Just bought some ex rental skis at a 'resort.
They are Rossignol temptation 74s, 2 years old. They look in good shape.
Length came to between nose and chin.
I am 62, quite a slow cautious skier, weigh 205 pounds, 5'9" tall
Call myself intermediate ( prob between mid to advanced end of that range)
Have skied for 25 years between 2 and 4weeks a year. Now cruising around in a motorhome and wanted my own skis on board.
I can ski reds easily and the odd black but I don't like too steep or fast. I've never learned to carve.
Does this sound ok for me in your opinion?
I just went with the sales guy's recommendation. He said they were good for a moderate speed, good for turns, light weight and meant for an average level skier.
What do you all reckon?
Advice much appreciated
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Marketing puff, "The Rossignol Temptation 74 is a perfect ski for the true beginner to low intermediate skier. Rossignols Auto Turn Rocker has 70% Camber underfoot, with 30% Rocker in the tip and tail, to help you initiate a turn and exit a turn quicker and easier to help you start to get your skis on edge to carve, rather than skid your turns. The Extended Sidecut gives you more sidecut when you put your ski further on edge, and less sidecut when you do not put as much angle on them, making your ski more maneuverable. The Rossitop Cap Construction is very light and forgiving, so you do not need to put lots of energy into the ski, to make it react the way you want it to. If you are looking for a light weight ski that will help you improve your skills, the Rossignol Temptation 74 will be a great ski for you."
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?
Haha thanks
Yes I read that on Google.
I just wondered if anyone had knowledge of or opinion on that particular ski and if my needs/sizes seemed a good fit.
I suspect that the ski is out of people's memory as it came out 3-4 years ago.
I suspect, @poppyb, that remember what ski they were on is not the main objective of the target market.
I suspect also that they'll do the job, but I wouldn't expect too much. Mind you, some people can't tell what skis they're on so...
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@poppyb, I can't believe that someone with c.75 weeks' experience on snow isn't a wee bit better than a Rossi Temptation 74....
and FFS, stop pootling around! You're 62, not 82!
It's never too late to carve
P.S.They're too short for your weight. A stiffer ski in that length would be ok but not a noodly beginner/intermediate ski.
P.P.S. Not trying to be offensive, just hate seeing people with experience miss out on one of the great joys of skiing (carving) by not pushing themselves. Each to their own and all that but I bet you're a better skier than you think you are...
Thanks Raceplate
That was the point of my text I didn't know what the skis were like. The advertising gumf is always so vague.
I broke my shoulder doing a spectacular flip last year when I skied into a snow heap at speed so that has made me more cautious now especially as I am the only driver in our new life style which is full time touring the motorhome.
The few times I tried carving I flipped so I'm wary of trying right now. I love to pootle down a mountain often stopping for photos. It's not all about speed. I think your very name suggests we have different approaches.
Thanks for the advice on the ski though. Could well be I need to upgrade those.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
From one person who had a confidence breakdown to another... this person discovered their confidence again and enjoys skiing again. Go forth and find yours, don't stick to your comfort zone and you will have much more fun skiing than when you do.
I have skied with a huge variety of people this year and I have to say I firmly believe that most of them are being hampered not by their ability, but by this intrinsic belief that if they push themselves they will end up on a helicopter. And the reality for most of them is that it's this overly cautious approach which is making them fall over to begin with; and if they got their head around the idea that speed doesn't necessarily equal danger, they'd probably have a more fun day out.
It's psychologically difficult to accept sometimes. But remember that when your skis are sat on top of the snow, drifting sideways... whilst this slows you down the best, it's the least controlled manner for your skis to travel in, because you're not pushing onto something solid. When carving, your skis are biting into the snow, sitting on their sharp edges, and it's a far more controlled place for your ski to be. Get your technique right, and you'll discover that carving well is actually a much more safe and secure feeling, and that'll really help with your confidence.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Thanks for taking the time to write that dp
- that makes a lot of sense -especially today when I stomped down a frozen top section of a run with carvers shooting past me.
I have taken lots of classes and each time been put into the non carving groups. I was told a few times I wasn't 'ready for carving' and that 'would come'
I guess I need to do a few one to one lessons and demand to learn. I did realise that today stomping down sideways - that has to rank as one of life's worst experiences! (However the skis were fine and after going through that together we are bonded!!)
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.
@poppyb, I'm going to disagree with @dp - most people I observe (although there may well be observation bias in operation - i.e. I don't notice the others) who ski with a level of confidence dissonant with their ability are skiing too fast and without adequate control or ability.
However, I am also going to disagree with being told that you aren't "ready" for carving. Carving is a ski's natural condition, more so with modern equipment but always the case. I mean, even in a snowplough the skis are in fact carving when you turn.
And it won't (necessarily) naturally "come".
Put your foot down next time.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
I will! Thank you
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@poppyb, how are you getting on with your trip this winter. I recall your posts when you were thinking of spending some time in your motor home and this winter but haven't caught up with you reporting how it has all been. Are you going to write a report? Please.
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.
Thanks for remembering @Pamski, !!
Yes we have been full timing for over a month now and it's brilliant. It's so weird to try to get used to the idea that it's a way of life and not just a holiday. So far we've just been enjoying France really slowly, driving a few hours every two or three days and camping in tiny free places (aires) or campsites and walking cycling or taking the bus into the nearest villages or local beauty spots. We plan to rent canoes at our next stop on the Dordoigne.
I adore the old buildings and can spend the entire day wondering around. It's brilliant that every single day is so different even if it rains all the time (which it has done for the last 4) every day you wake to a different view and buy your bread from a different baker! Husband juggles every day (helps with his Parkinson's and we used to be jugglers) and I am learning the keyboard which I brought with me! Full size which feels like another crew member but I love it.
I had wanted to do loads more skiing but having a non skiing partner made it tricky so i may just ski odd days when we are in the right places like now - we were passing the central massif so I decided to check out Super Besse which has been brilliant. We parked right at the resort and caught a fab sunny day skiing yesterday. Talking to partner on walky tally makes me feel less alone up there! I do tend to chat to people in the gondola etc and will latch on to a group (sometimes unbeknownst to them!) if I feel nervous.
I am keeping a blog on the motorhome fun forum which charts this whole thing from the start if you're interested. It's a blow by blow account from a year ago when we decided to sell our house and do this. (You have to scroll down to the bottom and read it in reverse order)
http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/xfa-blogs/jac-sprat.35161/
All in all it's been exactly what we hoped and I'd recommend it to anybody.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Wonderful, I have had a quick looks doubt it in my favourites for reading later on. I am skiing around here on my own now for a few more days as my husband went home at the weekend. I have some friends arriving at the weekend on their way to Meribel so I don't know what will be left to ski on by then.
Must say I am really careful out on my own, phone charged, card in with my lift pass saying who I am and all that sort of thing.
Interesting about the juggling. I will tell my sister in law who also has PD. Your trip is sounding lovely.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Speed is your friend.
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Thu 7-04-16 21:10; edited 1 time in total
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
under a new name wrote:
@poppyb, I'm going to disagree with @dp - most people I observe (although there may well be observation bias in operation - i.e. I don't notice the others) who ski with a level of confidence dissonant with their ability are skiing too fast and without adequate control or ability.
I'm not taking your disagreement personally or anything! But I suspect it's a case of exactly that. The skiers who are capable but not pushing themselves, you will not notice. You will see people skiing at an OK standard. I'm not talking about people bricking it all the way down being really over cautious (necessarily). But yes, those who ski slowly with great technique won't catch your eye half as much as those who hoon it down out of control.
You are right, there are both sorts. The people I normally end up skiing with though are often people who do know what they're doing, they just get daunted by steep sections, moguls or just the grading of the course. Once you bring them out of their shell, they always get on fine.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
What surprises me is how quickly confidence is lost again for example after the summer and coming back new season. One year I took a lot of training courses including two lovely weeks with the Inside Out teaching groups and my confidence came along well. But the shoulder break and the long non skiing period put me back again this year. I think the answer would be weekly lessons which I can't do now I'm on the move in the motorhome. However losing my nerve today on a sheet ice slope (albeit a blue) has persuaded me I must keep up lessons.
My main aim is to keep skiing as long as I can and now to keep myself safe so I can keep driving us around. The stakes have risen a bit more for us now - because if I end up in hospital from the slopes or come back sporting a broken limb like last year then my husband is left sitting in a van he can't drive in a foreign country.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@poppyb, have you skied on them yet? How did they feel? If you just want to pootle around, just do that! But if you're going to be able to ski more, with your motorhome plan, the next step would be to take some lessons. If you do that, your instructor would be a good person to ask about the skis.
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?
Absolutely. We have moved on to the Dordogne valley now and I kept the skis as I did like them - they were very light to carry and very easy turning and I like the short length. Easy on my poor old knees. Also they served me well stomping sideways down a scary icy section.
However that's not to say I won't get another pair later too.
How do people ski down what appears to be a sheet ice slope, is the only way to carve? I resolved while I was doing it that I would never get into that position again - which means lessons as I ain't giving up skiing!
@dp, that's exactly why I popped in the caveat. I would easily be persuaded that I'm not looking for under confident under achievers (other than to not go too close to them...)
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@poppyb, its very very rare to have much "sheet ice" on a piste. Odd patches, yes. I was taught to keep skis absolutely flat and slide across it till you find something to turn on. My son went out with a bunch of ski instructors in Val d'Isere and was faced with a very steep and very icy black run. He couldn't think how to ski it so they told him to do a side slip straight down and on no account to try to edge. It worked though he said it was petrifying, side slipping at warp speed.
So, the opposite of carving!
On hard pack snow, ive found it best to have sharp edges and progressive steered turns, smooth and gentle. But I dare say experts could carve it!
Yes - this probably wouldn't have been sheet ice in anyone else's book but there had been no snow and freezing conditions overnight. I can side slide but I didn't think I'd be able to stop because of the gradient
Everyone who went down it went at speed! Guess I need to polish up my side slipping too!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@poppyb, side slipping is well worth polishing up, till you can control direction and speed ("falling leaf" exercise). BUT that requires precise use of edges, not recommended on proper ice.
The kind of places my son's full-cert ski instructor flatmate used to take him are nothing like what I'd tackle even on a "feeling brave" day. He was an excellent skier even before he started shacking up with instructors but he said that skiing with them on their day off made him feel like a complete beginner!
After all it is free
After all it is free
@pam w, ...you're kidding me...odd patches?...in Crans this year the artificial had turned into boiler plate sections which were 100m long...and they were all over the place, often hiding under 5mm of fresh. Sideways skiing became quite normal, although, as you say, somewhat terrifying. As my post of a month ago described, the frustrating thing was hurtling sideways past my 10-year-old, who was getting his edges in on what seemed like water-ice. I was sideways-skiing with an ESS instructor doing the same, both of us somewhat in awe of my son casually skiing from edge to edge on the ice. That's when I thought, I need to be able to do that - and went straight to Swiss Mountain Sports and got a morning of brilliant one-to-one coaching. I don't forget that competition GS skiers edge on blue water-ice which is deliberately laid down on the course...I approach the Women's FIS downhill at Montana with some trepidation - hoping that it won't be ice for the 200m of the 'step' section, a solid ice section on which THEY PUT TWO TURNS IN..
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.
pam w wrote:
@poppyb, its very very rare to have much "sheet ice" on a piste. Odd patches, yes.
I'm sure it's the conclusion you reached too, but it's funny with skiing the difference between what's referred to as 'ice' and what ice truly is.
People often refer to stuff that's just snow which has been completely frozen overnight as ice. I call that very hard packed snow, the stuff I call 'ice' is the stuff that shines in the sunlight and you get absolutely naff all friction on.
I skied the Kandahar at Les Houches immediately after the mens downhill was finished, and there was still the layer of actual shiney water-based ice ice on the top of the course that the organisers deliberately lay on to reduce the skiers friction on the slope. Of course the idea of this is that if you approach a 3500m black run with a policy of "thou shalt not turn, ever", as the competitors do, this makes total sense. For somebody like myself just giving it a bash for a laugh, it was literally the most terrifying ordeal I have ever experienced - because you cannot slow down. You show the 'snow' as much edge as you dare and it just doesn't care. You go straight over the top of it without an ounce of resistance.
Hence I haven't even tried to learn to ski on proper ice. I have a blanket policy that if you can see your face in it, you are simply on the wrong piste, end of story. I'm happy to stick with that policy for the foreseeable.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Absolutely. I would never ski proper ice if I could avoid it and thankfully, in the area I ski, I don't encounter long stretches of proper shiny ice.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Many years ago on long skinny SLs I left some skate like carve tracks on a frozen, glass clear stream.
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