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Monoski - Can you help?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hello all,

I am looking for a bit of help, I have a below knee amputation on one leg and I currently ski with a ski prosthetic. In good snow I can get down nice(not slushy or moguls) blacks but as soon as it starts to get slushy it’s starts to get difficult as my prosthetic leg has a little too much movement.

I am currently trying out the 3 tracks with the outriggers but I skied for many years with two legs and just feel more comfortable with both underneath me!

So I am thinking of trying out a standing monoski, I think this would help with the control issues and give me two feet underneath.

I currently live in Scotland and am looking for advice on where I can hire a monoski or buy a cheap one, if possible, but also where I can get some advice on sizes and what type of ski I should look at and how do you ride it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

G
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I just showed this to my Adaptive Instructor daughter

"That is something not covered in the training!"

I think you might be the first person trying this solution (but the logic is decent).

I/we can see the logic, but the chances if hiring one...probably zero.

I have tried monoskiing and the major thing to adjust to (apart from two feet locked together) is that you are skiing on the wrong edge all the time as there simply isn't an inside ski edge to use.
Most people adapt quite well.

Buy one on ebay, they are quite sought after these days so if you really hate it then you can readily re-sell it.

My advice would be
Jump in with both feet (!) and just go for it
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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?
There is one for hire in Ski Service Ruinettes!
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As @rungsp, indicates, your logic seems fine to advance the area you're concerned about. They are getting more few and far between in availability now though, quite a few hire shops would keep maybe a couple in the past but as they age seem to get consigned to "display" curiosity pieces more currently.

I've not ridden one but a good skier friend hired one on a couple of occasions and used without difficulty. Although it's obviously always the inner edge giving the grip, two skis place that inner edge of downhill ski more directly under centre of your body so guess the feeling will take some accommodation to feel comfortable with that edge moved completely to one side.

A complete left field view, and longer term. It could be productive/possible to link the two skis together to get something of both elements (mono and paired) in more of a bespoke arrangement. https://www.motofablifts.com/DRZ-400-2-Lowering-Links-Billet-aluminum-Made-in-p/drz-l-2.htm these items are routinely used and available in many different sizes for motorcycle suspension off the shelf. Now if you produced a flat based stand up mount to be fixed to each ski behind and in front of the bindings, then you have the potential to run them as a pair but just for direction, then leaving them independent for lean.
In effect to stear like a mono and give the direction you are looking for, but edge the same as a pair of skis used parallel.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Quote:

They are getting more few and far between in availability now though, quite a few hire shops would keep maybe a couple in the past but as they age seem to get consigned to "display" curiosity pieces more currently.


Not quite. There is a bit of a revival going on with a festival in Chamonix last year and a couple of manufacturers started up (why? who knows?).

In principle the premise seems reasonable, but you might, @Gourky, want to bear in mind that you do want some ability to apply force in both directions and your prosthetic would need to be up to that, albeit that the precision may be reduced, and compensated for.

My suspicion would be an ebay purchase to establish feasibility then maybe acquire one of these new fangled designer models.

https://www.snowgunz.com/

https://www.duretskis.com/en/produits/monoskis
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There is a shop here that hires them. Not Scotĺand I know. See quite a few about, not many days I don't see at least 1. There's one old guy, mid 70s, skis a skwal, now they are rare.

Quote:

A skwal is the main piece of equipment used for skwalling, a hybrid sport combining the carving of skiing and riding feel of snowboarding. It is similar to a snowboard or monoski in that both feet are attached to the same board. On a skwal the feet are one in front of the other, in line with the direction the skwal is pointing in. This differs from snowboards (in which the feet are side-on to the direction of the board) and monoskis (in which the feet point in the direction of the board, but are side-by-side).
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
It was in Les Deux Alpes that my friend hired a mono @Claude B, a while ago now but there seemed to be more interest there at the time than other places.

I didn't know what a Skwall was until described above, but followed a guy (parallel to me) down a wide slope in Morillon, I was amazed at the pace and shear carving ability of it. He was extraordinarily agile on that and very skilled, now I know what it was Very Happy
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@Gourky, I have an old monoski, with hire bindings, that you would be welcome to try. I use it for a bit of fun a couple of times a year. I’m in Tignes for a couple of weeks, but will be back skiing at Braehead in early May, if you want to arrange a suitable time.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@ski3, I only knew because he told me, a few years ago Very Happy Really nice old guy who lives in Bourg d'Oisans and skis up here a lot. I was talking to him on Friday on the funicular and he was explaining his skwal to my girlfriend's 13 year old son.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Hi Everyone, thanks so much for all your help its much appreciated, its not the easiest to try and find info so this has been brilliant. @ski lots that would be great to give it a try I'll send you a message. I'll let you all know if I survive.

Cheers

G
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@Gourky, A logical adaptive idea. Very Happy I'd be interested to hear how you get on.
I met a couple of Czech guys recently who are working together with Otto Bock developing skiing prosthetics. I skied with an above knee amputee, a below knee amputee and a bilateral (AK/BK) amputee using them. They look good Smile
Let me know if you would like details.
Good luck with the monoski Very Happy
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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.
Hey guys,

I'm just getting warmed up to the idea of trying out the Monoskiing. I was wondering if you guys could answer a few illusive questions. This seems to be one of the only places with people who could answer all my questions.

- What's the difference between a Monoski and a Monoblade?
- how do you figure out what size ski you need? Would it be the same as normal skies?
- That being said, I used to race Super G, so my normal skiies are actually a little longer then "recommended". Would I want to do the same with a Monoski?
- I also want a ski that has carving ability's, something with a great radius. So how does the radius/side cut system work on the Monoski?
- Finally, any recommendations on the kind of ski I'm looking for? Toofy Grin

Thanks guys!
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 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
@Snow_Cat, Just a 'Welcome' -- can't answer your questions, someone better informed will be along soon...
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
albob wrote:
@Snow_Cat, Just a 'Welcome' -- can't answer your questions, someone better informed will be along soon...


Thank you for the welcome! Smile
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@Snow_Cat, I can offer some insight, but not current advice. As above the mono ski I have is well over 20 years old. I can’t check on its length as I am currently crocked and can’t go raking around the garage. However, I think it is around 190, which would have been somewhat shorter than the skis I was using at the time of purchase, but longer than I use now. As when I bought mine, I think you will find that length options will be limited. My monoski is tapered from shovel to tail rather than having a significant side cut - it was produced before carving skis became the norm. A monoblade, which I had never heard of (following a google search) would appear to be a beard trimmer or perhaps more likely just a shorter version of a monoski. In terms of use I always found that the mono worked better for me just off the edge of the piste. On harder snow and particularly on a traverse the mono tended to skip off its edge. Equipment and technique will have changed, but even now when I use mine I tend to initiate turns by both rolling onto the inside/downhill edge and pivoting the ski at a point towards the tail of the ski.

Oh if you do get one make sure you get a one piece (preferably with day-glo flashes) suit to go with it.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@Ski lots, I hope this photo of me on my mono from c.1988 is in line with your expectations:

All the stuff about them being a PITA on traverses and drag-lifts is true, its also a good idea to use a leash, and way back when you could get turntable heel bindings from LOOK which allowed the heel to release sideways as well as vertically.
Also, I tried a few before I bought that one, and while the temptation might be to get one shorter than the skis you use, I found that shorter ones tended to over rotate, and that one the same size as my skis worked best for me YMMV.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@WindOfChange, Nice. On the occasions when I do drag out the mono, I do match it with my Nevica one-piece circa 1988. I believe pictures are available on the Snow Factor FB page.
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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?
Saw a guy using one today in Avoriaz. He said it was 30 years old. I have very positive memories of renting one for a day in 1990 when I couldn’t keep my feet together, or stop leaning back, on normal (210cm!) skis. As the mono was impossible to use otherwise, I took a brave pill and went for it for the rest of the day. For the final 2 days of that trip my normal skiing was transformed.

With a prosthetic I would be concerned, I thought the way to turn them was like the 210 straight cuts of the time with lots of jumps and up and down movement. Skwal sounds better for balance.
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This is great advice. Thank you, guys. I've been in contact with a monoski company named "Monoski North America" and they've put me in touch with a local mountain that has a few demo skies I can demo. And I happen to have one of those one-piece suits! I just have to remember where I stashed it. So I'm super excited!

Actually, if anyone else is located in Utah and wants to demo a monoski, let me know. I would be happy to hook you up. Very Happy
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
You can still buy them - google around and there are some niche manufacturers, the technology is similar to snowboard manufacture.

For sizing, I rode monos from 160 through 195: it's a design choice. You of course need to be sure that you have the correct flex for your weight - the same as skis, really. Taper was common as noted. Big skis tended to have less pronounced side cuts. The side cut works like snowboards. If you can ski then the mono is a fairly easy transition. Traversing is the hardest thing to master, but it absolutely can be mastered with a bit of practice.

I'd be a bit wary of leashes - I nearly had my scull cleaved in two by a Rossi Fair d-Hiver (185?) using a leash, as the leash pulled the board towards me at high speed in the days before helmets. Salomon produced bindings with brakes designed for monoskis, maybe no longer available but those were the safest approach. I found that you needed lower DIN settings on a mono compared with skis.
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There are quite a few French company's building monoski's of various types, slalomcarvers, powderboards, monosplits, freestyle boards. You name it.

I think you should go for a ski that is a bit longer than you are used to when using a pair. I use a Duret Midcarv 1,70 m for indoor training that feels a bit short (me: 79 kg, 1,84 m) and an Aluflex monosplit Aiguille vert of 1,93 m for touring and freeriding that is the right size, but the flex (large) could be a bit stiffer. A 1,88 m Snowgunz Flakeshot is gathering dust, so if you're interested. Happy.
Look bindings work really well for monoskis, because they don't block the boot coming out of the binding when pivoting inwards during a crash.

In the beginning a mono-belt (by Duret) could come in handy, as it keeps the knees together, which takes some time to learn.

Especially powder and slush skiing is magic on a monoski Toofy Grin
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Gourky, I don't have your issue but I've a teleboard which is essentially a big fat heavy ski that just happens to be mounted in a fore-aft telemark binding. That's immaterial to the question about edge weighting. The width of the surface does mean that you need a LOT of hip angulation to engage and keep engaged an edge and you are going to need to apply pressure to the inside leg in a turn/carve. I think you'll have a lot of fun on a monoski but I'm sure you will need to have some asymmetric 'body english' posture to turn equally to either side. Though with your below the knee prosthetic that shouldn't be much exaggerated.
an addendum . . . pretty sure there are some bespoke monoski builders out there and check the international (US) eBay sites. I may be able to help getting something moved from over the pond.
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