Enjoying the bumps

We have made a conscious effort to leave some terrain bumped up this season so you might want to give the bumps a shot.  A comfortable way to jump in is to try Redhat.  Half of Redhat is groomed leaving a bail out for fatigue or to re-group. Skiing the bumps is like navigating the mall on December 23rd. You need to have a destination in your head and orient your upper body toward your destination, in this case, down the fall line. Your feet and legs will make multiple turns underneath but you never lose focus with you upper body. While your upper body is quiet and focused your lower body needs to turn in to many shock absorbers. It is important to be able to keep your equipment on the snow regardless of the bumps. This will require you to use your ankles and knees to absord the terrain changes. Of course it is OK to air out a little and leave the snow but work on getting back on the ground in a balanced position and quickly back into a rythm. So, to re-cap; keep the upper body quiet and focused down the fall line, keep the feet turning under the upper body, and use the joints in the leg to absorb the terrain changes. You will only get better in the bumps if you head into them in the first place...give it a try!