Quote:
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Originally Posted by taywood
Gene Goldenfeld wrote:
I believe that setting tracks is normal on hills where there is room.
Part of the fun of skiing is being able to stride up the hill as far
as one's kick will go and to ride down the hills in the tracks. Even
skaters sometimes use the tracks for downhills (if the trail allows
skating). Plus, how can your novice and intermediate skiers improve
if you take away choices for dealing with hills? Playing to the
lowest common denominator of ability means that's who your area will
attract. Reputations for grooming are passed around among skiers and
tend to stick.
Gene
I believe our groomer friend is incorrect, unless there is something
wrong with the underlying ground surface he is working on.
I'd say that track setting is crucial on downhills for classic skiers.
I've even seen that worded into the instructions given by the World
Masters Assn. to the Organising Committee at a proposed venue.
At most competition venues and tourist venues simply staying in the
set track will get you safely downhill and round the bend at the foot
of the hill. Of course there may be exeptions but even where the
sheer volume of traffic has wiped out the set track and formed a sort
of banked cresta turn its still possible to stay on line, even with
limited skills, without resorting to full snowplow defence.
Mike
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There is a simple reason I do not set tracks on hills. I am grooming at a nature preserve. This has the following impacts:
1. The general public is invited (free) - all abilities, all ages.
2. The area is unattended - if you get hurt, you are on your own
3. Since it is a preserve, there are real limits on trail widths, trail contouring, etc. I can't cut trees or move dirt (beyond the haul roads I currently use)
4. The machinery used is slightly limited in the conditions under which it can set an effective track. I'm not running a power tiller.
Leave the mentality of a very capable skier behind and consider yourself to be a 50+ couch potato housewife or a 5 year old. Do you want to snowplow or would you rather ride potentially icy tracks down the hill? I watched a family struggle to get their small daughter to herringbone up a well groomed 5% grade - it was her first day on skis, and she couldn't walk up it, ski up it, or herringbone up it. That's my "market." So I would suggest I am not "incorrect." I'd suggest the "correctness" is dependent on goals, and goals are dependent on the market. Since my market is average to never-evers, I am trying to achieve a safe and enjoyable experience for them.