Does anyone else have that one slope that they struggle with?

[contesstant]

I've gotten to the point that I loathe cat tracks with a drop off on one side so much, that I'd rather ski the black diamond ungroomed face that is often the alternate route than to ski the stupid cat track. I REALLY hate them, particularly if they have any pitch to them at all.

The one at the top of Strawberry at Snowbasin has a drop off that goes all the way to Ogden on the right side, and the wind regularly blows over that ridge, blowing piles onto the cat track. This in essence narrows the track down to a single lane, with whoop de doos the entire way. And it's just steep enough that I want to turn on it (OK, mainly thanks to the drop off that makes me pucker.) Add in the often VERY low visibility up there (especially this year) and that run just haunts me. So much so that I'd prefer to take the chopped up never-groomed steep down the front (so long as the snow is soft) than to ski the cat track.

There is a similar cat track off the John Paul lift that winds around and today, I couldn't see diddly on it which freaked me out. I'd have been better off once again skiing the ungroomed black diamond face, I think.

Yes, add me to the list of cat track haters!

 

[Serafina]

What the heck is a whoop de doo?

 

[ski diva]

What the heck is a whoop de doo?

Rollers. In this case, we're talking about a catwalk that goes down-up-down-up in rapid succession.

 

[Serafina]

Thanks for that clarification. I don't believe I've met one of these. Rollers are usually my very favorite thing to ski, but I don't know how keen I'd be on them if it was a super narrow trail with some kind of massive drop on one side.

 

[ski diva]

Thanks for that clarification. I don't believe I've met one of these. Rollers are usually my very favorite thing to ski, but I don't know how keen I'd be on them if it was a super narrow trail with some kind of massive drop on one side.

Exactly.

 

[ling]

Whoop de doo are the kind of roller that will LAUNCH you!

And the moment you land, you'll get launched AGAIN by the next set of roller!

 

[Serafina]

Whoop de doo are the kind of roller that will LAUNCH you!

And the moment you land, you'll get launched AGAIN by the next set of roller!

Ah. I've been running into those where the snowmaking wales haven't gotten smoothed out by the grooming cats.

And I was thinking, maybe this kind of unpleasant trail that you guys have been talking about - is that like that run that takes you from the Solitude base lodge by the mountain coaster and over the railroad to the Jackson Gore base area? I've always questioned Okemo's judgment in designating that as a "green".

 

[contesstant]

Thanks for that clarification. I don't believe I've met one of these. Rollers are usually my very favorite thing to ski, but I don't know how keen I'd be on them if it was a super narrow trail with some kind of massive drop on one side.

These are all very close together, up-down-up-down-up-down, as in, not even as long as your skis, so they can really throw you off balance. And make it impossible to roll turns or wedge. Well, at least for me they do.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Smeary skiing is a big help with these rollers. If there's a ski width of room you may be able to windshield wiper to not fly off the bumps. The problem is that on some of these, you're trying to maintain speed. And some of the people from last season's Big Sky event will remember me double ejecting when I got going too fast off the first bump and so was set up poorly on the next.

 

[contesstant]

Smeary skiing is a big help with these rollers. If there's a ski width of room you may be able to windshield wiper to not fly off the bumps. The problem is that on some of these, you're trying to maintain speed. And some of the people from last season's Big Sky event will remember me double ejecting when I got going too fast off the first bump and so was set up poorly on the next.

These are about 2 feet apart, if that, and about 1 foot high. They are very soft, but will still launch you if you're not very talented, which I'm not. My husband of course just sails straight down them, but I am not comfortable going that fast, particularly with the cliff to the right!

I'm the queen of smeary, windshield wiper moves, I just wish they'd work there. Last time, I wedged down it in a full panic! Then tucked my tail and skied back to the other side of the mountain. It's frustrating, because the terrain over there is just amazing, wide blues, with HUGE low-angle glades everywhere. And you can see my house from there, too!

 

[tinymoose]

Still White Lightning at Montage. Skied it yesterday. As always, I got my ass handed to me.

 

[bounceswoosh]

These are about 2 feet apart, if that, and about 1 foot high. They are very soft, but will still launch you if you're not very talented, which I'm not. My husband of course just sails straight down them, but I am not comfortable going that fast, particularly with the cliff to the right!

I'm the queen of smeary, windshield wiper moves, I just wish they'd work there. Last time, I wedged down it in a full panic! Then tucked my tail and skied back to the other side of the mountain. It's frustrating, because the terrain over there is just amazing, wide blues, with HUGE low-angle glades everywhere. And you can see my house from there, too!

*nod* The other approach is to just go really loose and absorb, absorb, absorb. It won't stop the launching, just minimize it. But yeah, it's scary and not necessarily worth it. Our group came flying down the flat space above Whale's Tail a couple of years ago because we were carrying momentum for an uphill on the other side. We didn't see the rollers coming. One of our group took a bad tumble. I was very proud of myself for just letting my legs go "soft" and riding it out, but it was terrifying. I think it worked because I didn't know what was coming and didn't have time to think about it. If I'd known it was there, I would have tensed up and been toast.

 

[ling]

Smeary skiing is a big help with these rollers. If there's a ski width of room you may be able to windshield wiper to not fly off the bumps. The problem is that on some of these, you're trying to maintain speed. And some of the people from last season's Big Sky event will remember me double ejecting when I got going too fast off the first bump and so was set up poorly on the next.

I have problem with them sometimes:

1) there often isn't room to even do windshield wiper smear (true single ski width traverse, which I really don't know how to handle);
2) if I slow down too much, I stall out on the up side of the roller and slide backward;
3) on some of them, I can't see the next roller which is around the bend, so I don't know how much speed I need to carry and how much speed I need to scrub.

I suspect if I do the same traverse over and over again, I can solve problem #3. But as a visitor to an area, how am I to handle the first time?

It didn't help I saw someone in my group did what you did, flew off the cliff side of the traverse. Although she was unhurt, it just reinforced my irrational fear.

 

[sibhusky]

There's a run called Highway to Heaven here that I've seen others than myself say it's better constructed to be the highway to hell. Narrow, wraps around a bowl area for over a mile. Gets snowboarders on it trying to slip the whole thing, which curves the whole way so that you rarely have good sightlines. I'm not sure I've ever seen it groomed. So it builds up huge whoop de doos. There's one section I've skied (since "never again" over a decade ago) that I've tried balancing on the outer rim with dips into the lumps in the center to control speed as needed, have also tried a soft legged snow plow the whole length (which helps make those bumps higher yet). The problem is those skiers who do use it all the time and are used to it or have younger legs than I. They come screaming along and there's big fat me hogging the trail in their way. There's no way to pull to the side. So, I just won't go there. Which means I never ski Purgatory either, since that's the only way out other than total commitment the whole way, and it's a double fall line bump run filled with rocks and shrubs. Nasty thing that runs right under the lift. Either side is tight, ungladed trees mostly used for pee breaks as far as I can tell. So you have the choice of H2H or this Purgatory...

 

[contesstant]

*nod* The other approach is to just go really loose and absorb, absorb, absorb. It won't stop the launching, just minimize it. But yeah, it's scary and not necessarily worth it. Our group came flying down the flat space above Whale's Tail a couple of years ago because we were carrying momentum for an uphill on the other side. We didn't see the rollers coming. One of our group took a bad tumble. I was very proud of myself for just letting my legs go "soft" and riding it out, but it was terrifying. I think it worked because I didn't know what was coming and didn't have time to think about it. If I'd known it was there, I would have tensed up and been toast.

I'd do this in a heartbeat if that darn cliff wasn't there. All I can think of is "if I crash and go over that cliff..." Eek!

 

[bounceswoosh]

I have problem with them sometimes:

1) there often isn't room to even do windshield wiper smear (true single ski width traverse, which I really don't know how to handle);
2) if I slow down too much, I stall out on the up side of the roller and slide backward;
3) on some of them, I can't see the next roller which is around the bend, so I don't know how much speed I need to carry and how much speed I need to scrub.

I suspect if I do the same traverse over and over again, I can solve problem #3. But as a visitor to an area, how am I to handle the first time?

It didn't help I saw someone in my group did what you did, flew off the cliff side of the traverse. Although she was unhurt, it just reinforced my irrational fear.

Well, I just flew forward, I think. It was pretty embarrassing, but only my pride was hurt. I guess the answer is the same as always - practice where you can. I don't recall where you ski, but I think traversing is pretty common out west, and not that common in the east. At least, that's the impression I got with the group at Big Sky. It gets better, but some of these never get fun. And you're absolutely right - knowing the specific traverse makes a big difference.

And I don't think your fear is irrational, at all. It's rational, but it needs to be harnessed into the right action. Once you're in it, you probably have to keep going, so you need to find a way to survive and not hate life.

It is possible to do a windshield wiper without turning - continue moving straight forward - and I will use that to scrub speed. But mix that with rollers that are literally less than a ski length apart, and high, and well - I don't have much in the way of answers, other than a relaxed but ready athletic stance that allows your legs to piston with the terrain. Easier said than done, and I don't have a 100% success rate, but honestly that one traverse at Big Sky is the only one I remember blowing up on.

The problem is those skiers who do use it all the time and are used to it or have younger legs than I. They come screaming along and there's big fat me hogging the trail in their way. There's no way to pull to the side.

On some level, that's their problem, but I know what you mean. It's the same reason I avoid hikes most of the time - I don't mind the hike at all, but I'm a slow hiker with lots of pauses, and I hate the idea of holding others back. And with long traverses, momentum is definitely an issue - both not wanting to stop others' momentum, and not wanting to get run into if they are going too fast to stop.

I'd do this in a heartbeat if that darn cliff wasn't there. All I can think of is "if I crash and go over that cliff..." Eek!

Totally understand. I had one of those recently with a creek on one side, and the narrow traverse angling down toward the creek =/

 

[ling]

I really should get over my fear. I've seen (and happened to myself once) people falling off the traverse more than once. It's just humiliating but usually rather harmless.

I can do traverse reasonably well when I can see my way. It's those blind ones that I had irrational fear of. It's partly a confidence game. I FEAR I would not be able to adjust my direction & speed to follow the traverse track. But the rational side of my mind understands the tracks were made by other skiers about the same skill level as myself. So I SHOULD trust myself to be able to negotiate them just fine and RELAX, which would help to accomplish it.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I really should get over my fear. I've seen (and happened to myself once) people falling off the traverse more than once. It's just humiliating but usually rather harmless.

I can do traverse reasonably well when I can see my way. It's those blind ones that I had irrational fear of. It's partly a confidence game. I FEAR I would not be able to adjust my direction & speed to follow the traverse track. But the rational side of my mind understands the tracks were made by other skiers about the same skill level as myself. So I SHOULD trust myself to be able to negotiate them just fine and RELAX, which would help to accomplish it.

Eh, screw should! Do what feels right for you.

We did this traverse four times yesterday that included a downhill switchback with a dead tree sticking out into the trail, so you have to turn right in a bit of a slalom while ducking left to avoid the tree, and you can't see what's next. EVERY time I got to that spot, I cringed. Luckily, since it *was* downhill, I was always able to slow down before it.

 

[marzNC]

Still White Lightning at Montage. Skied it yesterday. As always, I got my ass handed to me.

It's been a couple years since you posted this about White Lightning. Still feel this way?

It was cool watching the winch cat spred out the first snow on White Lightning last Dec. Not going to be able to make it back this early season, but perhaps I'll check it out during a late season ski safari in March.

 

[GeoGirl]

@ski diva @contesstant the cat track green route from the top at Hoodoo is completely terrifying to me. It's the access for all the black routes on one side... super steep dropoff and impatient experts skidding down it to get to the black terrain. Plus it's narrow and curvy. That stupid route is my incentive to get better at blues this season lol.