Greg and other Inspired Bumpers

[highpeaksdrifter]

In the center of this picture copied from Denison from the SKIADK Gallery you can see the FIS mogul course at Whiteface, on a trail named Wilderness, set every Jan. for the FIS Tour stop MLK day weekend. After that they open it up to the public. If you can keep a line top to bottom on that you can call yourself a top notch bumper. It’s a good one.

 

[ALLSKIING]

Looks nice HPD..How steep is it?

 

[2knees]

zzzzzzzzzzzip.

more torture. thanks alot.

 

[JimG.]

Nice! I'd like to check it out someday.

 

[Kerovick]

Hey thank you for my new desktop background.

Kero

 

[marcski]

Are those seeded? How are they so nice before opening?

 

[JimG.]

Are those seeded? How are they so nice before opening?

It's an FIS World Cup course...rules require that it's seeded.

I forget the spacing requirements for A and B level courses, but they are very exacting.

 

[marcski]

It's an FIS World Cup course...rules require that it's seeded.

I forget the spacing requirements for A and B level courses, but they are very exacting.

I did not realize that....interesting and makes sense. I don't really follow FIS freestlye racing..only Alpine.

 

[ajl50]

"Looks nice HPD..How steep is it?"
It's steep enough that when i know somebody that fell halfway down that trail and slid all the way past the little guard house/finish line house on skiers left- close to 400 feet of vert. They tried to stop but the hard snow was just like a slide- it was wild.

 

[SkiDork]

Gotta chime in here..

I'm no bumper. But my opinion is this: A seeded course is EASIER than something like Outer Limits when it's bumped up (and not mowed flat). I wouldn't call anyone a world class bumper unless I see them attack a natural VW sized mogul trail like OL.

Case in point: My son (now 9 years old) is in the K freestyle hopefuls. Last spring he was pretty intimidated by the BMMC course but he was handling bumped up stuff like Big Dipper and Downdraft with relative ease.

When they built the course on lower Superstar for the New england championship (oe some such) they opened it up to anyone after it was over. He tried it out. His comment? "Dad it's a lot easier than the natural bumps I've been doing"

Now he wants to enter the BMMC this spring...

 

[koreshot]

Scary... bumps and my subpar skills to go well together. If I went down that run, I would probably yard sale 7 or 8 times.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Looks nice HPD..How steep is it?

I think I heard the average is 28 degrees. It tapers down top to bottom.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Are those seeded? How are they so nice before opening?

Yes. They are roped off until after the FIS competition.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Scary... bumps and my subpar skills to go well together. If I went down that run, I would probably yard sale 7 or 8 times.

Alot of people jump in at the bottom. It's a good place to pratice your skills and then work your way up the course.

 

[Greg]

Rad looking course. It's doubtful that I could keep a top to bottom line on that. I struggle on steep bumps still, but you can bet I'd like to try it.

 

[ajl50]

Wilderness is 27 Degrees (average) according to the 2004 Alpine Zone Chall.
I'd say that section is above 27 degrees because the trail sorta flattens out at the bottom by the finish line.

 

[AHM]

Wow, lots of interesting terrain features on that bumper (yawn)

HPD: That FIS course looks like OL (or White Heat), which we all know is a weak excuse for a bump run. Real eastern bump skiers ski on real bump runs. Runs that have character, such as MRGs paradise and fall-line, or anything but middle earth at CR (although ME has so much more character than that shot). All the real eastern bumpers know what I am talking about. Straight bumpers that have no features (twists, turns, drop offs, blind corners) are boring bump runs. If you miss a turn it is easy to slide out of the fall line, get it under control, and grab a new line. A run like rumble punishes mistakes with numerous 90 degree turns, little room for error, and large obstacles. Skiing a run like rumble non stop and at speed magnifies the effects of the numerous terrain features (especially sans helmet!).

 

[JimG.]

HPD: That FIS course looks like OL (or White Heat), which we all know is a weak excuse for a bump run. Real eastern bump skiers ski on real bump runs. Runs that have character, such as MRGs paradise and fall-line, or anything but middle earth at CR (although ME has so much more character than that shot). All the real eastern bumpers know what I am talking about. Straight bumpers that have no features (twists, turns, drop offs, blind corners) are boring bump runs. If you miss a turn it is easy to slide out of the fall line, get it under control, and grab a new line. A run like rumble punishes mistakes with numerous 90 degree turns, little room for error, and large obstacles. Skiing a run like rumble non stop and at speed magnifies the effects of the numerous terrain features (especially sans helmet!).

Always stirring the pot...part of me totally agrees with you, and I love each of the runs you have listed here.

But it would be impossible to hold an FIS mogul event on a run like Rumble or Paradise simply because FIS events have judges and they need to have unrestricted views of the course. But you already know that.

I also love seeded straight courses, less for their aesthetic appeal and more for the flow and rhythm they inspire. The feeling of nailing one quick turn after another at speed is hard to duplicate.

 

[2knees]

i hear what you're saying but, for me, they are two totally different things. Rumble, lots of the stuff at magic, paradise at sb, crock run etc are more then just bump runs. They involve, as you state, terrain features, numerous switchbacks, rocks, grass, bushes occasional trees etc. Seeded courses are fun just for pure bump skiing. I enjoy both, but i focus less on simply trying to stick a line on a natural trail then on a course like the one above. Lines come and go on natty runs like you are referring to. Maybe this isn't making sense but i just see it as two separate, but very enjoyable, types of skiing.

 

[tree_skier]

FIS mogul trails are pretty easy to hold a line in as they are seeded and the lines are straight. Where a natural bumped trail is more difficult due to the changes in direction that happens.

They are easier due to the one technique, slide and slam, that is used vs. the various techniques needed for a naturally bumped trail.

That being said MLK weekend can mean that the course will be like pond ice. Which is a good reason to get the GS boards out and rip some long turns on the ice rather then beat youself up.