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Black diamond skiing



 
 
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  #11  
Old February 7th 05, 09:33 PM
Monique Y. Mudama
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On 2005-02-07, Alan Baker penned:

I think there has to be something you can do short of the black trails if
you're traversing them, but not getting challenged on the blues.


I dunno ... I mean, it depends on where he's skiing and whatnot ...

Some resorts do have "blue-black" trails. But a lot of places groom all
blues, or at least the vast majority. Part of what you start encountering on
black diamonds is more varied terrain and conditions.

--
monique
Longmont, CO

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  #12  
Old February 7th 05, 10:00 PM
JQ
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"Alan Baker" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Chuck wrote:

(snip)

I think there has to be something you can do short of the black trails
if you're traversing them, but not getting challenged on the blues.

Have you considered skiing the blues faster?

--
Alan Baker

(snip)

Alan not to knock Chuck but the area he is skiing, the Blacks would be
greens in your neck of the woods. The highest vert. is 1000' and not very
steep as far as big mountain skiing is concerned and the runs are also very
short. I did not know what area he was from until his last post. His main
concern would be ice, thin coverage and narrow trails. Many of the Blues
are not that much easier than the Blacks and some are actually more
difficult. If he ventured up North to NY, VT, NH or Maine, there is a
difference. He would be more than happy on most of their Blue runs for the
time being again as he is able to handle them he would naturally want to
take on the Black runs there too.

Chuck take on those Black runs as you will see they are not much more
difficult than what you have been doing other than on the trail map and sign
posting. I would recommend much more caution on the runs that are listed as
Double Black as these runs tend to be much "steeper", narrow, "ungroomed"
and like that at Mountain Creek very icy (you can not traverse to well on
ice) a fall and you go all the way to the bottom!
Happy skiing!

JQ
Dancing on the edge

  #13  
Old February 7th 05, 10:05 PM
Alan Baker
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In article ,
Chuck wrote:

Alan Baker wrote:
In article ,
Chuck wrote:


Is it considered a bad thing for an intermediate level skier like myself
to be taking my time skiing the black diamond trails? Most of the folks
I see attempting these trails are moving a lot faster than I am. The
blue trails are no longer a challenge to me and I want to push myself to
get better, but I also want to be able to do some traversing on these
trails. Am I creating a hazard for those who want to ski them faster? I
try to wait at the top of the steeper areas off to the side until the
better skiers go past but I still often find that while I'm traversing
down, someone else goes zipping by at 50mpg or faster and I wonder if
they will have time to react.



I think there has to be something you can do short of the black trails
if you're traversing them, but not getting challenged on the blues.

Have you considered skiing the blues faster?


Tried it but my skis tend to get unstable at faster speeds. It's
probably time to upgrade but I don't want to spend the money when I only
get out 4-5 days a year. They are Head Carve 15's -
beginner/intermediate skis. They have served me well for about 5 years
now but as like I said when I get up around 20-25 mph they start to to
feel unstable.


I'm sorry, but I still feel that if you have to traverse on blacks then
there has got to be some terrain marked blue that will still be a
challenge.

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
"If you raise the ceiling 4 feet, move the fireplace from that wall
to that wall, you'll still only get the full stereophonic effect
if you sit in the bottom of that cupboard."

  #14  
Old February 7th 05, 10:13 PM
JQ
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"Chuck" wrote in message
...
Alan Baker wrote:
In article ,
Chuck wrote:

(snip)

I think there has to be something you can do short of the black trails
if you're traversing them, but not getting challenged on the blues.

Have you considered skiing the blues faster?


Tried it but my skis tend to get unstable at faster speeds. It's
probably time to upgrade but I don't want to spend the money when I only
get out 4-5 days a year. They are Head Carve 15's -
beginner/intermediate skis. They have served me well for about 5 years
now but as like I said when I get up around 20-25 mph they start to to
feel unstable.
--
To reply by email remove "_nospam"

Chuck, you may need to apply more forward pressure and it will feel much
better. Those skis should be able to handle the speed you mentioned unless
you are in the back seat, then they will feel unstable the fronts will sort
of drift side to side, bounce up & down and not be able to turn to well.
Those skis have not even begun to wear out with 25 days on the mountain.
Make sure you get them waxed and the edges sharpened (waxed maybe 2 times
per year and sharpened at least once a year) they'll giver much better grip
in our east coast skiing.

JQ
Dancing on the edge

  #15  
Old February 7th 05, 10:24 PM
Lisa Horton
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VtSkier wrote:

Chuck wrote:
Is it considered a bad thing for an intermediate level skier like myself
to be taking my time skiing the black diamond trails? Most of the folks
I see attempting these trails are moving a lot faster than I am. The
blue trails are no longer a challenge to me and I want to push myself to
get better, but I also want to be able to do some traversing on these
trails. Am I creating a hazard for those who want to ski them faster? I
try to wait at the top of the steeper areas off to the side until the
better skiers go past but I still often find that while I'm traversing
down, someone else goes zipping by at 50mpg or faster and I wonder if
they will have time to react.


I certainly have no objection to someone like yourself
skiing down diamond trails. The only thing I ask is that
you not "scrape" down the trail when it has snow on it.
When it's all ice then you might see me scraping down it.
See "scraping" in other threads about snowboards.


When you say scraping, would that be a more or less sideways skidding
type of movement?

Lisa

  #16  
Old February 7th 05, 10:33 PM
lal_truckee
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Lisa Horton wrote:

When you say scraping, would that be a more or less sideways skidding
type of movement?


Yes - scraping/skidding wreaks the snow. Evil practice.

  #17  
Old February 7th 05, 10:37 PM
TexasSkiNut
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Lisa asked:
When you say scraping, would that be a more or less
sideways skidding type of movement?


Yup. That's either side-slipping or scraping, depending on how much
snow you're removing as you go. The term scraping is usually used
derisively to mean removing all of the loose snow and leaving
ice/hardpack in its place. It's easier to do this on a snowboard, as
you put all of your weight on one edge, whether you want to or not.
Side-slipping, on the other hand, is a useful technique for dropping
speed or getting down a slope when you're not able to otherwise turn,
either due to conditions or lack of ability. Side-slipping without
scraping takes a little more touch or control.

Worst case of scraping I've ever witnessed was at Silver Star in lean
snow conditions. A skier came over a small ridge and threw his skis
sideways, scraping off all of the snow down to the mud. I yelled at
him from the lift to come back and replace his divot, but kept on
going...

  #18  
Old February 7th 05, 10:44 PM
lal_truckee
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TexasSkiNut wrote:
I yelled at
him from the lift to come back and replace his divot, but kept on
going...


Reminds me of "Fill Your Sitzmarks!" Haven't seen such a sign for some
time now.

  #19  
Old February 7th 05, 10:52 PM
TexasSkiNut
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Chuck said:
Alan Baker said:
Have you considered skiing the blues faster?

Tried it but my skis tend to get unstable at faster speeds.
. . .
when I get up around 20-25 mph they start to feel unstable.


Look at it as good training for balance. If you can ski fast on
squirrelly skis that don't like to go fast, your balance will improve
greatly....assuming you don't become one with the trees.

It helps if you keep twitchy skis like that turning and on edge. I
skied one day on some Dynastar Ski Cross 9's at Taos. As long as I
kept them on edge, they behaved. As soon as I tried to let them run
straight at high speeds, they'd try to go off on their own. I'd just
pick up the offending ski and put it back down going in the direction
which I had chosen. I traded them in at the end of the day, however,
for some more stable skis.

My personal skis are some long floppy mogul skis (1996 K2 Extreme
200cm) that chatter like crazy at mach schnell. I don't have any
problems controlling them, but I have to stay alert. Granted, I'll
probably rent/demo in the future, as these are now rock skis.

  #20  
Old February 7th 05, 11:25 PM
VtSkier
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lal_truckee wrote:
TexasSkiNut wrote:

I yelled at
him from the lift to come back and replace his divot, but kept on
going...



Reminds me of "Fill Your Sitzmarks!" Haven't seen such a sign for some
time now.

Well, here in the east, the snow is too */)(% hard to make
sitzmarks.

 




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