 Poster: A snowHead
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There I've said it & I feel better for it  .
I'm a fairly competent skier, ski most any run & do about 20-25 days a year but for me I just cant be bothered with the off piste skiing. Perhaps its because I am heavy at 100Kg(but fairly fit) or I am on the wrong ski's., 80 wide but the effort that is required versus the fun is far to high compared to finding an empty rolling piste that I can carve down at a moderate speed.
Being 100% self taught it may be that I am just doing it all wrong & I may even invest in some off piste tuition this year to see if I get it.
Anyone else in the same boat?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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No, suggest some wider skis (not necessary but easier) and go with a guide, he/she should take you to places and snow that’ll change your views I’m sure.
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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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Instructor before guide every time
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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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Wider skis and tuition.
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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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@Jonny996, yes same boat. I like smooth pistes. I just seem to get buried in deep snow, keeping moving is hard work. If I fall I can't get up. Also not keen on encountering tree stumps, rocks or other hidden obstacles, nor risking the possibility of getting lost. Off piste simply doesn't appeal much to me. I get why some people want to dodge trees and play in powder, it just isn't for me. I don't want an instructor or a guide, I'm perfectly happy where I am and I know my limits.
A thin layer of new snow on top of a hard groomed piste is lovely. Or simply a hard groomed piste, fast and fun.
Bumps and chopped up snow on piste are not my favorite, but at least I can deal with those.
I'm heavy too, but not self-taught, and it sounds like I have similar skis to you.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Than G-d there are a few folks like me ..i thought I was alone in not really liking off piste ... 
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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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@shep, +1
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Is it really off-piste you don't like or just ungroomed deep fresh snow?
Off-piste doesn't mean fresh snow. It sometimes does but not necessarily. Off-piste usually involves steeper (often more challenging) terrain and ungroomed snow which may or may not be powder depending on the conditions.
If you don't like deep fresh snow, I suggest you take some lessons. Fat skis won't really help if you don't have sufficient technique but they will once you do. Before the advent of carving skis, we only had one pair of skis and they were narrow and long. Skiing in powder with them was still enjoyable if a bit more physically involved.
If it's steeper terrain, moguls, narrow couloirs and uneven ungroomed snow you don't like, again I'd recommend lessons because these are conditions you might find even on piste (and not just on black runs.) And fat skis will not make steeper runs any easier.
Being heavy has nothing to do with it I know good skiers who are heavy and happy skiing on any terrain/snow conditions. If your fitness and technique are good you should be able to ski anything.
Having said all that, I totally understand that you might prefer easier flowing groomed pistes. I like both and there's nothing wrong with staying on the piste. Going off-piste for the sake of it is pointless.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Jonny996 wrote: |
| I'm a fairly competent skier, |
Then your NOT if you only cope with Carpet
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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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@GrosPierre, incorrect, "one pair of skis" - 203s for Slalom, 207s for GS.
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@GrosPierre, for me I simply don't like deep ungroomed snow. I don't mind steep but I don't want hidden obstacles or the possibility of getting stuck. I also don't want to fall as I need heavy lifting gear to get me up again!
Perhaps it is about technique and fitness. I'm middle aged, overweight, unfit and have mobility issues. Lessons aren't going to help any of that. But I want to enjoy skiing within my limits, I see no need to push myself into anything I'm not comfortable with.
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You know it makes sense.
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@queenie pretty please, well said. We go skiing to have fun and it would be very boring and crowded if we all liked the same thing. Variety is the spice of life.
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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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@Jonny996, nowt wrong with not enjoying it, skiing is a hobby for most and a holiday, so enjoyment and happiness over stress of wanting to try off piste if you don't enjoy it.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I used to love whatever I could ski including the odd bit of off piste. But as I’ve got older and wiser, I prefer to stay where I enjoy, rather than where I hurt myself.
Having fallen and been carted off a blue run with a screwed up knee in 2010 I now am far more careful, and tbh as I only ski one week a year I’m want to have fun
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| under a new name wrote: |
| @GrosPierre, incorrect, "one pair of skis" - 203s for Slalom, 207s for GS. |
I stand corrected. 
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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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| queenie pretty please wrote: |
@GrosPierre, for me I simply don't like deep ungroomed snow. I don't mind steep but I don't want hidden obstacles or the possibility of getting stuck. I also don't want to fall as I need heavy lifting gear to get me up again!
Perhaps it is about technique and fitness. I'm middle aged, overweight, unfit and have mobility issues. Lessons aren't going to help any of that. But I want to enjoy skiing within my limits, I see no need to push myself into anything I'm not comfortable with. |
I get that. Technique won't help with fitness or mobility but it will help you ski more efficiently (i.e. without using so much energy.)
Being able to enjoy it is the most important thing though (all I'm saying is that with better technique you might find that you enjoy even more  )
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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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@Jonny996, I'm with 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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@Jonny996, Skiing is meant to be fun! If you're getting fun from what your doing, and you're happy with that, then stick with it. On the other hand, if the things you like about skiing are the challenge of tackling more difficult terrain, and improving your technique, then it might be time to branch out more. In that case, the answer is probably to get some lessons.
I love off piste, but it's not compulsory. Do what you enjoy.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Jonny996, Me too! Have no wish to ski off piste and am happy cruising around blues & reds all day.
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@Jonny996,
Sounds like you would like offpiste if you could ski it. Offpiste is a lot less forgiving of mistakes than on piste.
As others have said ....
Wide skis make it easier (you can travel slower without sinking)
Instruction rather than guide although some professionals in the ski industry offer both at the same time. (i.e. dedicated offpiste courses)
Building a strong core (e.g with core exercises) helps a lot when skiing offpiste, at least it does for me.
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@Jonny996, just stay on the piste, if that what you enjoy then stick with it.
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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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Cant beat deep powder skiing, if you get the float, it's a different sport.
So many times people venture off piste and the snow is either rotten or tracked out or frozen crust, that is all fairly brutal and often unpleasant and would put anyone off off-piste.
However if you've had first tracks in real dry light powder it is like a drug, very addictive and the true floating feeling when you feel nothing under your feet is incomparable to regular skiing.
If powder is truly powder you dont need wide skis either, all my best powder days were 18-20 years ago on 68-72mm waist skis but with a decent shovel nose.
Dont discount off piste until you've had real fresh light deep powder.
More often than not off piste is hard going because the conditions aren't good enough. Can still be an adventure though. Fitness and technique helps of course.
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Mon 26-11-18 11:59; edited 1 time in total
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| Chamcham wrote: |
@Jonny996, Skiing is meant to be fun! If you're getting fun from what your doing, and you're happy with that, then stick with it. On the other hand, if the things you like about skiing are the challenge of tackling more difficult terrain, and improving your technique, then it might be time to branch out more. In that case, the answer is probably to get some lessons.
I love off piste, but it's not compulsory. Do what you enjoy. |
This, the number of people telling you to get lessons etc to force yourself off-piste is ridiculous. I love off-piste, but I have a lot of friends who don't. They do what they like, I do what I like and sometimes join them. Skiing is a holiday, do what maximises your enjoyment
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Jonny996, I was in agreement with you around about a year ago. Hadn't gone off-piste for a long time and, although I am fit, reasonable strong and competent on-piste, I had no technique to equip me for dealing with these conditions.
Having done an off-piste ski guided session last season though, I now feel much happier tackling a variety of conditions as I have an idea on how to handle them. I could definitely do with more instruction but really relish the thought of getting off-piste again in a few weeks and going for more guided sessions then too!
I totally agree that most of this is about technique and, if I could afford it, I would book up some lessons but picked up a lot from the guided sessions so hoping to improve further this time round!
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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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| GrosPierre wrote: |
Fat skis won't really help if you don't have sufficient technique but they will once you do.
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This is oversimplified. It’s like telling someone driving on ice to get extra driving lessons rather than winter tires. I’ll have the tires first please!
For sure get lessons but IME the skis will make a MUCH bigger difference in deep snow.
Try taking a pair of GS skis into the deep stuff and however great your technique it’s a battle. On fat rockered skis any half decent skier can enjoy themselves.
And i’ve yet to meet anyone who didn’t enjoy once on the right equipment. When you’re not struggling any more is there a better feeling then floating down a powder field?
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| Bennisboy wrote: |
| Chamcham wrote: |
@Jonny996, Skiing is meant to be fun! If you're getting fun from what your doing, and you're happy with that, then stick with it. On the other hand, if the things you like about skiing are the challenge of tackling more difficult terrain, and improving your technique, then it might be time to branch out more. In that case, the answer is probably to get some lessons.
I love off piste, but it's not compulsory. Do what you enjoy. |
This, the number of people telling you to get lessons etc to force yourself off-piste is ridiculous. I love off-piste, but I have a lot of friends who don't. They do what they like, I do what I like and sometimes join them. Skiing is a holiday, do what maximises your enjoyment |
Agree with all this. Just go easy on the bragging about being an advanced skier etc etc if you don't ski offpiste- not that it matters much but you don't want to end up with ski companions whose idea of advanced skiing is skiing anywhere and everywhere.
If you do want to get into the delights of off piste - and there are obviously plenty of people who probably wouldn't be skiing if pistes were all there were to do - then lessons and a better platform fo wider skis are the way to go.
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You know it makes sense.
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I don't see anybody "telling" or "forcing" the OP, just advising him.
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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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Not sure the OP referred to themselves as 'Advanced' (certainly no hint of bragging in there!), just 'Competent' which seems perfectly reasonable to me...
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Jonny996, wondering what the motivation in your OP post is 
Did you genuinely think you were the only one?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@queenie pretty please, I feel much the same and have now given up trying.
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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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| tonyswift wrote: |
| Not sure the OP referred to themselves as 'Advanced' (certainly no hint of bragging in there!), just 'Competent' which seems perfectly reasonable to me... |
No the OP is fine. But you know how it goes. Not the OP but you come across plenty of Billy Big Bolluxes who waste no time telling everyone what great skiers they are before saying "but I don't do off piste". There's usually one in every chalet. It's actually helpful their bragging so you then know who you don't want to be lumbered skiing with and if you happen to be caught in a group with said Billy you can always "miss a turn" and catch up with everyone (much) later.
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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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@Dave of the Marmottes, you are right - everything is relative and one man's advanced skier is another's novice!
To be honest, I probably adjust how I would describe myself dependent upon the relative levels of those i am talking to for fear of overstating my ability!
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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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Can remember my first offpiste excursions, I was early 30's and fit (exercise wise, not good looking). Went down more times than Monica Lewinsky* and it was knackering getting up all the time so can fully understand people when they say they have given up trying. I'm an akward stubborn sod so kept up with it and am glad now that I persisited.
* There's probably a cheap crude joke in there about face shots but I didn't want to stoop so low. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Main issue indeed is the 100% self taught probably...Lack of technique, you really need lessons for that
Apart from that: no problem whatsoever. Just enjoy the pistes! Love the 'non-bragging'
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I'm similar, I can't ski well enough, or often enough, to do it justice. There are a few areas where we normally go which are off-piste in that they are between other pistes which I enjoy, but I'm happy with that.
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| Quote: |
I feel much the same and have now given up trying
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yeah, me too - even before my current health problems I found that the amount of falling I did in the difficult snow (easiski's description) at La Grave left me with a hugely swollen and very stiff knee (despite a steroid injection into it the week before, in preparation). Even so, some tuition specifically looking at how to descend what (to me....) were quite steep slopes, made a big difference. I just left it too late in my skiing career, I guess - I was in my late 60s when we did the La Grave descent - which will count as the high spot of my patchy off piste skiing career! I'd had lessons before, in deep soft snow, which had been enjoyable (if also knackering) and much improved my performance. Just not enough! I'm glad I did it - it gave me a "taste" of the real thing and helps on those days when the snow on-piste is far from perfect. But I am very happy to ski nicely groomed corduroy in the sunshine, as I am to beam-reach at 8 knots on a flat sea rather than hammering to windward in a chop. I don't feel I have anything to prove (it's one of the few advantages of being old....).
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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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@DB, That is pretty much exactly my experience (though I'll skip on the ML refs, as I find them quite distasteful). @admin may remember waiting quite some time for me to repeatedly fall my way down a line, finishing with a particularly spectacular entrance back onto the piste that involved my head meeting the ground several times  I was determined to get it though, and I took about 3 weeks of lessons and practice to sort myself out. I don't fall over that much now, so don't expend so much energy getting back up again, which is a killer when you first start.
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FAQ
