Tignes October 2010

Ian Wickham wrote:

AllyG wrote:Ian,
What do you mean, the ski set up?

Yours edges, if not properly prepared can cause chattering.

Wickers, I agree with your point, however Ally has said that her skis were running flat, so edge preparation should not have been a factor in this instance.

It actually felt like the skis were too soft and became unstable at speed. But I am quite willing to consider that it was my technique that was at fault, rather than the skis themselves. As I said, I've never used skis as wide as those before.

Ian, I would have thought the chalet guys would have maintained the edges on the skis, because all the kit was new/nearly new and they were hoping to sell it to us.

If there any BASI level 4 skiers out there looking for a job, TDC Tignes just sent me an e-mail saying they are looking for an instructor. I looked on the BASI site and it said you can pass level one in 5 days but level 4 takes between 3 and 5 years. So I think it will be a while before I am applying myself :lol:

Ally

Ally, as you know I also ski on Scott skis similar in dimension to those you used, and they are renowned to be a little unstable when schussing. This is, as has been explained, not what the skis are designed for, so dont worry about it would be my response.
I found when on mine that if I wanted to schuss I found the skis wanted to turn slightly so it was much easier to get slightly on the edges and weave rather than straightline it.
Ian is right, that your edges need to be set up well and if they have been used as rentals, the chances are they may not have been. But I doubt that was an issue here.

A bit of chattering is inevitable with fat skis, as Tony_H says you need to edge slightly, also make sure you're weight is not slightly back as that can accentuate the chattering.

andyhull wrote:A bit of chattering is inevitable with fat skis,

Really? I've not found that to be the case. Mind you I've not really skied fat skis, mine are 76 and 86. The problem Scott's which became the topic of this thread are only 89, so they are not fat either. Still, what do I know, I'm merely a Holiday Harry remember.

going to Tignes end of January, this has just made my day viewing the Tignes webcams! cant wait

I've double checked the dimensions of the Scott Rosa skis, and on the Scott website they say they are only 86mm wide at the waist on the 168 size that I was using, not 89.

Scott also say they have 'supreme stability':

http://www.scott-sports.com/us_en/category/9816/skis

Plus some other stuff I don't understand, like 'dual radius'.

You can see what the conditions were like in this TDC video of two other guests from our chalet taken on the morning of the second day.

http://www.youtube.com/thedevelopmentcentre

Ally

You are quite right AllyG, they are only 86, so firmly in the mid fat category. Conditions look really nice on the glacier in the video :D