Is powder overrated?

[Greg]

Okay, don't kill me. This is just a question to ponder and discuss. In all honesty, I don't recall ever descending into a run of totally untracked powder (12"+). I've hit a few lines of untracked sections here and there and have skied during some impressive storms but haven't had the fortune of scoring a top-to-bottom run of deep and light untracked powder. Being able to is likely a unique combination of living close to a mountain, being able to hit epic days at the last minute, dedication, and luck, at least in terms of East-coast lift-serviced skiing. For me, I'm content skiing cruddy bumps and tracked up powder as that's the type of surface I encounter most often after dumps it seem. Discuss.

 

[SkiDog]

I would never say its overrated even a short line of untracked will give you that great feeling of floating on a pillow of air.....timing is EVERYTHING..

You'll get that top to bottom untracked one day.....

Personally I just like to ski.....I don't question if the snows powder..I just ask if theres snow????

M

 

[dmc]

Okay, don't kill me

BANG!!!!!

:uzi:

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

No. It's not over-rated. I don't get enough chances to rate it. I gues sfor me, that makes it under-rated!

I love pow. I love crud. I love carving hardpack, because of the satisfaction I get when I get it right. Slush is fun, too.

A very close second to pow, for me, is corn. Yum! When it's firm, there's nothing like slicing some arcs down a steep pitch of yummy, wholesome corn.

I love spring skiing!

 

[tree_skier]

It's the best time to be on a short, fat, one plank that you stand sidewise on.

 

[skiadikt]

nothing like pow (though i do luv spring corn). it is all about timing and forget about it on a weekend except in the trees and even there there's a lot of competition for the goods. i had one weekday at k in january where it was maybe 3-4" but i was able to make tracks most of the morning. also had 3 or 4 pow days out west. actually don't like it when it becomes chopped crud-then i want it to bump up.

 

[skibum1321]

POW is definitely not overrated. Another aspect that you forgot is knowing where to go. If you know where to go, you can find POW well after a storm.

 

[andyzee]

Greg, please go stand against the wall while I load my gun :uzi: Go west young man, next years Alpinezones western outing!

 

[Greg]

BANG!!!!!

:uzi:

Oh sure, Mr. "I live 5 minutes from the mountain"...

In all seriousness, my thread title was meant to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but it'll likely result in a lot of views and replies here so...

Let me expand on the question though. Imagine five of your favorite runs. Hypothetically, on a given day, would you rather take just 5 runs (one run each) of untracked powder, or 10 runs (2 runs each) of tracked up crud? Sort of a quality vs. quantity question. If you say "untracked", at what point does your decision change, i.e. 3 runs each of the crud. Four? Never?

This is just stupid hypothesizing so don't take it too seriously. Crud for me, but I may just not know any better... :dunce:

 

[Tin Woodsman]

In all honesty, I don't recall ever descending into a run of totally untracked powder (12"+). I've hit a few lines of untracked sections here and there and have skied during some impressive storms but haven't had the fortune of scoring a top-to-bottom run of deep and light untracked powder.

That's the key part of your question right there. It isn't overrated by any stretch of the imagination. It's everything you hoped and dreamed it would be . Honestly. If you have the right tools to enjoy it (i.e. skis with a waste of at least 90mm, preferably closer to 100mm) and know where to look, it's allllllllllll good.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

Oh sure, Mr. "I live 5 minutes from the mountain"...

In all seriousness, my thread title was meant to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but it'll likely result in a lot of views and replies here so...

Let me expand on the question though. Imagine five of your favorite runs. Hypothetically, on a given day, would you rather take just 5 runs (one run each) of untracked powder, or 10 runs (2 runs each) of tracked up crud? Sort of a quality vs. quantity question. If you say "untracked", at what point does your decision change, i.e. 3 runs each of the crud. Four? Never?

This is just stupid hypothesizing so don't take it too seriously. Crud for me, but I may just not know any better... :dunce:

You don't know any better.

I'd say that I wouldn't trade any amount of runs on tracked up crud for 5 runs of untracked. And if snow has fallen recently and you can only find tracked out crud, you're not looking in the right places.

 

[Greg]

You don't know any better.

Thanks. I didn't think so...

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

It's the best time to be on a short, fat, one plank that you stand sidewise on.

I can appreciate the argument for a snowboard in Pow, but I'll stick to two short,fat planks, pointed toes forward. I like to think of them as two snowboards.

 

[dmc]

Oh sure, Mr. "I live 5 minutes from the mountain"...

In all seriousness, my thread title was meant to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but it'll likely result in a lot of views and replies here so...

Let me expand on the question though. Imagine five of your favorite runs. Hypothetically, on a given day, would you rather take just 5 runs (one run each) of untracked powder, or 10 runs (2 runs each) of tracked up crud? Sort of a quality vs. quantity question. If you say "untracked", at what point does your decision change, i.e. 3 runs each of the crud. Four? Never?

This is just stupid hypothesizing so don't take it too seriously. Crud for me, but I may just not know any better... :dunce:

5 runs untracked... definately...

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

5 runs untracked... definately...

What D said.

I think a case could be made for pow on bumped boilerplate. It can be better once it's tracked.

Nothing like fresh pow...

 

[skibum1321]

Nothing like fresh pow...

Hit the nail on the head.

 

[2knees]

i wouldnt say its overrated but i would say that it can be tricky to deal with under some circumstances. Particularly when there is absolutely no base and you (I) keep hitting stuff like rocks and dirt. thats happened to me twice in the last 3 years at magic. I had a blast but i spent alot of time digging for poles, goggles, skis, gloves, helmet and random body parts. i need work on that aspect of skiing for sure.

 

[ski_adk]

Only once did I think Pow was over-rated. That was in the blizzard of 2000. Went to Jiminy that night, thinking that the 8 inches was going to be nice for a beginner. Well, I got there, the snow was waist deep in many spots and I simply couldn't deal with it. I took 6 or 8 frustrating runs and quit.

This year, I had a powder day at Stratton. They got at least 6-8, with knee-deep drifts in the Kidderbrook area. Actually, the kidderbrook area is where we stayed. Only skied 4 trails the whole day, and only took about 12 runs...8 being untracked, blower pow. There were shots that day that I will never forget. That day was the saving grace of the entire season to me.

So, is powder over-rated? Not at all (once you know how to ski that is). Until you can confidently carve and turn the skis how, when and where you want them to, it's not going to be fun. But once you've gotten those skills in your tool box, you'll always be wanting more.

 

[thaller1]

I had never experienced powder until my trip to Utah in February. Even the not so deep powder was wonderful... it definitely takes a strong skier to enjoy it..it's not as easy as it looks but once you have the hang of it you will crave like there is no tomorrow....

 

[catskills]

You are not allowed to answer this until you have experienced skiing in chest deep powder complete with fact shots at least once in your life time.