Sunday River 2007-03-17

uphillklimber · Mar 18, 2007, 6:35 PM

Date(s) Skied: March 17, 2007

Resort or Ski Area: The Rivah!!!!

Conditions: Deep powder, snow, some sleet, snow

Trip Report: We were really looking forward to this!!! I shoveled the drive Friday night and got up at 4 AM to shovel it again so we could get out and ski. We wanted this!!!! On the way up, we notice considerable wind. When we get there, there is no parking in the near by lot at Barker, and it's only 20 after 8. I drop Skier75 off and go park the truck. We notice the wind is not blowing so hard!!!!

First trip is up the Barker quad. Fortunately, we decide on the relatively sedate Lazy River. We are anxious to try out this deep snow, remembering how much fun we had at Sugarbush in the deep snow. Only thing is, we rented fat skiis at the bush, and couldn't afford to this time. Our 9 year old K-2's were not up to this. We didn't think fat skiis made "that" much difference. Besides our skiis being too skinny, we are not well practiced in snow this deep.

Looks like today, we are gonna get plenty of practice in deep snow. We head over to Moonstruck, that lift isn't running, so we head over to South ridge. A couple runs and we are exhausted. Back to Barker for rest and snacks, as well as peeling layers. Back over to Moonstruck. Best place at the Rivah to practice. Long gentle green, uncrowded, very lonely in fact..... One side of that run had been groomed mid night some time, and the snow was half as deep as the other half. Great place to practice.

Let me say that I have skiied White Heat many times, some just to say I have, some for fun. It's not that I don't have any ability on the slopes. But in this stuff, I plain didn't have it. It wasn't even fun. What is wrong with me????? We do notice that a good many folks are losing their skiis today. Lots of them. And we are seeing more sleds out today also. Several injuries. This is the worst we have ever seen for mishaps and injuries, and we are not covering nearly as much trail as we normally do. Skier75 even takes a digger and loses a ski.

We try and we try. All we are doing isn't working and we are reverting way into self preservation mode. Legs spread way apart trying to snowplow, sitting in the back seat. We were pathetic. And we were worried about getting hurt. Come 11:30, we call it. We are not doing well, can't afford fat rentals or a lesson this week. That is a decision we'll surely regret. This would have been perfect for us to work on that facet of our skiing.

This season, we got new proper fitting boots, next season, we will have fat stiff skiis. We want to be able to ski the deep powder and maintain control on the boilerplate. Those Volkl AC3's are looking better and better to us all the time.

Next weekend, I have to work Saturday, and maybe Sunday. I sure hope all is accomplished Saturday. If so, We are heading to the slopes Sunday!!!! This horse threw us, and we aren't ending the season like this.

SteveFoy · Mar 19, 2007, 3:44 PM

If it's any consolation, a LOT of experienced skiers struggle in deep powder. Consider this a wake-up call. Sure, wider skis would have helped, but it's probably more of a technique issue (or lack thereof!). The snowplow technique guarantees failure in powder- it just doesn't work. The key is to keep you weight back on the skis and make slight S-turns. This means you're basically going straight down. Stick to green trails and you should be able to plow through the powder and keep your speed in check while barely turning. If you wipe out, so what? You're falling in powder on a green trail- almost impossible to get hurt. Besides, everybody falls in deep powder skiing- it's part of the fun. I would say the biggest mistake people make in powder skiing is trying to ski the same trails they normally ski using the same technique they normally use. Just stick to the beginner trails, go straight down, and work on slight S-turns.

Skier75 · Mar 19, 2007, 6:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveFoy

If it's any consolation, a LOT of experienced skiers struggle in deep powder. Consider this a wake-up call. Sure, wider skis would have helped, but it's probably more of a technique issue (or lack thereof!). The snowplow technique guarantees failure in powder- it just doesn't work. The key is to keep you weight back on the skis and make slight S-turns. This means you're basically going straight down. Stick to green trails and you should be able to plow through the powder and keep your speed in check while barely turning. If you wipe out, so what? You're falling in powder on a green trail- almost impossible to get hurt. Besides, everybody falls in deep powder skiing- it's part of the fun. I would say the biggest mistake people make in powder skiing is trying to ski the same trails they normally ski using the same technique they normally use. Just stick to the beginner trails, go straight down, and work on slight S-turns.

Thanks, that's what we ended up doing....headed to some green trails for practice. It was a lot of fun, even when I fell, didn't hurt. I ate some snow pretty good. LOL It was pretty funny. Man, didn't I feel like a beginner again! My quads are still feelin it. Not really hurt, but can feel the muscles tighten.

What do you mean...how do you make slight S-turns?

snowmonster · Mar 19, 2007, 7:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skier75

What do you mean...how do you make slight S-turns?

I try to steer with my feet. Keep my weight distributed evenly, that is, not putting weight on one ski as I would do on hard snow. It seems to work. After a few runs on the greens and trees of the greens at MRG last weekend, I was turning in the powder. Have to keep moving though because when you stop, it's a struggle to free your skis from all that pow. That's my powder-newbie tip.

There's this thing they also call weighting-unweighting that the books talk about to make turns but I still have to get my mind (and body) around that concept.

Hope to ski with you one of these days at the "Rivah." Usually there on weekends because it's the li'l snowmonster's favorite mountain.

smowler · Mar 19, 2007, 8:57 PM

I know I'm a newbie here, BUT it wasn't powdah at the rivah on sahtaday. Well, 10" of NE powder with 2" of slab on top, and the slab was what killed you, and me, and many others.
I skied Jordan & Oz from first chair, and got first tracks on Rogue, Tin Woodsman and Eureka. On the steeps I was able to keep my tips under the crust and make turns OK. The lower angle sections were much tougher, as it was too easy to get one tip up, one tip under and get instantly torqued around. I was toast by 10, but met some buddies and kept at it. OZ improved all morning as the slab got broken up and the skiers built up some nice, soft mogul lines. Around 1 the sleet turned to freezing rain and an icy crust started coating everthing, and that was a day. Wasn't champagne powder, but still one of the best days this season!

SteveFoy · Mar 19, 2007, 9:40 PM

POWDER TIPS:

I don't understand the physiology behind it, but for some reason powder skiing really works the quads. The better you are, the less you tax those muscles, so maybe overusing the quads is a side effect of poor technique. When skiing in powder your skis are basicaly floating over the soft snow and you don't have the control you normally feel. There is a definite sensation of being slightly out-of-control. It can make you feel giddy and when you fall and end up half submerged in deep snow, you can't help but laugh. As an adult, it can really bring out the kid in you! Turning requires more patience than what you're used to. You carve the skis, wait for them to respond, and then follow them. Think of it as riding your skis. You must avoid trying to force the ski to turn. Some people try so hard to force their ski through the powder that they actual twist their boot right out of the binding. Instead of sharp well defined turns, your powder turns are much more subtle. They tend to have an elongated S shape, or even less than that, just a line with a small wiggle. You control your speed mostly by altering the line you take down the trail. Note that powder skis are flexible, not stiff. The general rule is longer, narrower, and stiff for hard conditions, while shorter, wider, and more flex for soft conditions.

CRUST TIPS:

I've never done this successfully. I've always found it nerve racking and frustrating.

snoseek · Mar 20, 2007, 6:35 PM

you already have an e.c. all mountain ski so why go with a ac3?. go wider for powder (think 90+ underfoot) and you won't regret it.

uphillklimber · Mar 22, 2007, 5:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snoseek

you already have an e.c. all mountain ski so why go with a ac3?. go wider for powder (think 90+ underfoot) and you won't regret it.

Actually, the k-2 four's that we have are no where near as wide as the AC3 that we have seen on folks. These skiis are at least 8 years old. When we had opportunity to rent some Head 120's we noticed that we floated better over the powder. Our skiis were much faster, but the fat skiis gave us control.

I don't know what the width of our skiis are, or the AC3's for that matter. We'll certainly be doing some more research on the subject.

Mar 18, 2007, 6:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
uphillklimber Pico Mountain, Vermont Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Barrington, New Hampshire Posts: 1,152	Sunday River 2007-03-17 Date(s) Skied: March 17, 2007 Resort or Ski Area: The Rivah!!!! Conditions: Deep powder, snow, some sleet, snow Trip Report: We were really looking forward to this!!! I shoveled the drive Friday night and got up at 4 AM to shovel it again so we could get out and ski. We wanted this!!!! On the way up, we notice considerable wind. When we get there, there is no parking in the near by lot at Barker, and it's only 20 after 8. I drop Skier75 off and go park the truck. We notice the wind is not blowing so hard!!!! First trip is up the Barker quad. Fortunately, we decide on the relatively sedate Lazy River. We are anxious to try out this deep snow, remembering how much fun we had at Sugarbush in the deep snow. Only thing is, we rented fat skiis at the bush, and couldn't afford to this time. Our 9 year old K-2's were not up to this. We didn't think fat skiis made "that" much difference. Besides our skiis being too skinny, we are not well practiced in snow this deep. Looks like today, we are gonna get plenty of practice in deep snow. We head over to Moonstruck, that lift isn't running, so we head over to South ridge. A couple runs and we are exhausted. Back to Barker for rest and snacks, as well as peeling layers. Back over to Moonstruck. Best place at the Rivah to practice. Long gentle green, uncrowded, very lonely in fact..... One side of that run had been groomed mid night some time, and the snow was half as deep as the other half. Great place to practice. Let me say that I have skiied White Heat many times, some just to say I have, some for fun. It's not that I don't have any ability on the slopes. But in this stuff, I plain didn't have it. It wasn't even fun. What is wrong with me????? We do notice that a good many folks are losing their skiis today. Lots of them. And we are seeing more sleds out today also. Several injuries. This is the worst we have ever seen for mishaps and injuries, and we are not covering nearly as much trail as we normally do. Skier75 even takes a digger and loses a ski. We try and we try. All we are doing isn't working and we are reverting way into self preservation mode. Legs spread way apart trying to snowplow, sitting in the back seat. We were pathetic. And we were worried about getting hurt. Come 11:30, we call it. We are not doing well, can't afford fat rentals or a lesson this week. That is a decision we'll surely regret. This would have been perfect for us to work on that facet of our skiing. This season, we got new proper fitting boots, next season, we will have fat stiff skiis. We want to be able to ski the deep powder and maintain control on the boilerplate. Those Volkl AC3's are looking better and better to us all the time. Next weekend, I have to work Saturday, and maybe Sunday. I sure hope all is accomplished Saturday. If so, We are heading to the slopes Sunday!!!! This horse threw us, and we aren't ending the season like this. __________________ lovin life, Bob "My helmet is my LAST line of defense, not my first."

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Mar 19, 2007, 3:44 PM	#2 (permalink)
SteveFoy Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Wilmington, MA Posts: 9	If it's any consolation, a LOT of experienced skiers struggle in deep powder. Consider this a wake-up call. Sure, wider skis would have helped, but it's probably more of a technique issue (or lack thereof!). The snowplow technique guarantees failure in powder- it just doesn't work. The key is to keep you weight back on the skis and make slight S-turns. This means you're basically going straight down. Stick to green trails and you should be able to plow through the powder and keep your speed in check while barely turning. If you wipe out, so what? You're falling in powder on a green trail- almost impossible to get hurt. Besides, everybody falls in deep powder skiing- it's part of the fun. I would say the biggest mistake people make in powder skiing is trying to ski the same trails they normally ski using the same technique they normally use. Just stick to the beginner trails, go straight down, and work on slight S-turns.

Mar 19, 2007, 8:57 PM	#5 (permalink)
smowler Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 2	I know I'm a newbie here, BUT it wasn't powdah at the rivah on sahtaday. Well, 10" of NE powder with 2" of slab on top, and the slab was what killed you, and me, and many others. I skied Jordan & Oz from first chair, and got first tracks on Rogue, Tin Woodsman and Eureka. On the steeps I was able to keep my tips under the crust and make turns OK. The lower angle sections were much tougher, as it was too easy to get one tip up, one tip under and get instantly torqued around. I was toast by 10, but met some buddies and kept at it. OZ improved all morning as the slab got broken up and the skiers built up some nice, soft mogul lines. Around 1 the sleet turned to freezing rain and an icy crust started coating everthing, and that was a day. Wasn't champagne powder, but still one of the best days this season!

Mar 19, 2007, 9:40 PM	#6 (permalink)
SteveFoy Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Wilmington, MA Posts: 9	POWDER TIPS: I don't understand the physiology behind it, but for some reason powder skiing really works the quads. The better you are, the less you tax those muscles, so maybe overusing the quads is a side effect of poor technique. When skiing in powder your skis are basicaly floating over the soft snow and you don't have the control you normally feel. There is a definite sensation of being slightly out-of-control. It can make you feel giddy and when you fall and end up half submerged in deep snow, you can't help but laugh. As an adult, it can really bring out the kid in you! Turning requires more patience than what you're used to. You carve the skis, wait for them to respond, and then follow them. Think of it as riding your skis. You must avoid trying to force the ski to turn. Some people try so hard to force their ski through the powder that they actual twist their boot right out of the binding. Instead of sharp well defined turns, your powder turns are much more subtle. They tend to have an elongated S shape, or even less than that, just a line with a small wiggle. You control your speed mostly by altering the line you take down the trail. Note that powder skis are flexible, not stiff. The general rule is longer, narrower, and stiff for hard conditions, while shorter, wider, and more flex for soft conditions. CRUST TIPS: I've never done this successfully. I've always found it nerve racking and frustrating.

Mar 20, 2007, 6:35 PM	#7 (permalink)
snoseek Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Golden, Co Posts: 1,492	you already have an e.c. all mountain ski so why go with a ac3?. go wider for powder (think 90+ underfoot) and you won't regret it.