All this talk about "bumps" why didja start???

[campgottagopee]

I know there are a lot of bumpers in here, so was wondering what got you hooked on them?? For me it was because the first time I ventured into them they kicked the ever livin’ snot out me and I didn’t like it one bit!!!! Didn’t like being a young lad and not being able to do something my pals could do on a pair of skis, so I stuck with it, took some lessons then the next thing you know I was skiing bumps. Now I kinda stay away due to an old injury and just plain not havin’ the legs for them anymore. Don’t get me wrong…Ifin I see a nice zipper in soft bumps I’m all over it!!! That’s my story, howsabout you bump freaks, what’s yours?????

 

[riverc0il]

I did not like being limited to what I skied and skied well. Wanted to ski anything out there and bumps were the first obstacle after leaving groomed surfaces to attaining that goal.

 

[gladerider]

when i first started skiing, spent a lot of time just skiing down. one day i went to hunter and made a turn into upper crossover. quickly learned that i couldn't control my skis. it made skiing interesting and challenging. then started to venture into the glades. my bump skiing days came in real handy in the glades.

 

[deadheadskier]

Around age 10 I got into bumps. I could've joined a junior race program, but I found racing to be completely boring. I started watching ski films, Steep and Deep, Maltese Flamingo etc, and they all featured either 'extreme' skiers hucking cliffs in powder out in the Sierra's or people skiing bumps. The former wasn't an option where I skied, Okemo. So, I immersed myself in bumps. I recall going to Killington and watching a few competitions and watching skiers rip Outer Limits. I was hooked immediately.

still love it

 

[2knees]

I thought if i skied bumps well in high school it would help me get laid.

20 years later, i'm married and still don't get laid but i love skiing bumps.

 

[campgottagopee]

I thought if i skied bumps well in high school it would help me get laid.

20 years later, i'm married and still don't get laid but i love skiing bumps.

Wicked funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:lol:

 

[bvibert]

I wanted to be able to ski the whole mountain. I thought I'd just get good enough at them to survive, but they're damn fun so it's been my focus for a couple of seasons now.

 

[RISkier]

I SUCK in bumps but want to learn. I think bumps really highlight weaknesses in technique. So I see learning to ski bumps as a step toward being a better overall skier and as a prerequisite to venturing very far off piste.

 

[56fish]

I did not like being limited to what I skied and skied well. Wanted to ski anything out there and bumps were the first obstacle after leaving groomed surfaces to attaining that goal.

Ditto, 'cept on a board.
Being over 50, carving groomers @ speed is a thing of the past. Spent many frightened seconds rippin' at Burke the past 25 years. :beer:
Adjusted the pace.
Riding my local mtn (700'+/- vert) for many years, bumps represent the biggest skill level challenge. If you can bump - most anything is accessible.
Spending each March at JP - those skills come in handy. I enjoy the serenity of the woods. Going to split an older fish I have and, start enjoying 1 maybe, 2 runs a day. Upon occasion. Not that I'll tire (any time soon) of enjoying some of the best lift-serviced stuff there is. :beer:

 

[wa-loaf]

They were hard and kicked my ass. They were also the most fun to do at Sugarloaf in the spring. Just kept lapping Bubble Cuffer, Upper Winters Way and Skidder until I couldn't stand up anymore. Those were also the days when I could skip lunch and ski first to last chair.

 

[jack97]

I thought if i skied bumps well in high school it would help me get laid.

20 years later, i'm married and still don't get laid ......

Damn..... if thats the case maybe I should stop skiing the bumps.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

I just always thought they where fun to ski. Plus I like trying to figure out the best line down.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

I thought if i skied bumps well in high school it would help me get laid.

20 years later, i'm married and still don't get laid but i love skiing bumps.

“Oh baby, baby, your breasts remind me of the perfectly seeded bumps I skied at Sundown last night.”

Whom amongst us could you picture sayin that in the heat of passion.:lol::lol::lol:

 

[Marc]

I did not like being limited to what I skied and skied well. Wanted to ski anything out there and bumps were the first obstacle after leaving groomed surfaces to attaining that goal.

Yeah, what Steve-O said.

 

[ta&idaho]

I moved to California and realized things got bumped up a lot faster than in Idaho, so I started dabbling in "soft bumps." Then I moved to New York and realized you can't call yourself a skier in the East without being able to rock the bumps, and I watched all these crazy folk blast through them with skinny skis on their feet, short poles in their hands, and silly grins across their faces.

Now that I've committed myself to figuring it out, I'm starting to get the rhythm for it, and I'm even starting to get hooked. So much so that I sought out some bumped up lines when I was skiing in Idaho and Utah this season even though there were plenty of freshies still to be had. Maybe there's just something incredibly rewarding about finally starting to master something that has had your number your whole life.

 

[Marc]

I feel the same way about crouquet.

 

[jack97]

Maybe there's just something incredibly rewarding about finally starting to master something that has had your number your whole life.

It is...... sort of like skiing the terrain instead of the terrain skiing you.


Call me crazy, but I wanted to go back to ice covered bumps this w/e, I was doing ok but my stance was off, legs weren't locked together, didn't engage my edges, did't get forward.... the list can go on :???:

 

[jaywbigred]

I was a teenager and pretty advanced in my ability to ski most stuff on the mountain not covered in bumps. Trees, steeps, ice, what have you, none of it was very intimidating. Bumps were, though, mostly because I did not have a clue how to approach them, what proper technique was, where to turn, where to pole plant, and so on.

I would often venture into a bump field and survive it, not knowing where to turn but able to get down. One March day at Okemo I had the good fortune of having a small, maybe 8 or 9 year old that looked to be in some sort of racing program cut me off in the middle of a mogul field. As he did, I found myself skiing directly behind him, in a nice zipperline, turning where he turned and pole planting where he pole planted. For 10 or 11 turns I matched him before the mogul field ended. It was a "Eureka!" or "Holy Sh!t, THAT's how you do it!" moment, the likes of which I have never felt in other sports, things always coming more gradually. It was like the moment where you finally understand a new math concept, like multiplaction or division in 3rd grade. Since then, my thirst for bumps has been strong, and one of the first major purchases I made once I graduated and started earning decent money, was a pair of bump skis. My only regret is that my conditioning/lack of days on snow limits my ability to ski bumps as often and as aggresively as I would like.

 

[Grassi21]

I wanted to be able to ski the whole mountain. I thought I'd just get good enough at them to survive, but they're damn fun so it's been my focus for a couple of seasons now.

What he said...

 

[ComeBackMudPuddles]

My dad has this annoying habit of wanting to ski right behind me, so, when I was younger, I quickly learned that skiing bumps was the only way I could shake him.

The rest is bump history.