The incredible disappearing bumps

I skiied at Sierra at Tahoe on Friday January 20th, my first day
there this year. In the past I've often gone there on day trips since
it's the closest area if you're coming up from the Sacramento Valley.

At first I didn't really pay much attention to the fact that the
trail maps they made available at the lift ticket window were
called the "Daily Grooming Report," printed special for the
day. But after I got on the mountain, I noticed that at the top of
the lift there was a special new board, ominously titled "Grooming
Report." Suddenly, it hit me:

Sierra at Tahoe has been flipped to the dark side by its corporate
affiliation with Northstar. They have changed from a natural skiing
mountain into a Disneyfied, "fully groomed," plastic environment, no
longer having anything but a superficial resemblance to nature. And
they are proud of it, now advertising that "70% of runs are groomed!"

Apparently, they'll stop at nothing: the last straw for me was that
my favorite bump run in all of Tahoe, "Clipper" under the West Bowl
lift, had been groomed! For what?

Left alone, that run would have been the best at the whole
area that day, chopped powder that as the day wore on would have
developed into a great soft bump run. Instead, they spent a bunch of
time and effort to make it into a completely forgettable, mediocre
groomer, as vanilla as they come.

If you like bump skiing as I do, don't count on Sierra at Tahoe to
get your fix. Have other skiers noticed this trend happening at their
local hills? In the face of the trends toward carving skis and all
mountain grooming, it seems like the bump runs are fewer and farther
between...

I'm a snowboarder, but for bumps, Clipper is kinda easy..
Try Preacher'sPassion or Dynamite, even Eastabout and Castle.
They groom that W side to allow intermediates and beginner skiers
total access to every run on that side.
Sorry it's too easy, you could drop the trees at RockGarden too.....

LeeD wrote:
I'm a snowboarder, but for bumps, Clipper is kinda easy..
Try Preacher'sPassion or Dynamite, even Eastabout and Castle.
They groom that W side to allow intermediates and beginner skiers
total access to every run on that side.
Sorry it's too easy, you could drop the trees at RockGarden too.....

BTW, Castle was groomed too. That meant that Eastabout, while nice,
didn't last long before you were back on the groomed of Castle.

The best run of the day was under the lift at the top of Grandview,
then cut left after the steep spot over to upper Dynamite, continue at
Lower Dynamite. A close second was Preacher's Passion, followed by
Horsetail. As far as I could tell, those four runs were the only ones
left ungroomed.

The whole point about Clipper is that a more moderate slope makes for a
different kind of bump run. The bumps can grow bigger, and you ski it
differently. For me it's more fun when you can run at terminal velocity
- something I don't care to do on the steeper bumps.

I guess the my main point earlier though was that there wasn't much to
gain by grooming it - as a groomed run it's just like any other groomer
of the same slope, none of which were left alone that day, and from
which there were many other choices on that same lift. Last, since it
runs for a long time at a moderate pitch, it usually quickly develops a
nice long zipper, which is rare in the Tahoe area, doesn't happen
anywhere else at that area.

Probably just talking to myself, here. I'll crawl back under my freeway
overpass, now.

I do agree that overgrooming is ruining lotsa runs for us
oldtimers....
I hate it when every run is a steep, superfreeway.....just boring and
useless.
Especially hate backside NorthStar, and the new Lookout, that they
always groom into a useless nothing steep run.
Probably when some more snow arrives, they'll leave well enough
alone, and groom maybe 3 runs on the WestBowl...max.
But they never will, because WB is regarded in intermediate hill, and
as such, is used to take the crowd load away from Grandview, which
unforturnatley is bigginner/expert.

LeeD wrote:
I do agree that overgrooming is ruining lotsa runs for us
oldtimers....
I hate it when every run is a steep, superfreeway.....just boring and
useless.
Especially hate backside NorthStar, and the new Lookout, that they
always groom into a useless nothing steep run.
Probably when some more snow arrives, they'll leave well enough
alone, and groom maybe 3 runs on the WestBowl...max.
But they never will, because WB is regarded in intermediate hill, and
as such, is used to take the crowd load away from Grandview, which
unforturnatley is bigginner/expert.

Aside from the trees and glades at Eastbowl, (Sierra-at-Tahoe,) which
are never groomed, the lines under the lifts are never groomed either,
narrow and steep, they make very interesting bump runs.


taichiskiing

Sierra at Tahoe has been flipped to the dark side by its corporate
affiliation with Northstar. They have changed from a natural skiing
mountain into a Disneyfied, "fully groomed," plastic environment, no
longer having anything but a superficial resemblance to nature. And
they are proud of it, now advertising that "70% of runs are groomed!"

If you like bump skiing as I do, don't count on Sierra at Tahoe to
get your fix. Have other skiers noticed this trend happening at their
local hills? In the face of the trends toward carving skis and all
mountain grooming, it seems like the bump runs are fewer and farther
between...

As a Winter Park "local" this trend concerns me as well. So far
Intrawest, which signed a 100 year lease on WP a couple of years ago,
has left the bumps intact. I worry about the bumps at Telluride as
well since they've stated that their aim is to head further "upscale".
Will Colorado bumps dissappear? Let's hope not.

Chris

Clipper is under the WestBowl chair....
Dynamite and Preacher's under the Grandview chair....

LeeD wrote:
Clipper is under the WestBowl chair....
Dynamite and Preacher's under the Grandview chair....

Don't confuse him with facts.... it just highlights your Partitioned
Mind. ;-)

Armin

LeeD wrote:
Clipper is under the WestBowl chair....
Dynamite and Preacher's under the Grandview chair....

Yup, nevertheless, by "lines under the lifts" I do mean the "lines"
under the "lifts," not the trails. And I've never seen them groom the
Dynamic and Preacher's Passion.


taichiskiing

frankenskier wrote:

Left alone, that run would have been the best at the whole
area that day, chopped powder that as the day wore on would have
developed into a great soft bump run. Instead, they spent a bunch of
time and effort to make it into a completely forgettable, mediocre
groomer, as vanilla as they come.

It's disgusting. They are getting worse, I think our groomers are out of
control. They are grooming double blacks now (so I guess they aren't double
blacks any more). The softer the snow, the more they groom it. It doesn't
make sense.

I love these people who declare that they are a "level 7" but they can't ski
bumps. Um, buddy...

--
ant