Skiing Whales

[wonderpony]

Speak to me of techniques for skiing whales, as in piles of man-made snow, not moguls. Karyatis was full of them today. Given that and the flat light, I spent the morning on chair 2 (GP), which was very nice. It's such a pretty ride up.

 

[tirolski]

Speak to me of techniques for skiing whales, as in piles of man-made snow, not moguls.

Don’t do what I did unless ya wanna be humbled. Look out for what’s below.

T

Post in thread 'Gore Mountain Conditions'

Feb 9, 2025

...flew through the air and had a helluva hard landing,but was able to recover and ski the rest of the day ...

Had a slow motion yard sale on the bunny hill at Song earlier this season. (Ain’t bragging).
Was cutting behind the pines ya see on the web cam at Song the first day the diamond cutter was spinning.Skied up the top of a somewhat fresh whale. Stopped to look. Flat light. Saw my friend waiting at the lift. Skied down the backside of the whale till it dropped off about 3 feet straight down. Double ejection, both poles flew and the goggles ended up spun around. Tried to walk...

• tirolski

Was the only spill last year.

 

[Harvey]

I only have this to add, at this time:

The Whales on Chatiemac

We like the way they roll.

nyskiblog.com

 

[DomB]

Speak to me of techniques for skiing whales, as in piles of man-made snow, not moguls. Karyatis was full of them today. Given that and the flat light, I spent the morning on chair 2 (GP), which was very nice. It's such a pretty ride up.

I guess I would say, in some sense it is just like skiing bumps but super magnified: you want to, to the extent you can (physics), keep your center of gravity flowing in a smooth line - watch a youtube video of olympic bump skiers: from thigh down, things are going crazy (ie lots of quick movement), but hip up (2 inches below belly button), quiet, no to little movement other than necesasry blocking pole plants.

For a whale, I say, lean in, flex forward at ankles and skeletal system will flow thru. Hard for me to describe well, but basically having balanced center of mass (hip area) and balancing forces. That means I guess I would say a total body forward lean. Almost like leaning forward over a roller coaster.

That typed, I would be very cautious judging from what someone like me types.

 

[MarzNC]

I guess I would say, in some sense it is just like skiing bumps but . . .

There is another big BUT because the snow quality can vary a lot more than on bumps composed of natural snow or pushed around snow on a groomed run after a lot of traffic.

During early season, there used to be snow whales in the center of the wide blue trail at Massanutten. Only took up a quarter of the width. One day I watched quite a few people think it would be fun to simply ski straight over one since they weren't that high. What they didn't realize was that those whales were very wet since they were still draining. More than one double-ejected as soon as their skis hit the backside. Included a patroller who should've known better. He wasn't going that fast, but his skis came to a dead stop.

The snow whales I've played on during early season were in West Virginia on a black at Timberline and a blue trail at Wildcat. For Timberline, one reason the whales were left that week was PSIA had training clinics happening. The trainer wanted some challenging terrain to work with. I wasn't trying to ski them as moguls since that was before I started doing Taos Ski Weeks and other lessons out west that included bumps. Mostly went down the sides to get a feel for where other people were making tracks. At Wildcat, it was fun to ski over the top. The whales weren't that high, and there was enough nice snow on both sides for a runout if I decided to skip a whale or two. In both cases, the was empty so no worries about watching for other people.

 

[DomB]

There is another big BUT because the snow quality can vary a lot more than on bumps composed of natural snow or pushed around snow on a groomed run after a lot of traffic.

During early season, there used to be snow whales in the center of the wide blue trail at Massanutten. Only took up a quarter of the width. One day I watched quite a few people think it would be fun to simply ski straight over one since they weren't that high. What they didn't realize was that those whales were very wet since they were still draining. More than one double-ejected as soon as their skis hit the backside. Included a patroller who should've known better. He wasn't going that fast, but his skis came to a dead stop.

The snow whales I've played on during early season were in West Virginia on a black at Timberline and a blue trail at Wildcat. For Timberline, one reason the whales were left that week was PSIA had training clinics happening. The trainer wanted some challenging terrain to work with. I wasn't trying to ski them as moguls since that was before I started doing Taos Ski Weeks and other lessons out west that included bumps. Mostly went down the sides to get a feel for where other people were making tracks. At Wildcat, it was fun to ski over the top. The whales weren't that high, and there was enough nice snow on both sides for a runout if I decided to skip a whale or two. In both cases, the was empty so no worries about watching for other people.

Great safety point!!!

 

[D.B. Cooper]

I'm really careful the first time I ski a trail with big whalebacks. The back side is often much more damp/icy than the front side, just due to the draining of the water. I do this even if the front side is very powdery. As Brownski said on the cover a couple of weeks ago, treat each gun as its own microclimate. Just because the first and second are good, it doesn't mean that the third will be too.
Like skiing moguls, as you reach the apex of the bump, your skis are likely to have very little of the surface on the snow (relative to a regular turn). Thus, your skis can pivot much more easily. This is good to keep in mind because it's easier to make a turn. In other words, with so much of your skis having air underneath, don't over-turn.
I rarely go right over the top of a whaleback, instead opting to ski the side away from the hydrant. This is because the mound is not uniform in its curvature. The portion toward the nozzle is much more pronounced (and likely to be damp), especially for a large mound of snow made by a Ratnik (ground gun).

 

[Harvey]

I'm really careful the first time I ski a trail with big whalebacks. The back side is often much more damp/icy than the front side, just due to the draining of the water. I do this even if the front side is very powdery. As Brownski said on the cover a couple of weeks ago, treat each gun as its own microclimate. Just because the first and second are good, it doesn't mean that the third will be too.
Like skiing moguls, as you reach the apex of the bump, your skis are likely to have very little of the surface on the snow (relative to a regular turn). Thus, your skis can pivot much more easily. This is good to keep in mind because it's easier to make a turn. In other words, with so much of your skis having air underneath, don't over-turn.
I rarely go right over the top of a whaleback, instead opting to ski the side away from the hydrant. This is because the mound is not uniform in its curvature. The portion toward the nozzle is much more pronounced (and likely to be damp), especially for a large mound of snow made by a Ratnik (ground gun).

 

[Campgottagopee]

For me, anytime I had a doubt about the snow surface I'd be sure to have forward pressure on the tongue of my boot.

 

[tirolski]

For me, anytime I had a doubt about the snow surface I'd be sure to have forward pressure on the tongue of my boot.

FIFY & me.

Ya gotta still watch out for going over the handle bars if ya hit a slow spot.