Messages posted by : pavelski
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Verbier Man,
Nothing in life is free ! The key phrase you used is "if you can ski" ! We can spend days,,, weeks discussing this phrase! Perhaps the phrase should have been,, if you can ski effectively ( moguls, steeps, powder, etc,,,) you pick term! That is up to each skier to determine! Trencher's comments are relevant in this context ! A good skier is effective in all sorts of terrains and conditions. That is a BIG IF,,,,,,most skiers do not realize how big that IF is ! ( and pay the price in fractures, sore backs, sore egos etc,,,,,) Skiing out of bounds has more to do with maturity than skiing skils ! Let me illustrate. I am with a group of 5 great expert level skiers ,,that is they ski very very well in their area! I am guiding them since I know terrain and danger areas ! Rule is keep 5 meters to left and right of me! One great great very fit skier who is in the "security" profession goes more and more off to the right,,,,with great technique and speed! Problem is,,,,,,there is a hidden 6 meter cliff that all guides know about! He is heading to his,,,,,,,,, Only my whistle stopped him from going over this skier's trap ! He would have paid the price! Some contexts require not only skill, technique but maturity and respect for nature! That is my point! Nature always is stronger! You must be humble when skiing the unknown ! Many skiers have not learned to be humble,,,, To quote you, "you just take,,,,,,," That jus[i]t is a great leap of faith ! That is just my opinion! You decide what to do alone off-piste ! A survivor, Pavel |
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If you love your skis read this;
"Treat them well, off your feet: Off the ice, the biggest killer of blades is rust. Rust is much softer than steel, and once a part of your blade is rusted you can never change that part back to "the good stuff". The rusted spot will never hold an edge again. Do you're very best to avoid water damage! Always dry off your blades when you get off the ice. Slide your fingers along both sides to remove "snow" as soon as you get off – before you slip on those hard guards. Carefully run your finger along the length of the hollow. When you're done for the day, be sure to treat them with AfterSkate™ Wipes. First use the dry AfterSkate™ wipe to remove all moisture off the blade and metal parts of the boot. Be sure to get the blade area and the mounting surfaces. The screws will rust as well, and will loosen much more easily when they're rusted or the leather gets rotten. You'll almost always see some more water form from condensate as they warm up, which is why it's imperative that you wipe down all metal parts with the wet "oily" AfterSkate™ wipe right after you have finished removing the moisture. When you do put them in the bag, always put them in "soakers" like AfterSkate™ Soft Blade Guards. These help to draw off any remaining moisture, but more importantly they provide a cushion for your edges while the skates bounce around inside your bag. NEVER store your blades in hard guards – they hold moisture and are an almost guaranteed rust job. Finally, maintain your guards. The soakers wear out after a while – they usually get holes at the ends. Replace them when they no longer cover your blade effectively. The hard guards will wear out too — watch for thin spots or holes in the bottom, and replace them immediately when you see signs of wear. Clean out the insides of the hard guards periodically. They will accumulate grit after a while, and that grit is very abrasive." The above text is in regards to skate blades,,,but has direct application to ski edges! Pavel |
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Verbier man,
You know those great "sayings" and they do,, in a short space aim at essentials ! I have a site which gives me all the skiing "accidents all over the world" ! It is in the hope of identifying the "causes" of such incidents ! One common element comes up over and over,,,,,,skier responsibility ! This morning I came across an excellent definition of this term in the context of skiing! It comes from the "Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce ! Responsibility : n. A detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck or one's neighbor. In the days of astrology it was customary to unload it upon the stars! Like the moguls that show skier if he/she is "up to it",,,,nature has its performance "gateways" ! Be respectful of nature since it does not accept the burden of responsibility that belongs to the skier! There is an ancient pagan belief ( now forgotten by most) that " every person possessed enough intelligence to comprehend the relationship between cause and effect ! Go into mogul field,,,,,,be ready to pay price ! Go into couloire ,,,,,be ready to pay the price! Go out of bounds,,,,,,be ready to pay the price ! Think about it ( this Summer ) ! Pavel |
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Amazing !
Can not give you details here! Just introduce yourself to head Ski Patrol,,,,, Pavel |
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Trencher,
What is a good skiing partner for ? I clean my wife's ski soles every time before she "clips in" with my poles! I have discovered that if I raise my boots and hit them on the side with my poles,,the vibrations takes all the snow off! Try it ! Smart man Dave Mac ! I refuse to ski with anyone who has any type of "techno" gadget! Period ! |
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Iceman,
I actually collect such items, then 10 years later I ask people what they do ? Let me give you an example. This item you glue on top of your skis. Its function was to get snow off ski boot soles! Silly since ski bindings do same function ! Another gadget that you glue on top of the ski tip! Insert a battery and it will light up when you put weight on ski tip. It is supposed to tell you when you "weigh" ski ! Problem is,,,,,good skiers are supposed to look ahead 5-6 meters to where they want to go and never look at ski tips while skiing! The strangest unit I have is a elastic/spring unit that you screw on backs of ski boots to help eliminate sore legs! The elastic/bar which goes up to waist springs back skier on a turn! Problem,,,,,how do you sit down on chairlift with unit just behind thighs??? A laser carving unit ! At $200 USA dollars this unit glued to tails of skis tells you via an earphone ( all wireless) if you are doing a perfect carve! Tested it for one year. Poor battery life! Poor glue ! Ruins skiing experience since you hear a modulated tune with varied pitch as you turn ! Hated it ! and so on,,,,,, Pavel |
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Trencher,
Amazing ! We should start a list of the 10 most useless ski "gadgets" we have seen ! Seems every year we have more "techno" introduced to skiing ! I was skiing at a major ski resort and man in his 50s kept telling me on the chair lift that; -he had skied an average 44.8 mph so far ( his goal was 75 mph. ) -he had done 5.8 miles of skiing so far -he had done an average of 38% inclination -he had done 7.8 trails so far -had an average pulse rate of XX beats per second -had done 46% right turns and 30% left turns ( Do not ask me where the other turns went to,,,,) 46+30= 76 - etc,,,,,, He stopped after all this "statistical" presentation and looked at me ! A silence followed ! He then proceeded to tell me that he was going to put this ( in a second) on the resort blog/app since he wanted to be the "fastest skier" today ! Another silence followed ! ( We were nearing the top of the lift so I had to say something) I looked at him straight in both eyes and asked him softly, "but tell me how is the skiing experience today" ! A quizzical look came across his face! "Skiing experience",,,,what is that he was asking himself ! His goal was not skiing,,,,,but to be first on the resort app for ski speed ( and most dangerous skiing accident) ! Off we got from the chair lift,,,,,,and I made sure to take the "other" ski slope ! More techno will come,,,,,,, Pavel |
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tonypants,
You are a skier suffering a "multiple personality" affective disorder ! You have too many divergent skiing "tendencies" and are looking for the dominate one! May I suggest the following "therapy" ; -take 2 months off regular work ( since it may be the cause of this problem) ! -go to another country where you are not known such as Chile, New Zealand or even Australia -work on your "identity tendencies" in various contexts,,, until one become dominate -finally work on establishing this identity as your "central" ski identity by skiing non-stop for 2 weeks I am sure you can find a Sports Psychologist which can provide a "medical leave" since if you do not do this soon,,,,,you will fall into the "Multiple-Schizophrenic Personality type " That you do not want to do ! Respectfully, Pavel |
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