蘑菇道的形成

来源：A Mogul Field is Born. By JF Lanvers
翻译： MaxIo_Yu

A few days ago, as I was riding the Empire Express chairlift, I overheard a couple’s conversation about how moguls were created. I listened to the answer the husband gave, smiled and remained silent. I felt compelled to do some research, even though I’ve been around moguls all of my life, and knew that these snow formations are created in very strange ways. As you may know, some moguls are natural, and others are created artificially for the purpose of freestyle competition. So, I zeroed-in on the natural ones. We’ll discover the “man-made moguls” in a subsequent blog…

几天前我坐Empire Express的缆车的时候听到了一对夫妻讨论蘑菇道如何形成的。我听到了那位丈夫的答案，笑了笑没说话。尽管我这辈子都在滑蘑菇道，并且知道这些雪道的形成是很奇特的，我觉得我还是要去做一些研究。首先，有些蘑菇道是自然形成的，而有一些是为了一些自由式比赛人工制造的。这篇文章我会主要介绍那些自然形成的的蘑菇道，然后在后续的博客中探讨人工蘑菇道。

The creation of natural moguls begins through the repeated passage of skiers following the same “line” through the snow. When the snow is fresh, or soft enough, snow gets pushed to the side of the turn, away from the skis. This creates a curvy snow mound on the periphery of the turn that grows with each skier’s turn. This snow build-up is caused by the skis cutting a rounded trough into the snow that also gets deeper as skiers follow the path.

天然蘑菇道最初是由于那些沿着同样路线反复滑行的滑行者们。当雪道很新，或者雪质很软的时候，雪会被滑雪者们推到滑雪轨迹里弯的外侧。慢慢的就在弯外侧形成了弯曲的雪堆，并且随着每次滑雪者滑过，雪包越来越大，而雪道越来越深。

At the same time, snow is also moved from top to bottom, as the ski slows down, it brings snow from the top of the mogul to that of the mogul below. The formation of mogul is thus a three-dimensional process that is also a continuing story about accumulation and erosion of snow. There’s a point where the mounds of snow created on either side of the tracks turns into a large, rounded bump and the trough becomes a wide, rounded groove.

同时，雪也会从上往下移动，因为有人滑过的时候，会把上边蘑菇的雪带一部分到下边的蘑菇上。所以，蘑菇道的形成是一个三维的，并且是一个不断积累和侵蚀的过程。最终在某个时刻，这些雪道两边的雪包就变成了又大又圆的凸起，而雪道就变成了又宽又圆的凹槽。

As the snow builds up higher, more people ski around the higher snow and thus push more snow against the growing mound. There is also a point when snow piles exceed a certain critical size and skiers choose to bypassing them. By doing so, they contribute to accentuate the peaks and valleys that have now given birth to moguls. What used to be a rounded top, is now taking a teardrop shape.

随着雪越堆越高，绕着雪包滑的人越来越多，把更多的雪推向雪包。在某一个时刻，雪堆的超过了一定的体积后，滑雪的人会选择绕开它们。这就是滑雪的人们加速雪包的长高和雪道的加深，最终诞生了蘑菇道。一个曾经平坦的地方，现在就变成了泪滴的形状。

As the process continues, the choices of available path become fewer and fewer, skiers will tend to follow the “paths” already delineated between the bumps. One could say that the appearance of a regular pattern of bumps is a very good example of self-organization. So you have it: repeated skiing following the same path create moguls. When the slope is wide enough to accommodate a number of parallel paths, a complete, beautiful mogul field soon takes form, like the one we typically see on Empire Bowl.

当雪包越来越多的时候，可以选择通行的路就越来越少，滑雪的人们更愿意沿着那些雪包之间的路径滑行。可以说，这些规则形状的雪包的出现很好的说明了什么是自我组织。现在你应该知道了，重复的沿着同样的路径滑行创造的雪蘑菇。当一个斜坡足够宽的时候，很多平行的滑雪路线就会创造出一大片完整、美丽的蘑菇道，就像我们经常在Empire Bowl（译者注：应该是滑雪场的某个地方）看到的一样。

This basic theory is unfortunately too simple. There are variables that cause vast variations in the appearance of moguls. That’s right, the first bump is never created in an orderly manner. Skis go a certain way and not necessarily in the direction desired by the skier. Likewise, bumps pattern, shape and size will vary with each individual’s height, weight, speed, as well as technical ability.

所以形成蘑菇道的基本原理就是这么的简单。但也有很多的变量会导致雪蘑菇形状的变化。因为第一个鼓包永远不会按你预想的出现。雪板并不会严格按照滑雪者想去的方向滑行。同样的，雪蘑菇的形状，大小，规则会随着每个滑过的人的身高、体重、滑行速度而不同。

Then, there’s ski length, snow quality (whether it’s hard or soft) and slope grade that also plays a role. Now you can appreciate, how uncertain and even quite chaotic this formative process can be.

当然，雪板的长度，雪质（硬还是软），还有坡度都会影响。所以，整个的形成过程是非常混乱并且充满了不确定性。

Mogul fields often create angst for beginner and intermediate skiers. The mere sight of them usually conjures complexity, uncertainty, confusion and almost every time, fear. This doesn’t need to be. In observing a mogul field, it’s easy to see that all moguls have relatively flat tops. Just like a giant staircase, this series of flat tops can be used to “walk-down” the hill with skis on. As an added advantage, each mogul top gathers soft clumps of snow which slows a skier down and lets the skis pivot easily into the next turn.

蘑菇道经常给初学者和中级滑手带来困扰。仅仅是看它们一眼就会觉得很复杂，不确定，困扰，还有每次都会有的，害怕。其实没有必要，当你观察蘑菇道的时候，很容易发现这些雪蘑菇都有相对来说比较平的顶部。就像一个巨大的梯子一样，你可以利用这些平坦的顶部“走下山”。另外一个优势在于，这些平坦的顶部通常会有柔软的积雪，这会让你滑行的速度变慢并让你更容易进入下一个弯道。

To conquer the moguls with the least amount of speed, you’ll want to consistently turn on the crest of the moguls and stay out of the troughs. This makes negotiating a bumpy hill child’s play, making for a safe and fun experience. Of course, if you can’t muster the courage to attempt this on your own, the next best way to successfully address any “mogul phobia” is to ask a ski instructor to familiarize yourself with the strange, yet quite natural elements, one mogul at the time. You’ll soon discover that the battalions of moguls that used to scare you will not just become your friends, but will develop into an endless source of fun!

要用最小的速度征服蘑菇道，你需要保持每次在蘑菇的顶部转弯并且远离沟壑。这让滑过蘑菇道像小孩的游戏一样安全和有趣。当然，如果你没有足够的勇气自己一个人尝试的话，最好的解决“蘑菇恐惧症”的方法就是找一个滑雪教练来帮助你熟悉这些奇怪但又平常的自然特征。你将很快发现那些曾经吓坏你的大片蘑菇道不仅成为了你的朋友，还会让你体会到无尽的乐趣！