J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by pavelski

Dublin,
All of the above comments are valid.
May I add the following;

In boot fiting there is a golden rule. It is "less is more"!

That is you must do all changes with minor "adjustments! Do not do radical large changes like; changing boots, cutting linner etc,,,

Now let us first isolate problem.
put boots on at minimum setting.
Have someone place their foot just above third buckle from top.
Try to raise foot within boot.

Does it move still 1 cm.

Then try this (with friend still hold down boot)
Try to rotate feet with boot.


What I want to see is if too much free space on sides!
If so you have two problems;
1, too much space above third buckle near top of foot
2, too much space on sides of ankles.

The first problem is very easy to solve.
Go to any pharmacy and go to foot section where "older" parson get heel supports, heel cushions, foot powders etc,,,,
You can buy several heel "lifts" with cushions already within heel units! Place these units within linner with double tack tape.
Try the first test again. That is raising heel while someone holds boots down!

If the foot does not move,,voilà you have solved that problem! Remember you do this with buckles at minimum!


If you have some free space on sides,,,arounf ankle then you can get some foam "croissants" which you can glue to sides under ankle area! I have about 50 different types,,you just try various ones!

Please do not lose heart about boots! Every good skier adapts boots. If ever you see boots from top ski racers you will be amazed how many "adjustments" are made!

My boots are full of cuts, pads, modified buckles and extra power straps! Now they are like slippers! I never take them off during ski day! In -40 ski weather they are toasty warm!

Hope this helps you!

Look at Trencher's picture very carefully and it will equal a 200 word answer!

Look at his hips= into the turn
Look at his hands = in front
but look again carefully,,,see that left hand what is it doing?


Then most important,,,
look at shoulders and skis.
Do you see how they are parallel.

Want to ski better?

Stop thinking of all those micro bits of information such as;
left eyebrow up
thumbs out
ears wiggling
eyes to left


Three basic (just three) rules.

1. Keep pressure on big toes within boot
2. Keep hands in front and quiet while skiing
3. Never but never look at skis

You do these three and you will be better than 90% of skiers.


If you do not believe me try this.
Keep arms and hands in front ( that is parallel to skis) and try to rotate upper body!

See what happens!


You will have your answer with the feeling you will get!



Oh,,,,enjoy skiing also!

Gareth Fair,
Try this for addiction.

In the Summer in my hammock, I close my eyes and ski from very top to bottom a favorite ski run.
I can "visualize" each turn, each drop, each slope dip and roll!

I can have beside me my best skiing friend and I will describe to him a run we did several months ago and mention the missed turn he did, the faster section he did and that glorious tight tight fall line section where he was just at the edge!!!

Is not this "addiction" wonderful!

This "addiction" also has its positive side. I once was in a medical "contraption" which is very much a tiny tunnel made up of wires, steel and electronic sensors. Most people are given dedatives since they panic.
I fell "asleep" during the 30 minutes in this womb!
How?
I went into my ski "world" and replayed a great powder ski run I had that lasted 15 minutes of chest high Utah champagne!
It is my "escape" during boring meetings, tense dangerous situations,and such,,,,

Thanks for your post,,I was begining to think I was the only one!
Pavel

Ian,
When I will be "older" I know I will experience the following;
-freedom to do whatever I want
-freedome to choose skiing buddies
-freedom to ski where ever I want, when ever I want

Peace of mind about self and what I can do on ski hill

Skiing for self and challenging runs to push my limits

Finding those quiet ski resorts where you do not wait more than 1 minute and only 4 skiers on ski run!

As far as the other "secondaty issues",,well they are secondary!

Respectfully,
Pavel

Mark,
I did a "small experiment" this season and the results might interest you!
I had 8 pairs of skis to test. I gave one pair to a 68 year old man who never skied on "new skis" and was not really interested in trying them! He could not refuse a new pair of skis ( they were Elans Speedwave 10)! I just gave him some minor tips like; keep hands in front, do not ski on tails,do not look at ski tips.
This was four weeks ago. I meet him every Friday for update.
I wish you could see his smile!

Mark,,we do not ski as we did 20 years ago, even if we have same skis. We adapt and change our skiing. That is the "challenge" of skiing. We constantly learn and modify our skiing due to our age, physical limits and attitudes!

Give yourself a chance for more pleasure. Trust me you will "ski" better, with less effort and with great ease with newer skis!

The short "learning period" with new skis, will give you years of pleasure ! Try it!

The conclude let me providee an analogy. When you buy a new car, do you drive it ,"like the old one" or to you first find its performance limits, strengths and adapt your driving to this new car?

Same applies to skis!

It is your call. Pleasure awaits you!

Dave Mac,
May I "share" my viewpont about issue and term!

Good effective skiing does not change!The way to do so does!

First it must be fun ,,then it must be effective so that you can ski all day until you are past 100 (years)!

Effective means using the ski design and ski "characteristics" to its ultimate performance!

90% of skier do not carve,,that is ski from edges to edges,,rather they "flat" slide with ski tails doing "windshield wiper"turns! The problem with this type of skiing is;
it is "sloppy"
it is dangerous since in that "lateral" slide you do not control ski
it causes fatique
it does not give "pleasure"

I do not want to start a "technical debate" since of course sometimes you must "skid"! A good skier has many many ways to ski,,however effective skiers on typical ski terrain will ski edge to edge!

In my mind "carving" means using the natural ski radius to its very best! So a ski with a sidecut resulting in a turn radius of 13 meters is placed on edge so that it will by itself turn a 13 meter arc! Minimum muscle effort,,maximum pleasure!
That is effective carving!
That is allowing ski to show skier what it can do!

Just go back to Jan's picture. That is carving!
That is elegance!

Now back to skiing!
Yes ,,thinking of you all across the pond!

A very common problem and very easy solution!
First think of a ski boot like a glove! It most allow your foot to "merge" with inner boot foam!

That blister you get is caused by your heel moving about within boot!
Try this;
-many many ski shops have foan pads of various sizes, and shapes which you can place in correct place once you take off boot linner!

Dr. Schol ( the foot products) seel many many such products! You must "experiment"!

As far as hot feet! That is your very warm blood (from your body core)! The solution is not at your feet,,it is with you opening some vents near jacket! Cool down by opening zippers, etc,,,

Also buy some baby powder (please do not laught) and sprinkle some inside boot (before putting on) and also sprinkle some in socks! Not only will you smell nice and many women will come to hug you,,but you will have cooler feet!

Buy some quality socks!

Do not take off boots (like most do) at lunch!


Now for the last "hint" since I have same problem!

In the Spring,,I ski very hard all day and haver noticed that the inner foam of boot after 7-10 days of non-stop skiing seems to compress,,thus causing that heel problem!
I bought some very thin white socks tennis players use or women (again do not laught please) who wear running shoes! That thin sock allows foot to move (very little) yet does not cause blisters!
Easy solutions!

Hope this helps you

Respectfully,
Pavel

Bullfinch,
Excellent question that many skiers never ask,,,,,but wonder!

Three factors make a great difference!
The first is very unimportant since it relates to top skin or look of ski! You know those nice flowers, shades of pink, swirls that go well with suit! That is a personal preference!

The second is the flex pattern of the ski!
That is how does ski bend at; tip, center and tails! This had major impact of ski dynamics!
Clearly a softer flexed ski is "easier" for most women!
There are many combinations of flex that a ski may have,,however to answers your question men's skis tend to be more "stiff" than women's and as you go up performance levels men's skis tend to be stiffer at tails!

The very critical parameter in this comparison is the "torsion" of the ski! What is torsion index?
It is the amount of force you must exert on a ski edge near tip to twist ski!
So if you place tail in a vice and then take vice grips and place them at tip. You can turn vice grips laterally until ski will "twists"! The distance that tip moves is called torsion index!

What does this have to do with skiing and women's skiing?
Well Bullfinch,,the softer the ski is (in terms of torsion) the easier to turn and bit into snow! In skiing terms, "it is a forgiving" ski! Easy to ski with! It allows skier to make "mistakes". It flexes like a snake moving on surface!

The negative part of this type of ski (since nothing is free) is that is is not as responsive,,not has "sharp" as a stiffer ski! It gives more so is not as "tight" on fast hard terrain!

Men are supposed to be "stronger" than women,,so most men's skis are stiffer (in terms of torsion) thus require more muscle to place that ski on edge and hold it!

In my opinion a man should NEVER ski on a women's ski (regardless of price) since in two to three years the ski will be "dead"! Flat and feel like a noodle!

There are many other issues about differences between women and men's skis ,,but those three will give you an good overall picture!

Do not assume that since top graphics indicate same ski (ie model XYZ) that in fact it is same skis! Some smart companies are now making husban/wife,,girlfriend/boyfriend skis for those couples that want to stay united,,,even during skiing!
No comment!


May I make a personal comment about issue!

If you are a women and are in the "expert" level( that is mastered to effective way to ski with modern skis),,,,then get a high performace ski! Skis do not have any gender! They will sing,,if you know how to play them!
The last thing to look at is top layer! It is what is in the middle that is vital!

Hope this helps you Bullfinch!

Respectfully,
Pavel