Messages posted by : Trencher
Do you wear a helmet ? lead by example Also, if this guy wears one - it's cool to wear a helmet - http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=shaun%20white&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi Personally, my kid's wear one or stay home. Trencher |
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As you say, music can add a whole new dimension. Making turns to a beat is tempting.
Personnel music players are banned in many work enviroments for safety reasons. The only place that would really concern me is around lifts. Loading and unloading from a lift is an industrial type enviroment. It is essential to be able to hear a lift opperator, especially when things go wrong. I would not trust everyone to turn the music off at the lift. On the mountain, you would not be able to hear someone shouting to pass on a cat track. I would not trust everyone to turn the music off on cat tracks. However the person passing from behind should never assume they've been heard, deaf people ski too. I've heard people say they won't use one because they want to hear people comming from behind. Because I carve, I have actually been hit several times from behind. In no case could I have done anything to change events. Sometimes you may hear a bit of skid before impact, but it happens so fast there's nothing you can do. The worse aspect of these walkman type devices is they kill conversation on the lift. I always feel embaressed that after you say something like "great weather" to your fellow passenger, they have to take off thier gloves, fumble for a switch and say pardon. You then feel obliged to say more, to justify thier efforts to hear you. On balance, I think it would be reasonable to have signs "no music while loading lifts". Trencher |
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Thanks for the info Pavelski.
I do round off the tips, though that's the first time I've read that. When I say I detune the first three inches of the running edge, it is more of a graduated transition from blunt to sharp and no detune at the tail. So it sounds as if I'm not far out. Hey, I always say 98 when I mean 88 as well. Good luck with the dvd, look forward to seeing it. Trencher |
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It may not be the best vehicle to start out on. At only 130mm wide at the waist and with both feet strapped in, it takes some speed to become stable. I understand they are most common in France where they originated. I may be biased, but imho if you are getting into snow sports for the long haul, snowboarding may impart concepts more quickly than skiing. However, the initial learning curve is steeper. If you have limited time on the slopes, you might feel more sense of accomplishment by learning to ski first. So much depends on your level of interest (how much you read, research etc) and also on the quality of instruction. I would concentrate on one discipline first. Latter, cross benching between skiing and boarding enriches your abilities in both. Trencher |
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Yer, I forgot to mention, modern skis allow us mere mortals to carve. :wink:
As to edges. I sharpen the sides to 87 and just debur the base with a diamond stone, leaving the factory base bevel as is. I only detune a few inches at the front and not at the tail. I like a ski/board that hooks up easily. I would be really intrested to hear your edge recommendations for ski racing Pavelski. I want to start running some Nastar courses this season. Trencher |
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Almost forgot
You can't talk about carving without mentioning the Skwal. It does nothing else but carve. I have an older LaCroix model which is great fun and wants to leap into the air on transitions. http://www.skwalzone.org/ Trencher |
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Also, there are several sites devoted to carving on snowboards, but only two for skiing..
SNOWBOARDS http://www.bomberonline.com/ http://www.alpinecarving.com/ http://www.extremecarving.com/ http://www.freecarve.com/default.asp SKIS http://www.carving-ski.de/index1.html?http://www.carving-ski.de/carving-galerie.html~inhalt http://www.carvingcup.com/INGLESE/fis_ita.html (racing) My local hill staged a carving cup last year, which was great fun. They even purchased the bouy type gates. They opened it up to skis and boards and I entered on both. Ended up changing boots about twelve times in four hours. Got twice as many runs as anyone else, but with all the boot changes, it was quite tiring. Knew I might be pushing things when I found myself running for the lift with snowboard hard boots on and skis under my arm. Trencher |
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Carving is making a turn without skidding. A well carved turn on skis will leave two pencil lines in the snow, and on a snowboard, one deeper pencil line. When a ski skids, energy is dissapated and wasted, ie. speed is lost. Carving eliminates the waste. The carved turn is made possible by the sidecut of the ski or board, that is the inward curved shape of the edge. This can be measured by the radius of that curve. A sharp turning ski might have a 11metre radius, a medium turning ski, a 15metre radius. Under the outward forces of the turn the inclined ski "decambers" or bends. The true radius of the turn is much less than the sidecut. The forces generated by these turns are significant. As the ski or board recambers when the turn ends and the forces are released, it is like bouncing off a trampoline. These forces may be directed into the next turn or allowed to lift the skier/boarder into the air. On alpine snowboards it is common for a rider to change edges mid air between turns. Carving can turn the most boring blue run into an adreneline rush as you push the limits of edge hold and harness the forces of physics. Extreme carving on a snowboard can be seen here http://www.extremecarving.com/movies/movies.html Download opus 3 or 4 , they are great to watch Trencher |
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