Backcountry only = decline in skiing ability?

[Not Neil_Armstrong]

I took 10 years off of skiing. But I sucked back then so my return wasn't disappointing.
You'll be fine.

[jackstraw]

Over 40 and still riding a board, how does yer family feel about that?
Embarrassed, I'm sure!

My dog loves me unconditionally. And my number starts with a 5 as of 2017. But I dust u on two, one, or tele planks...your choice.

[stuckathuntermtn]

I could see this maybe effecting muscle memory in variable stuff, moguls, etc, but otherwise? I don't think it would really be a big deal.

[LHutz Esq]

What do the folks that only ski BC do on the shit days?

You know - Avi risk in the extreme, crust top to bottom.

Those are the days to get out and rip the groomers, ski the icy bumps, try out the skierX course etc, etc,

There are months that I don't think I would have skied much if bc was the only skiing I did -damn coastal influence wind hammered snow days.

I don't know how much worse you could get only skiing bc, personally I can't get much worse, but I do know some folks that bought the bc gear before putting in the time on the hill. It is painful to watch, especially when the conditions are less than ideal.

[dewam]

What do the folks that only ski BC do on the shit days?

They learn to ski shitty conditions

Mix it up. Skiing only backcountry will improve your backcountry skills. Every year before the lifts start spinning I see lots of very good skiers out in the backcountry with good skiing skills but poor backcountry skills. Riding lifts will improve your skiing skills. Kind of like the argument that being a good rock climber does not make you a mountaineer. Den

[LHutz Esq]

- I am going where the fun is.
In my mind groomers>death crust.

Skiing is about the fun

[raypruit]

i don't see how you can dispute that going downhill less is going to decrease your downhill proficiency. but everyone starts touring with a different degree of downhill ability. the dude who's been pounding vert at resorts for 20 years who starts exclusively touring probably won't notice much of a decline. and everyone has different goals in the bc. some people push it in the resort but just want to do safe mellow hippy turns in the bc. for now, my goal when i'm touring is to rip lines aggressively the way i do at the resort, but i can see that changing as i get older, fatter, and more risk averse.

i'll always ride resorts. i love the act of snowboarding, and the bottom line is you just don't get to do much actual snowboarding in the bc. last sunday i apparently rode 9500m of vert at the resort (never used the whis vert-tracking app before but it's actually kind of cool). that would take me a weeklong hut trip to do in the bc. there's also kinds of riding you can only do in the resort - (groomers, sidehits, riding switch a lot, park, etc.) that i still love doing and i think make you a better rider overall. i also love the freedom of riding without having a giant weight strapped to my back (fucking airbag).

[mall walker]

What do the folks that only ski BC do on the shit days?

You know - Avi risk in the extreme, crust top to bottom.

Low angle terrain, learn to work the aspects/elevations, find where the snow's good. At least in the Wasatch it's almost never a shit day at every snowy elevation at every aspect in every type of terrain. And when it's high danger it's usually great snow, so ski 25º and enjoy skiing hip-deep powder.

Early season it sucks (like right now) when there's just no coverage anywhere. This is a good "get a few cheap resort days" time imo.

[XXX-er]

What do the folks that only ski BC do on the shit days?

You know - Avi risk in the extreme, crust top to bottom.

Those are the days to get out and rip the groomers, ski the icy bumps, try out the skierX course etc, etc,

There are months that I don't think I would have skied much if bc was the only skiing I did -damn coastal influence wind hammered snow days.

I don't know how much worse you could get only skiing bc, personally I can't get much worse, but I do know some folks that bought the bc gear before putting in the time on the hill. It is painful to watch, especially when the conditions are less than ideal.

I had a friend like that ^^ out in PG, one of them older telewanking-exclusively-BC-skier types I think you are talking about, I suggested that hill skiing would sharpen her skiing chops so she got the pass, promptly fell ... broke her wrist

Did some days touring up the hill week before it opened, so I would get 2 or 3 runs a day, it's a good aerobic workout but not really very hard on the body, then of course we hit it hard during this openning weekend pow cycle, I probably skied at least 3 times as many runs each day at a much faster speed and today I definatly feel done

do you believe in the 10,000 hr rule?

that one gets better by doing more reps of a task ?

[North]

3rd year of no local pass, but mtn collective every year and usually a 4pack. Works for me, and keeps me mostly out of I70 fuckage. Nothing new to add to the responses given thus far. Resort skiing fitness goes down, touring fitness up. Aggressive ski abilities level off. If you started out with skills, you'll retain them, if not, it's gonna be a longer road towards competency.

I do know some folks that bought the bc gear before putting in the time on the hill. It is painful to watch, especially when the conditions are less than ideal.

Now that b/c skiing is en vogue, I've noticed a big uptick in the number of skiers going this route. Dunno about other places, but in CO we seem to have a large new population of users that are willing to spend a weekend getting some avalanche training (great!) but aren't willing to admit, or are perhaps unaware that their ski skills are a liability. During springtime when steep lines are in shape, it goes from painful to watch to frightening. #beaterson14ers and all that. I'm happy to mentor, but have opted out of many missions with overly-ambitious pals due to fears of watching them yardsale down serious lines.

What do the folks that only ski BC do on the shit days?

General progression for me during low tide:

1. Go Braapping - can always find pow to wreck with a 2stroke powder chariot to explore on
2. Explore a new zone on skis, find lines for another day
3. Play in snow - dig a few pits near the areas I frequent, brush up on tests (ECT, Prop Saw, etc.), maybe do my once annual pit profile if it's reaaaallly bad.
4. Drink Beer

[schindlerpiste]

What does this even mean, decline in skier ability? Are you afraid that you will forget how to vadel.?
...like riding a bike

[raypruit]

one observation i've made is that it seems like skiers and snowboarders differ a lot in how they view bc vs resort. almost all the experienced skiers i know are totally jaded on the resort. they're all "quality over quantity". they mostly tour and will pass on resort days when there's no fresh. whereas a lot more of the snowboarders i know still love riding resorts even on shitty days.

i think it's because it's easier to have fun on a flat bumpy groomer on a board than on skis. i can have a blast on a pretty flat groomer - trying to get low on eurocarves, riding slow trying to do butters, messing around on little sidehits. it's all "quality"!

[Zeedashbo]

What do the folks that only ski BC do on the shit days?

You know - Avi risk in the extreme, crust top to bottom.

We go to work and save our days off for good conditions

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using TGR Forums mobile app

[jackstraw]

one observation i've made is that it seems like skiers and snowboarders differ a lot in how they view bc vs resort. almost all the experienced skiers i know are totally jaded on the resort. they're all "quality over quantity". they mostly tour and will pass on resort days when there's no fresh. whereas a lot more of the snowboarders i know still love riding resorts even on shitty days.

i think it's because it's easier to have fun on a flat bumpy groomer on a board than on skis. i can have a blast on a pretty flat groomer - trying to get low on eurocarves, riding slow trying to do butters, messing around on little sidehits. it's all "quality"!

oh for the love of gawd, don't go there!

[PNWbrit]

We go to work

and stare forlornly at the forecast.

[JerseyDave]

What do the folks that only ski BC do on the shit days?

You know - Avi risk in the extreme, crust top to bottom.

Work, life, family. Resorts in the east suck on so many levels it's easy to feel good not supporting them.

[buttahflake]

You're such a beater. Mid-week skiing in Vermont, NH and Maine is awesome on so many levels. Ski right on the lift, all day, everyday. I could go on, but splaining shit to a Jersey tool is tedious.

[raypruit]

oh for the love of gawd, don't go there!

just calling it like i see it. i have a hard time getting any of my skier buds to do non-pow resort days with me

[Angle Parking]

You're such a beater. Mid-week skiing in Vermont, NH and Maine is awesome on so many levels. Ski right on the lift, all day, everyday. I could go on, but splaining shit to a Jersey tool is tedious.

There we go. I was getting worried we were having an actual dialogue about skiing instead of insulting others and debasing ourselves.

[NorCalNomad]

You're such a beater. Mid-week skiing in Vermont, NH and Maine is awesome on so many levels. Ski right on the lift, all day, everyday. I could go on, but splaining shit to a Jersey tool is tedious.

[buttahflake]

There we go. I was getting worried we were having an actual dialogue about skiing instead of insulting others and debasing ourselves.

Where the fuck are we?
TGR or pugski?
Take a Lap

[gramboh]

Quantity over quality of turns will make your legs strong and a better skier. But if you've been skiing for years and have a solid technique, I'm not sure how much worse you will get.

BC does make average skiers though (I think), I'm curious if it's younger peeps who never put a lot of time on ski hills and have skied just BC for 3-5 years or even more. Last year there was a deep day in the LLC backcountry, and on top I watched about 5 skiers go down before me. They were way backseat and all flailing a bit, and I thought to myself, "Shit that is some variable snow!!". I eased in expecting the worse, and it was my very first run on new boots and skis, so I was super timid. The snow was knee deep, perfect LCC blower, with no variable layers. I know I'm judging a lot of BC skiers by one run, but it really made me think on why those guys couldn't ski perfect powder. Maybe don't go super light and super skinny with equipment, medium to wide width skis will keep you a strong skier...in theory. Interesting thread, confirms a few thoughts I had...

I see this around the Whistler area all the time (and more each year). People getting into backcountry skiing without a solid foundation in how to you know, actually ski. Backseat, hands down, hip steering, falling all the time etc. I find that extremely dangerous and do not like to be anywhere near people like that.

My personal view is that you need to be a competent alpine skier before getting into touring.

[wyeaster]

weird. i've only been concerned about improving my skills before i get too old so i can splitboard bc. it never occurred to me that my downhill snowboarding skills would suffer from lack of repetition at some point. i assumed once you reach a certain level that just being on skis at all even if it's 80% uphill would suffice for maintenance, assuming nobody is trying to be olympic dh'ers.

[XXX-er]

I would see people come to the hut ski op up here for a holiday, they come from all over the world some of them only ski one week a year, osmne of them have neither the conditioning or the skiing ability, you gotta wonder did they ever have it or are they just rusty?

what they do got is the 5K it costs to be there

[LHutz Esq]

My personal view is that you need to be a competent alpine skier before getting into touring.

I agree - I never want to be that guy telling another person how to have fun on snow - but tomahawking down the hill, or digging oneself out of a bomb hole every turn just doesn't scream fun to me.

I volunteer at the local ski swap and every year I try and talk someone with little to no skiing experience out of the used dynafiddles. If you don't know what a din is - maybe the side of a mountain isn't the place to find out that your bindings don't really have it.

We are lucky here in that a few days after a dump one can still find the goods. Unfortunately, we are also cursed with a very touchy snow-pack, so there are days that are just more fun on the hill. Also days that are just more fun touring, but that is one of the great things about skiing- no reason to ever get bored. Although, I also xc and tele on occasion so it might just be that I am fucked in the head.