safe way to transition. An unweighted ski would instantly be pointing who knows where.

I was able to ski down to the fallen skier slowly, making round turns that were smoother than I'd expected. The wide, soft flexing skis certainly helped, but the avoidance of HUP-unweighting or over-pressuring either ski were critical. Pre-PMTS as I said, but perhaps pertinent.

* The fallen skier was not injured, just badly unnerved by a painful fall and conditions that she couldn't ski. She walked down using her poles. I skied behind her, carrying her skis (precursor to the Angry Mother/stick drill!, lol).
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Re: How about a post about skiing early NE conditions?

Postby Max_501 » Wed Dec 21, 2016 10:07 am

Might I suggest this thread as a reminder -

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2840
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