This is from a email I got from a mate in Soll He's commenting about my White Dot Preacher's which I found great on and off piste
I had an off piste lesson today. Instructor ex champion said my skis were perfect for powder 1 - 2 feet. He said we ( instructors ) think it is very funny when English come with big skis built for very advanced skier in very deep powder in special areas not normally found in tourist resort. Also wider skis are much more difficult to control in powder, you stay on top which makes them run faster. It is your technique that is important not the ski!!
He has been skiing for 30 years and he has 2 pairs of skis! One for downhill racing the other for anything else. He said only the English spend lots of money on skis and boots they only get to use 6 days a year. He said it is all b^^^^^^^, just get a good ski and boot and you can ski any terrain.
The instructor didn't even know what white dot was? He said American b^^^^^^^ ski lol!!!! Come on now lean forward and attack the slope.
Any comments
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Wed 29-02-12 22:30; edited 1 time in total
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
First of all anyone can ski what he likes and is happy with.
Fat skis can be a good crutch if you just don't get powder or even let you start to make the correct movements but at the same time, and to quote JC Killy, a French skier, "they don't let you feel the snow under your feet" so may be a hindrance to further progression.
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?
Old ex racer in doesn't like change shocker.
For the record, the best skier I know, Staatliche instructor, ski school director, Austrian demo team, rocks a pair of Bent Chetlers. But then he is under 30...
Skiing in St Anton over New Year I observed the mountain guides running for their fat skis on powder days. I find that staying on top and skiing faster makes the skis easier to control. Fat skis fitted with low stack height bindings mounted flat on the ski provide excellent feel far superior to that of skinny skis fitted with bindings lifted way above the ski to prevent booting out.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Wed 29-02-12 20:37; edited 1 time in total
I was recently in Austria and noticed a lot of very technically proficient skiers skiing the pistes like they were trying to hold a tenner between the knees so I'd suggest that Austrian instruction isn't the be all and end all of modern technique. There's lots of people, myself included, who ski like hacks on wider skis (but I have fun) but at the upper end of the spectrum there's people who can destroy variable terrain like even gods like Killy couldn't on their old narrow stuff.
I don't know what sort of powder or fat skis the guy has skied if he thinks something nearer the surface is harder to control than something more submerged? Time for a physics thread, where's veeight?
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Watch people like Plake on skinny skis and your instructor has a point,
.....but then if you only get a few days a year and you want to make the most of them then use the best tools for the job.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Plus tell him the English spell "there" as "their".
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kevindonkleywood wrote:
Watch people like Plake on skinny skis and your instructor has a point,
.....but then if you only get a few days a year and you want to make the most of them then use the best tools for the job.
And then watch what todays pros do on modern kit...
Or the video of Cuche (?) - clearly one of the worlds best skiers - struggling down the Bec des Rosses, which the FWT guys charge. Not on gs skis I assume...
But we've been here before...
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Quote:
Also wider skis are much more difficult to control in powder, you stay on top which makes them run faster.
I couldn't disagree with this more. Sure, if we were talking about fat, straight skis this would be the case. With newer sidecut & rocker technology I've found that they're perfectly easy to control on soft (or deep) snow.
Also, how fat are we talking here? I'm speaking from experience on something around 110mm underfoot. I know some go up to 140mm+, so I can't speak for anything that fat.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Quote:
a lot of very technically proficient skiers skiing the pistes like they were trying to hold a tenner between the knees so I'd suggest that Austrian instruction isn't the be all and end all of modern technique
I'd second that... and I've been trained by some of them!
There amazing skiers way beyond my generation who could whip loads of 'modern-day' skiers' thinga-me-bits whilst retaining a tenner between their legs.... but equipment and technique moves on...
Of course awesome skiers (especially super fit ex-racers) can ski pow with whatever is on their feet as they have amazing technique and the phsical fitness required to do massive jumping slalom turns every time you need to change direction.
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
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
Colin B wrote:
It was Defago and they certainly weren't fat skis!
Cheers - that was my point though. Awesome skier on fat skis is better offpiste (not just in pow) than awesome skier on GS skis.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
If you read the OP you'll see the instructors are amused by skiers skiing big mountain skis that are either not right for the conditons or that they cannot handle, they don't have anything against advanced skiers ripping it with fat skis. No one thinks that a GS ski is right for off piste (not even the instructors). They probably think that an all mountain ski would be a better tool for progressing.
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Wed 29-02-12 21:20; edited 1 time in total
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
On an avi course early in the season I was the only Englishman amoung germans and austrians and had the thinnest skis at 90mm..okay i have some 136s aswell but still..on any decent snow day I see tons of Swiss, German and Austrian skiers on big fat skis. Old people or anyone in a red and grey jacket should be ignored.
People get stuck in the past. They need to move with the winds of change or get out of the way.
I learned to ski to a reasonable standard on those old godawful straight skis, but at 41 I have way more fun on modern skis than any of that old crap. If I wanted to go off piste (which I rarely do, being avalanche phobic) I would definitely hire fat skis and enjoy surfing instead of sinking.
Take no notice of what anyone thinks about your Whitedot Preachers. Companies like Whitedot deserve much praise in my opinion.
Jean Vuarnet shredding the gnar, also on Rossi Stratos I think
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I was in St Anton with two mates skiing chopped up snow, as the off piste was pretty tracked out I was on W D Preacher’s one was Icelantic Pilgrim’s and the above mate on some skinny skis. The only one struggling with the condition was the above mate
After all it is free
After all it is free
Maybe what "the instructor" meant was some peeps that have fat skis, go into deep snow and hack there way down with out too much technique. The floaty skis allow them to get away with less technique. I've seen skiers on fats that essential wedge their way down in the back seat, could not do the same on say a pair of SLs. On the other hand I was skiing with a friend this week in powder who was ripping it up on his short SLs - though he's a very very good skier - one day I'll get him on something fatter.
flangesax, That video is 10/10 for campness rating and what no helmets!
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waynos wrote:
flangesax, That video is 10/10 for campness rating and what no helmets!
I saw several helmets.
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Ahhh the hey day of parallel style and elegance. No new school feet apart ugliness for the suave Mr Vuarnet, oh no.
Is that the piste Perdue BTW ?
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Peter S wrote:
Is that the piste Perdue BTW ?
it is
and I'm sure he skis better on wider and shorter skis too, although maybe not.
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.
Having mainly skied on skinny race ski's for most of my life the difference when skiing powder on fat skis is phenomenal. I was in Val d'isere during christmas/new year and skiing the powder pushed me to my technical abilities which are off relatively high standard.
You'll see here from some of my Go Pro shots in the video I compensate for the narrower base by widening my stance a technical flaw but something that needed done to avoid fully sinking and had to sit in the back seat a stupid amount to avoid going head over heals. Critique away!
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
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
kevindonkleywood wrote:
Watch people like Plake on skinny skis and your instructor has a point,
.....but then if you only get a few days a year and you want to make the most of them then use the best tools for the job.
Just FYI Plake skis for Elan with their modern kit ; )
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
davidof, watch the vid I posted... all makes sense then
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Glen Charman, i think the instructors point may have been aimed at the type of skier that rocks on up to resort with all the gear and no idea. I have started to see more and more of them using fatter skis with no clue. I seen a guy wearing a pair of Atomic Acess in 171 and he had to be at least 6 foot 3.
If people spent more time on their technique and less on looking the part there skiing would be more fun.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
narc wrote:
Sounds like a typical stuck in their ways euro comments. There are loads of brits who ski groomed pistes on needlessly fat skis though.
Very true, I'm selling my all-mountain S86Ws for that reason, in favour of carvers. A rather expensive mistake but we live and learn. To be fair it was the length that was more of a problem than the width.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
clarky999, we skied a few runs with wife of the the lift operator in Zauchensee, she must have been at least 65, and she was shredding the powder on a pair of Bent Chetlers, no joke, Admin and Timberwolf were with me so can confirm this, that lady put the G in GNAR
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?
To be fair it was the length that was more of a problem than the width.
snigger
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
kooky, You almost had a new sig
After all it is free
After all it is free
rosco5 wrote:
had to sit in the back seat a stupid amount to avoid going head over heals. Critique away!
Not watched the video, but sitting in the back seat isn't the way to ski powder, stay nice and centered over the ski and your legs will last an awful lot longer and you'll be in alot more control!
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.
Or get a sponsored or pro deal bent chetler.
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
rosco5, nice punter video -all the joey gopros out there should watch and learn about a sharp edit.
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Poster: A snowHead
