Braille Skiing - New To Me Tip for Storm Skiing

[HuntersEmma57]

I just found my new favorite mountain, Grand Targhee, but it comes with challenges. A common nickname for Grand Targhee is Grand Foggee. The top of the mountain is often mired in clouds with very high winds on the ridges and it snows. A lot. We found feet of new snow when other resorts in the Intermountain West had been skiing rocks.

For the entire 4 days of storm skiing, we never saw the top clear.

I struggled with fleeting bouts of vertigo and went down hard at the top - I simply lost orientation and tipped over. The terrain at the top of the lifts is wide open with only a few sporadic pine trees that were completely snow packed and whited out as well. But since it took about 5 minutes to get to wind cover and the ability to see improves, we skied it. On repeat.

Spouse suggested I "gently, but purposefully" drag my uphill pole to get tactile feedback on my speed and even on the pitch. I went from squinting to feeling the mountain.
We were already skiing slowly, but keeping the snow basket in the snow also gave me feedback on completing my turns which is critical to managing speed. I started to feel my way down and could keep my eyes fixed on my spouse's vivid orange coat and was able to relax. Also, I don't look up - that seems to set my gyroscope off.
Honestly, it felt empowering and magical and I had the best powder day of my life. The trees were feet deep in fresh with snow blowing over my shoulders with almost every turn. And GT has some really long, consistently steep drops. I'm still replaying the day in my mind. PEAK experience.

 

[BlizzardBabe]

I found the same thing at Whitefish (MT). Uber foggy. Fortunately, patrol sets up bright orange lollipops right down the center of the slopes at the top. I don't know how they managed to find the middle. Maybe they GPS'd it. Luckily I had my old neon yellow Spyder jacket w/me. I saw those conditions reduce a number of peeps to tears, they were so frightened.

 

[santacruz skier]

Same with skiing in the Alps above tree line. Piste markers (neon lollipops) everywhere to guide you, but still......

 

[Aerlind]

I had that same experience with Targhee last year, my SO couldn't see me even 10 feet away, and my pants are BRIGHT pink! I struggle picking him out from the trees on a good day (I really should just lend him my bright orange helmet cover, LOL!) so I was mostly trusting he wouldn't get too far ahead of me.

The pole dragging suggestion is interesting...I have a VERY bad habit of doing that while skiing (in normal conditions), which is connected to my challenge with keeping my shoulders on the fall line and not following my turn (and thus throwing my uphill shoulder/hand too far back behind me...). I never thought of it as actually giving me feedback on my skiing in poor visibility, but that may be why I started doing it years ago.

We'll be at Targhee next weekend, but the weather's supposed to be a bit more stable. I'm very much looking forward to it.

 

[Jilly]

We had that at the beginning of the season when snow making is going full tilt.

I fell on a flat run. Could not figure out where I was, right side up or ? Was scared that I had hit my head and still don't know how I got into the position I ended up in. Got up and moved forward. Next I heard ice under my skis....damn, that's not where I was planning on going. I thought I was on the other run.

This continued till 2 days before the WC at Tremblant. The ladies were practicing on one of the upper runs. I'm sure FIS/WC told them to turn it off. No one wants a banged up WC skier on their hands because they couldn't see. It made skiing so much better.

I'm at the point, that unless I paid for my lift ticket (ie not on Ikon), I'm not doing this again!

 

[Jenny]

The pole dragging suggestion is interesting...I have a VERY bad habit of doing that while skiing (in normal conditions), which is connected to my challenge with keeping my shoulders on the fall line and not following my turn (and thus throwing my uphill shoulder/hand too far back behind me...). I never thought of it as actually giving me feedback on my skiing in poor visibility, but that may be why I started doing it years ago.

I think subconsciously I hope it’s a brake.

 

[Aerlind]

I think subconsciously I hope it’s a brake.

Saaaaaame. Now that I'm aware of it, I find myself doing it mostly when I'm on something steeper and I'm less confident in the speed at which I'm travelling......which of course is when you really don't want your upper body twisting away from the fall line!

 

[contesstant]

Targhee is my favorite as well. If you loved it in the horrific fog, wait until a bluebird day! I've had my best powder days there as well. We had one of our few powder days that weren't tracked out in 30 minutes there last December. It was pretty bad visibility, but we headed to the treed runs off Blackfoot. The other wonderful thing about Targhee is it's still got...character. I hope you went into the Trap Bar and had a meal and (if so included) a hot toddy (we like the hot apple pie.) I have so many great memories from there! I hope to get a trip up there this season.

 

[Tennessee]

Targhee does have lots of good food places! Snorkels is my all time favorite at any ski area.

 

[Tennessee]

Try the Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl at Snorkels!

 

[sibhusky]

I found the same thing at Whitefish (MT). Uber foggy. Fortunately, patrol sets up bright orange lollipops right down the center of the slopes at the top. I don't know how they managed to find the middle. Maybe they GPS'd it. Luckily I had my old neon yellow Spyder jacket w/me. I saw those conditions reduce a number of peeps to tears, they were so frightened.

I'm a fog pro at this point. 1) Ski next to or in the trees. DO NOT CHOOSE WIDE RUNS. 2) Analyse where the sun is. If it's directly perpendicular to the slope, you're going to lose your depth perception. Choose trails where the sun's murky rays are hitting at an angle AND where the surface is NOT untracked pow (Sorry, wait for someone to put some tracks on it.)

 

[Christy]

I ski by braille if I find myself in a fog. I say find myself because if visibility is poor I stick to forested runs and ski next to the trees. But, sometimes a little cloud passes through or just a bit of a run is in fog.

 

[BlizzardBabe]

Skied fog all morning today. Of course, we're talking the mid-Atlantic so elevation is low. Still, I couldn't see five feet in front of me for the first 4 turns.

POURING rain, unfortunately, but there should be cold temps at night for snowmaking the next 3 days. They'll definitely have ample water.

Despite GORETEX everything I am SOAKED to the skin.

 

[snoWYmonkey]

Trees at the top of the Ghee are not abundant enough to use for shade or markers. The pole trick is great as long as it comes from changing the angle of the hand to help it touch rather than leaning into the hill to reach. My trick, in addition to trees when available, and three points or even four points of contact, is to keep the belly button over the middle of the feet. At least that way I know that I am hopefully well oriented over the skis, and that improved balance will help with any unexpected pitch changes as I remain in a good position to use the skis to their best potential. That said, I was once truly at a loss, well above treeline in a total fog zone. I kept waiting for other skiers to get off the poma, but none came and I slowly skied down hunting for the next pole in the snow, leery of going over a cliff I knew lurked somewhere below. Needless to say I did not venture back up to that zone that day.

 

[sibhusky]

Yeah, I've been lost in my own resort more than once, not knowing where I was on a slope, and finding myself descending the wrong trail or headed towards a snow-making pond. I've tried using grooming corduroy if I lose the sense of which way down is, but with mixed results. So, now I go home if it's zero or single chair visibility, but sometimes that happens suddenly. Then, it's just slow and keep turning.

 

[HuntersEmma57]

I had that same experience with Targhee last year, my SO couldn't see me even 10 feet away, and my pants are BRIGHT pink! I struggle picking him out from the trees on a good day (I really should just lend him my bright orange helmet cover, LOL!) so I was mostly trusting he wouldn't get too far ahead of me.

The pole dragging suggestion is interesting...I have a VERY bad habit of doing that while skiing (in normal conditions), which is connected to my challenge with keeping my shoulders on the fall line and not following my turn (and thus throwing my uphill shoulder/hand too far back behind me...). I never thought of it as actually giving me feedback on my skiing in poor visibility, but that may be why I started doing it years ago.

We'll be at Targhee next weekend, but the weather's supposed to be a bit more stable. I'm very much looking forward to it.

I also had to break the bad part of the dragging the ski poles as well. They make terrible brakes, too.

 

[HuntersEmma57]

Skied fog all morning today. Of course, we're talking the mid-Atlantic so elevation is low. Still, I couldn't see five feet in front of me for the first 4 turns.

POURING rain, unfortunately, but there should be cold temps at night for snowmaking the next 3 days. They'll definitely have ample water.

Despite GORETEX everything I am SOAKED to the skin.

That's some serious commitment!

 

[HuntersEmma57]

Trees at the top of the Ghee are not abundant enough to use for shade or markers. The pole trick is great as long as it comes from changing the angle of the hand to help it touch rather than leaning into the hill to reach. My trick, in addition to trees when available, and three points or even four points of contact, is to keep the belly button over the middle of the feet. At least that way I know that I am hopefully well oriented over the skis, and that improved balance will help with any unexpected pitch changes as I remain in a good position to use the skis to their best potential. That said, I was once truly at a loss, well above treeline in a total fog zone. I kept waiting for other skiers to get off the poma, but none came and I slowly skied down hunting for the next pole in the snow, leery of going over a cliff I knew lurked somewhere below. Needless to say I did not venture back up to that zone that day.

Good point on hand angle and not leaning into the pole. I was basically digging a shallow furrow - firm contact, but not heavy. Obviously this works best if there's soft snow, but tactile feedback even worked on the wind scoured top. Instead of the lollipops as markers, Targhee uses little snips of pine boughs near the middle of the groomers -- a godsend.

 

[HuntersEmma57]

Targhee is my favorite as well. If you loved it in the horrific fog, wait until a bluebird day! I've had my best powder days there as well. We had one of our few powder days that weren't tracked out in 30 minutes there last December. It was pretty bad visibility, but we headed to the treed runs off Blackfoot. The other wonderful thing about Targhee is it's still got...character. I hope you went into the Trap Bar and had a meal and (if so included) a hot toddy (we like the hot apple pie.) I have so many great memories from there! I hope to get a trip up there this season.

How did I miss hot apple pie??? The sherherds pie at Trap Bar was amazing. We stayed in Teewinot Lodge, parked the van, and never left the mountain so we sampled every eaterie. GT is classic. We came in the Sunday when the holiday crowds were departing...and there were a LOT of them. GT has been found, but not completely overrun yet. Accepting no Mega passes is a godsend.

 

[Aerlind]

Accepting no Mega passes is a godsend.

It is until I have to listen to my SO complain about buying full price tickets. Not my fault he chose Ikon and I went Mountain Collective, and we had to re-route our planned SLC trip this weekend, when MC F&F is blacked out….

I grew up skiing in Colorado, so honestly, even $170 for a full price ticket at Targhee is a pretty dang good deal. Especially since they’re the only ones around with actual snow right now.

Men, I tell ya. He doesn’t hear me complaining about buying tickets (half price, but still) at Jackson while he cruises through his free days.