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#1
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Trail difficulty revisited
A friend and I were discussing trail difficulty at our local ski area.
I claimed that a double-blue trail (pharoh) was actually the most difficult. At first glance, there is nothing particularly challenging about it. It has two steep sections - both drops are less than 100 feet - and two ess turns. The problem with the Pharoh is that it's *always* covered with boilerplate. On top of that, its blue designation means it's always covered with inexperienced skiers. They plow up deep piles of anything that sits on top of the boilerplate. Thus you ski over boilerplate - snow pile - boilerplate - snow pile ... well you get the point. I voted it most difficult because it's the trail on which I'm most likely to fall. He voted for another trail (the hump) because it's balls steep. While he concedes that conditions make the pharoh consistently difficult, his form is never comprimised by the trail. The hump forces him to really *think* about his form. Admittedly, I usually have to work myself up to drop-in on the hump, but its conditions are always better than the pharoh and I can always grab an edge. The group's consensus won't settle this, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. Jeff |
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#2
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On 10 Mar 2005 09:07:25 -0800, "Jeff" wrote:
A friend and I were discussing trail difficulty at our local ski area. I claimed that a double-blue trail (pharoh) was actually the most difficult. At first glance, there is nothing particularly challenging about it. It has two steep sections - both drops are less than 100 feet - and two ess turns. The problem with the Pharoh is that it's *always* covered with boilerplate. On top of that, its blue designation means it's always covered with inexperienced skiers. They plow up deep piles of anything that sits on top of the boilerplate. Thus you ski over boilerplate - snow pile - boilerplate - snow pile ... well you get the point. I voted it most difficult because it's the trail on which I'm most likely to fall. He voted for another trail (the hump) because it's balls steep. While he concedes that conditions make the pharoh consistently difficult, his form is never comprimised by the trail. The hump forces him to really *think* about his form. Admittedly, I usually have to work myself up to drop-in on the hump, but its conditions are always better than the pharoh and I can always grab an edge. The group's consensus won't settle this, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. I think the consistently better snow on The Hump is probably due to the difficulty of Pharoh (sp?). If the people flailing around on the beat-up blue run knew that it might actually be easier to ski the "black" run, then they'd come beat the hell out of that one too, thereby making the trails line up with their respective ratings.. As you describe it, though, I'm pretty sure I'd find the black run easier to ski well. bw |
#3
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bdubya wrote:
On 10 Mar 2005 09:07:25 -0800, "Jeff" wrote: As you describe it, though, I'm pretty sure I'd find the black run easier to ski well. bw I think that devil sun plays havoc on the Pharoah. The other trails serviced by that lift - one double-black and one double-green - have far better snow. The Pharoah sits on a ledge that was dynamited out of the side of the mountain. It gets direct sunlight early and sits in shade the rest of the day. The Hump is surrounded by trees. It doesn't get a lot of sun.... The Pharoah is made more trecherous by the fact that I'm a sucker for ess turns. I love to take them fast ... Sh!t this is the hill with all the boilerplate! Gets me every time. The Hump, on the other hand, makes me pucker at the top. I'm ready for it when I drop in. I guess I don't necessarily view the Hump "easier." I just think I'm more likely to get killed on the Pharoah.... Jeff |
#4
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Jeff wrote: snip The group's consensus won't settle this, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. Jeff My thoughts are that trail difficulty is a subjective rating. For example, someone who is not used to skiing boilerplate but is a capable powder skier may find a steep & deep powder run quite easy while the same person may find a less-steep boilerplate run quite demanding. OTOH, a skier who has skied all their live on an eastern blue ice boilerplate mountain may find the same boilerplate run quite easy but be hopelessly out of their element in steep & deep powder. Even if two skiers are comfortable in almost any conditions they will still have individual strength and weaknesses. Example: I grew up ski racing, which involved spending a fair bit of time skiing on icy race courses. I ski with friends who are every bit as capable in powder as I am but when conditions turn hard and icy it seems to effect me less then them. Different strokes for different folks. That is why rating systems provide only general guidelines. Runs and conditions are as unique and subjective as the individuals who ski them. Armin |
#5
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Armin wrote:
Jeff wrote: snip The group's consensus won't settle this, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. Jeff My thoughts are that trail difficulty is a subjective rating. For example, someone who is not used to skiing boilerplate but is a capable powder skier may find a steep & deep powder run quite easy while the same person may find a less-steep boilerplate run quite demanding. Armin In January we had the best of both worlds. The mountain recieved sixteen inches of fresh powder, a good portion of which fell while we were there. The Pharoah would have none of it. Sure there was powder on the trail. There was so much fresh stuff it had to lie somewhere. But the wind was screaming across the mountain the Pharoah's freshies amassed in large drifts: boilerplate - snow bank, boilerplate, snow bank, clatta-clat-clat, swoosh! clatta-clat-clat, swoosh! We moved over to a notoriously bumpy, steep trail.... Jeff |
#6
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Jeff wrote: We moved over to a notoriously bumpy, steep trail.... Jeff That's the best kind! Beats the hell out of low-angle, groomed and boring. Of course, steep & deep powder wins hands-down every time. Still, it's all *subjective*. IOW, YYMV. ;-) Armin |
#7
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Jeff wrote:
bdubya wrote: On 10 Mar 2005 09:07:25 -0800, "Jeff" wrote: As you describe it, though, I'm pretty sure I'd find the black run easier to ski well. I think that devil sun plays havoc on the Pharoah. The other trails serviced by that lift - one double-black and one double-green - have far better snow. The Pharoah sits on a ledge that was dynamited out of the side of the mountain. It gets direct sunlight early and sits in shade the rest of the day. The Hump is surrounded by trees. It doesn't get a lot of sun.... The Pharoah is made more trecherous by the fact that I'm a sucker for ess turns. I love to take them fast ... Sh!t this is the hill with all the boilerplate! Gets me every time. The Hump, on the other hand, makes me pucker at the top. I'm ready for it when I drop in. I guess I don't necessarily view the Hump "easier." I just think I'm more likely to get killed on the Pharoah.... My $.02: I've skied Camelback exactly once, and it was during my larval phase several years ago, so my recollections are a bit hazy. The HSQ that serviced The Pharoah was down that day, and I wasn't in the mood to hike, so I didn't ski it. I recall looking over the Hump and it didn't look all that bad, but I opted to ski easier stuff. I remember that Big Pocono or maybe The Dromedary was totally covered with death cookies - it was the first time I had encountered the phenemonon, but I had read about it here in RSA. Mostly I remember the crowds, no doubt exacerbated by the broken lift. Anyway, you thesis is more or less right that black runs can be easier to ski than the blue ones, especially at crowded resorts. Heck, the last time I skied at Blue Mt. Penn. I spent most of the day on the Challenge and the Razor's edge (rated double black, undeservedly so) because it was just too damn hard avoiding the gomers on the other runs. I'll take an empty steep hill over a crowded, scraped-off cruiser any day. BTW, for those puzzling over Camelback's esoteric trail rating system, a double blue is a bit harder than a regular blue. A double green is a bit harder than a single green. I've seen other places where double green means easier than a single green - that's the great thing about standards - we get to have so many of them. -- //-Walt // // There is no Völkl Conspiracy |
#8
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Armin wrote:
Of course, steep & deep powder wins hands-down every time. Well, of course it wins if you let your hands drop. Keep your hands up where you can keep an eye on them and they won't get you in trouble. -- //-Walt // // There is no Völkl Conspiracy |
#9
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Walt wrote: Armin wrote: Of course, steep & deep powder wins hands-down every time. Well, of course it wins if you let your hands drop. Keep your hands up where you can keep an eye on them and they won't get you in trouble. Hey, I've tried taking out my eye and keeping it on my hands but it kept falling off every time I hit a bump. And it's a beeetch to find the damn thing in all that powder... especially when you can't see cause you just lost it! What do you think, that I'n a juggler or something? Armin |
#10
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Walt wrote: Armin wrote: Of course, steep & deep powder wins hands-down every time. Well, of course it wins if you let your hands drop. Keep your hands up where you can keep an eye on them and they won't get you in trouble. I know you were being funny but no truer words have ever been spoken. If your hands are doing the right thing, everything else is easy! - except when the pharoah decides to masquerade as a hockey rink ... did I mention that I liked taking ess turns at a high rate of speed? Jeff |
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