 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all, off to La Plagne for our first ever ski trip on Saturday.
Had 4 dry slope lessons and have lessons booked over there.
Managed to progress to starting to try and parallel turn yesterday. Did ok’ish but hit the deck at one point, feeling it today.
Been told it will be much easier on the snow?
How true is this 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Kevali, it's very true!
I know some people swear by dry slopes, but when I started out I was told they were really only good for learning the basics.
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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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Snow is much slippier (than dendix, not sure about others).
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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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@Kevali, night and day. The slope doesn't have to be as steep to get you sliding.
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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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but when I started out I was told they were really only good for learning the basics
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Or how to improve skills to a very high level eg for racing, or carving turns. Not so good for learning how to handle deep powder, however, but the balance and edging control is certainly useful in dealing with hardpack.
@Kevali, it is generally easier on snow.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Much easier. If you learn on dry slopes, you will be well set for snow.
I still ski on dry slopes occasionally to remind me how much better the real thing is!
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I know some people swear by dry slopes, but when I started out I was told they were really only good for learning the basics.
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The basics are what most people never finish learning!
If you are UK based and not near (or rich enough for) a snowdome, then plastic is your best option to improve. It is slower, grip is elusive, but if you can master plastic then you will be a much better snow skier. The only downside is that stopping ever 80 metres or so on snow (typical dryslope length) may distress your friends...
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The dry slope we had family lessons on, many years ago, in Ayrshire, had no lift (it had once had a lift, but fallen on hard times....). So after every short run - which took a while as we were doing lots of turns, and stopping and correcting, you had to shoulder your skis and walk up the muddy grass at the side. Which was, of course, very good for your legs! Snow, with a drag lift, was exceptionally easy after that.
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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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| Paul33 wrote: |
| ... when I started out I was told they were really only good for learning the basics. |
It's rare to find anyone from the UK who can actually ski - I mean at expert level - who didn't put in significant time on a dry slope.
But most people only ever learn "the basics", so for them that's probably true 
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It's rare to find anyone from the UK who can actually ski - I mean at expert level - who didn't put in significant time on a dry slope.
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Or in Cairngorm.....
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Kevali, snow is much easier but the technique is the same. I used to ski a lot at one and really think that it helped improve my performance
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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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So what would a dry slope be in terms of colour
eg, green / blue
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@Kevali, The gradient of an average dry slope is probably equivalent to a typical blue run, Gloucester and Sheffield (RIP) being my points of reference but you travel so much faster on snow that it is not quite analogous. Falling typically, although not always, hurts less when falling on snow. No hexagonal holes to forc ebody parts into. You will want to start on the nursery slopes to get a feel for snow but should then be able to progress relatively quickly to blue runs if you were already parallel turning on dendex
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You know it makes sense.
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Cheers
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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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@Kevali, If you've not used a chairlift, you might find that takes a bit of getting used to, especially if it's a "fixed" lift which you need to get on, and off, quite smartly. Presumably you've not booked the very first beginners lessons in La Plagne, so it might be worth mentioning to the instructor if it's your first experience of a chair.
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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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| Paul33 wrote: |
I know some people swear by dry slopes, but when I started out I was told they were really only good for learning the basics. |
Whoever told you that doesn't know what they're talking about.
Anyone could improve their skiing during the off season more than they could ever imagine, skiing with a race club a couple of hours a week.
Skill level will sky rocket and transfer over in to all aspects of skiing.
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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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my recollection of Hillend (Edinburgh) and Bearsden is about red run steepness but green run speeds.
As is oft said, if you can ski well on a dry slope, you can ski well anywhere 
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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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As is oft said, if you can ski well on a dry slope, you can ski well anywhere
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Sadly not true. A few years ago I recall going skiing with some excellent dry slope racers on snow. OK they have limited snow experience, but they could not deal with even tiny bumps at all.
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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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Sadly not true. A few years ago I recall going skiing with some excellent dry slope racers on snow.
OK they have limited snow experience, but they could not deal with even tiny bumps at all. |
<shrug> I remember when I made that transition: it took me about 4 hours to work out how to deal with bumps, although they were weird at first.
The "expert beginner" thing doesn't work well on plastic: weaknesses in technique are much more apparent.
Plus everyone on the lift's watching, so there's no BS potential if you can't actually ski/ ride.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I had a strange experience on a dry slope (Gloucester) the other week that I've been meaning to ask about. I should have asked the staff at the time - and I'm still not sure why I didn't.
Background: I learned to ski on snow, have probably skied 60 days total... so not a beginner but my technique is still somewhat basic (my 'Carv Ski:IQ' is 99 for those who use that system, for what it's worth). Anyway - we went to Gloucester a few weeks before this year's ski trip... first time on a dry slope. Was a bit weird at first but we got into it fairly quickly and had a fun couple of hours. We then had a great week in France.
But then... we returned to Gloucester a few weeks later, after the holiday... and it was a total disaster. I kept feeling like I was going to fall over the front of my skis... it felt like the surface was slowing me down so much. In fact, I really struggled to get any speed up at all. And on two occasions I ended up right at the edge of the matting and it felt like my outside ski had been 'grabbed' and I just couldn't get it to turn... I actually ended up on the grass at one point.
Now... one thing I noticed was that, aside from one short stretch (that was the only part I enjoyed), it didn't look like the water sprinkler things were on.
So my question is: is this just a normal experience... I'd got lazy on snow and the dry slope had revealed my poor technique, etc? Or could it (as I suspect... but then I would say this wouldn't I) be that there actually was something wrong with the slope that day (eg no water spray)?
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@gendal, if they don't turn the sprinklers on and it dries out then dryslope skiing is cr@p, your move so slowly that you struggle to turn a d your timing is all off. Sprinklers cost money so if it's not busy they are likely to turn them off. I would put your lack of enjoyment and ability that day fully down to that.
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That’s a relief. Thanks.
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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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Take a candle to rub on the bottom of your skis next time!
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FAQ
