Skiing?

[willywhit]

I can't wait for snowboarders to make fun of me on my new twintip skiis.

Question is; who would you rather get stuck sitting next to on a 6 hour flight ?

Kristi Leskinen or Hannah Teter ? After seeing Hannah in the movie First Descent, I think Amy Poehler from SNL could do a great impression of Hannah and her " hella steezy " jibber speak.who's the sooper model with Amy ??

[Guest 2board]

By Bobd

Quote:

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">The problem now is people think I'm a great skier because I can carve well. The truth is, once I'm off my edges I suck. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Alot of snowboarders think they are great riders because they carve well....

[Mr.E]

Hmmm-

I'm picking up skiing as an effort to learn skills I've always struggles with on a snowboard, namely deep wet mank and bumps. I'm also interested to see what a 180 plank (BD Verdict) with a 30m sidecut rides like. Used skis are WAY cheaper then going for a custom super g board I might hate....

Oh, and after being Off skis for 10 or 12 years, I thought "what the heck".

[willywhit]

07 Black Diamond Verdict Telemark/Randonee Powder Skis those look sweet,E

says Dimensions: 128-98-116

Turn Radius: 26.6m @ 180cm

[Guest stoked]

just watched First Descent a what a history of snowboarding or something yeah and the special effects award for editing out all freecarving goes to the producers congratulations

[slinkygnu]

After 14 years on boards I had my first ski lesson on Sunday. Idea was for the instructors to feel like a beginner again etc etc, so after taking a few of the ski instructors boarding, it was my turn.

Anyways, can you ski in snowboard boots or is the difference in flex crucial.

I've arranged to swap hardboot snowboard instruction for ski instruction.

(being a softboot instructor will make this interesting to say the least, but you can't even find hardboot instructors in Val d'isere anymore, let alone the UK) so any lesson tips would be useful.

[MUD]

I'd say GO FOR IT!!!! Good fun!

I have been skiing since I was 3 ( I am now 34), I now Tele but don't own any fixed heal gear right now.

The new skis make it much easier than it was 15 or 20 years ago (maybe that's 20-25 now). I still "borrow" some from the rental shop from time to time but I get bored of them quick (I'm in MN).

IF you want to learn to tele, I would say learn parallel first. You can always fall back to what you now from that if you screw up. It is a good base to have and one I am very glad to have.

[willywhit]

Q:can you ski in snowboard boots or is the difference in flex crucial ?

you mean hard boots for snowboarding in ski bindings, right ? As you prob know, it's a DIN thing, heels and toes compatible with ski bindings. Some boots work better than others.

They do , or used to do, a skimeister race where you'd switch from skiis to a snowboard mid race. I remember hearing about Fawcett winning it at Stratton years ago and takng the prize money and giving it to the bar for an open bar at the Bear's Den, pretty cool.

Last night I dreamt about popping to fakie on skiis, ie SKIING backwards. Seriously, I'm so jonesing to ski again.Got a new Dakine ski bag from SAC today and guess what?? my new Coiler 176 fits in it purrrrfectly.

On the snow..it's all good !

oooooooh, sexy...sexy !

[BobD]

These are up on ebay, Dolomite FX1 ski boots.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140060922921&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1

They have 15mm of lift built in to the boot, so have about the least boot out potential (aside from race plugs). I have two pairs and they solved the boot out problems I was having befor. Aside from the lift, they're a great responsive boot.

BobD

[patmoore]

I took up skiing fifty years ago this month in the Alps and continued when the family moved to Massachusetts in 1959. My last time on skis was 1962 at Mt. Tom in Holyoke. I took a 34 year hiatus from the sport and then joined a ski club ten years ago because I heard it was a great place to meet women (the 24 year marriage had ended three years earlier). The ski club had a requirement that you pass a ski test. I went to Play It Again Sports and bought a pair of Rossignol Stratos and some rear entry Salomon boots. In Feb 97 I bought some used rental shaped skis and a month later took my first and only snowboarding lesson. One year later I bought my first alpine board - a 154cm Hot Shine (used it two weeks ago). Today, I split my time 50/50 between skiing and boarding and enjoy racing on both. I would heartily encourage any boarder to try skiing. If you really want to get a rush, get on a pair of slalom skis and see how they respond on a groomed cruiser.

This shot was taken the same day at Telluride two seasons ago:

[pebu]

The way I see it, it's easy to get down the hill on skis when you're a beginner, hard to look good on them anytime, and fairly hard to actually BE good.. On a snowboard, it's really hard to get down the hill as a beginner, easy to look good, and really hard to actually BE good..

[Phil]

The way I see it, it's easy to get down the hill on skis when you're a beginner, hard to look good on them anytime, and fairly hard to actually BE good.. On a snowboard, it's really hard to get down the hill as a beginner, easy to look good, and really hard to actually BE good..

Can I start using that as my sig.?

[MUD]

The way I see it, it's easy to get down the hill on skis when you're a beginner, hard to look good on them anytime, and fairly hard to actually BE good.. On a snowboard, it's really hard to get down the hill as a beginner, easy to look good, and really hard to actually BE good..

It's all relative........... If you start early, neither of them are particularly hard, and by the time you are in your 20's they are both second nature, if you haven't gotten board.

[Guest moa]

Q:can you ski in snowboard boots or is the difference in flex crucial ?

I've found my Head Stratos Pro boots to work well on my skis , I just have to even up the forward lean & bend down to engage the heel, all good so far . I'm thinking a softer flexing boot could be a good thing for skiing off piste , (& variable terrain stuff );)

[slinkygnu]

I just have to even up the forward lean & bend down to engage the heel

Thats the sort of info I need (and would never have thought of). Thanks

[RDY_2_Carve]

My daughter will be 3-3.5 this time next year. I plan on starting her on skis (if she wants to do it of course). So I figured I'd get on some skis too since the in/out/stop thing on a board is gonna be too hard. I was planning on going straight to tele. Is this a bad decision? I've ski'd once downhill in my younger years and I did ok but it was a bunch of yard sale'ing for the most part. Well it didn't help that me and my buddy decided to hit some black diamond moguls...

So if you were a "never-ever" skier would you try tele skis or stick to alpine?

I've always loved the tele turn. So graceful. Plus I can get bomber bindings and open beer bottles with them!

[MUD]

My daughter will be 3-3.5 this time next year. I plan on starting her on skis (if she wants to do it of course). So I figured I'd get on some skis too since the in/out/stop thing on a board is gonna be too hard. I was planning on going straight to tele. Is this a bad decision? I've ski'd once downhill in my younger years and I did ok but it was a bunch of yard sale'ing for the most part. Well it didn't help that me and my buddy decided to hit some black diamond moguls...

So if you were a "never-ever" skier would you try tele skis or stick to alpine?

I've always loved the tele turn. So graceful. Plus I can get bomber bindings and open beer bottles with them!

NO, I don't think it is a BAD decision.....

Personally, I would go with alpine to get comfortable first, then go to tele. With this way you have a solid base to start from and go back to if a tele type turn doesn't work, for example if you get in to a crowded area.

BUT, I know a couple of people that went straight to teles with no problems.

On the alpine side, you don't need to MASTER it, just get comfortable with the parallel turn. May even be possible with just a day of lessons or so.

IF you go straight to tele, there are PLENTY of excercises to get you in tune with your boards (kind of like the NORM articles).

This is a great site for instructional stuff; http://www.telemarktips.com/

I will be in the same boat as you in 2 yrs or so, my daughter is 9 months old.

[Mike T]

My daughter is 4 now, she started skiiing last year and is hooked. (heh heh - wait till she gets on a board!)

Getting on and off the lift is the part you need to pay most attention to. I couldn't have imagined doing on a board last year so I got some skis. It's also a good thing to be able to demonstrate the skills you want her to learn and a hell of a lot easier to get her over flat spots on skis. "Ski betwwen the legs" works well - you should crouch down REAL LOW and keep all of her weight on her skis otherwise she'll tend to not track her skis and wipe out while betwwen your legs.

This year I did a couple of runs of boarding while she skis and wound up going back for the skis. She's still not tall enough to get off of some of the lifts at Bachelor by herself and being on the board restricts us to runs without flat spots - some of the intermediate runs that she likes have flats and I can't seem to convince her to speed up because there's always a berm at the end of the flat and she like to see where she is going.

On the other hand I suck at pow and trees on skis compared to on a board, and she's starting to play this little game where she makes a hard turn across the trail and heads into the trees and makes me chase her. I had a rather stern talk with her about it, but she still does it anyways now and then. She's actually pretty good in the trees. (Yes, she has a helmet I wish mine was that light!)

I've never Tele'd so I went alpine. I got a used set of Atomic Metroon M11's from a fellow BOL;er - 12m sidecut radius in the 172 (which is the biggest in that model) - VERY easy to carve :)

[MUD]

Mike T brings up a good point.

With your heals locked, you have ALOT more movement without falling on your face......... Just gives you more freedom to move around on. On teles the weigh distribution is on the balls of your feet, on alpine it is your whole foot.

My brother taught my nephew to ski on his board (that sounds funny), it just looked painful. The funny thing is, he is a really good skier.

[Neil Gendzwill]

On the alpine side, you don't need to MASTER it, just get comfortable with the parallel turn. May even be possible with just a day of lessons or so.

First, you figure it's possible to get comfortable with a parallel turn on skis in one day? I think having started as a little kid, you don't have any perspective on the learning curve there.

Second, you don't need or even want a parallel turn to help teach the little beggars to ski. Snowplow, baby, and quads of steel. Last I did it I was on a pair of 200s - hopefully the shorter skis these days will make it easier.

[MUD]

First, you figure it's possible to get comfortable with a parallel turn on skis in one day? I think having started as a little kid, you don't have any perspective on the learning curve there.

Second, you don't need or even want a parallel turn to help teach the little beggars to ski. Snowplow, baby, and quads of steel. Last I did it I was on a pair of 200s - hopefully the shorter skis these days will make it easier.

I said MAY be possible......;)

Yeah, I really don't remember learning to alpine AT ALL...... Tele I actually teach, but not alpine.

I was trying to give a vague answer..... Didn't work so well, huh?

I hold strong that I think it would be easier to teach a youngin' on alpine gear. More room for mistakes on your part, easier to control at slow speeds...... etc, etc, etc......

[RDY_2_Carve]

I hold strong that I think it would be easier to teach a youngin' on alpine gear. More room for mistakes on your part, easier to control at slow speeds...... etc, etc, etc......

Well I figured we'd both be learning at the same time. I doubt I'll be very gung-ho to hang up the board to learn to alpine ski without her being there as incentive to do so. Hence the whole tele idea since I'd like to learn to do that. So there won't be much of her watching daddy how to do things right away...unless she wants to learn how to yard sale.

Once she is capable on her own it'll be back to boards for me. Unless for some crazy reason I actually like skiing more than boarding. Can't see that happening but you never know.

[BlueB]

I still have to see an adult going from 0 to parallel turn in a day... However, it is possible with children. Approximately 1% of kids can learn rudimentary parallel turn 1st day.

Other interesting thing is obsession with tele on this forum... For a carving community, I would expect everyone to be into alpine skiing / hard carving, at least for on piste riding. Tele is nothing but evolved softbooting (they finaly have plastic boots and skis with sidecut, so they just need to lock the heels and evolution is complete :D ). I hope the softboot snowboarding undergoes the same evolution process ;)

Plus, on teles, even if you can carve them a bit, every turn is toe side. On alpine skis every turn is heel side! Yeah, baby!

[MUD]

Tele is nothing but evolved softbooting (they finaly have plastic boots and skis with sidecut, so they just need to lock the heels and evolution is complete :D ).

And what a revolution it has been!!!!!

Some people think tele is going to go away with the better alpine gear and the MAJOR improvements to AT gear in the last couple of years.... For a while the tele crowd thought it was going to be the next big thing, but that has since faded.

My buddy screams down at me off the lift all the time about some drywall screws he has in his truck to fix my bindings. The people on the lift with him laugh.......... I usually think of a funny comeback at the bottom:o.

[RDY_2_Carve]

Don't bomber tele bindings allow you to lock in the heel. So you get alpine and tele?