 Poster: A snowHead
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'lo all -
Being in the (entirely unenviable I'm sure) situation in Fernie of constant snow and lots of fresh, there's also the resulting tracked out powder/soft bumps around, I'm struggling a bit to ski them. I find that when I try and ski in my normal fashion (just charge down), my skis get deflected a lot or pulled away from me, or I get knocked into the backseat.
I'm currently on Salomon Foils which are definately a bit noodly for my weight/aggression (heavy, aggressive), still waiting to get new skis mounted up (which is a different saga). Anyway, I've been whinging to people about my skis being too flexy/turny while I'm skiing like crap, but I'm starting to wonder if it's my boots aren't helping either. I'm currently in (flex 100) nordi speedmachine 8's. Would a stiffer boot help, or be more suited to me? I'd rather not pay for 'em as I can't afford them and my current ones do fit pretty well, but these things happen...
I'm man enough to admit this question is entirely inspired by seeing two ten year old girls in speedmachine 8s. 
Cheers,
Dave
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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DaveC, Yep. You have girls' boots.
Personally, I like very stiff boots and as I spend far too much time not in powder, stiff skis. But I'm strange, or so I'm told. Sounds to me more as though softer technique might help more. Stiff kit may mean you just get knocked around more dramatically...
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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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Stiff in this context only helps if you can put the ski where you want it...... if you are not doing that then the precision you can expect will complicate things more, IMV.
I don't see the point of Uber stiff boots and skis unless you can take advantage and mostly this will mean on a track. Having said that, you don't want to be floppy all over the place either, so there needs to be a balance.
FWIW, I think stiffer skis are a plus in deep snow because they will give you that lift out of the snow.... just point them down-hill..let the snow build under them and the tips raise through the surface and then you just repoint them..easy as peasy, I think. They will also charge through gunk..which as you know is addled snow...not that choped up pure powdery stuff they call crud, in NA...!!!!!!
Moguls are a different thing and if you want to charge them, then you really are going to have to be quite technically sorted and use not of too stiff a ski, IMV
DM is unusual here in that he thinks if it isn't stiff, it isn't worth a f*** and will ski them anyway...anytime..!!!
Personally, I am not bothered about moguls..they are just in the way of getting somewhere else as to do them well, you'll need shorter and softer skis than you'll want to use elsewhere so that is the compromise I'll be prepared to make.
Soft newly formed moguls are the easiest to ski......and if ever there is a time to plough through then as straight as poss, then this is it...
You may be right that your set-up is a bit soft and allowing you to get knocked around too much.
I don't like super softy skis either and I think the super-noddles are a terrible ski..that said, I've seen some good skiers make very light of them....
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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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Stiff skis and stiff boots in cut-up conditions and soft bumps would make life more difficult that it needs be I think. It certainly stretches my already thin technique for those kinds of conditions.
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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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JT, you are too kind. Happy New Year - hope you had an excellent Xmas! You too rob@rar,
So, DaveC, the small but growing concensus seems to be against making things harder than they should be. Why not wait till you get your new skis (which are what exactly?) and maybe consider that your boot problem (if any) might be one of fit (i.e. you can move around in them too much?)
I still think a good hour or two with a high level CSIA teacher would possibly help more. Getting knocked into the backseat has a few good exercises to help avoid I believe.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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David Murdoch,
Are you about in Chamonix on the 18th Jan... might stop for a day of two... bomb up and do Pas De Chevre or something...if I can work out the entry to the Mer de Glace.....
Happy New Year to you and her ladyship..
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| David Murdoch wrote: |
So, DaveC, the small but growing concensus seems to be against making things harder than they should be. Why not wait till you get your new skis (which are what exactly?) and maybe consider that your boot problem (if any) might be one of fit (i.e. you can move around in them too much?)
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Nah, boots fit fine for sure. Fit definitely isn't an issue. New skis are Line Prophet 90s (186) and Scott P4s (191). I spent a couple of days on my friends Scott Punishers and noticed way less deflection/deviation etc etc, so I get the feeling that stiffening up my quiver will resolve the issue mostly. Still, wondering if I should be in boots less suitable for 10yrolds 
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DaveC, how does the binding position compare between the Prophet's, P4's & the Punisher's, say versus the CRS. The Mission's/Punisher's have quite a forward mounting position which would help the user drive the ski in poorer conditions.
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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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CRS? Not sure what that is? I've not skiied either Prophet or P4 yet (P4's mounting tonight I hope, had to mess around finding wide brakes etc, prophets are going to replace my foils). P4's are getting mounted at -1.5 of the line but they're pretty forward on the line. Foils are at +1 of the line.
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DaveC, Centre of running surface: squeeze the two skis together base to base (brakes need to be retracted) & drop a piece of paper between them at the tips & mark the contact point on the edge with a marker pen. Up end the skis & repeat at the tail. Then with a tape measure mark the edge half way between the two points to give the CRS. You can then compare the midsole location of your boot to the CRS of the ski. This measurement can then be compared/transferred from ski to ski as the manufacturer's lines are relatively arbitary. This is the measurement principle on which the Campbell Balancer system works.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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spyderjon, Its funny but until I got my hands on skis as a non-skier I had always assumed that the faces of skis were flat when they were held together (in fact I can't recall even when I messed around 10+ years ago that they weren't or not), my new skis have quite arched based and there is a big gap between them when held together - I can clearly envisage how you could do the dropping of paper exercise between them and mark the points as described. Next time I get them out I will look to see if the positioning of my bindings is related to this distance - for a womans ski it should be forward of this mark, yes? Sorry for the interjection into this thread its just that I was only looking at this 'gap' this morning when I got mine back recalling my original supposition that skis had square flat surfaces and your comments here bought this into focus.
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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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Megamum, the arch of the ski is called 'camber' & helps to provide the spring or 'rebound' in the ski - which is why is wise not to lock the skis tight together for storage as the camber is flattened. The amount of camber varies from model to model but a lack of camber can be a sign that the ski is worn out/dead.
The mounting points on female specific skis tend to be a bit further forward than men's as in general the female COM (centre of mass) is slightly positioning slightly lower & rearward within women, but everyone's different. Here's some info re binding position:
http://www.jonsskituning.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=48&mosmsg=Item+successfully+saved.
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spyderjon, Interesting - thankyou. I think it was Snowhot who suggested that if in time I were to find problems with my skis that bindings can be shifted by a little to good effect - not that I have any problems yet having not had a chance to ski them properly. I'll try to remember that the technical term is 'camber' as I mentioned, my new skis seem to have plenty!! As it happens I was already storing my ski slightly separated - I've got them lying in an opened ski bag under my bed broken apart and resting gently sideways slightly each on their binding side. Sorry for the thread derail.
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You know it makes sense.
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