 Poster: A snowHead
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OK, as a lot of you know I've found a technique that will get me through most soft stuff if style is not an issue, so what do I need to do to find confidence on the rock hard stuff? Like that rock hard corduroy that you can ski on without even scuffing it, or the sheet like hard layer like the race piste that day with the dusting of icing sugar on it. In those situations I couldn't rely on the downhill ski to dig in and hold me and the snowplough seemed to win again - and that was judderingly unpleasant when a ski went width wise across it edge first.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Side-slip, and variation of it.
And sharpen your edges. (I only talk, I don't do  )
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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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Megamum, learn to carve. WC skiers race on rock hard stuff.
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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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Find nice cafe. Drink hot chocolate until the sun gets a bit highter and things soften up.
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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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...and also soften the legs. Stiff legs will judder, bounce and slip and slide. Soft legs can accommodate the small lumps and bumps and keep the skis more consistently on the ground, so keeping the edges more smoothly on the ground. You may well still slip a bit, but you stand more chance of keep ing hold on what is available.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Megamum, get the fattest skis you can find and give them a go 
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Megamum, Constant movement is the key... If you "prop" on an edge/direction then the skis will accelerate - and for you that probably means they will get away... So keep everything soft and keep turning... if a ski slips TURN...
At a just slightly higher level than you are now the mantra I had was "patience, keep edge angles changing, keep skis turning".... The patience relates to obtaining an edge(and also not rushing turn initiation)... you need to be patient and let the ski edge grip first... then you can start doing stuff...
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Megamum, understandably your going to get a million different opinions on this one but think about the level of confidence you have on the softer stuff and try and take this onto the icier patches. Be confident and keep moving down the hill, as soon as you tense and try and brace against the slope it will only make your life more difficult.+
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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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| get the fattest skis you can find and give them a go |
only kidding.... they're no fun on hardpack. You really do need to get your weight onto one edge, and have sharp edges. That's on hard pack. If it's really ice (ie nasty blue green stuff) keep the skis flat, side slip across, and hope to find some nice softer stuff to turn on before you reach terminal velocity. And Lizzard's advice is pretty good, too.
Some runs will soften faster than others, depending on aspect. That's why a resort with different aspect runs, and some local knowledge, is so useful.
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So by the sounds of it they are not conditions with an easy solution - I did master side slipping when I had to - its one technique that seems easier the harder the conditions get, but I watched all those folks whizzing down the race piste that morning without giving a second thought to the fact that it was rock hard - they certainly made it look easy compared to my efforts.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Megamum, don't be fooled - most of them were skidding sideways and thinking 'eek', I guarantee. Ice is never exactly fun, even on my spiffy new skis with the 'superior edge hold' which they boast about all down the side.
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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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Lizzard, Thanks  I couldn't get over how the corduroy froze and you didn't even scuff the top surface when you scuffed an edge over it. I looked back one more after about 50 yards and not a bloody mark on it, let alone the condition of the non-corduroy-ed race piste that morning. The trouble was apart from the fact that it felt a bit more stable to be on a snowplough was hopeless for controlling direction, but no other solution deployed seemed any safer. Horrid stuff.
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You know it makes sense.
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II, OK, I'll give you that we only really got the ice on the last few days - I did enjoy the light fluffy stuff though - it took time to get used to it, but was great fun!!
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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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II,
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some of the ice at the PSB is positively glacial
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That's because it's on the glacier 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Yup... on the race piste I was trying to edge at points and I was just grating sideways. But as you gain experience you find that you can keep your balance even in those situations. I do hate rock hard corduroy with a passion though 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I really didn't like the early morning corduroy either - I didn't feel in control & I couldn't see where I was going as my eyeballs were juddering in their sockets too much and that was only on the piste from the L'Oxalys down to the Deux Lacs - hence my decision not to even try the race course. I was disappointed not to have a go, especially having successfully negotiated the blue adjacent to it the previous day, but sometimes you have to just accept your limits.
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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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Butterfly, It'll give you something to look forwards to next year
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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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Scarpa, indeed!
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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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Hmmmmmm I actually like early morning cord . . . it's very predictable, even on a board. Ya' just wanna RELAX!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The obvious solution to this late-season early-morning iciness is to have a large leisurely breakfast, get out when it's started to soften, and stop wasting the best conditions on eating lunch. Makes me laugh how people get out there first thing to ski the ice then disappear into the cafes from 11:00 to 14:00 only to re-emerge when it starts to get really heavy.
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Lizzard, absolutely right. It's absurd to waste the best hours of a spring skiing day stuffing your face.
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I do hate rock hard corduroy with a passion though
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It's better than yesterday afternoon's slushy lumps and deep troughs, frozen solid!
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One other useful skill is learn to read the snow, so you can turn in the softer patches. This just comes with experience, noting the shade/colour of softer snow compared to the harder stuff!!
regards,
greg
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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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most early stage skiers apply pressure in the wrong place, the bottom third of the turn.
Try to reduce and manage the pressure at the bottom of the turn by being soft and sinking into the turn. Everyone skids on ice no matter what level you are. just get comfortable with skidding by learning how it feels as opposed to panicking when it happens. making long skids is quite fun and once it becomes fun panic wont set in. do some side slips on easy terrain that is icy or firm to get a feel for it.
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I can do the leasurely breakfast part. Just not the skipping lunch bit.
About reading snow, there're soft consistant snow all the way up to 4pm. You just have to hit the right side of the mountain (I mean left side, when facing the hill) at high enough elevation, the part that gets warm last.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| abc wrote: |
| Aout reading snow, there're soft consistant snow all the way up to 4pm. You just have to hit the right side of the mountain (I mean left side, when facing the hill) at high enough elevation, the part that gets warm last. |
WoW, fantastic, where can I find a ski run with soft consistant snow all the way
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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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I mean left side, when facing the hill
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FAQ
or the Tignes thing in October 
