J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by pavelski

Bridget,
Yes it will ruin your holidays!

If you love skiing. Want to have this wonderful life style all your life, then there is a solution.

Do not lose hope. You see Bridget ski boots can be just like you comfy slippers. Yes!!!

You have to sit down and "talk" to your self about what you want to do as far as skiing. If it is going to be a life time activity, then you must forget cost, color, company when you look for that boot.

Trust me you can find a boot for you. I have very strange feet. So if I can get boots that fit me like gloves and are as comfortable as slippers,,,so can you.

Let me share with you my feet problems.
burnt right foot
different size feet ( left is larger)
high arch
huge knob on left big toe
as child wore "special shoes" due to pigeon toe defects


If I can get ski boots that I can wear all day with no pain,,so can you.

If you are willing to plan ahead and take the time to find that ski boot PM me and I will send you all sorts of information.

The worst option however is to again rent ski boots for ski holiday. It is better to stay home!

Gavin,

I too like to snowshoe, but since I have lost my husky dog, I find it "difficult" to use same trails. I is amazing how attached we get our pets.

Often I will hike into woods with just some basic tools and my winter tent. Sleeping in -30 winter weather is so rewarding. The silence is "touching"!

We have here an ice hotel where tourist come from all over to sleep in a "real" ice hotel!
All of them say it is an experience they will never forget.

Will soon tell you a story about how my family "survived" a two day snow storm where we had to make a snow cave. Since then,,my boys insist that at least once every winter I make snow cave for them in my back area and they sleep in it. Imagine the feeling you have knowing you can and will survive any winter storm. As long as you are well equiped and know what to do!

Rossfra,
The models you see were bought many many years ago once I realized that with the life style I have, I would need some on regulare basis.

They seem too heavy! Or is it me!

Freezywater,
I am very very well treated, however my life is now ruled by the pain cycle. If at 3 AM I must take morphine, I tend to want a toast and coffee. So I sneak into kitchen and ....

I also have found it is a great place to hide "TV zapper". You all know about this "symbol of power".


Happy to announce that today I am free of the GT,s. I am re-learning to walk,,,,alone!

If you already have a helmet, you can buy various "guards" which can screw on helmet.

There are many on market. You can chose the model you wish. One comment if you do not mind.

The more you cover the face the greater problems you will have with "fog" mist! You must allow air from lungs to circulate well and away from glasses or goggles. I prefer the wire mesh models.

See Reliable racing!

What position do you play ! I suspect a forward. Now if you were a back........

One that I love and yes works is

Less is more speed.

Often we work too hard to go faster. If you just believe in your skis and let them "take the line" you just might go faster.

I see the same with recreational skiers. Doing so much physical effort, when less would allow the skis to find their "natural" turn radius.

Gavin,

My wife often wishes she had a more "dull" life. So please do not think it is all "great".

As I get "older" and perhaps "wiser" I realize that we all have a role to play in this world. No one life style is "acceptable" and even desirable for everyone.

Gavin, your comments also allows me to make a comment. I hope I am not "taking" too much time and space from other skiers on this site. I never usually share all these "events" on a general site. I am very reserve in real life, In fact few people at my work even know about this "side" of me.By chance I meet some of my students or former students in the skiing context and they all think,,I am a twin!
Skiing brings the little boy out of me! I am very ordinary, quiet and conservative in the academic setting.

Those pain killers do have secondary effects. I am sure I will read these postings in a couple of months and wonder why I ever "let it out"!
Is there anyone out there who also has these "secondary" effects!

If you feel I am not letting others "speak" or post messages please tell me. I will babble with my pillows! You see it takes me about 15 minutes to get to computer. It is a long trek in many ways.Then another 5 just to rest and boot!

Meanwhile my brain is racing about with many skiing ideas.You can appreciate that I am rarely "fixed" in one spot for long,,so to have this body,, hold me back is quite a problem. I am starting to appreciate Dr. Hawkin's situation!

I am sure many times my wife would love to meet you.

There is a unique event in North America that all skiers must once in their lives take part in. It is the George Syrovatka Downhill competition. Look it up.

This post is not about this event but it happened during this event! The post is about marriage and skiing. How you have to have a solid relationship to survive skiing AND marriage. Sometimes it is “difficult” to explain what happens on ski trips.

As always I must stress that this happened and can be confirmed with the “other” party.


At the end of every winter ski season, my wife and I clean up our ski outfits, air them out before storing them for the Summer. The rule is any money my wife finds in the suits is her’s, so she always carefully checks all those thousand pockets found in a ski suit. The morning went well until my wife finds a $600 very, very select perfume bottle in a pocket. There was also a short note. “Thanks Pavel for a great ski day” two small initials at the bottom !

Silence. Then that look! Men you all know THAT laser sharp look that can penetrate Swiss vaults. Slowly a smile appeared on her face, she knew that an interesting Pavel ski story was coming!

While all this is happening, my mind is racing to locate in my memory sells where the perfume bottle came from. Women’s perfume? I never wear such perfume. I have been known to wear other female “articles” but never such expensive perfume. I can not afford $600 perfume. I do not socialize with women who wear $600 perfume. All I get is…….”does not compute” from the brain!

I walk over to look at this mysterious $600 bottle of perfume, first,,,,, because I have never ever seen such expensive perfume and second,,,,,, to perhaps “re-boot” my internal hard drive with more cues! One look at the label on the bottle brought back a flood of feelings ,wonderful memories of a great ski day with a great women!

Here is that day and you be the judge if my marriage was worth this day!


It was the second day of the George Syrovatka Downhill competition which is “open” to all amateurs and as usual I was one of the first at the base lodge. Getting my coffee I noticed one women all by herself. She seemed tired and sad! I do not like to see sad people at ski resorts. Skiing for me is uplifting!

“May I sit with you” I ask. Without looking up she answers, “sure” Still in here world!

We talk and soon we find commonalities. She is from Czechoslovakia. My mother is from there. She met her first husband in Montreal during the Summer Olympics since she was a hostess, I lived in Montreal at the time and worked in the big O in security.

She many years ago was a ski instructor at Jay Peak. I also many years before her was a ski instructor there. I could see that as we talked she was coming out of her “sad memories”. We began to talk about the coming ski day and I could see it was going to be a problem for her. It was a typical Vermont day. -15 with wind chill in the -30 and she was in her, “Park Avenue” outfit very, very chic but not very functional.

I always carry extra ski outfits for my wife and I “just in case”! This was such a case so I offered her my wife’s outfit. In 15 minutes she was transformed from a New York ski bunny to an average Vermont skier with no defined sex gender clues ! With her hat and goggles she was like all the other skiers. I did not really want to ski with here since I had my “stash” of powder waiting for me at Beaver Pond. Seems she knew about it! I forgot she used to be a ski instructor here at Jay.

I tried my next tactique. Ski hard and fast with no stopping hoping she would give up! By 11:30 she was showing me some new spots. I also began to see a smile on her face. She was re-discovering her past. Each run down made her realize what a great time she had here and that some people accept her just as a great skier!

On one lift up, the two skier besides us were chatting about the race and all the media coverage and “hype” from the “stars”! I happen to look over and saw her “sink” into the ski hood and that smile harden ever so slightly! They asked me if I had seen any of the “stars”. “No” I replied. Off we went at the top and this time I promise myself not to hold back just to be nice. Since I was first,,,,,, I picked the most difficult line, the most tight line , yet she was there. She was good!

Suffice to say it was my best day skiing. She pushed me to ski better than I had in a long time. I know she had a great day because the little girl smile was back. All that mattered was skiing faster and better than Pavel. Yes she was competitive, but in a positive way. She wanted to better herself.

Suddenly I realized it was late in the day I did have to be home and I did have a 2 hour drive. Quickly we skied down to the base lodge, she changed into her “other” suit and off I drove forgetting to tell her what a great skier she was.


Three months later my wife finds the perfume bottle. The label said it all, IVANA.

"There is something about a camera that lowers s skier's IQ" - W M

There was in the late 60's a man who would show up just before ski season, rent a large hall and show a unique ski movie that Hollywood never got around to do.

In the town I lived in 80% of the skiers spoke French. He knew no French. So for a free admission ticket I translated some of the jokes and comments, plus passed along the questions from the audience.

He was coming on a train so I had to meet him, "to help out" Somehow he ended up sleeping in the student's dorms since he did not reserve a hotel room.He was used to sleeping in cars trailer and such......

Later I found out why he slept with the "boys". He had no money since he was using the money from the audience from my city to pay for the next rented hall. In short he was one step ahead of the banks.


20 years later I get a call, "Pav have you place for me?" Same voice, same "unsinkable personality" Now I knew for sure why he was now a multi-millionaire. The devil he had kept all his old contacts in the skiing world in his small "black book" and was traveling around the world FREE! His son was now taking care of business.

Yes he could come as long as he did not tell anyone where is was staying!

Word spread in my local resort and indeed the above saying is true. Skiers were looking for cliffs to jump off. Skiers were finding that line that no one could possibly take. Skiers were "perfecting" moves that would be considered illegal in a Hollywood lot.

3 seconds in his movies was considered a skier's fame for a life time!In the final cut what was shown? A little 6 year old girl carrying her grandfather's ski boots to the lodge. You see he had trouble with the two canes!