 Poster: A snowHead
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Just returned from two weeks in Kitzbühel, Dolomiti and Zillertal, and I'd say 80% of the skiers were on slaloms and 20% on shortish GS boards. I believe mine were the only all mtn boards I saw. And at 184 cm they were way longer than everyone else's boards except for a few giant Germans who also had 184s. I'm only 6'2". What gives? Typical spring conditions, meaning icy to start and softening to mush as the day goes on, with some new snow here and there. I would not have traded my skis for anything, including the rentals I had to use for Days 1 & 2 since BA couldn't get my bags to arrive with me.
I'm not saying SLs are a poor choice, just not ideal, and for it to be so one-sided is obviously a big surprise. Are all mtns just not a thing over yonder? Mine worked great all day, from icy at the bell to blasting through cutup, some new snow, and surviving the bumps on the last run. Lots of folks here complaining about mush bumps after noon, and they're tighter than you'd like partly because of all the short SLs making them. It was nice to have the option to turn around 'em or blast the tops.
Thoughts?
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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 sort of had it the other way around. I was in Crested Butte with my Brother, when they had really poor snow - so it was mostly Piste skiing, with everything any way steep shut. My Brother was hiring and we had great difficulty finding anything below 110. We eventually got some Rossi E88s.
I suspect they were simply not used to having such poor conditions.
In Spring conditions, I would want something AM ie. My Scott The Ski 180s.
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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 expect what you witnessed was a reflection of the conditions in AT/IT - not exactly powder heaven so most locals would select their piste quiver and not their backcountry options.
All mountain and fatter are very prevalent here in Tignes France but I’d still say that 70% of the rentals are on shorter/SL skis but with the conditions changing I imagine folks will be swapping for all mountain.
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Hi @Scooter in Seattle,
I hope you enjoyed it over here... I'm sure you did.
Its probably because we dont get to use the "Whole Mountain" .. its 99+% on piste skiing over here.
I found a similar enigma last season in Kicking Horse...
All the locals were on at least 90mm wide boards ... plus they were all very talented skiiers.
While I was on my 76mm wide and 168cm long.
I had the most fun last year on a very short pair of skis ... about 155cm
I just love the turny skis all day long, even in the mush on the way home.
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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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@Scooter in Seattle, I have noticed this too. In the Dolomites, that’s normal, don’t expect anything else. In Tirol (the Austrian bit), it does seem to be quite fashionable to go out in all weathers on skinny skis. Some of those skis are as old as me, but I’m going to ignore those as I assume you’re referring to modern skis! I think if you go into a hire shop and ask for skis you get slalom skis, so unless you know better/ask for something else, that’s what you’re getting, and it must be the right thing, because that’s what everyone else has, right?
If you go to St Anton, Axamer Lizum, Kühtai or anywhere else known for its freeride on a powder day, then the fat skis will come out, but there will still be tons of people on slalom skis, because that’s what they got from the hire shop.
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@DrLawn, (and all) thank you, yeah tons of fun. 15 days in a row; days 1 and 14 sucked but the other 13 were all one could ask for in late March. You offer me that ratio going forward, count me in.
I prefer the longer board in the morning when it is firm and going fast is on the menu. As the day heats up and the surface cuts up, the bigger shovel and more width underfoot of the AMs make it easier to show the snow who's boss.
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@dode, ha, yeah I'll give ya that. I played some basketball, and at times on the golf course with those guys I'm the short guy in my foursome!
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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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@Scooter in Seattle,
Yes that was really noticeable in the Dollies In January . Everyone else was on very short carving skis. I can see that made sense on the perfectly groomed artificial snow. At times my 184 Black Crows started flapping because they couldn’t hold the edge on the firm snow, so I could see It was me that had the wrong skis. Not a great problem since I was skiing telemark most of the time. Later in the season on softer snow my all mountain skis may have been a bit more sensible. 
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@Peter S, I selected my Mantras because I thought they were a groomer-biased AM, and they are. I love 'em, though if I thought they sucked, I'd say so. When I had a three-ski quiver I often felt I was on the wrong ski, which was more than a little annoying. With these, I'm down to two, switching to the fat guys only on deep days.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Old Fartbag, my skis are Scott's too, Reverse 184's. I don't have a quiver, just those.
@DrLawn, oh I don't know, depends where you are. We probably spend only 50% of our time on piste in Sweden, the rest in gullies, ravines and woods/forests. Nothing super gnarly or anything.
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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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My observations
Austrians ... Old school skinny race
Italians ... Short shaped SL / piste skis
Germans ... GS
British ... Short GS and mid AM
Russians ... Doesn't matter as long as they're the most expensive and have a bit of fur.
US ... As long and as wide as possible
The best skiers on the mountain... Any of the above ...but mounted tele
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You know it makes sense.
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Is there a parallel with cars?
US, luxury in a straight line
EUR, smaller & more nimble to cope with twisty lines?
I took my new, 177cm Nordica enforcer110s and my older Head iRallys to the bb double, despite the offpiste being mostly horrid & hard, I actually preferred the 110s on the hard pistes & left the IRallys in the locker for the 2nd week. The 110s have excellent edge grip on the hard pistes, better than the 76mm iRallys.
I think I prefer the narrower skis for piles of slush, they slice through the piles better than the 110s which tend to ride over the piles & give a bumpy ride.
I think there's still a "Who's got the longest?" hang over from the 80s, but more people are going for shorter skis that can be bossed around more easily.
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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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@Scooter in Seattle, I'm in France, my SL skis work fine for the conditions here, just had a couple of days with 30cm of powder, the fat skis (OG Soul7s) have stayed in the locker.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I had a wonderful time on my Rossignol 9ST race skis in Jan ...wonderful on the ice and hardpack ...they weigh a ton but I did feel safe ,,190s but I am 6'3" and weigh a ton ...but I did learm on 212's
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| tangowaggon wrote: |
Is there a parallel with cars?
US, luxury in a straight line
EUR, smaller & more nimble to cope with twisty lines?
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I would assume it comes from culture, EU kms of piste vs US acres of mountainside available.
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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 hired some Head Kore 184 for piste skiing. They were bloody brilliant skis. Forgiving, stable, but loadsa fun.
Best skis I've ever tried
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I spend all my time on 184/88 Kendos. Seem to work just fine on everything from ice to knee pow to slush. Mind you, my wife just got a pair of Head e-speed race carvers and absolutely leaves me standing on hard piste. Annoying!
Had an absolutely orgasmic day last tuesday laying down track after track over the whole day in Kleinwalsertal. Can't see any need for anything wider...
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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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[quote]
The best skiers on the mountain... Any of the above ...but mounted tele
Yup!
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Mrsthecramps looking over my shoulder has just reminded me we saw a bloke on blades last week.
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| limegreen1 wrote: |
Austrians ... Old school skinny race |
No-one is on old school skis these days. Maybe the very odd Parisien antique on his one week a year in February.
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| under a new name wrote: |
| No-one is on old school skis these days. |
Maybe not in Chamonix, I have seen several pairs in use this winter, with rear entry boots obvs.
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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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| rjs wrote: |
| under a new name wrote: |
| No-one is on old school skis these days. |
Maybe not in Chamonix, I have seen several pairs in use this winter, with rear entry boots obvs. |
relatively common in smaller French resorts that no-one from Snowheads has ever heard of, let alone visited.
You don't need much for piste skiing, so why no.
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@rjs, in holidays and as @davidof, suggests.
But not commonly I don't observe.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Quite a few old fashioned skinny skis on display in Gressoney.
I’m not sure why anyone should be derided for their choice of equipment.
In choosing to be ridiculously tall @ 6’2” @Scooter in Seattle, don’t you find 184s a bit short? I’m a sensible 5’8” & ski 187s myself…
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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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@Gordyjh, sure they weren't just race skis?
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@rjs, if 30 cm isn't enough, I'm curious then how deep it needs to be for ya to break out the fats?
@Gordyjh, any longer and I couldn't handle the bumps cut by all the 160s!
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You know it makes sense.
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@Scooter in Seattle, That was 30cm on piste, it was smooth underneath, I was skiing alone and there wasn't much base off-piste anyway. If I was skiing 30cm new snow over lumpy unpisted old snow then I would want to float on top and would use the fat skis.
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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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@under a new name, they might’ve been race skis from c. 1980!
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Poster: A snowHead
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While ski length and fatness is important, if your skis aren't well serviced you might as well wear floorboards
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Gordyjh, hmmmh, I'm more thinking modern race skis!
I really haven't seen many pre-carvers around for some time. The Italians definitely wouldn't be seen dead on anything so unfashionable! 
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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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@under a new name, try the weekend lift queues in Gressoney! Many of the boots were of a similar vintage.
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@Scooter in Seattle, I noticed the same phenomenon earlier this year with trips to Vail and Madonna in quick succession. It's about having the right equipment for the conditions: whilst a good skier can use the wrong ski in the right snow, piste skiing is, in my view, considerably more fun on skis intended for that type of snow. It's also safer in heavy traffic (common in Europe), as, all other things being equal, a skier will turn and stop more quickly on slalom/GS skis than on all mountains.
My mystification was the other way around. In Vail, we had a couple of days at the start of the trip where no powder was to be found anywhere, yet loads of people were riding 110+ skis. Their day would have been so much better if they'd swapped out for something skinnier and kept the fats for the 24" of powder that landed on days 3 and 4.
It's why I always hire skis rather than take my own. Sometimes I'll use 3 or more sets of different skis over the course of a week's skiing depending on conditions and where I plan to go.
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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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@Gordyjh, I have spent many, many weekends in Gressoney and I still don't think we're talking old school. Mind you I am not going to be arguing too hard, given my lack of general attention!!
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Everyone was short ski sliding
those cats were as fast as lightening
their technique was a little bit frightning
in the pow that they were riding
[ok that's enough stupid song lyrics - Ed.]
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I was just wondering if anyone changes skis at lunchtime at this time of year from piste skis to all mountain if it is so slushy in the afternoon? Or is it more hassle than its worth?
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Depends if you can easily ski in ski out for a swap. I do it quite often on the EOSB as for example while a FIS ski might have advantages on early am refreeze it can be an utter mare by 11am.
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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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Thank you for the reply. It was just I was in the dolomites early March and the cut up pistes lower down were much less enjoyable in the afternoons. I saw this (admittedly much much better skier than most) cruise over the top of it all as if it was perfectly groomed. Most of the other skiers were slowly picking their way down. So I was wondering if it was the skis or the technique or both. Loved the Dolomites. Properly hooked on skiing now.
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| dynastar84 wrote: |
| I was just wondering if anyone changes skis at lunchtime at this time of year from piste skis to all mountain if it is so slushy in the afternoon? Or is it more hassle than its worth? |
I agree with Dave. Spring days often start with ice, so its the piste skis until the 10 am (they open earlier) hydration, sunscreen and ski swap break when the big guns come out....as long as it's feasible. At my main hill I can ski to the car and to the lift, so it's a snap.
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