billski
Active member
Provocative observations...
"Twenty years ago you could hardly find a ski area that wasn’t littered with moguls. They were everywhere. But by the mid-’90s, moguls were on the way to extinction...Many blame the advent of shaped skis, but the decline began before then. No, the true culprit was excessive grooming, made possible by the invention and widespread adoption of the power tiller.
...
Granted, there were other factors in the demise of moguls as well. Nearly a third of the skiing participants made their way to single planks. Then came terrain parks. And there was the proliferation of shaped skis.
...
The main cause, though, was an industry-wide desire to cater to a perceived demand from our guests. We decided that skiers wanted more corduroy, and we delivered it.
...
With the advent of the power tiller and the winch replacing the more cumbersome grooming implements of the past, we began grooming most (if not all) of the viable mogul terrain. What the ski industry took away was the option to learn mogul skiing at all, leading to the claim that no one even wants to ski moguls.
...
Now, in 2014, most bump skiers are 40+ year-old “leftovers" from the mogul heyday of the ’80s and early ’90s. Many younger skiers can’t link turns on the flats, let alone in the bumps, because they rarely ski outside the park. Many mountains now groom steeper terrain, leaving only the most difficult trails (if any) with moguls.
...
But there are a few places that stand out from crowd: Winter Park's Mary Jane in Colorado, Sugarbush, Mad River Glen, and Killington in Vermont, and Ski Sundown in Connecticut, just to name some standouts. At those mountains, you can find moguls on low-angle runs, intermediate runs, advanced runs, and expert runs. This is called progression, and it is absolutely necessary to the survival of the sport.
More
http://www.saminfo.com/article/speakout-where-are-all-moguls
"Twenty years ago you could hardly find a ski area that wasn’t littered with moguls. They were everywhere. But by the mid-’90s, moguls were on the way to extinction...Many blame the advent of shaped skis, but the decline began before then. No, the true culprit was excessive grooming, made possible by the invention and widespread adoption of the power tiller.
...
Granted, there were other factors in the demise of moguls as well. Nearly a third of the skiing participants made their way to single planks. Then came terrain parks. And there was the proliferation of shaped skis.
...
The main cause, though, was an industry-wide desire to cater to a perceived demand from our guests. We decided that skiers wanted more corduroy, and we delivered it.
...
With the advent of the power tiller and the winch replacing the more cumbersome grooming implements of the past, we began grooming most (if not all) of the viable mogul terrain. What the ski industry took away was the option to learn mogul skiing at all, leading to the claim that no one even wants to ski moguls.
...
Now, in 2014, most bump skiers are 40+ year-old “leftovers" from the mogul heyday of the ’80s and early ’90s. Many younger skiers can’t link turns on the flats, let alone in the bumps, because they rarely ski outside the park. Many mountains now groom steeper terrain, leaving only the most difficult trails (if any) with moguls.
...
But there are a few places that stand out from crowd: Winter Park's Mary Jane in Colorado, Sugarbush, Mad River Glen, and Killington in Vermont, and Ski Sundown in Connecticut, just to name some standouts. At those mountains, you can find moguls on low-angle runs, intermediate runs, advanced runs, and expert runs. This is called progression, and it is absolutely necessary to the survival of the sport.
More
http://www.saminfo.com/article/speakout-where-are-all-moguls
Thanks!
Cord creation consumes a lot more diesel than allowing moguls to form (about 35-45 gallons per 8 hour shift, per cat... and that's if the operator is being conscious of his fuel consumption). As a general "industry standard", the cost to operate one snowcat for one hour is $100 to $150 (inclusive of machine depreciation, maintenance, wages, fuel, etc.). Grooming ain't cheap. In fact, one machine for one shift is probably worth more than a season pass to most areas!!!
