 Poster: A snowHead
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I am in Livigno and conditions are icy, hard pack, marble snow although its dumping down. Must be a temperature thing. I'm an upper intermediate/sometimes advanced skier and loving it steep and deep BUT when I hit the aforementioned its embarrassing how badly I'm struggling.
I can't turn left with confidence, my hips/ankles are freezing and I've fallen over 6 times in two days after twice in 3 years!
Help. I'm considering binning my (twice) serviced skis and taking up carpet bowls.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Let your edges bite and trust them!
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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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Peter Leuzzi, hire some skis with decent edges
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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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Any video; difficult to help without something to look at.
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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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take a lesson?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Skiing ice is counter intuitive. It's not about pressing that big toe edge in, its better to keep everything soft, absorb the pressure, spread the load over both skis, and try not to dig the edges (which must be f sharp) in too hard. Also like driving on ice, keep things quiet, no sharp turns or sudden stops. Not everyone will agree with me.
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Marble snow?
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jbob, +1 Ice likes a light touch, no aggression.
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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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jbob, somewhat depends if you want to carve on it or not, IMO. If you do, weight mostly on outside ski and good angulation - but yes, v. smooth and be prepared to shift weight if you lose the edge.
Peter Leuzzi, can you find a good (!), English speaking instructor for an hour's private? rather than blaming and binning what's probably perfectly serviceable kit.
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When faced with proper ice (which is very rare where I ski, especially in February) I find that the approach advocated by jbob is best. I daresay that Olympic medal winners can carve on ice but for most of us "softly softly", flat skis over the ice and hope for something a bit softer coming up, seems best.
For hardpack, decent edges and the under a new name technique is what I'd aim for (and occasionally achieve!)
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I don't think there is any one "best" technique or tactic for skiing hardpack snow. Sometimes there's grip to be found if you use a bit more pressure. If you're comfortable with speed you can get a lot of grip using big edge angles (and sharp skis). Other times there's not much grip to be found so you might need to be light and steer your turns with lots of rotation. Key thing is to "feel" what's going on underneath your skis and react accordingly.
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Thu 20-02-14 12:27; edited 1 time in total
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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biddpyat, much like (I think, from what OP describes) what you find under snow cannons in milder snow making weather - or indeed when it's snowing but not too cold and you end up with a very smooth, very hard but not clear ice finish.
Pretty skiddy stuff.
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I realise I'm weird, but I really like smooth hardback/boilerplate whatever you want to call it. Not ice as such although there are often ice patches, just that smooth fast stuff that makes a scrapey noise as you ski. Marbles are what I call the smaller version of 'death cookies'. Most people don't like death cookies, some are rock hard and can behave a bit like rocks, but marbles aren't so bad, they are too small to cause such issues.
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You know it makes sense.
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queen bodecia, That's because you go to Tamworth! Couldn't understand why eveyone said it was horrible and icy (I learned to ski there) till day one of week 2 in the mountains, snowheads EoSB. I thought the piste down from the hotel was fabulous, just like fresh groomed Tam, by the time we'd skid down to the lift with the instructor of the not quite beginners class his job of splitting us up was easy. 4 of us had followed him as instructed, everyone else has refused to set ski on the 'ice blue of death' as they nicknamed it and hiked off to find a friendlier way onto the mountain!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I wouldn't agree with distributed weight all that much. It depends what sort of "ice" we are talking about, and it certainly depends even more what sort of skiing we are talking about. But for carving, even if it's real ice, weight on outside ski is solution. Well it's solution even if it's not really icy  And of course properly sharp skis.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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davkt, red 27, scooby_simon, pam w, jbob, never summer, under a new name, queen bodecia, jogi, Fenfilly,
thanks for your input. Back now and things improved greatly but not 100%.
rob@rar, do you still work at HH? Would be interested in a lesson before I go to Verbier on 1/4, as long as you speak decent English!
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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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But for carving, even if it's real ice, weight on outside ski is solution.
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Really?
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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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Eq Peter Leuzzi, yes, I teach at HH ( for Inside Out Skiing rather than The Snow Centre itself). Follow the link in my signature for contact details. I have very limited availability for private lessons between now and the end of April as I'm away quite a lot, but get in touch to see if we can find a date which works for you.
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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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Peter Leuzzi, No problem, hard packed is as much fun as anything once you've got the hang of it! Like queen bodecia I love it and I love the hiss of edges biting in and cutting through it!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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queen bodecia, I also find such conditions no more difficult than deeper snow, if anything I find that they are more consistent as you don't get into mounded, leg breaking snow territory. I once spent 8 days dancing on boilerplate in Les Arcs and became quite confident at 'dancing on ice'. The way I handle it is to get into the mindset that 'I know what it will be like' - a bit like I use if I am going to drink tea or coffee with sugar in when I would normally not take it. Also, that I find a good thing is to let the slide happen. I watch the surface and am ready for it, if I need to I deploy my best side slipping skills and wait with the resulting slide until I encounter a bit of snow where the turn looks a safer bet. I can deploy the same effect on 'death cookies', but it is more teeth jangling and more difficult to keep the skis under control over the uneven surface.
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| under a new name wrote: |
biddpyat, much like (I think, from what OP describes) what you find under snow cannons in milder snow making weather - or indeed when it's snowing but not too cold and you end up with a very smooth, very hard but not clear ice finish.
Pretty skiddy stuff. |
Oh I know what you mean , not quite the lovely blue ice that I love to hate. I thought op may have been talking about when the snow melts and then freezes , and a piste basher runs over it, and it is millions of black ( dirt) and grey balls, that freeze over. So it feels like your ski ing on a cheese grater, . Edging isn't always good on that because the stuff moves.
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