Re-seeking advice for my bump skiing

[jzmtl]

I posted this earlier this year over at epic, but that's gone now and I didn't get a chance to save it. Anyway I began to work on my bump skiing the last few years, unfortunately I don't get to practice as often as I'd like. Please lemme know what I need to improve on, I've posted enough MA videos on epic that people should know there's no need to hold anything back.


I was in backseat for the first few turns before I could recover. Could probably use shorter poles in bumps, but they are as short as I'm willing to go for on piste skiing, maybe I should try adjustable poles next season.

The bumps are the ones below expo lift at Tremblant for those of you who are familiar with the area.

 

[Jilly]

Are you a regular at Tremblant? Good skiing over all. Balance is great.

I can see that you need to be a little more forward especially at the pole plant. Aim for the other side of the bump and pivot on top. The troughs have the rocks in them

 

[jzmtl]

Thanks, started being a weekend regular as of last season, should be there again this coming season too. The rocks ARE pretty bad last season, top of Haute Tension is perpetually rocky, CBC ate my edge, and Eric Guay had boulders sticking out in the middle of piste.

Yeah I'm still working on the getting forward part, it's quite easy to fall back especially when a bit tired.

 

[oldschoolskier]

Couple of comments,

• Let the lower body take the hits, if you are going to pound through, pound through!
• If in doubt, attack, if it kills you it was the wrong decision.
• Pole tap, don't plant unless you really need to get you upper body to come back as you can really get caught.
• Moguls are about confidence and skill, a little skill and lots of confidence goes a long way. (See second point)

Otherwise not bad at all, appears to be the errors we all make no matter the level.

 

[graham418]

At times it looks like you are double poling

 

[Jilly]

I'll get in touch as the season starts. I'm a regular and so is SkiBam. She'll take you into the trees!! Hoping my knees will let me do more this year.

 

[RickyG]

Package the skis, and push the tips into the back of the bump to make them turn up the bump...flex (to absorb)...extend to keep ski snow contact ready for the next bump.

 

[jzmtl]

At times it looks like you are double poling

Does look like it, but wasn't intentional, I don't think I've ever done intentional double pole plants.

I'll get in touch as the season starts. I'm a regular and so is SkiBam. She'll take you into the trees!! Hoping my knees will let me do more this year.

I've actually been avoiding trees so far, want to sort out of my bump skiing before venturing into trees lol.

Package the skis, and push the tips into the back of the bump to make them turn up the bump...flex (to absorb)...extend to keep ski snow contact ready for the next bump.

I've been playing with dolphin turns on piste for the pushing tips back down part, hopefully this coming season it'll be better.

 

[Rod9301]

Looks good. I would absorb a lot more, to where your femurs are parallel to the slope or lower.

Also, not sure how you get forward, but pulling the feet back works really well.

 

[Jilly]

I've actually been avoiding trees so far, want to sort out of my bump skiing before venturing into trees lol.

My 2 instructor friends - both Pierre's remind me that the trees are just bumps....really??

 

[Wilhelmson]

Yes, bumps with trees and rocks. Names not Pierre but Peter, though my surname is popular in Quebec.

 

[Wilhelmson]

Regarding getting forward, I wonder how many people analyzing their bump skiing need to get more forward in all conditions, only it's magnified in difficult terrain.

 

[Jilly]

Oh, yeah....that's where it's really going to show up.

 

[Chris Walker]

Regarding getting forward, I wonder how many people analyzing their bump skiing need to get more forward in all conditions, only it's magnified in difficult terrain.

"It's not that you ski moguls in the back seat, it's that you ski in the back seat, and moguls show it!" Ha. So meta.

Anyway, that was certainly the case for me. Looking back on this season, though, I crashed 3 times in the bumps. All three times going forward over the handlebars. So I guess in a way that's progress. Classic overcompensating.

 

[T-Square]

Another thing to remember is that when you get into challenging terrain you tend to revert to older movement patterns where you are "comfortable." So, while you may be standing on your skis and driving them when on groomers, you may unconsciously move into the back seat when you dive into the bumps. Thus you may need to concentrate on the basic fundamentals when you challenge yourself.

BTW, good skiing in those bumps. Keep at it and try different lines in the bumps.

 

[markojp]

FWIW, quite athletic skiing and a number of nice linked recoveries! If I were coaching you, I'd like to see you ski a rounder line through the bumps... The classic slow line, and for a few runs, let's ski the pitch slow, and while keeping your head level, really work at pulling your feet back/heels up and under your rear end as you crest each bump. This will start to get you the shin contact you need to be able to shape connected 'S's' rather than pivoting linked 'Z's' that leave you relying on a muscled 'pivot' originating from twisting your upper and lower body into counter and slamming into the next trough for speed control with pole plants in reserve as a 're-centering' and 'recovery' tool. Yes, I appreciate that you're most likely playing with a more zipper line tactical approach, but IMHO, you'd be better served initially by slowing down, skiing rounder, and then really working through the joint chain for more range of motion, particularly through your ankles and knees. This will help you ski from your feet and have better pressure management of your skis through the entire arc of your turns. Once this starts feeling better, then we can begin skiing the 'slow' line 'faster' and up the tempo while connecting all the dots*. While it's probably not fair, I do think there's much to learn in these clips of Michel Sebastien and Eric Lipton... Look at the range of motion in their flexion and extension, and where it's happening in their turns compared to yours:


And this one of Eric Lipton for an example of round 'slow line fast' bumps paying attention turn shape and what shin contact can do for steering below the fall line as his CoM passes over his feet. Hope this helps a bit.


(One interesting thing you'll notice Eric doing is sometimes lifting the tail of his new inside ski slightly with the tip maintaining contact with the snow... It keeps him honest and pressure directed to the new outside ski through the arc. You can almost 'feel' his feet connected to the snow while appropriate counter is built from the feet up rather than forced from the torso, down. )

( * There are more 'dots' in circular travel than in zig zag line segments . )

 

[oldschoolskier]

"It's not that you ski moguls in the back seat, it's that you ski in the back seat, and moguls show it!" Ha. So meta.

Anyway, that was certainly the case for me. Looking back on this season, though, I crashed 3 times in the bumps. All three times going forward over the handlebars. So I guess in a way that's progress. Classic overcompensating.

The trick is to stay back and balanced (not in backseat) to avoid the over the handlebar experience.

Been there, done that, really, really don't like it.

 

[Dave Marshak]

I would absorb a lot more...

That's like if a kid asked me how to win more races and I told him "ski faster."

dm

 

[Superbman]

• Poke around youtube for Japanese instructional videos-I like many of the videos housed under 'SKIGRAPHIC'. The Japanese own smooth real world bump skiing IMHO-and I love how they navigate really tricky bump lines without using the Air-stems prevalent in above videos. The All-Tracks bump videos and 'most important move in skiing' demo some smooth, expert non-jarring videos.

You're skiing is very, very good by the way,Most people (including me) can't ski bumps has as well as you do. But, I'd think the next thing to add to your bump skiing is actually a subtraction: you need to lessen or replace those somewhat frantic moments when you get caught up in deeper troughs and steeps bumps (me, I usually stop, shuffle or eat it in those spaces ).

I suppose you could just load up the rebound and keep jumping through those 'challenge spots' like Lipton (and somewhat like Sebestien...in the two bump videos I've seen of him he catches a lot of air all the way through his run). Or maybe there is a smoother more controlled path that keeps your skis in contact with the snow....

 

[markojp]

Yes, Sebastien is in the air from time to time, and Eric much less so, but no, most of us can't just load up and jump over bumps when we think we'd like to... We just don't have the strength and accuracy of D.I.R.T. Jzmtl should focus his attention on the turns that maintain ski snow contact. 'Air' is a tactical and 'sensation' choice that each of these two superb skiers have because they are both masters of pressure management and timing to get whatever outcome they want. They do it because it's fun, not because they have to. The point was really to show bump skiing that originates in the feet and uses a rounder turn shape even if the turns are 'short' and 'quick'.