Poster: A snowHead
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ssh,
Sorry & good!!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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ssh, I know what you mean about skiing with *good* skiers.
I used to think I was a reasonable skier until I met a few PSIA examiners. Now the only thing I can say is that I have skied with BB, and have seen him fall! (admitedly it was on a run where I fell several times) But there is a completely different league that most instructors fall into, and then above that is SCSA.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Quote: |
I'm sure that by 'European' Alexandra was thinking more of the likes of the British holidaymaker, rather than the hundreds of thousands of people actually living in the Alps who virtually learned to ski before they could walk!
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There is clearly a massive difference between local competition skiers & ski professionals and holiday skiers - and I am squarely in the latter category. That said, when I am out and about I see very few people in the former category. I'd say the overwhelming share of skiers that you see on any given day in (for example) 3V are no better than intermediate.
How about this for a test - what % of skiers on the mountain do you think can
a) ski the fall line in bumps AND
b) carve elegant and controlled turns without skidding on a firm black run AND
c) ski competently in the trees on a powder day
my guess is less than 10%.
I'm not claiming that if you pass those tests you are a top class skier. I'm just saying that 90% of skiers that I see do not even pass those tests - I'm not sure it's a big claim that you are in the top 10% of skiers on the mountain. It is pretty meaningless though as in any case, there's a huge gap between the top 1% and the top 10% (and between the top 0.1% and the top 1%).
I haven't skied enough in Canada to really compare standards although I did think that I saw a high proportion of good skiers in Whistler than I'd expect to see in the big Alpine resorts.
J
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Quote: |
That said, when I am out and about I see very few people in the former category. I'd say the overwhelming share of skiers that you see on any given day in (for example) 3V are no better than intermediate. |
I think you'll find that many locals go skiing when the tourists are not around! They also know where to go - ie the places many tourists have yet to find.
I was up in Les Arcs today. I know for a fact that somewhere around 150 members of the Les Arcs club were free skiing around the resort. I caught a brief glimpse of a group of minis on the lower runs at one point, but that's all. The rest would have been off-piste the other side of the Aiguille Rouge, in the trees in the virtually deserted lower parts of the domain - everywhere where the tourists aren't, basically.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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PG wrote: |
Quote: |
That said, when I am out and about I see very few people in the former category. I'd say the overwhelming share of skiers that you see on any given day in (for example) 3V are no better than intermediate. |
I think you'll find that many locals go skiing when the tourists are not around! They also know where to go - ie the places many tourists have yet to find.
I was up in Les Arcs today. I know for a fact that somewhere around 150 members of the Les Arcs club were free skiing around the resort. I caught a brief glimpse of a group of minis on the lower runs at one point, but that's all. The rest would have been off-piste the other side of the Aiguille Rouge, in the trees in the virtually deserted lower parts of the domain - everywhere where the tourists aren't, basically. |
oh I don't know, I was only the other day skiing at high speed through a nursery slope when I noticed I was about the best skier there. There were some instructors but they were going really slow ....
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When it comes down to it though, you're only really as good as the amount of fun you're having.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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skanky, at Vail (or wherever I end up) tomorrow, I'm sure by this measure I'll be really good! I may have the day to myself to just ski where I want as long as I want to say "goodbye" to this season at Vail. I may even make a good turn or two!
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Yeah, thanks for that...
I'll be staring out the window of my office at a patio, watching squirrels playing on a giant horse chesnut. I think that'll put me in the bottom 1% of skiers for the day.
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