What's the real reason some skiers hate moguls?

[Greg]

Discuss. :razz:

My opinion: They are difficult to learn to ski well. There are no shortcuts.

 

[tjf67]

They get boring!!!!!!!!!!

 

[RootDKJ]

I don't have any hatred towards the moguls. I've never really learned how to ski moguls well, but I've learned how to survive them.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Out of shape...or poor skills...or lazy..or like speed alot..

 

[deadheadskier]

No effin clue

Since the day I began skiing, I've wanted to learn how to ski every type of terrain as best I could. Only thing I haven't had an urge to get that great at is riding in the park for body preservation reasons

 

[campgottagopee]

Discuss. :razz:

My opinion: They are difficult to learn to ski well. There are no shortcuts.

I don't think skiers hate moguls but might be more intimidated than anything. I think one reason for that in my area (cny) is because the bump runs really are lousy in that most of the time they’re frozen , poorly spaced making it difficult to even teach someone how to ski them.

 

[boston_e]

Apart from the obvious answer of they are hard to learn to ski well.... how about:

Tough on the knees...

Not fun at all when they are bulletproof, and have not skied them when they are nice soft / powdery bumps

I enjoy moguls... but there are a couple of thoughts.

 

[deadheadskier]

Tough on the knees...

I would argue that conventional carving is harder on your knees than bumps. No the back, that's a different story

 

[thinnmann]

conventional carving

is that an actual part of ski vocabulary?........

 

[Sky]

For me...the intimidation thing works. But so does the "there's no place to practice them" argument.

When I learned to ski, I started on greens, moved to easy blues, etc.

So now that I'm decent from all this exposure to varying (non-mogluled) terrain, I'm supposed to jump into a field of moguls?

ALSO, and I've mentioned this before, certain people are meant to do certain things. My "pendulum length" is a tad long for a zipper line. These legs (and attached feet) just don't move that fast side to side. Stride for stride, well...still not "quick" but my track times weren't terrible.

So, for a lack of a practice area and the challenge of a long body length (and the skis to go with it)...I'm intimidated.

 

[andyzee]

afraid to be associated with the likes of you guys ..

Agreed, I don't want to be mistaken for a C.L.I.T.

 

[Hawkshot99]

There are never good areas to practice. Steep icy bump runs are no fun, and very challenging for someone not that good at them. In the spring when they are much softer, I really like moguls, but that is only a short period of time, the rest of the year, I am very intimidated by them.

 

[Warp Daddy]

two reasons bad back + old football knees

 

[LongStep]

from a novice perspective theres many factors: Intimidation, always icy conditions, falling down the mountain off the top of a bump when I did attempt, lack of green and blue bump runs etc.

 

[Greg]

They get boring!!!!!!!!!!

I could come up with a lot of reasons for why people avoid bumps, but I never would imagine this to be one of them. Most of the bump nuts I know are never happy with their form in the bumps. It's a constant desire (borderline addiction) to improve. Becoming a better skier is not boring to me.

Apart from the obvious answer of they are hard to learn to ski well.... how about:

Tough on the knees...

I agree to an extent. There are some that argue that if done correctly, it's not that hard on the knees, but truth be told, getting to that point takes some time....and in some cases pain. Still, I think this excuse is overused.

I don't think skiers hate moguls but might be more intimidated than anything. I think one reason for that in my area (cny) is because the bump runs really are lousy in that most of the time they’re frozen , poorly spaced making it difficult to even teach someone how to ski them.

For me...the intimidation thing works. But so does the "there's no place to practice them" argument.

When I learned to ski, I started on greens, moved to easy blues, etc.

So now that I'm decent from all this exposure to varying (non-mogluled) terrain, I'm supposed to jump into a field of moguls?

There are never good areas to practice. Steep icy bump runs are no fun, and very challenging for someone not that good at them. In the spring when they are much softer, I really like moguls, but that is only a short period of time, the rest of the year, I am very intimidated by them.

lack of green and blue bump runs etc.

I see a common theme here and that is a real shame. Low angle bumps are critical to facilitate learning. The mountains that offer bump runs of varying pitches get it. It's a vicious cycle really. If there are no low angle bumps (and in the case of most feeder hills hardly any bumps at all), people don't get the opportunity to learn how to ski them. The result is less people that become proficient which ultimately equals less demand.

Agreed, I don't want to be mistaken for a C.L.I.T.

Little to worry about there Andy.

 

[snoseek]

Bumps bring out the real flaws in skiers. These are easy to hide on groomers.

Also I too think skiing just bumps is boring. I would rather ski the whole mountain, bumps just tend to be on all the good terrain. I would rather look for soft powder in the trees a lot of the time.

 

[severine]

I see a common theme here and that is a real shame. Low angle bumps are critical to facilitate learning. The mountains that offer bump runs of varying pitches get it. It's a vicious cycle really. If there are no low angle bumps (and in the case of most feeder hills hardly any bumps at all), people don't get the opportunity to learn how to ski them. The result is less people that become proficient which ultimately equals less demand.

Excellent point. It really is intimidating for someone learning to just jump into them. I've been waiting for the Ex bumps at Sundown...none yet. No way I'm just going to jump onto Temptor (a trail I have some issues with when it's not bumped up) to have a go at them.

I also agree with the comment about wanting to experience more than just that limited terrain. I realize it's a skill and is exciting for some of you, but I can't imagine (at this stage in the game, for me) sticking exclusively to a trail or two all day because it's bumped up.

 

[dmc]

I would argue that conventional carving is harder on your knees than bumps.

I could see that...When I'm really movin... Somethings got to suck up all the terrain.... To hold that edge...

 

[deadheadskier]

I could see that...When I'm really movin... Somethings got to suck up all the terrain.... To hold that edge...

exactly

bump skiing is a pretty natural up and down motion with slight knee angulation here and there. carving you've got pressure pushing on your knee in a much less natural direction....one can see this standing in their living room and mimicking the motions of both.

 

[Greg]

Excellent point. It really is intimidating for someone learning to just jump into them. I've been waiting for the Ex bumps at Sundown...none yet. No way I'm just going to jump onto Temptor (a trail I have some issues with when it's not bumped up) to have a go at them.

Get started up on Nor'easter. They're not much steeper than Ex really.

bump skiing is a pretty natural up and down motion with slight knee angulation here and there. carving you've got pressure pushing on your knee in a much less natural direction....one can see this standing in their living room and mimicking the motions of both.

Agreed. But it depends on what level of bump skiing you're at. I'm still a big poser when it comes to bump skiing. I only recently, as in the last two seasons, have gotten my stance correct in the bumps. Keeping your knees and therefore skis together consistently makes it much easier on the knees. A wide stance in the bumps is not only inefficient, but very demanding on the knees - one leg up high on the crest, one down in the trough. Sometimes you're in a slight wedge to control speed. Smack into a wall bump and oh baby - you're twisted up like a pretzel. My knees have been much more pain-free since I've been able to hold a tight stance more often than not.