 Poster: A snowHead
|
I'm not really sure what I'm asking here, but I'd be interested in knowing fellow  thoughts. Just been away skiing for a few days during which time I hired different skis at different resorts. I'm not particularly knowledgeable about ski types and other than the length - usually 160's - tend to go with whatever the hire shop suggest. At a hire shop in Monetier, asked if I wanted a good quality ski I said yes, and was given a pair of Rossignol Radicals. Unfortunately I don't know the exact model, but having now checked on the web, I find the Radical range are classed as a racing ski. They didn't have 160's in, so provided 165's (couldn't see a problem with that) and the skis seemed in very good order. Anyway, I went out on the slopes and was enjoying myself in Monetier, then we decided to ski over to Villeneuve. Skiing down toward the town we took the red Baz run, it's a really nice run down, but was a bit crusty down toward the bottom. Perhaps wrongly I can be a bit critical of people who class crust as ice, and tend to hand out advice that if you apply more pressure on the edges, your skis will dig in and hold up with no problem (it's worked well for me up to now). On this occasion, it didn't. The skis just grazed over the top, then let go completely, dumping me on my @rse. Not to be beaten, I tried the run another two or three times, but no matter how much pressure I applied, every time they let go, and every time I again ended up on my......
As you might imagine this wore a bit thin, especially as the two people I was with had no real problem. At the end of the day I decided to ask for some different skis, and was given a pair of 162 Nordica's (model unknown). The following day on the same run, and every other run, I had no problems at all (my bum was soo pleased).
I suppose what I'm asking is, is my ability not up to racing skis (if not, what's the difference in ski types?), or were they just not in as good a shape as they seemed to be, and needed the edges sharpening? Or, were they too long, and working on the Pressure=Force/Area principal, was I not able to apply enough pressure to a longer ski to get it to embed in to the crust? Any ideas?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Most likely to be a bad tune.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Known in the trade as a 'Lady in Red'. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
The rossi radicals, most likely the slalom one (9S) are quite a stiff ski, which makes it harder to keep a forward stance (which is especially needed when the snow gets less easy to hold on to)
Holding an edge is more then just putting pressure on the edges, pressure point matters and some skis have a very small sweetspot for that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
"applying more pressure" on crusty snow, breakable or not, sounds like a poor idea...
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Phil Jordan, I noticed something similar the other day. The snow was very hard but still edgable so I decided to try out my old Blizzard B52s which are 150 fun carvers with a 11m sidecut thinking they would be more fun on hard snow than my Missions. But I hit exactly the same problem as you of unpredictable grip. I switched to the Missions and could carve no problem again.
My theory is that the smaller sidecut meant I didn't need to use so much angle to carve a given turn. This in turn meant I didn't use enough pressure and possibly the mid part of the edge did not engage properly.
I have therefore concluded that the Missions are simply more fun in all conditions 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
nessy, Phil Jordan, It's about the ammount of pressure you apply to the snow surface. Short narrow ski = higher pressure than a longer fat one. The stiffness of the ski will also make things easier/more difficult.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
what do you mean by "a bit crusty"? You seem to be talking about solid ice and then crust in the same sentence, each type of snow requires vastly different skills to ski it!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Is this red run a pisted run? To piste bashers all crust is breakable so it isn't experienced on piste. Are you sure it's crust you're talking about?
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Fri 7-03-08 10:20; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
i think he's talking about hardpack
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
My assumption is the groomed then refrozen snow common in spring. My similar experience was on just plain old very hard packed snow
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
Not ice, not glassy, it was a pisted run with hard packed snow, just very hard - the sort of stuff that sends a shiver down your spine when you hear a snowboarder coming up behind you on it.  As I said, I don't usually have problems with it these days. It seemed confined to one area on a particular pair of skis. The same area in similar condition the following day, on a different pair of skis, using my normal technique was fine.
DaveC, just out of curiosity, what's your approach to hard packed snow?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Phil Jordan, hard to answer that one - "just ski it" really, but that's a bit glib... I'd say be lighter on my feet usually, trying to force your skis into the mountain just exaggerates everything including the "judder" effect I get the impression you're talking about. If we're talking hard packed unpisted snow or steeps, carving arcing turns is a bit hopeful - short radius pivot turns make life a lot easier. For smooth pistes with harder snow, I pretty much just go faster...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
