Conditions weren't overly impressive, although the absence of lift lines and the nice snow on top of Exhibition were good.

warm day + night skiing = sloppy or icy conditions in the Mid-Atlantic

It is a good way to avoid the crowds.

Went to Whitetail yesty (Saturday).

Pretty good conditions - not very icy in the morning and decent coverage. As it got more crowded, the surface got scraped off down to icy patches.

But, since I hit the slopes about 8:45 am I was done with my four hours by time trails all chewed up.

We skied middle greens and blues a couple times and then moved to Exhibition and Farside - which never got too many folks.

I don't want to start a war with boarders (some of my closest friends are boarders ;-) but... Why do many slide down huge sections of slopes w/ board perpendicular to downhill? And does this scrape away all the snow, or am I just being paranoid and judgemental?

mm

>Why do many slide down huge sections of slopes w/ board perpendicular to downhill? And does this scrape away all the snow, or am I just being paranoid and judgemental?

IMHO- A number of reasons- The "slide" is a typically a way of getting down a hill that is beyond one's ability, so instead of linking turns, one slides to control speed when turning (to control speed) is too difficult.

Most boarders will progress beyond this crutch, but a few would rather work on other skills (like tricks) before mastering linked and carved turns. Also, given the number of beginner boarders, there will always be enough of them pushing their limits on a hill by skidding to get down.

And, skidding is easy to do, relatively comfortable (on short runs at least), so it'll be hard to convince someone to stop or move on.

Beginners in either sport will always have tendencies that worry the practioners of the other sport. Some are easier to reduce than others.

:-)

Skiiers have the same crutch - it just isn't as blatant (or destructive to the cover).

Ah, the joys of Alta....

skiiers so do NOT have the same crutch...snow plowing doesn't do nearly the damage to the pitch as the knuckle-draggers who scrape their way down...drives me insane...stay in the terrain park and leave some snow on the slopes for those of us who aren't just out there to look cool with our friends in skateboarder clothes! there's little enough snow to go around as it is...

I think GAT was referring to a side slide--something I did by accident this weekend on one very tall mogul (6-8 feet) on OFF THE WALL a Timberline. It was either that or huck, and as Canaanman mentioned, the LZ on OTW is sloppy.

The side slide is basically a defensive move on the part of a skier to avoid going down the fall line in a straight line--you just dig both edges in and slide gently down a steep drop on the sides of your skis. On a trail like OTW, the snow plow won't work--it's too steep.

[This message has been edited by johnfmh (edited 01-20-2004).]

The side slide - I like the ring to that. Anything like the Electric Slide?

Smear turns are a pretty effective way to scrape snow off a slope. And don't forget the tried-and-true yard sale, i.e., the facial snow plow.

I've been known to resort to the "side slide" as well. There've been times on slopes like Lower Shays Revenge when it was orange ice with 4' drop offs where that was my survival mode! This didn't really push any snow downhill as there was very little soft stuff anyway! (burred up my edges though...)

-Warren-

Side slide,

I have done alot of things that could be called a side slide, usually it is fall ove ron my side and slide down the hill. Maybe putting the ski bases more parallel (than a hockey stop) to the hill and scraping the edges on the way down / skis perpendicular to the fall line...

Smear Turns = windshield wiper turns, or is that just the way you turn a knife when spreading butter?

[This message has been edited by tromano (edited 01-22-2004).]

O-K a slight change to the side-slide talk...

Anybody got advice on how to recover from a non-lethal wipeout where the skier and skis don't go in different directions.

I see the "experts" go down and get back up on skis without ever coming to a stop -- kinda like a hockey player gets a hard check, crashes to ice, rolls and is skating without a stop.

I tried to nail one at Whitetail over the weekend. I caught an edge tried to recover, realized I was going down so did a soft side slide onto back -- lifting skis off-slope to make parallel.
Then I directed slide to try to plant skis --but couldn't quite get fully erect.

Should I be pointing skis nearly straight downslope? Will it only work if you're still going really fast?

mm

(Assuming you are skiing and not boarding)
Do not, unless your life is truly in danger, point your skiis down hill and try to stand up. That is one of the best ways to rupture your ACL that can be devised. In short, your skiis, with all your weight on the tails, will shoot forward. Meanwhile, all your body mass is still down and back and your high boots (locked in the bindings) will prevent your leg from pivoting down and back. At that instant, either you stand up, or your ACL snaps. Bad news. You are much better off to accept the fall and get up perpendicular to the fall line.

Yup, skiing.

OK, guess I should accept the inevitable and not try to salvage with a nifty move.

Fortunately, I don't wipe out all that often.

I always wondered how people blow out knees skiing. Before I started (when I was in college) I remember A LOT of friends coming back from Spring Break etc, on crutches.

It seems like moguls would be another place people shred cartilage.

Ahhh, the morbid obsession with carnage rears its ugly head again.

mm

MM I hope you don't think this way right before you begin your run!

Trivia question: anyone know what the most common ski injury is? Hint at the answer: it ain't knees.

Sprained Thumb, i think. Gets bent backwards when you fall with a pole in your hand. Had it happen to the girl friend of a friend in Utah a while back. Takes a LONG time to heal....