Manmade -vs- Natural

[abc]

I have had the opinion that you can't tell the difference but don't trust my abilities to be a fair judge.

Glad you make it clear it's just YOUR OPINION!

It's got less to do with skill, more to do with experience. If you ski exclusively in the east, chances are you rarely, or perhaps never, ski on all natural snow! So it's easy to say natural and man-made are the same. Just like a kid who's only experience of swimming is in a pool to think all water feel the same.

 

[abc]

out West the natural stuff gets all suncupped while corning up

Huh?

Where and now many spring skiing did you do "out west"?

 

[Brad J]

Glad you make it clear it's just YOUR OPINION!

It's got less to do with skill, more to do with experience. If you ski exclusively in the east, chances are you rarely, or perhaps never, ski on all natural snow! So it's easy to say natural and man-made are the same. Just like a kid who's only experience of swimming is in a pool to think all water feel the same.

That statement may be true for beginners or low level intermediates but on advance terrain there are many ski area's that offer natural only terrain, Smugg's, Mad River, Wildcat, Cannon, Stowe and many more

 

[abc]

That statement may be true for beginners or low level intermediates but on advance terrain there are many ski area's that offer natural only terrain, Smugg's, Mad River, Wildcat, Cannon, Stowe and many more

You're right about that.

Though the OP might found the most noticeable difference being the rocks and dirt on the natural trail.

 

[steamboat1]

You're right about that.

Though the OP might found the most noticeable difference being the rocks and dirt on the natural trail.

Guess you never skied them after a good dump. Better yet be the first one down.

 

[dlague]

Well. those who have been out prior to the last wet storm got to experience some nice MM. Obviously, MM will never give you dry powder days, but when packed down and it is cold they ski similarly, IMO. When packed and refrozen then they seem to create the same ice IMO. MM with stands r*&n better since it is not so porous as seen on Christmas Eve! MM extends the season on both ends - so I will take it. That being said a good pow day - I will take it! Not much natural out there in April, generally a packed blend, I do not care where you go!

VTKilarney - well put BTW!

 

[ScottySkis]

It was fun manmade at Hunter yesterday. But the month before the skiing of natural of a foot plus at hunter was better.

 

[abc]

Old snow is just that, old snow.

Whether they're man made or natural when they first fell, I can't always tell the difference.

But I can easily tell the difference between new snow and old snow. So can just about anyone!

And the difference between new natural snow vs new man-made snow? Yep, I can tell the difference too!!!

All this of course, is about ungroomed snow. Once they're groomed, the snow lost a lot of their original character. Basically, once natural snow got groomed, they're not entirely "natural" any more! So if some people think groomed man-made is similar to groomed natural? It could be.

 

[mister moose]

Man made snow is like the government that will always be there for you - but nobody prefers a lot of it, or all the time. Nobody dreams about the government.

Natural snow is like a fantasy lover who comes to town unexpectedly, gives you a great time, but then leaves even though you don't want her to leave.

If you think mixing the government with your lover isn't going to change anything, or if you can't tell the difference between your lover and the government after 2 weeks then you need to get out more north of Okemo.

Fixed it for you.

Plus, natural is free, and covers every trail, not just the government sanctioned ones.

 

[Tin]

Where did he go?!

 

[goldsbar]

Real life example. Hunter Mountain yesterday on lower K27. Guy on the lift told me they were blowing snow on it all of the previous day. Being skeptical, I did a couple of high speed carving runs down the front side first before the crowds came. Headed over to K27. It was still really good. Lapped it four-five times before moving on. Was it anything like a powder run at Alta? Not even close. Still fun, though. Was it similar to the dense wet snow we usually get? Not too far away. Problem is, there's no way they could do that to the whole mountain. This was one little slope, maybe a couple of hundred yards long. Now the lower runout - ugh, that styrofoam crap. It'll last until May but the quality sucks.

After a couple of days of heavy traffic it's more about the grooming than the source. You can groom nice soft snow in the morning, but it will be scraped away by 10:00am. Groom it firm the prior night and you'll never have hero carvers, but it will last.

As for the spring snow in the West comments, mountains like JH have tons of sun exposure. The subsequent overnight freeze keeps all of the locals hiding. Ever want hundreds of acres inbounds to yourself? Ski the Hobacks when they resemble typical EC conditions. Same can be said of that entire front side cirque at Snowbird. Snow making never touches either place, but conditions can still get brutal.

 

[Tin]

Where did he go?!

Come on mods. The "Ghost of Snowlover" profile and rant was awesome. Should have let the thread play out then banned him.

 

[Savemeasammy]

Come on mods. The "Ghost of Snowlover" profile and rant was awesome. Should have let the thread play out then banned him.

?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[4aprice]

Interesting that this thread unearths itself after my experience last weekend cause I was thinking about it on the lift. Camelback seeded moguls then covered them with a nice coating of dry manmade snow on Uncle Bill's , I guess Friday into Saturday. Not going to say its better then natural but the quality of the snow covering those bumps was quite pleasant under foot. Certainly showed me that when the conditions are right they can produce some good snow to ride around on.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ