 Poster: A snowHead
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I have been skiing 4 times now and haven't progressed past a timid intermediate. I started on skis but after 2 trips moved over to snowblades as I found them easier.
I am wondering whether it is my technique rather than type of ski/snowblade that is holding me back as I haven't really had any proper lessons.
Should I go back to skis for our next trip and have some private lessons to get me better? Or should I try snowboarding - although I did have a couple of tries but it was very icy and I gave up!
Also, Salomon have very kindly (not) stopped doing the 609 binding kit so my snowblades are stuck with the non-releasable binding, which doesn't help my confidence in not hurting myself when I fall over, which is one of my main failings and why I probably can't progress any further too (apart from lack of technique).
Any help gratefully received.
Thanks
Hannah
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hannah, sounds like lessons would be a good idea.
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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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WTFH, thanks for that - do you think it would be better to go back to skis too?
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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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Hannah, I think if you can improve on skis, then you have more options open to you - if you choose to go back to blades, you will find them a lot easier, if you stick with skis, then you'll have the better skills there too.
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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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Hannah, yes, I agree with the Fox-man, lessons on skis. Occasional use of snowblades should re-inforce some of the lessons, and are a bit of fun too.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hannah - I agree with WFH and laundryman.
SnowBlades are great fun and are very good for sorting out how you stand on your skis. But they're not good for developing technique.
Don't hang them up though! I love the occassional blast out on my SnowBlades.
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Yes, no question. As a skier, occasional blader and beginner snowboarder, I strongly advise lessons on skis. If fear of falling over is holding you back, snowboarding had better wait! When, and where, are you thinking of going, Hannah ? Some places have better ski tuition than others.
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Hannah, Try some lessons over here (dryslope, indoor snow) first. Get working on getting better now, rather than just when on holiday.
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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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| pam w wrote: |
| When, and where, are you thinking of going, Hannah ? Some places have better ski tuition than others. |
We were hoping to do a fairly last minute thing somewhere in January, probably Austria or France but I can't be more specific than that at the moment!
Am I not going to be able to get some lessons if I leave it last minute, and would I have to go in a group or would private lessons be better?
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Imho snowblades are much easier then skis. Easy is often fun but easy also means limmited level of progress.
If you really WANT to learn then I would say stick to skis. If you dont really care about learning technique and just want to goof around and have fun then stay with snowblades.
A mountain vacation should be fun first and foremost.
But with skis you will eventually get more stability then you will ever get with snowblades. More stability means able to go down more type of runs and at higher speeds. Veriaty of runs skiied in a day is also something that can contribute to the fun factor and so can speed be.
Though there are exceptions. Ive got friends that are insane on snowblades. They ski everything including deep powder offpist on snowblades. They have low sking skill but high number of "insane" genes and extream ballance.
But my recommendation would be to take lessons, try and improve your skiing unless you feel that its increadably booring to taking lessons and sking. Only way to get rid of the timidity is to improve to a level where stability and trust of equipment becomes high enough for you to push your self. My take is that its much easier to obtain stability and trust of equipment on skis.
Tex
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Just an additional point, while I second the idea of skis and lessons, try going for skis that you can ski shorter...
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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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Hannah, I'd agree with ski - get lessons over here first so you can enjoy your trip more - and skis not snowboard. If you tell us where you're based, we can probably point you in a good direction. I was quite happy making it up for myself on snow, and was quite happy with the "knocks" ski-school to get up to a reasonable intermediate level. Unless you are a complete no-hoper though, you will be a better skier and get more enjoyment out of it though with lessons.
Whatever you do though, if it's a dryslope don't go without lessons - as falling will hurt more than on snow, which won't do anything good for your confidence....so you need instruction on how to do it properly (and your instructor will - usually  - make sure that you fall over less).
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| Quote: |
Just an additional point, while I second the idea of skis and lessons, try going for skis that you can ski shorter...
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yes, very important point. No higher than the bottom of your nose and don't let any technician give you anything longer! I don't think you need book too much in advance for lessons in low season - ie mid January/first week of February and you should get some good last minute bargain packages then if you are flexible about destination etc. You might be better off waiting till then, as dry ski slopes are not much fun and not likely to help much with your fear of falling and hurting yourself. You could try Milton Keynes - real (artificial!) snow, and some good tuition available. In a lesson at the right level you won't fall much, if at all, and if you do, snow is a lot nicer to fall on. Not cheap but good value if you enjoy your holiday more as a result. There are a number of French resorts with good English-language tuition, in small groups - maybe a better bet than Austria. Problem with local ski schools (e.g. ESF) is that you could end up in a very big class, not learning very much. Private lessons are expensive, but maybe you could share with a friend at a similar level? You might find that three two hour lessons, spread throughout the week so you can practice, would do you more good than a week of a ski school group. You might also find a video is useful - look on the Ski Club website or somewhere like Snow and Rock - so you can begin to "visualise" yourself doing the correct movements.
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You know it makes sense.
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Hannah, I have found learning on Snowblades to be very useful.
My husband is a very good skier, and I was a beginner until last year. Unfortunately I had a very bad road traffic accident a number of years ago which affected my knee. This meant I could not spend all day doing snowplough turns - it hurt my leg too much. I was despairing, because I couldn't enjoy his favourite activity. My husband suggested trying Snowblades because the snowplough position is narrower and it is much easier to learn parallel turns. I didn't find them unstable because I've done a lot of skating in the past, so my weight was naturally in the right place.
I progressed very rapidly on Snowblades with some private lessons and began to find their limitations - you can learn some techniques but not others (or at least others are more difficult - like side-slipping). I then did my own version of Ski Evolutif by using progressively longer skis, and in the course of a few days had transferred from blades to long skis. More private lessons took my skiing on very rapidly indeed - I am convinced it was much more rapid progress than I would have made had I just struggled on with long skis alone. I have now skied for 5 weeks and am able to keep up with my husband reasonably well, and am doing some race training in Tignes this November (one of the instructors on the course we are proposing to do has taught me and says my skiing is good enough for this). I know there is a lot more to learn, but if you had trouble with long skis, then Snowblades might be a way in for you. I don't think it would work for everybody, and I had a special reason for doing it this way, but nevertheless it was effective for me.
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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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PhillipStanton, I disagree about blades being no good for technique. Snowblades taught me to carve on most pistes. I only used them to go out with the kids, boarding instead when by myself. Last year I got fed up with the blade bindings and bought some Blizzard B52 150 fun carvers. The carving technique immediately transferred to the longer skis and I am having a blast with them. If developing carving technique is an aim, I cannot see a better way than starting with blades and gradually moving to longer skis.
These skis are probably no good in powder for me at all but they have pretty impressive grip despite being low end and short. Certainly gave me plenty of confidence to trust the edges on spring morning bulletproof groomed ice (something I absolutely hate when I'm boarding). That being the case I cannot understand why women considerably lighter than me with no intention of going off piste struggle with longer skis.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Hannah, I am going to disagree with some of these folks and suggest that you get some solid lessons on skis. Snowblades, while useful for some very specific skills (for example, balance fore/aft) also have a tendency to ingrain some pretty strong negative habits (like tossing your feet around to get them to go a certain way and do a certain thing). So, I suggest that you find a high-level instructor who is a native speaker of your primary language, and spend the time with them necessary. Frankly, the idea of an indoor slope appeals to me at your level.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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HANNAH check out SKIBOARDSONLINE.COM snowblades are an inferior type of skiboard ,blades are narrow and made from foam pvc skiboards are made with a wood core and are a lot wider with various lengths which improve stability but are still extremly easy to use. releasable bindings are available .the head big easy94 is widely available in the uk my girlfreind loves them and has went from greens to reds quickly .Shes also a ski instructors worst nightmare splay footed thus the shorter length board is a must enjoy the mountain on whatever you choose to slide on
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