Ski Sundown 1/30/08 (night)

[bvibert]

Date(s) Skied: 1/30/08

Resort or Ski Area: Ski Sundown

Conditions: Hardpack and loose granular

Trip Report: The conditions could have been better, but it was to be expected after a thaw/rain event earlier in the day followed by a freeze. I got on my skis at around 6:30 and met up with Mr. Evil at the lift after my first run. Then we met up with Grassi and MrMagic in the middle of the proceeding run. My first two runs consisted of Nor'easter to Exhibition, NE was closed for grooming for the next run so we chose to hit Gunny since the skier's right had been groomed. It wasn't bad, but it was death cookie city. Luckily they were just dropping the rope on NE for the next run so we returned there for the remainder of the night. Mr.Magic had to split at that point, which is understandable considering he had been there all day already. By the next run it was around 7:30 so we hung around the sun deck and Skijay showed up shortly after. We hung around for a bit more, but no one else showed so we continued on.

OK, now that's out of the way, let's get to what you've all been waiting for...

The new bumps on NE are FUNKY, mostly really small piles spread way apart. I have to believe that this was done on purpose so that they can top coat them and create some bigger bumps with out being too close to each other. In any case they need to be skied in more when the surface is actually soft enough to work with, so fresh snow on top would work wonders too. Eventually I found that there was a half decent line right down the middle that I could hold from top to bottom.

The EX bumps, on the other hand, were skiing great! Some good lines and bumps in there and decent surface for the most part. You just had to resist the tendency to get pulled to the skiers right where things fell apart a bit.

At some point I decided it would be a good idea to try to launch myself from the skier-x course starting gates on the top of NE which was fun, so I started each run after that from there.

Skijay left at around 9:30 or I guess it was and Grassi left the run after that. For the next run Tim (Mr.Evil) and I decided it would be fun to try and do a top to bottom run through both sets of bumps which proved to be fun but tiring. For our last run we took a slightly more leisurely pace.

All in all a fun night to be out, with good company. Nice to ski with everyone again!

We shot some video, but I'm not sure when I'll get to it, maybe Friday.

 

[Greg]

Thanks for the report. Sorry I missed it, but there was no way I could have made it. My daughter excitedly informed me that Sundown making snow last night was featured on the news this morning so I have to imagine they topcoated N'E.

 

[Grassi21]

Fun time as always. Thanks to Mr.Magic for those tips. Skijay, it was nice to make some turns with you again.

I was feeling pretty good in the bumps last night. The shorter poles made a big difference. Another big difference was MrMagic pointed out where on the bump I should be skiing. Things were clicking last night. I only felt it a few times, but I had good rhythm and control when absorbing the bump and extending in the trough. Wish I could do it for more than 3 or 4 bumps at a time. I wasn't hitting top/bottom runs like B and Tim but I was hitting NE about 2/3 of the way down and Ex 99/100 of the way down. Brian made a good point last night. When I would hit the old top/bottom point on the Ex bumps I would start to relax a bit. Then I would look up and realize that the new longer line had 8 - 10 more bumps in it.

 

[Grassi21]

My daughter excitedly informed me that Sundown making snow last night was featured on the news this morning so I have to imagine they topcoated N'E.

I hope so. Some of those baby bumps looked more like 12" high piles of snowballs.

 

[severine]

Told you guys they needed some work. Hopefully the weather over the next week doesn't make them worse.

 

[MR. evil]

The conditions last night were not the best, but it was still a fun time. As Brian said, the bumps on NE are really funky at the moment. But no more so than the EX bumps were last weekend right after they re-made them. Now a week later and the EX bumps are in great shape, which gives me high hopes for the NE bumps.

The first half of the night I just couldn’t put anything together on NE, it was really ugly! I couldn’t find a line to save my life and things were really ice. Lucky for me that was also the time frame we shot some film. When we see the video I can only hope my performance on EX makes up for my pitiful performance on NE. After the camera was put away things started to come together for me on NE. Brian eventually found a decent line down the middle of the trail that I started to follow as well. Pretty soon I was doing NE top to bottom with Brian (just not as fast). The EX bumps were a completely different story, they were great! For a good deal of the night on EX I think I was doing some of my best bump skiing ever. I had a few wipe outs here and there but only because I was pushing the envelope and skiing those bumps faster then I ever have.

The second to last run of the night Brian and I truly skied the bumps top to bottom. We reached to top of the hill around 9:50ish and decided that the only way we would be able to make one last run was if we high tailed it down the mountain with no breaks or stops. So we headed down NE and I did my best to keep up with Brain. I would say that was the fastest I have ever skied that trail, but I still couldn’t quite keep up with him. So right from the bottom on NE I continued down Cannon in a full on tuck to try and catch up with him. I made up a little ground but he was too far ahead. By this point my legs were really burning but without stopping it was right into the EX bumps non stop to the chair lift for the last run of the night. It was a pretty intense run, one my legs are paying for this morning.

 

[Greg]

For a good deal of the night on EX I think I was doing some of my best bump skiing ever. I had a few wipe outs here and there but only because I was pushing the envelope and skiing those bumps faster then I ever have.

So are you hooked now? Gonna be looking for some bump skis this summer? :lol: Keep at it. At some point you're going to find yourself somewhere up north looking down a bump run that before now you wouldn't even had considered skiing and you'll just attack it!

I'm really psyched to see so many people getting addicted to moguls by skiing these low angle runs at Sundown. Obviously Chris Sullivan and co. get it. I wish more mountains did.

 

[bvibert]

So are you hooked now? Gonna be looking for some bump skis this summer?

I'd say he's hooked. He was talking about looking for some bump skis for himself and Marge the last time I skied with him! Sounds like there's a chance we can convince him to do the bump comp too...

I'm really psyched to see so many people getting addicted to moguls by skiing these low angle runs at Sundown. Obviously Chris Sullivan and co. get it. I wish more mountains did.

Agreed, Skijay seemed to have a good time on them last night as well. He kept commenting on how there was nothing like that where he normally skis...

 

[bvibert]

In about 25 minutes the following link should work to get you the video. I didn't edit it down much in the interest of showing as much of us skiing as possible. That means it's a bit on the large side, ~62MB

http://www.bvibert.com/skiing/vids/Sundown 013008_final.wmv

Oh and sorry, no time to add music...

 

[MR. evil]

In about 25 minutes the following link should work to get you the video. I didn't edit it down much in the interest of showing as much of us skiing as possible. That means it's a bit on the large side, ~62MB

http://www.bvibert.com/skiing/vids/Sundown 013008_final.wmv

Oh and sorry, no time to add music...

http://www.bvibert.com/skiing/vids/Sundown 013008_final.wmv

this link should work

 

[Greg]

In about 25 minutes the following link should work to get you the video. I didn't edit it down much in the interest of showing as much of us skiing as possible. That means it's a bit on the large side, ~62MB

http://www.bvibert.com/skiing/vids/Sundown 013008_final.wmv

Oh and sorry, no time to add music...

Looks good guys. Thanks Brian for posting this. Not sure I'll get the chance to sample the bumps before next Wednesday so I was really interested in seeing this. That Exhibition field is huge now! Sweet. The Nor'easter bumps don't look too bad. They just need several rounds of top coating, or better yet a foot of natural ( ).

Grassi - you gotta work on tightening that stance. Yeah, I'm sure you know this. It's a good thing to work on in the flats. You can clearly see your uphill ski getting pushed up while the downhill ski is in the "trough". I use the term trough lightly cuz they're still sorta just flat areas right now. Once they get rutted (and gnarley like we all love) you're not going to get away with that wide stance. Your line selection and keeping it looks good. Your hands look really good (shorter poles are helping). Your upper body is turning a bit, but not too bad. Closing that stance should be your next goal. Keep at it; overall looking good!

MR. evil - Holy crap! Speaking of tight stance - it looks like you've improved a million fold there, especially in the Ex bumps. Looking more aggressive too. Upper body is quiet. Nice work. You can probably hold your hands a little higher and do a narrower pole plant though. You're biggest issue is major backseating which is death in the bumps. You need to work on keeping shin pressure and driving your hips forward. Work on this in the flats. All in all though, you get the award for most improved so far this season. Nice work!!!

Brian - Looking solid as ever. I see you've closed your stance too! A bit of head movement (kind of a ducking motion). You're also hinging a bit, but I struggle with that too.

So there is your critique from me, the expert bump skier ( :lol: ). Seriously, very nice work guys! Ex looks great. N'E needs some snow and some more skiing in.

 

[Grassi21]

Agreed on all of the above; closing my stance, upper body turning, and MR. evil is killing it in the bumps. Nice work MR. evil. :beer:

 

[MR. evil]

Thanks for the kind word guys! I have been working really hard to improve and it is noce to see that is shows. I definatly need to be more consistant about getting and keeping my weight forward. The first half of this past Wed. (when we filmed) I was having a real issue with this. As the night went on I was ablr to get my weight more forward, but I still had my moments in the back seat.

Looking forward to skiing with you on Wed. Greg, and appreciate all your advice.


So do I get a prize for being the most improved or what?

 

[Grassi21]

So I was watching my son this morning while wifey went out for a dance class. I was holding him and watched 5 or 6 of Greg and Brian's videos. The kid was mesmerized by the movies. Good sign.

But the part that was interesting was comparing the tightness of every ones stance. Every one has tightened their stance, Greg, Brian, and me to a lesser extent. I'll be bringing that $100 bill for working on my stance tomorrow.

 

[severine]

So I was watching my son this morning while wifey went out for a dance class. I was holding him and watched 5 or 6 of Greg and Brian's videos. The kid was mesmerized by the movies. Good sign.

My kids love watching the home-made ski videos on our forum, too!

You all are making wonderful progress!

 

[Greg]

But the part that was interesting was comparing the tightness of every ones stance. Every one has tightened their stance, Greg, Brian, and me to a lesser extent. I'll be bringing that $100 bill for working on my stance tomorrow.

Squeeze those knees together so they touch. Practice this on the flats. The Canyon runout is good for this. Get comfortable with your knees (and ultimately your boots) together while going straight on the flats. Eventually you'll be able to do this on steeper groomed terrain and finally in the bumps. Once you feel those two skis create a single stable platform in the bump troughs, you'll be on your way.

 

[Grassi21]

Squeeze those knees together so they touch. Practice this on the flats. The Canyon runout is good for this. Get comfortable with your knees (and ultimately your boots) together while going straight on the flats. Eventually you'll be able to do this on steeper groomed terrain and finally in the bumps. Once you feel those two skis create a single stable platform in the bump troughs, you'll be on your way.

Do you think its better to straightline the Canyon runout with my knees together or keep 'em tight and crank out a ton of quick turns? I've been doing the former the last couple of times out.

 

[Greg]

Do you think its better to straightline the Canyon runout with my knees together or keep 'em tight and crank out a ton of quick turns? I've been doing the former the last couple of times out.

Start with straightlining it. Get the boots/skis together. Get comfortable with them touching. Then work in some quick turns with the tighter stance. Use all of Upper N'E for tight turns too.

 

[bvibert]

Glad you guys liked the vid, told ya there was some good skiing in there.

Thanks for the compliments Greg. I'm still working on trying to stay forward, though I've gotten a lot better at that. I've also been catching myself rotating my upper body, which you can see a bit of in the video and might be the cause for the head bobbing you're seeing. I'm starting to wonder if those poles are too short, causing me to lean forward too much at the waist.

 

[bvibert]

I put it up on YouTube as well...



Sorry about the lack of music, its kinda weird without it....