Powder v Mogul Technique

[highpeaksdrifter]

Which was harder for you to become proficient at. For me it was powder. I think it’s probably lack of powder opportunity then anything else. At age 53 I ski powder better now then I ever have. I’m sure my fat boards have a lot to do with it.

 

[thinnmann]

Which was harder for you to become proficient at. For me it was powder. I think it’s probably lack of powder opportunity then anything else. At age 54 I ski powder better now then I ever have. I’m sure my fat boards have a lot to do with it.

Powder, definitely. Totally agree with the opportunity issue. Add to that the fact that our history with straighter boards ski moguls better, so I totally agree with our evolution to fatter sticks.

Don't forget eastern attitude. We bang bumps in our east-coast lifestyle too. It is hard for us to get relaxed for the pow.

Skied Vail December 6-9 and hit the deepest powder I ever skied. Luckily, I had just read a powder chapter in All-Mountain Skier : The Way to Expert Skiing. It was a great chapter, and having 27" of new powder in Vail that weekend allowed me to immediately apply some knowledge and perspective gained from the reading.

The chapter pointed out that you have to treat powder snow like a liquid, get up enough speed to float, keep the skis close and equally weighted, use absorbtion & extension rather than carving, don't get backseated, and relax. Amazing how similar those skills are to skiing moguls, huh?

In practice, I realized how much you just have to have faith that your skis are gonna work like that, if you relax and resist the urge to get heavy footed to carve a turn. You really just gotta relax and believe...

 

[tjf67]

I find it easier to ski powder than to ski bumps. I have been expsoed to bumps my entire life. Only the past couple of years have I been getting powder. I picked up powder skiing after about 2 over the top face plants. Mogels it took me years

 

[Greg]

I don't get an opportunity to ski deep powder enough to know how much I really need to learn. Skiing powder for me is more about fun than it is technique but I think I handle myself pretty well in deeper snow, unless I'm in tight woods. I haven't learned to trust myself enough to take a direct line there and I tend to cut turns which is death in deep powder.

For me, I find bumps more challenging. I'm never happy with my form and I still have a ton to learn. There's a difference between surviving moguls and skiing them really cleanly. No boredom of bumps for me in sight any time soon.

 

[jaywbigred]

Interesting question.

I think everyone is correct to point out the lack-of-opportunity limitations on Powder skiing for Easterners. I have no doubt that everyone on AZ could master powder if given ample opportunity.

I do not hold that same opinion re: bumps. Mastering (vs. surviving) bumps requires a degree of athleticism that not everyone has. Therefore, I think bumps are harder to master than pow.

 

[2knees]

Moguls are more difficult to ski fast and clean. Deep powder i have virtually no experience in but i have a feeling (ok, i HOPE) given some time, i would be able to pull it off. Cant exactly practice it very often though. Bumps just take more into play, both mentally and physically. How many people will admit to being afraid of powder? none that i know of. The same thing cant be said of bumps. Although people may not admit it, watch how many people skiing a bump run will avoid the deepest or fastest line.

 

[tjf67]

Which was harder for you to become proficient at. For me it was powder. I think it’s probably lack of powder opportunity then anything else. At age 53 I ski powder better now then I ever have. I’m sure my fat boards have a lot to do with it.

Holy cow you went from 54 to 53 with the click of a buttom. I am calling shanagans!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Holy cow you went from 54 to 53 with the click of a buttom. I am calling shanagans!!!!!!!!!!!

Dang you, you caught that. :grin: I don't turn 54 until next month, so I don't want to admit to it yet.

 

[ta&idaho]

Don't forget eastern attitude. We bang bumps in our east-coast lifestyle too. It is hard for us to get relaxed for the pow.

I laughed when I read this. As a recent transplant, I can attest to the difference in attitude.

I'd say both are 3/4 "feel"/confidence and only 1/4 technique. That's why fearless little racer kids can bash bumps twice their height.

 

[jaywbigred]

I'd say both are 3/4 "feel"/confidence and only 1/4 technique. That's why fearless little racer kids can bash bumps twice their height.

I fail to see how pow induces fear in anyone.

I mean there are pitfalls of course, avalanches, having to hike, getting stuck in a tree well, hidden terrain features that might damage you/your gear. But most of the time the biggest fear with pow is that there isn't going to be anymore.

People are flat out scared of bumps a lot of the time, and often make (invalid) excuses about their knees or their age when justifying skipping them.

 

[Brettski]

Bumps

 

[Brettski]

Actually.....


Bumps...ice...bumps...ice...bumps...ice....bumps....etc

 

[riverc0il]

I think it is harder to learn powder but harder to achieve top technique in bumps. The difference between a good powder skier and a great powder skier is hard to tell for most people whereas the difference between a good and great bump skier is night and day. Part of the reason for that is the natural of moguls is more unforgiving to less than perfect technique whereas you can be more sloppy in powder and get away with it once you learn the basics.

 

[ckofer]

I find bumps much harder than powder. The key to powder, in my opinion, is that it's not that different from what you already know other than you need enough speed to float. Bumps, especially hard ones, seem to be more of a game of keeping your speed down. I think the best nugget of advice that's easy to remember in the bumps is "step on the pedal" as soon as you crest a mogul. Rather than having your tips pointed to the sky with your weight in the back seat where you can't turn, you're diving into the next trough,

 

[Geoff]

I've done a fair amount of powder skiing around the world. Heli-skiing in New Zealand. Snowcat skiing in the Monashees. A couple of 10 foot dumps in Chile. Dozens of epic days in Colorado, Utah, and British Columbia. Powder is far easier than bumps and anybody who can link carved turns on the groomers can get good at it fairly quickly. It's all about learning to trust the snow for speed control and you only get that from repetitions.

From skiing with people with less experience in powder and a lifetime of learning the hard way myself, I've found that the biggest problem people have in really deep snow are sorting things out when things go wrong. Basic things like how to get up in bottomless powder. How to put a ski back on. How to find a buried ski.

Some things I've picked up:

When you fall, remove your ski poles. Make an "X" with them holding them in center of the "X" where the poles cross. Use that as a snowshoe to push yourself back up.

When you drop a ski, stick the tail in the snow at a 45 degree angle. Remove the snow from the sole of your boot by scraping it on the other toe piece. Then click in.

Powder cords are essential in truly deep snow. I tuck the loose end inside the power strap on my boots. On most releases, the powder cord doesn't pull out. In a pinch, christmas wrapping ribbon works just fine. Clip two 10' lengths today, put them in an envelope, and toss the envelope in your boot bag.

If you have the misfortune of burying a ski completely in a fall, your longest implement to find the ski is your other ski. Sweep it back and forth as you search.

I have huge fogging problems skiing powder. It's usually humid. I'm working hard and sweating. I use Smith Turbo fan goggles. Watch for bargains on eBay or places like Steep & Cheap. You can pick up $180 MSRP goggles for sub-$50. If you wear a helmet, make sure the goggle fits at a ski shop before you buy it on the internet.

There's no replacement for displacement. A big surface area on your skis makes life much easier. I have 95mm-waisted 190 cm Volkl heli-skiing skis that go in my double ski bag on major trips. My everyday skis have an 85mm waist.

Tree wells suck. It can take many minutes to use your skis to compress the snow and make steps standing on them to extract yourself.

 

[andyzee]

I'll let you know when I learn either one.

 

[deadheadskier]

Definitely bumps. I think it takes years of practice and dedication to be a solid bump skier and to a certain level it takes a higher degree of fitness and athleticism to be a great bump skier than it does a great powder skier.

I also think equipment plays a much larger factor in powder skiing than it does bump skiing. Sure, having bumps skis helps quite a bit, but back in high school when I was at my best in the bumps, I could take my 207 GS race boards down them almost as easily as my Salomon F9 bump boards.

I didn't start powder skiing until my early 20's when I moved to Northern Vermont and I was able to pick it up pretty quickly in part I think because of my bump skills, this being especially true in the woods as my eyes naturaly focused several trees down much like I looked several bumps ahead in a mogul field.

The winter of 2000-2001 I got my first set of powder boards and from that point on skiing powder has been effortless if I'm on those boards. I can still ski powder alright on a pair of carving skis, but I find equipment makes a HUGE difference in powder where as in bumps, it matters far less.

 

[cbcbd]

I think moguls are harder to learn to do well.

The difference between a good powder skier and a great powder skier is hard to tell for most people whereas the difference between a good and great bump skier is night and day. Part of the reason for that is the natural of moguls is more unforgiving to less than perfect technique whereas you can be more sloppy in powder and get away with it once you learn the basics.

I totally see and agree with this, especially since now I'm still a sloppy powder skier and can get away with it - but I think it is harder to learn bump skiing - especially since wipeouts involve bouncing around on bumps vs just sinking into fluffy snow.
Honestly, after how much powder I saw recently and how much playing I did in the woods, I think I might put bump skiing in the backseat for as long as I can find powder somewhere.
Plus, you can always find bumps in the trees when they're tracked out anyway.