Friday, February 18, 2011
Where to Ski
Ever wonder what ski areas may be just around the corner, or planning a trip to the twin cities and thinking you rather be out skiing. Check out www.skitown.com. This website provides an excellent map based service for finding obscure ski areas that may be right next door! Below is an example from a search in Manitoba.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Intermediate, Trying to progress to Advanced skiing
If you want advice from a certified ski instructor this is the wrong place, however here are some hints and tips regarding getting more aggressive on the hill.
Do you feel a little uncomfortable at times, or think you could improve but not sure what to do?
Fear might be the culprit. Fear comes in several ways: 1) When approaching a steep incline - tendency is to lean away. 2) When building up lots of speed - tendency is to lean back. 3) When confronted with moguls - tendency is to lean away from the obstacle.
Fight your tendency to lean back. Weighting the tails of the skis might mentally feel good, but is absolutely detrimental to coordinating any type of control over the skis when control is most needed. What are you afraid of? Falling down? Consider practicing falling down. Go out on the bunny hill and purposely fall 10 - 20 times. The most comfortable controlled fall will involve leaning forward. Try touching the snow with your hand, try to touch your ski tips. Try falling backwards and see how less comfortable and controlled it is versus falling forward. This type of exaggerated drill will help overcome fear of falling & most importantly teach yourself to throw weight forward instead of backwards when fear strikes.
Motto:
Steeps - Get hands out in front and charge with head down and weight forward.
Speed - Reach for your ski tips.
Moguls - Reach out and hug em' - Fall on the mogul in front of you, not behind.
Do you feel a little uncomfortable at times, or think you could improve but not sure what to do?
Fear might be the culprit. Fear comes in several ways: 1) When approaching a steep incline - tendency is to lean away. 2) When building up lots of speed - tendency is to lean back. 3) When confronted with moguls - tendency is to lean away from the obstacle.
Fight your tendency to lean back. Weighting the tails of the skis might mentally feel good, but is absolutely detrimental to coordinating any type of control over the skis when control is most needed. What are you afraid of? Falling down? Consider practicing falling down. Go out on the bunny hill and purposely fall 10 - 20 times. The most comfortable controlled fall will involve leaning forward. Try touching the snow with your hand, try to touch your ski tips. Try falling backwards and see how less comfortable and controlled it is versus falling forward. This type of exaggerated drill will help overcome fear of falling & most importantly teach yourself to throw weight forward instead of backwards when fear strikes.
Motto:
Steeps - Get hands out in front and charge with head down and weight forward.
Speed - Reach for your ski tips.
Moguls - Reach out and hug em' - Fall on the mogul in front of you, not behind.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Ski Boots - Lange RX-130
Featured Gear - Lange RX-130
I recently purchased these boots from Larry's Bootfitters in Boulder, CO. Not everybody is aware of this so let it be said, "Boots are expensive and last a long-time, it is worth the investment to find a reputable boot-fitter & ensure that a boot is selected that fits your shape of foot/ankle/calf & matches the type of skiing that is intended". Ski boot marketing muddles everything - it is virtually impossible to select a boot based on advertising. Ski shops that do not carry a wide selection of boots quite possibly do not have a boot in the store that will appropriately fit your feet. Larry's carries almost 20 brands and only 3 boots in the store were appropriate choices. Maybe not an issue for beginners, however if the intention is to ski a long time, or improve skills, proper fitting boots are essential - because foot/leg pain will greatly inhibit the ambition to try new techniques. The most common problem among boots is that they are too big. Check the "shell fit", pull the liner out of the boot, insert your foot and let your toes gently touch the front of the boot. If two fingers can be inserted easily behind your heel the boot is too big, and symptoms such as "shin bite" or other pain related problems are likely. A reputable bootfitter will measure your feet and ask about your style of skiing. Be prepared to spend a couple hours trying on various boots and standing in the boot long enough to notice pain problems. Also, some bootfitters will stand behind the fit & continue to make adjustments after you ski the boot the first few times.
The Lange RX-130 is made for a skier with a narrow ankle, but wider forefront. Lange is typically associated with very narrow boots designed to be fitted for racers looking for a very sensitive tight fit. Recreational skiers & park & pipe might find the boot uncomfortable. The RX-130's 100mm last provides the room required for a looser fit without sacrificing performance or the traditional tight heel pocket desired by skiers with slender ankles. Initially I anticipated skiing with the stiff 130 flex of this boot, but quickly realized a softer flex is more manageable in the park. Luckily these boots are adjustable at 3 flex settings, and I opted for the -20% adjustment. These boots do not have the shock absorption technology of other park & pipe models, however none of the other boot brands would fit narrow feet like the Lange. In the future I may experiment with custom shock absorbing inserts.
I recently purchased these boots from Larry's Bootfitters in Boulder, CO. Not everybody is aware of this so let it be said, "Boots are expensive and last a long-time, it is worth the investment to find a reputable boot-fitter & ensure that a boot is selected that fits your shape of foot/ankle/calf & matches the type of skiing that is intended". Ski boot marketing muddles everything - it is virtually impossible to select a boot based on advertising. Ski shops that do not carry a wide selection of boots quite possibly do not have a boot in the store that will appropriately fit your feet. Larry's carries almost 20 brands and only 3 boots in the store were appropriate choices. Maybe not an issue for beginners, however if the intention is to ski a long time, or improve skills, proper fitting boots are essential - because foot/leg pain will greatly inhibit the ambition to try new techniques. The most common problem among boots is that they are too big. Check the "shell fit", pull the liner out of the boot, insert your foot and let your toes gently touch the front of the boot. If two fingers can be inserted easily behind your heel the boot is too big, and symptoms such as "shin bite" or other pain related problems are likely. A reputable bootfitter will measure your feet and ask about your style of skiing. Be prepared to spend a couple hours trying on various boots and standing in the boot long enough to notice pain problems. Also, some bootfitters will stand behind the fit & continue to make adjustments after you ski the boot the first few times.The Lange RX-130 is made for a skier with a narrow ankle, but wider forefront. Lange is typically associated with very narrow boots designed to be fitted for racers looking for a very sensitive tight fit. Recreational skiers & park & pipe might find the boot uncomfortable. The RX-130's 100mm last provides the room required for a looser fit without sacrificing performance or the traditional tight heel pocket desired by skiers with slender ankles. Initially I anticipated skiing with the stiff 130 flex of this boot, but quickly realized a softer flex is more manageable in the park. Luckily these boots are adjustable at 3 flex settings, and I opted for the -20% adjustment. These boots do not have the shock absorption technology of other park & pipe models, however none of the other boot brands would fit narrow feet like the Lange. In the future I may experiment with custom shock absorbing inserts.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Ski Tip
Here is a tip to help getting your skis back on after binding release from a crash. Now everyone knows it is necessary to orient the skis perpendicular to the fall line and snap in, however the natural tendancy is to attempt to snap into the uphill ski & then struggle to balance to get into the downhill ski. Since it is always easier to snap into the uphill ski, try the following: 1) Set the skis in opposite directions perpendicular to the fall line. 2) Snap into the uphill ski. 3) Turn 180 and snap the other foot into the uphill ski. Now both feet can snapped into the uphill ski which is much easier.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Loveland Feb 2 2011
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| Chair 9 |
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| top of XX run |
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| best mogul run |
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| Loveland is on top of the I70 tunnel |
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| top of chair 9 |
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| cornice off of chair 9 |
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