 Poster: A snowHead
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I recorded all of my days of skiing this half term on a GPS, and what is striking is relatively how few descents you actually do, even if you don't think you are queuing much!
e.g. on our biggest morning, covering 30 miles, we did just 9 proper descents. It always feels more than that, doesn't it?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@larkim, I agree. I'm always underwhelmed by the amounts kicked up by Skiline. Clearly I need to ski more.
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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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@larkim, 9 proper descents sounds pretty good to me Once we take out the blue runs, the red runs, the linking runs, the runs just to get somewhere else and the half runs we often only end up with only 3 or 4 runs in a day.
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For me the larger the group the less I ski which is a bit like stating the obvious I guess. Also the more snowboarders in our group the less descents/kms clocked. Gets hard hat ready for the onslaught.
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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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| Mike-H wrote: |
| For me the larger the group the less I ski which is a bit like stating the obvious I guess. Also the more snowboarders in our group the less descents/kms clocked. Gets hard hat ready for the onslaught. |
that's obviously more down to the ability of the snowboarders in your group.
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@Mike-H, no hard hat needed, you are totally correct
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@Mike-H, Our tame snowborder can keep up the rest of us fine, doesn't faff too much much coming off lifts etc. However, it is his inability to tell left from right or work out where everyone else is going that slows the group up. I suspect it is that everyone of his brain cells is focussed on what he is doing that he doesn't notice the rest of the world.
Definately, the bigger the group the slower it goes.
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The bigger the group the bigger the faff, always.
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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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@Mike-H, my snowboarder friends are quicker to get around with than some of the champion faff skiers I know.
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How many descents? Depends on how many ascents!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I just had a text from a mate who is heli-skiing in Canada who did 13 flights and 27,000 feet vertical in a day. How cool would that be???
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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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13 flights!  Lunch must have been a bit of a non event.
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Yes. One of the snowboarders in our group is the king of the faffing and the fannying around. Off the lift - faffing. End of slope - fannying around. Also suffers with the brain issue mentioned above and occasionally takes a wrong turn. Seems incapable of skiing an entire piste without stopping for one reason or another.
And yes, the bigger the group the more delays with so many different abilities, requirements and opinions.
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You know it makes sense.
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A quick look on ski tracks says that I do about 15-20 runs per day and around 25,000 ft vertical. My ski days are usually pretty relaxed too, but there is zero queuing involved.
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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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Was in Colorado over New Year and the lift pass tracked our lift rides. 10 per day was the average......I was surprised, it always seems much more than that.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I went on a trip a good few years back with the King Of Boot Adjustment. His boots had knobs, levers, bolts and straps all over them, or so it seemed, and he took every opportunity at the beginning, end and even mid point of nearly every run on nearly every day to adjust something. It drove me nuts.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I've seen glove tightening & adjusting by a party member to an asolutely stunning and completely p*** taking degree before a descent.... 
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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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I ski in a group of 4 and we usually stop a couple of times (at the edge of the piste, hate the middle of the piste stoppers) other than on the shortest slopes simply to ensure that we are still all together/ no-one has fallen/admire the views etc.
So yes agree more people = more stops.
Also a semi faffer in the group but I don't complain as it's me!! 
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@skribble, 13 flights in day! How much did that cost? Definitely beyond our budget 😔
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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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@NE1 I have never asked him the cost but he does ten days at the same place every year. Really nice guy, he and his wife are late sixties and own a couple of successful businesses and judging by how they are spending their retirement I'd guess the cost of helicopters is a drop in the ocean. The best part is how seriously he takes his health. We did a planking competition on the Last boys trip and he smashed a lot of younger guys. I've learned a good number of things from this fella. Gets back next Tuesday then straight to monterosa on Wednesday morning with the lads
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Depends how long the runs and lifts are I guess. I skied with some serious quick skiers at the pre season bash this year. What became apparent ot me is that, if you want to ski a lot of miles then how busy the slopes are is a very important factor. Busy slopes means slow skiing means less km covered.
People often go t huge interlinked French resorts thinking huge milage whereas the opposite is the case as the slopes are so crowded that you end up skiing quite slowly and don't go too far. This is why I love the Dolomites so much. It's no suprise the world record for skiing in a day was set in Kronplatz.
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| mountainaddict wrote: |
| I've seen glove tightening & adjusting by a party member to an asolutely stunning and completely p*** taking degree before a descent.... |
Totally agree. I don't mind people stopping occasionally on the side of the piste to catch their breath or wait for the rest of the group, but I hate the faffing as you get off the lift. I've been sitting on the lift for x minutes and now is the moment we want to go skiing. Gloves shouldn't need tightening every five seconds and if you have to clip/unclip your boots for every lift then PLEASE go back to the fitter/hire shop and get them sorted.
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I snowboard and do very little faffing. Sort all ya stuff out on lift, come off lift and strap in, go go go.
I do stop from time to time as my thigh can sometimes seize up if you making lots of turns. Other than that if I am in a group, see ya at the lift
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| cameronphillips2000 wrote: |
Depends how long the runs and lifts are I guess. I skied with some serious quick skiers at the pre season bash this year. What became apparent ot me is that, if you want to ski a lot of miles then how busy the slopes are is a very important factor. Busy slopes means slow skiing means less km covered.
People often go t huge interlinked French resorts thinking huge milage whereas the opposite is the case as the slopes are so crowded that you end up skiing quite slowly and don't go too far. This is why I love the Dolomites so much. It's no suprise the world record for skiing in a day was set in Kronplatz. |
Very true... the number of times you hear "blah blah blah resort is too small I have to go to Pds as it's got 650km of piste....................mmmmm" when we measured it a "good,fast,no faffing" group would actually ski about 40/50km a day!
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Is it more a skier thing to always want to crank up km when out.
I think from a snowboarders perspective you want to hit the same areas again and again to find those little jumps, hips or features to play on.
I spent 6weeks in Japan on one resort. Boarded everyday and never got bored.
Skiers just seem really into how many km they do not always the quality they do them in.
Helmet on and takes cover!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| KernowRed wrote: |
Is it more a skier thing to always want to crank up km when out.
I think from a snowboarders perspective you want to hit the same areas again and again to find those little jumps, hips or features to play on.
I spent 6weeks in Japan on one resort. Boarded everyday and never got bored.
Skiers just seem really into how many km they do not always the quality they do them in.
Helmet on and takes cover! |
Not sure if it's a Skier versus snowboarder thing........ I know both who "Publish their stats"
I think it's more the individual!
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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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| KernowRed wrote: |
I think from a snowboarders perspective you want to hit the same areas again and again to find those little jumps, hips or features to play on.
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yup, we spend season after season lapping pretty much the same 3 lifts and we still find new features to jump off as snow depths and grooming changes.
absolutely zero interest in knowing how fast I go, how many lifts I use or how many km I cover....
The difference is because most snowboarders come from skating or surfing backgrounds so use the hill like a skatepark.
skier's come from office jobs so use skis like a form of transport imitating there daily commute 
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| eddiethebus wrote: |
| KernowRed wrote: |
I think from a snowboarders perspective you want to hit the same areas again and again to find those little jumps, hips or features to play on.
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yup, we spend season after season lapping pretty much the same 3 lifts and we still find new features to jump off as snow depths and grooming changes.
absolutely zero interest in knowing how fast I go, how many lifts I use or how many km I cover....
The difference is because most snowboarders come from skating or surfing backgrounds so use the hill like a skatepark.
skier's come from office jobs so use skis like a form of transport imitating there daily commute |
That's funny, but I do think us boarders are more inclined to play on the mountains then ride up and down. I see loads of skiers in the parks pulling amazing tricks but less on the hill.
I guess it's down to the history of the too sports and where they came from. You don't get many old snowboarders where as a 60year old skier isn't unusual.
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You know it makes sense.
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@eddiethebus, So are you a pro skater or surfer dude or do you work in IT support?
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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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haha none of the above
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Poster: A snowHead
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I on the other hand skateboarded til I was 25 and have surfed from the age of 12. Hence why snowboarding seemed the natural route on snow. I have tried skiing and found it fairly fun and easy to pick up, went from plough to hammering it down a hill on first day. But i just didn't find it hit the spot like boarding does.
Anyway enough high jacking this thread, i plan on quality over quantity, but will still be interested to check how much i have covered from a fitness point of view.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| eddiethebus wrote: |
| haha none of the above |
Okay the IT support was a complete guess but the idea that all you snowboarders come from skating/surfing backgrounds is BS. Maybe that was true in the very early days, but now it's just another mainstream snow sport taken up by people from all walks of life.
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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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This is very true as i have a friend that just started skiing and he is a hardcore surfer. I think these days it all depends on who you first start going with. It is very unusual for a person going with a group of friend that all ski to decided he is going to snowboard.
Personally I did even think about skiing as saw it as natural progression as I figured I had loads of the skills to port across to a new sport.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| uktrailmonster wrote: |
| eddiethebus wrote: |
| haha none of the above |
Okay the IT support was a complete guess but the idea that all you snowboarders come from skating/surfing backgrounds is BS. Maybe that was true in the very early days, but now it's just another mainstream snow sport taken up by people from all walks of life. |
Yeah, i'm trolling a bit, although probably 90% of the people I snowboard with everyday are the same people that I skate with during the summer. I would say that its a culturally English speaking thing as well though, as most of the French guys that we skate with ski (to a pro standard in a few cases!) while the English/American/aussi's snowboard.
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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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I think my best ever day was 28 long helicopter served descents.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Who's counting? I just don't get this obsession, never have.
But that's all down to how I use the mountain, be it on skis or a board. I'll be looking for fun stuff or maybe a nice roller, I may even hang around above it waiting for a clean line, but never for too long. There's always the next time passing through.
I'm guessing that would differ should I ever have a helicopter at my beck and call
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| NE1 wrote: |
| ... 13 flights in day! How much did that cost? Definitely beyond our budget 😔 |
That's a fairly modest vertical, actually.
That's funny, but I do think us boarders are more inclined to play on the mountains then ride up and down. I see loads of skiers in the parks
pulling amazing tricks but less on the hill.
I guess it's down to the history of the too sports and where they came from. You don't get many old snowboarders where as a 60year old skier isn't unusual.
I'd disagree on both points. In reverse order:- Ken just completed his 30th anniversary run of the Baker Banked Slalom. Regis is 55, but he went back to skiing. The sport's founders are old or dead.
- I think proportionally snowboarder skill levels are less than those for skiers. Most people do not, for example, want to ride in a heli with a snowboarder, because you'll lose a lot of vertical waiting for them.
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Loved the sweeping generalisations above. None of the boarders I go with have ever been skateboarders or surfers. Business owner, plasterer, IT bod. I dabbled with surfing many moons ago but ski (but I do sit at a computer all day).
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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It depends on hill, lifts, crowd, and on the end, what I'm doing When go out to backcountry, I'm super happy if I make some 4 or 5 runs with some 2000 height meters and some 10-15km overall, as walking back up to top of next mountain takes quite some time When I go lift serviced off piste, I normally end with some 20-25 runs, some 8-9000m height meters and 60-70km (counting both up and down), but if I go skiing on course, I'm normally around 35-40 runs, 15k height meters and some 110-120km (9am to 2pm). With slower and/or longer lifts, numbers are smaller, but on average it's around there for me.
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| philwig wrote: |
[*]I think proportionally snowboarder skill levels are less than those for skiers. Most people do not, for example, want to ride in a heli with a snowboarder, because you'll lose a lot of vertical waiting for them.
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i'd sort of agree with this. although imo I think that most snowboarders fall into the high intermediate or better category or the beginner/low intermediate.
the fact that after a couple of days riding you can link turns, coupled with the fact that snowboarding doesn't have the "technical" aspect associated to it that skiing does means that most people don't continue lessons and so plateau quite quickly.
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FAQ
