mogul skis vs carving skis vs wider skis

[Gloria]

One thing I've noticed amongst women skiers for years now as well as on this board is the struggle with mogul skiing. I have noticed alot of women looking for a good mogul and carving ski. Unfortunately they are two different animals. A mogul ski is generally in the 60 range underfoot with minimal side-cut where most carvers are creeping into the 70's with more and more sidecut. There are alot of good carving skis out there and relatively few mogul skis and especially those made for all around skiing as well. ( Nordica used to make one, the 1080, the scratch to name a few that sort of cross over ) Mogul specific skis include dynastar twister, volkl rebellion, head mad trix mogul etc. I think what may be helpful to women is a thread not on which skis can do both, because, I am not sure there is one, but.....Perhaps a best practices thread where everyone could put in a piece of advice that helped them ski in the bumps. ( when looking at a carver while wanting to improve your bump skills. You can look for a ski that has maximum flex, is lighter,has a softer tail and mogul skis are generally a foam core. You probably won't find a carving ski that incorporates all of the above and carves well. If you are having a great deal of trouble in the bumps however, check out the stiffness in the tail of what you typically ski and if it's stiff, try a ski that has a less stiff tail. I personally think skis with stiff tails are very challenging in the bumps and will throw you around terribly if your form is not perfect ) I will start a best practices thread and hopefully we can share some tips with each other.

 

[ski diva]

This is a great idea, Gloria! I think this is a great start -- defining what characteristics makes a ski good for a particular type of skiing, such as moguls, carving, ice, powder. I'm sure we could all learn a lot.

 

[Gloria]

earth shattering news

I think both men and women struggle with mogul skiing, men power through and don't admit it while women can admit it. Some of the most earth shattering news to me, a race trained carver, is that you don't carve moguls. In fact it is an entirely different concept. I used to power through and beat up my knees and think I was doing alright until the light was cast upon me. Mogul skiing is actually much more graceful. I posted a best practices thread and I hope that someone with better skills than me can post a video of someone skiing a race course and someone skiing a mogul course. I think it would be interesting to see how the thread unfolds as we disect the differences between the two forms. Our ski area doesn't have much claim for fame except we do host the national freestyle championships. Wow, what a difference to watch that, talk to some of them and then revamp my style. Night and day. It is so much more fluid than you thought when you get it.

 

[pinto]

I love skiing moguls. I have crap knees, but mogul skiing doesn't bother them.

I don't know how to tell anyone to do it, though, because I was never taught. When I think about what I do, I'd say to be light on your feet (don't "power" anything! that hurts!), as well as quick with your feet, and to bring your knees up and absorb the bump. Sometimes it looks like people go into them stiff-legged, and then have nowhere to go, so it's slam slam slam.

Just reeeeeeelaaaaaaax, get loosey goosey (so that slamming doesn't hurt), draw up your legs, and ski. It's like hopscotch or skipping or some other child's play.

 

[ski now work later]

Yup, I concur. I took some Volkl Attiva AC3s to Big Sky last February and took a bumps class. The bumps were BEAUTIFUL! Large, soft, and a true intermediate slope. My skis were too long and too stiff and I was miserable.

This year I'm bringing a pair of Attiva AC2s that I picked up in a shorter length at the end of last season (on sale of course). Since I'm not ripping down hardpack groomers out there, I think they will serve me well. I'm also bringing a pair of twin tip powder skis that I also got on sale at the end of the season last year for powder and park. And last night I actually had a dream that I took my new double ski bag with both pair and my boot bag and Northwest forgot to charge me for the over 50 lbs. rule!


Ah, the ski dreams have begun....

 

[VTchristine]

That sounds exactly like my experience! I love the bumps, too, and took an advanced lesson at Steamboat Springs a few years ago. It was pretty cool to be placed in the group with all the shredding guys!!! I was in heaven. The bumps out there are so perfect and EASY!

But my Volkl Carvers were too stiff and a wee bit long. Out west they were tolerable, but here in the east they're just terrible for me. Last spring we went on a VT grand tour; Sugarbush, Jay and Stratton.

I was hurting so bad on the bumps and felt terrible that I couldn't get through them. I just couldn't get the "groove." I think another piece of really good advice is to stop and assess where you're going. For the bumps, you have to map out a line. Take a look at the most even bumps and have a plan before you start. This is especially hard in the east, where you can have a small bump and then a deadly, cavernous bump!

So I need a new pair of skis that are flexible for the bumps. I'm trying to learn about gear stuff but it's SO CONFUSING! Like what is a sidecut?

I've done some research, talked to my sister (the other one has gone over to the dark side - snowboarding!) and looked around. I'm looking at a pair of Burnin Luvs on sale and I've also read that the Atomics are pretty forgiving.

Any other suggestions for a strong and flexible ski? I don't really go off-piste, but like the groomers and most expert trails. And of course, if I'm in shape enough this year, the bumps!

 

[altagirl]

I think that's very true - most people get so stuck in thinking good skiing = carving that they don't realize that's not the technique for bump skiing.

That said - I avoid bumps whenever I can. I can ski them pretty well, but I spend my time seeking out un-bumped terrain, so I wouldn't want a "bump ski" since I'm only skiing bumps when I have no choice.

 

[abc]

I've done some research, talked to my sister (the other one has gone over to the dark side - snowboarding!) and looked around. I'm looking at a pair of Burnin Luvs on sale and I've also read that the Atomics are pretty forgiving.

Any other suggestions for a strong and flexible ski? I don't really go off-piste, but like the groomers and most expert trails. And of course, if I'm in shape enough this year, the bumps!

Yep, the Burning might do. Or its softer sister the One Luv.

In the northeast, you really don't need (nor want) wide skis even for groomers. More so for mogul skis. The other contender when I was demo-ing was the Dynastar Contact/(what's the women series name?). I tried them and they work too. I just happen to like the K2 better and bought the One Luv.

Basically you don't want a lot of side cut. It does you very little in the bumps. They're just there so you can rip a couple of turns getting to the bumps.