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[Rant] Why can't people learn how to carry skis properly?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
bloxy wrote:
I thought you were supposed to have them in an X shape, clutched to your chest using both arms with poles sticking out . Boots should also be completely undone and you should scuff along never letting the feet leave the ground.


Very Happy Every ten 'yards' are you not supposed to scatter them on the ground, pick them up, then repeat the process.....
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Gordyjh,
Quote:

I think I read it in the Bluffer's Guide to Sking - the correct way to carry your skis is with tips in front of you and bindings behind your shoulder, no reason...it just looks cooler!


There are advantages to carrying them this way:-
1. the centre of mass is behind your shoulder so all you need to do with your arm is rest them on the skis.
2. the binding behind your shoulder prevents the bottom ski sliding forward (assuming the tips are pointing down).
3. if you've got the skis the correct way up the break will prevent the top ski sliding down.
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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?
http://www.ehow.com/how_16055_carry-skis-poles.html

One minor flaw in step one - the slide sideways followed by the scratch!
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ooooooooh cat amongst the pidgeons....

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/27366_snow-skiing-carry-equipment.htm
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
How are you supposed to carry twin-tips? Tips up or down Puzzled
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One genuine problem with twin tips we found when we were doing rope work: you can't stick them in the snow to tie a rope to.
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
This is beginning to compete with the glove technique thread. Toofy Grin
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I have a problem in this area actually. When I am carrying my skis (tips forward, natch), I often get some inner ski tip lead. Can anyone advise whether I need to modify my technique?
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FastEddie, just turn them round so the brakes hold them Toofy Grin
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FastEddie, yes, the brakes (I prefer the word "stoppers" myself as they are not strictly "brakes") are clearly not locking together, allowing this tip lead to occur. Turn them over Toofy Grin
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Darn she's too quick for me Laughing
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Yoda, I just read what you said yesterday about me carrying your skis Laughing … in your dreams matey Madeye-Smiley
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Quote:

just turn them round so the brakes hold them

After all this time I've only just learnt about putting the skis the right way up so the brakes/stoppers hold the top one in place. Nobody ever told me, and I suppose I've never really looked at them and thought about it! Embarassed
Quote:
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Gordyjh wrote:
skiben, You lean the skis against the back of your shoulder, reach up and pull while walking forwards so no-one behind you is in any danger. You can lower them before you stop walking so again there is no danger of clouting someone behind you.

I think I read it in the Bluffer's Guide to Sking - the correct way to carry your skis is with tips in front of you and bindings behind your shoulder, no reason...it just looks cooler! Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing


Whatever, I'd rather be balanced.

weeSKI wrote:
ooooooooh cat amongst the pidgeons....

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/27366_snow-skiing-carry-equipment.htm


HAHAHA! Just goes to illustrate that noone should give a sh*t how you carry what.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
skiben, but you are balanced when the tips are down and your arm is resting on the front of the skis. With tips up there is insufficient length of ski from your shoulder to the tails to get much useful leverage, and hence there is a considerable strain on you.

Damn, I've posted on this thread again Confused
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Yoda, you can take the horse to water...
i learnt to carry skis properly on the Aig Midi arrete and have never looked back. makes life so much easier to have skis firmly held and still have spare hands for poles and the fixed rope
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
And the brakes don't hold the skis together the other way up (as has been said before too - I think this thread is now just revolving in place without going anywhere).
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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?
Yoda wrote:
skiben, but you are balanced when the tips are down and your arm is resting on the front of the skis. With tips up there is insufficient length of ski from your shoulder to the tails to get much useful leverage, and hence there is a considerable strain on you.

Damn, I've posted on this thread again Confused


just looking at snowball's picture shows the imbalance, you have 2 great big heavy bindings behind you, plus most of the ski there aswell. I'm going skiing on the 20th so I'll have to try both ways for an updated view on things. chances are for convenience i'll still end up picking up my skis with my right hand and putting them straight onto my shoulder, rather than the funky way that involves picking them up whilst standing two feet in front of them or whatever.
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skiben, I fear you have forgotten the vital ingredient, which is the weight of your arm resting across the fronts of the skis - this balances the weight behind the shoulder easily. Where do you put the bindings carrying them your way??
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Lol, I keep having this image of a group of old-school pistenjaegers in all-in-ones carrying those ridiculous thin skis with pointy ends facing forwards.. like I said, it's probably a generational thing.

My binding goes over my shoulder and it really isnt a problem. But like I said, each to their own.
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skiben,
Quote:

like I said, it's probably a generational thing

What, you mean the fact that you're young and you're therefore certain that you're right? wink
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Carrying skis on the shoulder must surely raise your centre of gravity? That with ski boots on ice/snow........

Surely the nearer the ground skis are carried, the lower the COG - ergo, the more stability offered??
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Hurtle wrote:
skiben,
Quote:

like I said, it's probably a generational thing

What, you mean the fact that you're young and you're therefore certain that you're right? wink


if the all-in-one brigade admit noone is 'right' i'll be happy Madeye-Smiley
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Yes, chrisdavis, we agreed that - if it's icy.

skiben, in the early days I gather they mostly carried them upright and but end forward, with hand cupped under the ends, like a rifle (as I was taught, by my father - who skied from the end of the 20s). And there being no brakes to hold them together we had to hook rubber straps around each end (ancesters of the modern velcro ones) but more likely leather in the early days. Those were the days when skins really were skins.
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O.K., today’s blog is surely a pet peeve of mine in skiing; too many people have no idea how to carry a pair of skis comfortably! Let’s face it, the gear can be heavy and you’re probably wearing heavy layers of clothing and might be in your ski boots and it’s likely that you’re walking uphill or on uneven terrain and yeah, sure, it can be a challenge! With all that adversity, folks tend to make things worse by contorting their bodies and limbs in all sorts of combinations that usually aren’t very efficient and lead to almost immediate fatigue. These folks are almost human porcupines, in that their gear is sticking out in all directions and likely to hit anyone and anything close by. To learn how to carry skis comfortably, watch the professional skiers from your local ski school and ski patrol: they’ll show you how it’s done!

To carry skis outdoors, place them bottom to bottom and secure them with the brakes. With the skis standing on their tails, place them behind you, just over your stronger shoulder (i.e. the right shoulder if you’re right-handed) and reach back over your shoulder with that hand. Grasp the skis just below where the tips end by sandwiching the skis between your fingers. Now, CHECKING THAT THERE’S NO ONE STANDING BEHIND YOU, pull the skis upward a few inches and then pull the tips forward and down over your shoulders. Your shoulder will act as a fulcrum and tails will lift easily off the ground. Continue to pull the skis forward until your hand is almost fully extended and the skis are resting comfortably on your shoulder, with the binding toepiece just touching the back of your shoulder. You can now keep the skis balanced on your shoulder simply by pressing your hand down on the tips, keeping the tails slightly higher than your shoulder. Voila: your body supports the weight of the ski while your arm allows you to control the swing and height of the skis so that you don’t strike anything or anybody. To put them down, just reverse the process. Carry your poles by the shaft just below the grips in the other hand.

To carry skis indoors, place them bottom to bottom and secure them with the brakes. With the skis standing on their tails, place them in front of you, just in front of your shoulder. Reach forward and grasp the skis about 6 inches below where the tips end by sandwiching the skis between your fingers. Now, pick them up and move the tails forward a few feet, taking a step forward as you do so. Repeat with each step, such that you’re moving the skis forward and then stepping up to them. It’s similar to how you’d use crutches, not that any skier wants to have that experience(!). The skis stay mostly upright, so there’s almost no chance you’ll strike anyone or anything. Again, carry your poles by the shaft just below the grips in the other hand, keeping the poles mostly upright.

Follow the lead of the pros, they know how to do things safely and efficiently!
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skiben,
Quote:

if the all-in-one brigade admit noone is 'right' i'll be happy

And if you stop making stupid, ageist generalisations, so will I. wink As far as I can see, at least in the latest batch of posts, most people - irrespective of age - are saying do whatever's comfortable, so long as you don't whack somebody else with your skis. FWIW, I often - and always on stairs - carry mine upright with my fingers curled round the toepiece of one ski (and occasionally I remember, first, to check that I've got the stoppers the right way round to avoid slippage. wink)
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gdizzle,
Quote:

keeping the poles mostly upright

Ah, that is a peeve of mine, it's amazing how many people wave their ski poles around dangerously.
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Hurtle wrote:
Ah, that is a peeve of mine, it's amazing how many people wave their ski poles around dangerously.

Completely agree Hurtle. Now you're playing into a [rant] patch of mine.

What on earth gives people the right to wave the sodding things around like they're helping to park an airplane. Someone had me in the goggles last year - about 3 seconds after I'd just pulled them down. Did he apologise? Of course not. Just looked at me in "what are you doing standing there?" sort of way. Or more accurately "what are you doing standing there (in this crowded lift queue)?" sort of way.

ARRRRGGGH!

(Can we start on parents who take their children on way too difficult pistes and then irratically ski "interference" behind the "ickle darling" to avoid anyone getting near them...)
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I hate carrying my skis. I do know how to carry them as per the sketch above,but I find it very awkward - the tails of the skis with all the binding behind the shoulder makes them so difficult to balance with the arm as they are just soooo heavy. I say this as a non-petite lady used to working on a smallholding - heaven knows how more petite ladies must get on
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Hurtle wrote:
Ah, that is a peeve of mine, it's amazing how many people wave their ski poles around dangerously.
Yes, it is worst going up stairs for lifts. People forget that their pole points may be at eye level for people lower on the stairs.

Now this is a proper thing to rant about - carrying skis "wrongly" only affects the person doing it, unless they carry them horizontal at eye level and scythe them about, decapitating other people - which you can do whichever way round you hold them.


Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Wed 10-12-08 23:04; edited 3 times in total
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Anybody who presumes to say there is a single "right" way to carry them is wrong.

End of.

The "right" way is whatever is most comfortable for the individual, for a given pair of skis (and it will vary according to the skis), so long as you are not clobbering other people with them.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
snowball wrote:
Yes, chrisdavis, we agreed that - if it's icy.

Muddy concrete...Muddy cobbles...Wet Tarmac...Wet grass...Gravel/stones on concrete...Polished Marble effect pedestrianised areas...The white lines up the middle of the road...Cast Iron manhole covers...decent surface on a slight incline...any of the above on a slight incline.

Think I'll be carrying mine and mrs chrisdavis's skis by gripping a pair in each hand - between the bindings, and pointy end first. I'll be very careful.
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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?
shoogly wrote:
If this is all people have to worry about, the world is indeed a happy place Very Happy

Laughing
true. to bad it isn't Sad
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chrisdavis, fine, but unless you're Arnie your arms are going to be pretty tired after the first half mile or so. Shoulder method is good for distance.

Double darn, I've posted here again Toofy Grin
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I just put the two skis facing together and sling them over my shoulder with the fronts pointing out the back.
How does that compare with the ideal method, as used in the golden age of skiing?
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Yoda wrote:
chrisdavis, fine, but unless you're Arnie your arms are going to be pretty tired after the first half mile or so. Shoulder method is good for distance.

Is there a standard Olympic ski carrying distance that I haven't read about? I wasn't going to walk round all day with them - just to the lift and back. Good alternative to missing a weeks' training/gym work I suppose.....
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Blokes in resorts who have to carry their skis round all season (e.g. instructors, just getting from place to place) seem carry them tip down, binding toe above and behind the shoulder, one pole dangling from the hand holding the tips and the other in the other hand as a support when needed. Seems rational, considerate, and effective. What's not to like?
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Quote:

the first half mile or so.

Shocked I did once have to walk down to that bottom part of La Rosiere because I missed a bus. Skis over one shoulder and - after the first half mile or so - ski boots over the other. Nice cool wet socks were soothing to the feet...

But generally, a few hundred yards is quite enough.
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snowball wrote:
And the brakes don't hold the skis together the other way up

Huh???

The brake hold the skis together either way you carry your skis!!! All you have to do is the make sure the ski on top has the brake below the one on the bottom!!! If you can't figure out which is which, just rotate them around. You'll find the right way!!!

I agree this thread will soon surpass the "glove" thread...
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