Quality vs. Quantity

[loafer89]

Yes it's Killington on May 21st, 1994, ah the good old days of golf and skiing in May and June.

 

[Tyrolean_skier]

Yes it's Killington on May 21st, 1994, ah the good old days of golf and skiing in May and June.

Unfortunately, this year Superstar will probably no longer have snow on it on May 21. ASC did not blow enough snow on it to make it last that long. Of course, as long as there is snow on it I will hike up to ski it.

 

[JD]

I am one person that does not go skiing unless it's gonna be untracked, and deep enough to feel bottomless. It has been my experience over the last serveral years that once inbounds trails and woods get bumped up, even a 2 foot dump won't make these areas ski all that great. Unless there is absoluteley NO wind for the snow event, the bumps will get blow flat, the troughs will be deep and the icey tops of the bumps will lurk somewhere just under the surface. This does not allow a skier to ski in the same way as he or she would if they were somewhere that is not lift served. Personally, I chuckle when people say places like mad river are "all Natural". No it isn't. It's a completely contrived, man made (by skiing it over and over) surface. Not a damn thing natural about a bump field. Skiing Virgin POW is a different sport completely, you can be agressive, not always braceing for the next hidden frozen bump lurking just under the newly blown in snow. I want deep snow that follows the contours of the ground, It's predictable in that way, and you can ski more agressively on light weight gear like leather boots and soft skis. IMO.

 

[skibum1321]

I am one person that does not go skiing unless it's gonna be untracked, and deep enough to feel bottomless. It has been my experience over the last serveral years that once inbounds trails and woods get bumped up, even a 2 foot dump won't make these areas ski all that great. Unless there is absoluteley NO wind for the snow event, the bumps will get blow flat, the troughs will be deep and the icey tops of the bumps will lurk somewhere just under the surface. This does not allow a skier to ski in the same way as he or she would if they were somewhere that is not lift served. Personally, I chuckle when people say places like mad river are "all Natural". No it isn't. It's a completely contrived, man made (by skiing it over and over) surface. Not a damn thing natural about a bump field. Skiing Virgin POW is a different sport completely, you can be agressive, not always braceing for the next hidden frozen bump lurking just under the newly blown in snow. I want deep snow that follows the contours of the ground, It's predictable in that way, and you can ski more agressively on light weight gear like leather boots and soft skis. IMO.

I love all different kinds of skiing. I see where you're coming from - and I agree that this is a completely different kind of skiing and it is my favorite as well. However, I love the challenge of ripping down a mogul field or flying through the woods, even if they are tracked out.
I would have to disagree with your assessment of MRG. Just because it is skied, doesn't make it any less natural. The snow surface is totally natural by having no snowmaking and grooming. Is Hellbrook unnatural because it is so well known and sees relatively high traffic for a bc area?

 

[Greg]

I am one person that does not go skiing unless it's gonna be untracked, and deep enough to feel bottomless. It has been my experience over the last serveral years that once inbounds trails and woods get bumped up, even a 2 foot dump won't make these areas ski all that great. Unless there is absoluteley NO wind for the snow event, the bumps will get blow flat, the troughs will be deep and the icey tops of the bumps will lurk somewhere just under the surface. This does not allow a skier to ski in the same way as he or she would if they were somewhere that is not lift served. Personally, I chuckle when people say places like mad river are "all Natural". No it isn't. It's a completely contrived, man made (by skiing it over and over) surface. Not a damn thing natural about a bump field. Skiing Virgin POW is a different sport completely, you can be agressive, not always braceing for the next hidden frozen bump lurking just under the newly blown in snow. I want deep snow that follows the contours of the ground, It's predictable in that way, and you can ski more agressively on light weight gear like leather boots and soft skis. IMO.

Wow. Sounds like a kinda picky approach. But hey, whatever floats your boat. A good bump line on an natural snow trail is my favorite terrain...

 

[ctenidae]

I didn't ski much this year, mostly because conditions were so crappy, over all. Just couldn't bring myself to drive six hours and shell out a couple hundred bucks to ski on ice. Getting the wife up wasn't easy, either. That said, we did have some great days- Wildcat in October, Jay after 20-some-odd inches...and that was about it. One day at Loon (upside: empty mountain. downside: there was a reason for it), one at Cannon (what wasn't ice was water), a few at Sunapee (the best of the not good), one Gunstock, and that's about it. Very disappointing winter for me.

 

[hammer]

In my limited experience, to me, it all boils down to "value"...if I only have to travel 45 minutes and pay $20 - $30 for a lift ticket, I'm not too concerned if the conditions aren't mint. If I have to travel 2+ hours, stay overnight, and pay $60 for a lift ticket, though, I'm not too pleased if the conditions, crowds, etc. are crappy.

I would really like to get some natural snow runs in next year, though...while I'm quite happy crusing down groomers full of man-made snow, I'd like to see for myself what everyone else is raving about...

 

[Greg]

I'd like to see for myself what everyone else is raving about...

THIS:

 

[JD]

Don't get me wrong, I think the guys rocking hard, steep bumps are great skiers, very hard thing to do, just not for me. Never learned and always found myself in the woods.

 

[Greg]

Don't get me wrong, I think the guys rocking hard, steep bumps are great skiers, very hard thing to do, just not for me. Never learned and always found myself in the woods.

Indeed. It's the mental and physical challenge of bumps that intrigues and excites me. It never gets boring and I feel there's always plenty to learn.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Indeed. It's the mental and physical challenge of bumps that intrigues and excites me. It never gets boring and I feel there's always plenty to learn.

I agree completely.

 

[meat]

This does not allow a skier to ski in the same way as he or she would if they were somewhere that is not lift served.
I'm gunna have to disagree some here, I know a good amount of stashes that are not marked on the trail map or are out of bounds but still lift served that hardly see much traffic and don't get bumped up to make a difference, but I guess that comes with years of knowledge. Yet some of the best pow runs are when they groom the groomers and let the new snow sit on top (ie. the jet, haynes, JFK ect.) those are some of the first runs I hit on a pow morning, no need to run straight to the stashes or OB
I do totally agree though that its annoying to be skiing pow and hitting ice bumps underneath, I try to avoid those situations too, you'll never see me on runs like upper UN on a powder day. thats one of the great things about early season, no bumps underneath and you can ski most any where on the map. the first three weeks of december was the best skiing of the year for me, snow almost everyday, nobody at the hill, and only the Jet chair open, made for short hikes to waist deep pow time after time.

 

[JD]

Totally agree about early season. Chin Clip with a foot of snow and no bumps is my favorite run, even above other more "BC" spots. The trail has amazing flow. Only make turns to keep 'em fall line, takes like 40 seconds, but it is the $HIT! Then you have to start heading farther and farther from the lift to find spots that may only have a few old tracks. I also agree that you can stitch together nice runs off the lift inbounds, esspecially if you are OK with gettin' into pucker brush for turns, but it's that top-to-bottom gutting of said line that I crave.....

 

[Greg]

I moved the posts about movie files here:

http://forums.alpinezone.com/8103-uploading-movie-file.html

 

[alpinemorg]

As it usually goes without saying quality trumps quantity, I am definately one who will put in my vote for quantity in order to find quality. Happiest is the skier who doesn't get bogged down in "only skiing freshies", "hill is to busy" and the one that makes me the saddest "the conditions are to bad (read: icy)".

For me it always really boils down to my attitude and mind set. I've had some shitty ski days this season on good conditions because I was in some sort of a funk. And had one of my best on an icy day at Waterville, because the sun came out and I found 2 little areas where no one else was and the snow felt great, making it seem just me and the mountain.

When I get to caught up in quality I remember the words of one of the old men of the mountain, Klaus Obermeyer:
"Every day that you don't ski, is one day less that you will"

 

[Greg]

As it usually goes without saying quality trumps quantity, I am definately one who will put in my vote for quantity in order to find quality. Happiest is the skier who doesn't get bogged down in "only skiing freshies", "hill is to busy" and the one that makes me the saddest "the conditions are to bad (read: icy)".

For me it always really boils down to my attitude and mind set. I've had some shitty ski days this season on good conditions because I was in some sort of a funk. And had one of my best on an icy day at Waterville, because the sun came out and I found 2 little areas where no one else was and the snow felt great, making it seem just me and the mountain.

When I get to caught up in quality I remember the words of one of the old men of the mountain, Klaus Obermeyer:
"Every day that you don't ski, is one day less that you will"

Bravo! Very well said!
:beer:

 

[awf170]

I am definately one who will put in my vote for quantity in order to find quality.

I really don't understand how everyone is saying this. Why do you need quantity for quality? Just watch the weather and go on powder days. If you study the weather and are always ready to go you don't need quantity for quality.

 

[Vortex]

I still laugh. I go and I watch the weather and it really does not matter what the weather is.
I'm skiing. Ya I would prefer powder or a nice sunny day. Doesn't change my plans. Bad weatherdays are when the crowds are the smallest.

 

[Greg]

I really don't understand how everyone is saying this. Why do you need quantity for quality? Just watch the weather and go on powder days. If you study the weather and are always ready to go you don't need quantity for quality.

Very simple. I don't believe you need quantity for quality; rather quality is often a result of quantity. I've had some days of simply fantastic skiing, for whatever reason, and not necessarily due to epic surface conditions. It might be a result of the company I'm with, a great bump line, or simply just being out on a bluebird day. Austin - you're too young to be caught up with quality only. Life is too short for that.

 

[riverc0il]

i think once you have had a certain quality, quantity becomes pretty meaningless. some skiers do have the mind set that there is no such thing as a bad day of skiing. i think this is total crap. i generally don't go skiing when i think it is going to be a crappy day, but occasionally i have made a bad decision and found myself thinking i threw some money away and could have done better things with my day. folks that don't much care for pow and natural snow need not worry as much about "quality" because modern grooming and snow making systems make product pretty reliable. those people that get spoiled on unbelievable snow conditions and begin to crave more need the quality. a lot of this debate is simply different perceptions. the folks that are on the "quality over quantity" side are all nodding our heads with each other and looking at people suggesting quantity over quality like they are speaking a completely different language. and in a way, we are.

quality is all relative and most people get a pretty narrow variety of quality. but when you get everything from man made scratch to knee deep untracked, that man made scratch starts looking worse and worse every season to the point that some days it isn't even worth it. some days i would rather hike for two hours than ski for free at a ski area, it is just that decisive an issue, it means that much to those of us that treasure certain conditions over others.