J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Trencher

Sound advise from Meercat

I would just add afew things

Shorter ski are easier (around 148 would be good), But skiboards/snowskates with non releasable bindings are knee injuries waiting to happen.

Find a very gentle slope, just roll the ski onto thier edges and feel them turn. Incline the ski more to tighten the turns. At some point you have to learn to angulate. That is to keep your torso upright by bending at the hips and waist. This keeps your center of gravity over the skis as much as possible. Keep your knees bent.

When you carve turns, there is very little loss of speed. Stop and start again if you get going too fast. Eventualy you can control speed by tightening the turns (that takes a while). Do find space and watch out for others. If you are doing it right, you will leave railway tracks behind you.

You will find the right balance of presure between skis. If you presure the inside ski too early it will get a mind of it's own. It takes a while too get the feel so don't get frustrated. do other things as well.

Take time to practice other important skills like stopping quickly

I'm a great believer in guided discovery as a learning meathod, but a lesson or two won't hurt. Tell the school what you want to do and get as much feed back from the instructor as you can.

There's a lot more to carving. Most important is learning how to use vertical movement of your body's mass to apply downward pressure to the ski edges. That's a long discussion though.

Hope you have fun

Trencher

james_gray wrote:
I don't have any skis, old nor new :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

However i will still listen in order to better understand the physics of the ski and how best to utilise.

You might find something like this in your home town (so there is no shipping Cost).
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Volki-Competition-Skinetic-195cm-Skis-with-Look-Binding_W0QQitemZ280057244245QQihZ018QQcategoryZ16062QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Just don't try to ski on them :lol:

Trencher

james_gray wrote:Where would you recommend in the States? I have this strange mental image of Disney on Snow. Are there quite organic places you can ski or is it all snowtheme parks, chairlifts and smiles?

I don't think you'll find as many packages (package holidays haven't caught on here). So you'll need to do some research (easy on the net) and think outside the box to find something different. All the northern states have snow and have ski resorts. They are not always in the mountain area. You only need a thousand feet of vertical and snow to have a great ski resort (unless you demand powder). Nearby hotels have stay and ski packages. Most ski areas have modern lifts and excellent grooming. There are oppertunities to combine other activities as well like snowmobiling, dog sledding. cross country skiing, ice fishing. The sheer size of the country is mind boggling.

You won't find disney, but you will find great customer service and polite people. You may save money on buying equipment and especially clothing.

Until they sort out the value of the dollar, I've have no hope of skiing in Europe. :(

Trencher

With the exchange rates, I'd have thought the US would be the place to go.
There are scores of smaller resorts with good snow. Especially if you are shopping for gear and equipment or shopping for anything else for that matter. If you have Sterling, everything here is cheap.

Trencher

turbolover wrote:My foot fits well in the boot no side to side movement and I had thin sock on. But I still can lift my heel up just a touch. I am wondering if this is normal for off the shelf ski boots. And no boots were not heated or anthing like that.

First check if your boots have thermo fit liners. If they do, then go back to the store and have them heat fit the boots for you. It should be free if you bought the boots there. Tell them about the heel lift. you may need some packing around the heel.

It is possible to do these things at home. basically its some shaped pieces of thin dense foam glued/taped to the outside of the liner above the heel. A hair dryer on low and some plastic pipe with a 90 degree bend can be used carefully to heat the liners up for molding, one at a time. It's easy to scorch the liners if you are not careful.

A simple spacer below the foot bed can also lift the heel in the liner to prevent heel lift.

It could also be that the boots are actually to big. A good fit for width but too long.

Trencher

There shouldn't be, but there often is. Really it's about fit. Ski boots should be very snug and therefor the socks need to fit precisely. However, there are ski socks and there are ski socks, some good ,some bad. The big difference should be the availability of sizes and calf length. Good ski socks come in more sizes, making a good fit easier. The materials used are often the same, wool mix, moisture wicking, etc. Ski socks can often be found in different thicknesses which is very useful. Fit new boots with very thin socks and switch to thicker socks as the boots pack in.

I have a drawer full of ski socks, so I can pick the right pair for any one of several ski and snowboard boots that I use.

Trencher

Very normal question

Shells normally run in whole mondo points with thinner liners for the half sizes.
It would be unusual for the boots to be the same size as your feet. Generally 1/2 to a full size down, depending on how tight you like them.
Fit new bots in VERY thin (panty hose) socks. They will pack in. Many boots liners are heat moldable, (read the label). Research on thre internet, make yourself knowledgeable.
Check out the previous threads here on boots.
Good luck

Trencher

Meercat wrote:Styles of sking such as boarding and carving cause people to zig zag across the slope. This makes it more likely that they will cut in front of another person going downhill in a straighter line.

Glad someone else can see this as an issue. As greater numbers learn to carve on skis, this will need to be addressed in skiers safety codes. I would say though, that the responsibility rest with the person comming from behind to see that someone in front is carving.

I have watched groups of instructors taking carving clinics and it only after collisions and near misses that they start to space themselves out safely. The safety aspects of carving should be the first thing taught.

1 It is very difficult to anticipate the timing and return traverse speed of someone carving below you. This makes passing problematic.

2 It is very difficult to safely carve near another carver. If you happen to transition toward each other, the combined speeds at collision are horrendous.

3 Carving turns is commiting to a given course, like being on rails. It is often impossible to make last second changes in direction. therefor you must allow more room around others, especially if thier movements cannot be predicted.

Trencher