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Had some fun yesterday and boy is my back sore today.

Finally found my way into the zipperline and hung with it. Feels great when the turns come easy and bumps don't feel like they're knocking the breath out of you and going up the spine. Got my weight properly forward now and my recovery from the periodic throws are coming too. I once got kicked on the back seat took three bumps out of control, but threw myself forward and continued. Last weak that probably would have been a wreck.

Joined a skier at Blue Knob going down extrovert and he showed me how to actively press the skis down after each bump like being on a trampoline. Takes a bit of energy, but damn if the turns didn't come easy after that. Mixed with the new found balance from my half day private lesson from Steamboat, I'm getting much better and finally turned a major corner in my attempts to advance.

Must be doing something right because I started getting annoyed when people would get in my line and make me stop. :x Few weeks ago I was that person.

Run I went down was a nice moderate pitched bump run, so I wasn't fighting the steeps and bumps at the same time.


Extrovert on the other hand gives you both steep and mammoth bumps with ice to boot.

I am glad they opened Ex. When I was up there in Jan they had only opened Stembogan, and that had lots of brush poking up rendering the bowl useless as there was only one real line down it.

welcome to the dark side.

Its like sex aint it?....did I just type that?

That's great. I'm learning the bumps too this year. I'm at the point where things are starting to click and it's a blast. I don't want to do any groomed trails anymore. After skiing for 15 years I figured it's time to learn how to do the bumps. I've just been struggleing through it and trying to remember pointers I've gotten from friends. I think I should really take a lesson before I get into some bad habits. I know a lot of decent golfers who never took a lesson and are having a lot of trouble getting to the next level beacause some of the basic machanics are off. They definitely are addicting. Have fun, I know I am !!!

Back hurts? still not using enough legs, but if you recover a sit back, you are getting it. the part about Actively Pressing the skis is all about extending down the backside and absorbing and then extending. Requires great coordination between legs, knees, and hips. Push the hips forward to extend the skis DOWN the bump to the next bump, then absorb with the knees (not the back) and do again.

If you are getting that far you are nearly there. Don't give up, and don't settle for where you are. you can do better, and it should not bother you back if you do them right.

Dr. NO wrote: the part about Actively Pressing the skis is all about extending down the backside and absorbing and then extending. Requires great coordination between legs, knees, and hips. Push the hips forward to extend the skis DOWN the bump to the next bump, then absorb with the knees (not the back) and do again.

I agree with this entirely but in most cases, this is a dream scenario. With the majority of lines so cut up and scraped off, you'll know you're there when you can stay above the fray, so to speak.

Even above the fray you still have to absorb. If you do not extend, what do you absorb with? Spring bumps, at least those of old, used to be huge and air was had between. You left one bump to the next, extending in mid air only to slam the next, knees absorbing into your chest, and then repeat. Even if you go top to top, you have to absorb and extend. failure to do so traps you and sends you to the back seat. Even a good so called banger must absorb, and thus MUST extend.

2knees wrote:

Dr. NO wrote: the part about Actively Pressing the skis is all about extending down the backside and absorbing and then extending. Requires great coordination between legs, knees, and hips. Push the hips forward to extend the skis DOWN the bump to the next bump, then absorb with the knees (not the back) and do again.

I agree with this entirely but in most cases, this is a dream scenario. With the majority of lines so cut up and scraped off, you'll know you're there when you can stay above the fray, so to speak.

I'm happy if I can just stay upright.

Dr. NO wrote:Even above the fray you still have to absorb. If you do not extend, what do you absorb with? Spring bumps, at least those of old, used to be huge and air was had between. You left one bump to the next, extending in mid air only to slam the next, knees absorbing into your chest, and then repeat. Even if you go top to top, you have to absorb and extend. failure to do so traps you and sends you to the back seat. Even a good so called banger must absorb, and thus MUST extend.

Extension/absorbotion has to be there or failure will folllow. I was more getting at the fact that driving your tips into the following turn while critical, you need to combine that with the knowlegde that you must stay out of the ruts. Speed is a critical ingredient and sometimes when i hear people say you need to carve and drive and sh*t i want to yell, no you need to speed it up, keep your hands where you can see them, keep your upper body facing downhill at all times, stand up for christ sake and stop squatting like you are taking a sh*t, get your f*ckin skis closer this isnt a slalom race, and for gods sake plant your poles in FRONT of you.

2knees wrote:

Dr. NO wrote:Even above the fray you still have to absorb. If you do not extend, what do you absorb with? Spring bumps, at least those of old, used to be huge and air was had between. You left one bump to the next, extending in mid air only to slam the next, knees absorbing into your chest, and then repeat. Even if you go top to top, you have to absorb and extend. failure to do so traps you and sends you to the back seat. Even a good so called banger must absorb, and thus MUST extend.

Extension/absorbotion has to be there or failure will folllow. I was more getting at the fact that driving your tips into the following turn while critical, you need to combine that with the knowlegde that you must stay out of the ruts. Speed is a critical ingredient and sometimes when i hear people say you need to carve and drive and sh*t i want to yell, no you need to speed it up, keep your hands where you can see them, keep your upper body facing downhill at all times, stand up for christ sake and stop squatting like you are taking a sh*t, get your f*ckin skis closer this isnt a slalom race, and for gods sake plant your poles in FRONT of you.

HEY, I resemble the SL racer (poorly, but sometimes). Yeah, you sit back and they ask how to do it and you just can't say it. They have to work one step at a time. I don't go fast too often now, but that is the key. Fast enough to hold a line and then change the line if necessary. AND, all the sh*t, hands and f*ckin is true, but it has to be learned. yell all you want, but untill they do it, it just doesn't happen.

Dr. NO wrote:

2knees wrote:

Dr. NO wrote:Even above the fray you still have to absorb. If you do not extend, what do you absorb with? Spring bumps, at least those of old, used to be huge and air was had between. You left one bump to the next, extending in mid air only to slam the next, knees absorbing into your chest, and then repeat. Even if you go top to top, you have to absorb and extend. failure to do so traps you and sends you to the back seat. Even a good so called banger must absorb, and thus MUST extend.

Extension/absorbotion has to be there or failure will folllow. I was more getting at the fact that driving your tips into the following turn while critical, you need to combine that with the knowlegde that you must stay out of the ruts. Speed is a critical ingredient and sometimes when i hear people say you need to carve and drive and sh*t i want to yell, no you need to speed it up, keep your hands where you can see them, keep your upper body facing downhill at all times, stand up for christ sake and stop squatting like you are taking a sh*t, get your f*ckin skis closer this isnt a slalom race, and for gods sake plant your poles in FRONT of you.

HEY, I resemble the SL racer (poorly, but sometimes). Yeah, you sit back and they ask how to do it and you just can't say it. They have to work one step at a time. I don't go fast too often now, but that is the key. Fast enough to hold a line and then change the line if necessary. AND, all the sh*t, hands and f*ckin is true, but it has to be learned. yell all you want, but untill they do it, it just doesn't happen.

I'm just pissed i couldnt ski this weekend. Wasnt refering to sl racers or racers in general. 9 times of of 10, the racer is the best skier you'll encounter.

Dr. NO wrote:Back hurts? still not using enough legs, but if you recover a sit back, you are getting it. the part about Actively Pressing the skis is all about extending down the backside and absorbing and then extending. Requires great coordination between legs, knees, and hips. Push the hips forward to extend the skis DOWN the bump to the next bump, then absorb with the knees (not the back) and do again.

If you are getting that far you are nearly there. Don't give up, and don't settle for where you are. you can do better, and it should not bother you back if you do them right.

Recover a sit back?(sic?) I *think* I started doing something like this out of total fatigue one day and it seemed to be the way to go... a way to use my core strength vs quad strength to get through bumps..
let my skis run out in front of me into the next bump, absorb, and shoot them out in front of me again.
make any sense at alll?

massivslinky wrote:Had some fun yesterday and boy is my back sore today.

Finally found my way into the zipperline and hung with it. Feels great when the turns come easy and bumps don't feel like they're knocking the breath out of you and going up the spine. Got my weight properly forward now and my recovery from the periodic throws are coming too. I once got kicked on the back seat took three bumps out of control, but threw myself forward and continued. Last weak that probably would have been a wreck.

Joined a skier at Blue Knob going down extrovert and he showed me how to actively press the skis down after each bump like being on a trampoline. Takes a bit of energy, but damn if the turns didn't come easy after that. Mixed with the new found balance from my half day private lesson from Steamboat, I'm getting much better and finally turned a major corner in my attempts to advance.

Must be doing something right because I started getting annoyed when people would get in my line and make me stop. :x Few weeks ago I was that person.

Run I went down was a nice moderate pitched bump run, so I wasn't fighting the steeps and bumps at the same time.


Extrovert on the other hand gives you both steep and mammoth bumps with ice to boot.

hey Massivslinky, good on ya matey... huge strength sure helps the learning curve. How can we learn anything when our muscles are so spent as to not respond properly anymore? forget it, aint gonna happen.
This is where the off season dry land stuff pays off.
Good for you, pic looks good.

I too had a great day in the bumps. One of my best. Finally started putting them together, just like Mslinky said.

The thing that gets my brain into the absorb/extend is thinking about doing the "Bunny Hop" over each bump. Then it comes together for me.

I also had the "get out of my line" syndrome on escapade. But it really had come together for me earlier in the light.