 Poster: A snowHead
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Just to make things absolutely clear I'm not an instructor and have no skiing qualifications but am pretty experienced.
A friend asked me on a recent trip to give her some advice on how to tackle off piste conditions.
After watching her ski a little it was clear this was a bit ambitious and we settled on sticking to the piste and trying to add a few more tools to her toolbox that would help on and off piste.
Mostly this consisted of flat ski exercise, slipping, skidding, braquage, that sort of stuff which seemed to have been skipped in her skiing education. We also spent some time on encouraging angulation in her turns.
Through all this what was apparent was that when I said to sink down into the boots she folded in the middle and stuck her bum out.
She tried pushing into the boot while stood still and couldn't generate any flex at all in the boot.
Under static conditions like these is there any rule of thumb of how much flex she should be able to generate bearing in mind she is relatively inexperienced and does not have the skills yet to ski aggressively?
I'm concerned her boots are not doing her any favours.
(They were green cuff and white lowers and a bit bling but beyond that I haven't a clue what they were)
If they are too stiff what can be done. I can confidently say she's not in the market for new boots.
Cheers
Rich
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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rich, has she got a good range of movement in her ankles without boots? Some people don't and this can be what needs sorting. someone like CEM might use a heel lift in this case to open the ankle joint and increase the range of motion? or she could do some exercises to increase flexibility.
This is one possibility.
Boots can be softened or bits of the shell cut away if they are blocking movement. If you can find out what the boots are the bootfitters here might be able to give more specific advice.
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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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There are usually cut outs marked on the clog if you remove the cuff or bolts which can be removed to soften flex, alternatively a good bootfitter with his dremel can work magic.
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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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RPF, her range of movement is extremely good, when not skiing she's dancing so has good physical coordination, balance and range of movement, just lack a bit of confidence and aggression.
I will try to find out what the boots are.
Getting her to bootfitter could be a bit of a problem, I really need something a bit more than my opinion to persuade, her hence the rule of thumb question.
If I can tell her that "X" amount of flex is needed at her level and she is unable to achieve that then I have some chance of persuading her.
There's no way she'd let near her new boots with a Dermel and I wouldn't want to take that risk anyway, it would have to be a professional job.
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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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rich, this is not a direct answer to your question but I can say that new boots with more ankle flex than my old, very rigid boots, have really upped my skiing a notch (as well as VERY belated lessons to expand my toolbox, exactly as you describe.) It's not so much that I am naturally flexing my ankles more - yet - but I can feel when I am not doing so and know what to work on. In my old boots, I simply couldn't feel anything at ankle level.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hurtle, My own boots are also the softest I have ever owned. These were recommended with an off piste bias in mind and I've been extremely happy with them but not sure how this relates to lower a intermediate with high aspirations.
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Get her to ski (gentle terrain) with her boots undone to see if she uses more ankle flex. Do a few runs because it takes a bit of getting used to. If she has a lot of ankle flex when her boots are undone it might well be the flex is too stiff for her. My guess is that she she won't have much ankle flex with the boots undone as the (lack of) movement pattern is probably ingrained. Work on ankle flex (with boots undone if necessary) so it becomes a more natural movement for her, then decide if boots are too stiff.
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rob@rar, you're dead right. I really wish I'd thought of that at the time.
Unfortunately we're back in UK and I don't know if she's another trip planned this year.
I'll mention it to her to try next time, not sure if I'll be there.
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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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rich, there's always snow at Hemel 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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rich, I bet you a stiff drink that her boots are too big for her, ie too long/too big a shell gap. If the shell gap is over about 15mm she could be correctly flexing her ankles but the force will not be transmitted to the boot as the flex point of the boot doesn't match her skeleton. This should be checked before any boot alterations are done.
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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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spyderjon, I totally agree. My first beginner boots were soft but I couldn't flex them because they were a whole size too big and my foot simply flexed inside the boot instead. I didn't know that at the time though and they were very comfy. I didn't even realise you were meant to be able to feel the edges of your skis, no wonder I was rubbish! There was a satellite delay between moving my foot and my ski responding. What a revelation when I ended up in smaller boots!
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