J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Trencher

I think the question was where to get ski boot in the UK. :wink:
Shipping might be a bit spendy from Al's ski barn to UK, but with the pound so strong it might be worth it.

Trencher

A forum member was asking me about button/poma lifts. I've used J-bar lifts but not button lifts. this looks like some sound advice though.

http://www.snowboardinghelp.com/using-lifts/poma-lifts-the-pogo-sticks-of-the-ski-hills.php

The best advice imho, is to avoid them. I always check out the lifts as well as the runs befor going to a resort. If enough snowboarders refuse to spend thier money at ski resorts that use poma and J-bars for anything more than the shortest distances, things will change. If you are at a resort that has button lifts, you should politely complain to someone important at the resort. Tell them you are disappointed with thier unfriendly equipment and will not come back or recommend them to others.

I want to devote all my energy to coming down the hill, so lifts that require concentration and energy are not for me. Also on J and T bars, it is very easy for snowboarders especially to get jackets caught up when getting off.

Having said the above, once you have some basic skill, I think it is a good idea to learn to ride all lifts, so you are never limited. If you are boarding every week, tow ropes become part of your fitness training.

Trencher

I find that with modern sweat wicking materials, you don't realise how much you are sweating. I really should use a hydration pack on warmer days. A ski jacket with a small hydration pack built in would be nice. It would be less bulky than than a pack with a harness worn underneath a jacket.

My other main sport, whitewater kayaking does not go with drinking alcohol either. We often rescue day tripping canoeist from the rapids. We rescue the people, thier boats and thier gear, but the beer cooler is often left to float down stream. Many sports (including skiing) have a calculated risk factor for yourself and for others around you. You can not calculate those risk if you are drinking.

Trencher

So what should a skier/boarder have in his/her pockets ?

Here's my list for a day at a real mountain resort

Basic multitool
Stick of sun block
chapstick
small diamond file
goggle cloth
hankies
whistle
power/granola bar
very small bottle of water
wallet

Sad to say on my local hill, I'm never more than five minutes away from the car. The interior of which resembles pavelski's bag for five months of the year.

Trencher

The toughest thing with our dayghter (then 4), was getting her to wear appropriate clothing for skiing. You would have thought I was trying to wrap her feet in sack cloth instead of the nice soft high tech ski socks we tried to have her wear.

Thermal underwear resulted in tears of torture. In the end we found some fleece pants/leggings that were soft enough for her and we gave in to let her wear a cotton vest under a fleece top.

If you're buying kids clothing specially for skiing on the trip, it might be good to idea to test the tollerance factor first.

When it comes to stratagy on the hill, there is one that is the most important to me as a carver on boards and skis.

Getting the most out of your linked carved turns means making complete turns. On steeper slopes that can mean up to 180degree turns. Even with minimal traverse between turns, you cut a pretty wide swath down the hill. This can be most confusing for skiers who don't understand true carving. They are coming down the hill from behind and overhauling you. Because of this, they think they are going faster than you. The reality is, you are covering twice the distance that they are with thier small radius skidded turns and may actually going faster than they are. They see you turn right. They think they will pass you easily and wham. You've completed your right turn and as you sink into the left turn, they smash into you from behind.

The other common collision when carving is when two or more people new to carving set off on the run together. Your eyes always look at the run ahead, not to the side. So after some turns, two carvers end up transitioning towards each other at high speed and never even see the collision coming.

The strategy.
Face the fact. You cannot ski close to your friends when carving hard. One may follow another, but if he losses sight of the first carver, he must stop.

Watch who is about to go down the run and don't set off in front anyone who is likely to go fast or bomb the hill. Especially watch out for junior ski racers. Slow down to look behind you occasionly. If someone hits you from behind, yes it's thier fault, but it's your bones.

Collisions involving carving are going to become more common as more and more people buy the latest skis and learn how not to skid thier turns.

Trencher

I just bought a pair of F9000. Hopefully I'll be testing them out in a few weeks when our season starts. I bought them for thier side profile which looks less likely to boot out, that is the side doesn't overhang as far as other boots.

Trencher

Sorry I can't help you with sugestions for where you go on your weekend trip. I could sugest something that might make it more sucessful.
Snowboarding has a very steep initial learning curve, so anything that you can do to prepare yourself will pay dividends.

If you don't already have one, consider buying a cheap skateboard and pads/helmet. Find yourself a smooth carpark (idealy with a very very gentle slope). Standing sideways on the board and going very slowly, learn to make the skateboard turn by pressing down with your heels or your toes. You don't have to do tricks or anything risky, just learn to make it turn. This skill combined with the balance skills you aquire skateboarding will give you a huge head start learning to snowboard. Even just a few days of doing this will help.

Learning to snowboard is great fun, but having an ace up your sleeve, like a little skate boarding, will make it better.

Trencher