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Are Most Carvers Vertically Challenged?


dano

How tall a carver are you?  

139 members have voted

  1. 1. How tall a carver are you?

    • 5' to 5' 3"
      2
    • 5' 4" to 5' 7"
      16
    • 5' 8'' to 5' 11"
      61
    • 6' to 6' 4"
      56
    • 6' 4 and above
      4


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I'm probabaly going to get spanked for saying this, but skiing seems to attract a lot of people (mostly men) who are convinced they posess intimate knowledge of every snow-sliding object ever concieved. These same types seem to be the ones who cannot help but to point out how your particular method is inferior, though quaint. It is intensely irritating though fascinatingly amusing ... in a manner not unlike watching a mentally-retarded child trying to explain quantum physics to Niels Bohr.

I mean, here you are riding up the lift with highly specific and carefully selected equipment strapped to your feet that fewer than 1% of the snow-sliding population even comprehend, and the guy next to you begins telling you all about "snowboardracers" and such as though he loaned you your equipment at the beginning of the day.

I would not have held my tongue ... "yeah, what the hell are those short guys thinking? I guess they're too busy laying down sick lines to notice all the pomous knowitall jackasses artificially stoking their egos on on gondola."

I've never once heard someone say our technology is inferior after seeing a hardbooter carve. I think it definitely tells you something that when one of us is carving under the chairlift, almost everyone starts turning around to see us going down.

I do love hearing people argue (both snowboarders and skiers) how the other group pushes all the snow to the side or down the slope. Its one of my fave conversations on the lift. Then I just point to the next skier/snowboarder going down the hill and 99% of the time, you can see snow getting pushed down or to the side. The only time you're not pushing snow around is when you're truely carving.

/rant

back on topic. Pow is right, hardbooters are taller than average. I don't see the problem with being short anyway.

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that it was his observation that "All ski-boot wearing snowboardracers are too short and try to make up for it with giant boards".

I've experienced some subtle insults on the lift too. But last year, last run at Mountain Creek I made the ultimate skier revenge comment BY ACCIDENT. Seems that a ski organization had taken my favorite run (a blue trail on south peak) for a large event and had set up a GS course on it. It was like 55 degrees, with bright sun and it was unrideable. I mean, you really needed someone pushing you just to make the lift without having to walk it was so slow. Anyway, I get on the chairlift with 2 of the coaches and comment on what a nice event they were having. They are all like "happy happy" to talk about their big day. So, me, observing the 8 mph speed of the oddly hunched over contestants (as we hover over them on the chair) ask the following in complete seriousness:

"what type of event is this? the Special Oympics?"

Their mouths just dropped open, their eyes flashed at me. "NO! , these are the NJ high school state championships". I just burst out laughing.

And I was just trying to "make nice with the plankers" and screwed it all up!

Next year,

Sic

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Guest Bamboo_Girl

Ha! Go figure, I've never once seen a hardbooter!

Based on very exceedingly precise and unscientific evidence, I'm taller than at least half the people in the lift line and a good 3/4 of those in the park.

Maybe it is because so many younger people are riding, who knows...

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funny thing is, this guy probably saw us from the chair, tearing it up with the teleboarders in the slushy slush. He was kinda vertically challenged and wished he could rip those kinda turns on his shape skis. People are anti what they can't quite comprehend.

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I've never once heard someone say our technology is inferior after seeing a hardbooter carve.

Agreed -- most of the skiers I have run into freely admire our technique and equipment, but there are a few out there who deride all who slide down the mountain on anything but two planks.

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6' 4" and 275 LBS very few boards longer than I am:eplus2:

I don't get offensive comments in the lift line. :lol:

Maybe its the profile of the body armour under my coat:confused: any way I have found that most everyone I meet is very nice and quite respectful:lol:

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I'm a pretty average 5'9& 1/2" and the one expression session I've been to so far(OES)I sometimes felt like a chijuajua amongst great danes.It didn't help that I showed up with a 161 am board and with a few exceptions most had lenghths of 180 or more.Of course Doug's 252 brought up the average all by itself.

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Sorry, it's a waste of time. I've mellowed quite a bit with age have come to grips with the sad reality is that 75% of the people you run into at ski resorts are blatent jackasses that I would cross the street to avoid if I could

Unless one of these entitled self centered jerks actually touches me or my family, ( in which case I snap HARD ) I just sit back observe in uttter amazement how pathetic some of these jackasses are, and how GREAT it will be in 10 minutes or so when they are just a memory in my rearview mirror.

I prefer the odds at the beach, where only the occational jetskier/angry demigod kiteboarder makes me embarrassed for the human race.

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(shaking my head...)They were big (close to 6 feet). I have noticed that the racers who participate in PGS are generally shorter than the guys I used to see racing GS.

The only advantage that the taller and bigger guys had is in the old-hit-the-gate slalom days. Since we never had downhill it doesn't seem like the clydesdales ever dominated. The Delaney's weren't huge, neither was Jacoby. Steve Persons is normal sized, Rob Berney is short but built.

The only advantage to being heavy and not short is that people do tend to get the hell out of my way most of the time.

It does make sense, since PGS is more about technique than GS (in a similar way that PSL is more about technique than PGS), which does diminish the advantage of being heavy.

Not sure how you feel that GS or PGS is less about technique and more about????????

"what type of event is this? the Special Oympics?"

Their mouths just dropped open, their eyes flashed at me. "NO! , these are the NJ high school state championships". I just burst out laughing.

Now that is some funny sh!T.

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Rob Berney is short but built.

.

HE still is I bought a 185 identity off of him this spring after watching him hike the summit on snowshoes with it strapped to his back. Short or not he has my respect:biggthump hardboots in a back pack and 185cm of Alpine horsepower sticking out the top trudging up a mountain. totally dedicated dude.:lurk:

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HE still is I bought a 185 identity off of him this spring after watching him hike the summit on snowshoes with it strapped to his back. Short or not he has my respect:biggthump hardboots in a back pack and 185cm of Alpine horsepower sticking out the top trudging up a mountain. totally dedicated dude.:lurk:

That is so cool that Rob is still kicking around Whitefish. One of the strongest and most impressive riders I have had the pleasure of riding with. That and he is just a great guy. Tell him I said Hi.

Jerry from SV, he should remember. :biggthump

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He's gone back to alaska for the season but he's usually around when the snow flies. The guy could ride a kitchen door down the mtn and make it look good:biggthump . AS for angry??? I know him as a laid back quiet kinda guy. There is a no BS kinda air about him I guess but really a heck of a nice guy.

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