Messages posted by : pavelski
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I still say, "listen to your body" !
I am not physicians but have had many injuries and over the years have learned the hard way to "listen to my body " ! Pain means,,,,, "hey Pavel something is not right,,,,Can not take this,,,,,,,,, Stop what you are doing" Back pain MAY be a sore muscle from over using some muscle groups ( around back ) or more serious "nerve" issues ! I would not ski until I saw a specialist! If you have read my previous post about my wife ( with sever upper leg and leg pain ) ,,not back pain. It turns out that during tennis her back muscles tore out a bone spur in their insertion points. Thus bone pressing on nerve. That bone section was very sharp!!! Another wrong move,,,,,possibility of cut nerve and,,,,,,,,,,,,, ! Please listen to your body! You only have one ! Respectfully, Pavel |
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Ha,,,,the Nava system !!!
Italian design and produced! Yes the "boots" were very comfortable,,,but that rear spring arm????? You could do some nice SL GS turns on soft slopes ( like in Europe circa 1980's ), but if ever you got into hard mogul type skiing,,no way could rear arm hold you ! Broke two in one week ! What you do not see is a center pin on ski which goes INTO the boot sole. The designers did not think of snow/ice while walking to ski or chalet! That hole very quickly got full of ice and thus you had to have a friend clean out hole !!!! Strange sight ! Another Italian design which looked great in lab,,but once on slopes,,,,disaster time ! Wish I had kept my test units since they are real museum pieces ! Now let us see if Dave Mac knows the BURT bindings ! ( no cheating by looking up Google David ) ! Another great design far far ahead of its time,,,but at $300 in the 1980's ???? |
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Trencher is right on the mark about taking ski boots with you ON plane. Never in general luggage !
The reasons given is so important. You have paid lots of money for your holiday. You have worked hard at learning to ski well and now you will go to this grea great ski resort for 2-4 weeks and,,,boots are lost ???? !!!! ***** ÙÙÙÙÙÙ %%%%% #### @@@@ ! Trust me and Trencher nothing replaces your boots! If you do not have them,,your holiday will be ruined even if airline "allows" you to rent ( hire ) boots ! To say that you have had no problem ,,,is like a person who never "backs up" computer since he/she has not problem with computer ! It will happen!!!! Part of my duties as a "guide" for groups is to locate boots/argue with airlines/help skiers find new boots at resort ! If you do not have a direct flight to resort,,,chances are boots will be lost ! If you do not believe me,,next time you are in airport,,,visit the "lost items section" !!!! I will never but never go on plane without boots ! I have even worn ski boots while getting on plane since airline was causing problems with my heavy boots! Just took running shoes off, put them around my neck and put ski boots on ! Yes lots of "surprised looks ",,then smiles !!!! This item will be on my never list next time ! Never but never leave your boots alone ! They love your company. They love your toes ! They love your smell ! They will give you pleasure on the slopes !!! Pavel |
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Oh yes,,,,,
the most dangerous never! The never behavior that many males do ,,but should not to their "friends" It is,,,taking their beginner friends up to very top ( to see view of course) and then taking them down that "easy" run !!! Many a skier stopped skiing after that. Many a skier ended up in patrol hut. Many a skiers lost friends. Leave your beginner friends alone with a pro! Pavel |
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Jwoodhouse,
I agree with all your comments and would like to add, if you do not mind the following! You state, "Then at speed,,IN A STRAIGHT LINE the widder shaped tip will be off the ground [i]hence more stable!!!" The hence more stable is not due to the raised tip ! If you accept the fact that "shorter the ski" less stable ( all other factors equal), then the raised tip does make the running surface of the ski shorter ! That is there is less contact surface on snow! That makes the ski less stable! Where the "danger" comes into play in my opinion is using rockers in varied snow conditions is that the feel and stability will vary also! It is up to each skier to test what feeling they want in the terrain they ski! In my area,it is well groomed or powder ! Rare are the times when slopes are clumpy, choppy, or full of crud ! Again be careful of marketing literature ! Happy skiing and keep us posted on your "feelings" Pavel |
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Tino,
Your statement says it all, "Only way down " Not sideways. Just down ! The challenge is "HOW " down ! On ice it is with "softness", it is with a "gentle touch ". Hopefully without "slip sliding sideways 10 feet " ! That is a no no! Poor form. Poor technique ! Pav |
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Trencher,,,
Are you sure you are not an adolescent ? Your statement is right on,,," yes a longer ski requires better technique to make carve turn" The second statement is even more "relevant" ! The level 3 ski instructor examination involves just what you state ! The candidates must ski down varied terrain ( steep, flat, moguls ) while still keeping SAME SPEED at all times ! This examinations really identifies the men/women from the boys,,,,,girls !!!!! Watch out for the steep paved roads !!!! Pavel |
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jwoodhouse,
An interesting question indeed ! There is no 'factual",,,objective answer since skiing sensations and desires are very personal but may I add some observations ? First my criteria when I select my skis ! I look at what I want the ski to do for me. I have three major categories 1. Powder ski That is serious +50 cm. powder. I have two such skis. One for wide open heli type skiing where there are no bounderies thus radius might be up to 30 + meters. Length here is for floatation thus +180 cm range. No set edges here. No carve here. Just floating on clouds. The second powder ski is more for "sous-bois",,glades skiing where you still are in powder but must make tighter turns thus shorter length and less radius. Mine are Fischers Watea 101 in the 180 range. The second category for me is the "cruising " ski ! That GS cut "all out speed" ski. This is where edge control and tip flex are important. I like the 185-190 cm. range for me! The plate are really important here! Finally the serious carvers. Those WC SL type skis which will go anywhere,,, where it is steep, narrow and icy ! All the WC Sl cut skis are great since they have a very specific performance range and are designed for the technical skiers,,,,but I prefer two models; The Head SL and The Fischer SL Pro. That is my choice. My sons will swear on other brands and we have many discussions about this,,, It is a personal choice ! In my opinion if you want a great powder ski ( just a powder ski),,yes go for full rocker but then make sure it is also long enough. Most powder beginner skiers tend to go for too short ! I will try to find the "formula" that a more intelligent skier developed to determine correct ski length for powder skis! He used the overall surface of the ski as the basis of his formula ! Your observations and conclusions are correct. -Performance at speed will be more to do with construction than tip rocker,,,IF YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT GROOMED OR HARD SNOW ! In powder not sure ! -The "new " world cup skis issues is still open to debate and due to FIS changes all ski companies are "testing" various designs! I know that the SL skis will not have rockers since there are other negatives effects !!! I know the downhill ski will not have rockers also. As far as GS,,,,the question will be debated for several years now since all companies are "testing" the new sizes !!! I tried a GS 180 cm. prototype last year that had a 2 mm. rocker ! Not pleasant to ski! But that is my opinion ! As for that last "observation", "If you can apply a lot of pressure and get strong angles in turns",,,,, Not sure what you mean. I never apply "strong" pressure. It is when and where you apply the pressure that makes a skier faster and more effective" Often when young skiers apply "strong" pressure they are trying to "dominant" the ski to go beyond its performance range ! Bad news will follow ! Your basic advice is, "if you want to learn carving ,,,go shorter is correct" but never as short as some ski shops recommend ! If tips go below chin,,,,,,too short ! You will develop bad habits with very short ski! Too much body rotaion. Too much sitting back ! Too much tip "flutter" ! In short,,it is a personal choice! In short skiers must educate themselves first on what each ski does If I have just ONE comment to make it is, "DO NOT believe marketing blurs "... Try out the skis first! I hope this will start at whole debate about rockers and how they are great in all ski conditions ! Respectfully, Pavel |
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