 Poster: A snowHead
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Warning: a wall of text.
I just signed to a local Masters / beer league group. Excited about the possibility to train with folks much more competent than me. Not looking forward to race against the clock, not this season at least, and should that happen in any case I’d surely be the slowest down the hill. I’m there mostly to first improve my general skiing, secondly to have fun and meet people that I might even become ski buddies with - maybe do an occasional ski trip with the whole group or some guys to Masters competitions or just leisurely etc., thirdly to stay fit and fourth, maybe to someday be somewhat competitive so I wouldn’t finish last by 5 seconds on a 30 second course.
40 years old, 5’10, 160 lb, semi-athletic, no racing background, can carve but only just started to be able to “work” the turn when carving (by pressure, balance point and/or appropriate amount of skidding in appropriate phase of the turn).
The local hill we’ll be practicing at is about 300 ft vertical drop and they mostly practice Slalom or “Super Slalom” that’s closer to SL than GS, tailored for a short course. The tool of choice for both disciplines are SL skis that I don’t yet have.
Went to the club recommended race shop today to get kitted out: new helmet, goggles, protectors, poles, gloves, gear bag… And skis. And maybe boots. I was forthcoming about my situation, the guy I spoke with was evidently coming from an extensive racing background himself and had some thoughts I found didn’t match what I had in mind when walking in.
Now to my questions:
A) After he asked what boots was I on and I told Head Formula 110s, he said I’d gonna need a stiffer boot. After trying a couple of models first the third and most fitting pair was Rossignol Hero 130s. I didn’t have my own boots with me to compare but they felt noticeably stiffer than my current ones - if I can flex my current ones so that my knee goes a bit over my toes (knee moves about 2 inches forward) the 130s moved maybe max about inch when loading the boot. All else being equal, does that sound about right for this application, especially taking into account point B below (the skis they’d be paired with)?
B) As for the skis, he was quite adamant that I should go for Rossignol Hero FIS SLs. I had thought about going one level lower because how demanding I think those skis could be. Let’s say I’ll fly on to my arse on the first session on FIS SLs - any chance I’d “grow into them” during a season or two as an adult onset skier? Other more seasoned Masters participants here, is it really the FIS stuff you see in your groups or will I be laughed away from the hill if I show up in cheater-SLs?
Not trying to save money by not buying new boots or non-FIS skis, just want to make an informed decision. Bought everything else already, still on the fence re. boots and skis.
Thanks for your insight!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Ravensburger, I just started with a masters group here in Austria last weekend, so in a similar position to you in some respects. I do already have some SL experience from artificial slopes in the UK over the last 2 years.
My SL skis are 165 Atomic S9 FIS. We actually spent the weekend training GS though, and for that I'm on a 180 Atomic G9 FIS r24m, so quite a bit less than a full blown world cup GS ski in terms of length and radius. However, most of the guys were on something pretty full on, including some 193 r30m GS skis.
Are you able to ski on a pair of the Rossi FIS SL's to try them out? And also, are you able to try a pair of the non-FIS skis to try also?
That will probably give you an idea on what's best for you right now. You might find that you end up with the non-FIS for a little bit before upgrading to the FIS model.
Definitely see what you can demo though.
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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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@swskier, To tell you the truth, reading about you joining your group in Austria might have been the last - but needed - bit of inspiration/push that got me to join my group as well. So thank you for that and your advice here!
I’ll try and get a demo pair of the Rossis and take them out for a training session. If it feels hopeless I’ll downgrade.
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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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FIS SL skis are fine, a very fun ski. Here skiing indoors the majority of adults are on women’s FIS. I use mine on the mountain too and love them. It’s GS where masters tend to want to size down from full FIS to a masters/U16 GS ski.
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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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@Ravensburger, well, glad I helped push you over the line! I think it adds a real fun aspect to skiing (and frustrating) and also adds some focus rather than just skiing for skiing's sake!
As @stephap says, I don't feel like you'd be chucked all over the place in a pair of FIS skis, but definitely give a pair a go. Even if it's trying a friends pair from the club.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Ravensburger, the non-FIS skis won't have the same torsional stiffness as the FIS ones and will make learning harder.
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@stephap, @rjs, Thanks, exactly the kind of reasoning I wanted to hear now but wasn’t ready for yesterday.
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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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@Ravensburger,
I got some second hand FIS SL skis and only use them for recreational piste skiing when the snow is firm. Great fun and not at all scary. Every now and gain I'll really crank them over at speed on a hard patch and the tails will give me a bit of a rocket out of the turn but that's get to catch me out entirely.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Had my first training session today. As expected, I was by far the slowest. And my appreciation for good slalom-skiing just went onto another level. There were a some guys who shredded the course like a thunderbolt, then a solid mid-pack and lastly me who could keep a reasonable pace and rhythm on a flatter part of the course where the gate spacing didn’t vary much but a couple of offset gates, a hairpin and a steeper section really threw me off - had no chance to stay on track in any kind of actual speed trying to cleanly pass those. Could have done it by skidding slowly and destroying the track while doing it. But after the first few timid runs I just took it as a challenge, tried to nail it and then failed spectacularly leading to a bunch of DNFs. And a couple of gates I blocked with my face instead of hand.
But it was all good fun and I got one good tip from the coach I can work on. The people were very welcoming and I didn’t feel like looked down on. Just got to keep grinding, hopefully I’ll see improvement during the coming months!
And now the skis: I got a demo pair of Rossignol Hero Master STs. They should be pretty close to FIS, similar construction, race plate et all, just slightly de-tuned and a little bit different dimensions. The skis felt really good while warming up just free-skiing on piste but, as the race shop guy said, Master should be more stable but turn initiation isn’t as crisp and the FIS SLs should be quicker from edge to edge.
I have no expectations that the FISs would fix my problems but from this experience I’d say I’ll need a turnier ski and the FIS probably won’t be too difficult for me. Going to demo them next week.
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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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@Ravensburger, sounds very similar to myself, definitely the slowest, but you should find you'll pick up the pace pretty quickly.
Sounds like an excuse to buy some FIS skis to me! 
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| swskier wrote: |
@Ravensburger, sounds very similar to myself, definitely the slowest, but you should find you'll pick up the pace pretty quickly.
Sounds like an excuse to buy some FIS skis to me! |
Yup! At least I can’t blame the skis then.
Funny how there was a pattern that just kept happening:
1. I’m late
2. Now I’m really late!
3. I’m off
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You know it makes sense.
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@Ravensburger, being late is what everyone does when they first start out. I was exactly the same when I started on the dry slopes!
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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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Update: demoed the aforementioned Rossignol Hero FIS SLs today together with a wild card: the shopkeeper had picked the stiffest pair of women’s FIS skis (157 cm) he had in his shop for me to try in parallel to the men’s standard issue SLs.
And the women’s ski just blew me away. Such precision, quickness in edge changes, ability for me to move between lines (i.e. take the high line at will)… for a second I felt like I could ski.
That’s the ski for me. Heck, if many of the women competing in WC are nearly my height, nearly my weight, squat more than I do, have superior technique to me and ski a lot faster generating more pressure to the ski, why not use the same gear as they do?
So I ended up with Rossignol Hero FIS SL in 157 cm.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Ravensburger, nice, that's super common on the artificial slopes in the UK. I was using a 157 Atomic S9 FIS there.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Ravensburger, Plenty of male Masters racers use women's FIS SL skis, at your weight I think you made the right choice.
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